Sunset at Mt. Tapyas, Coron, Palawan
On our first day in Coron, we witnessed its beauty from Mt. Tapyas, climbed a lot of steps, and tire our legs. Our plan of going to another tourist spot didn't push through so we called it a day after having dinner at a restaurant that has a rooftop view of Coron but it was already dark so there's not much of a view.
Day 2: Island Hopping
Now let's move on to our second day and this is one of which excites us the most, we went on island hopping! I realized that I didn't have many photos of our island hopping experience so I instead grabbed some scenes from our videos.
There are hundreds of tour agencies in Coron and flyers of these agencies are available at the airport. I love to plan and make sure that have already set up our itinerary but for this trip, I didn't pay any agencies in advance because I have read somewhere on the internet that it is advisable to just contact an agency upon arrival.
But we ended up getting an agency recommended by our guesthouse's caretaker, Ate Raquel. She mentioned that some agencies do not pick up guests and so she handed us a flyer and ended up paying for that specific agency instead, I already forgot its company name but I opted for the Ultimate Island hopping package which was good for Php 1600, this includes lunch and free pick up and drop off of a private van.
Our scheduled pick-up time was at eight in the morning, we got ready and all but the van was late. We already have a bad first impression of the agency but the contact person messaged me and apologized for the delay as the driver was still picking up some guests and we will be the last stop. The driver, unfortunately, was still waiting for those guests and so it caused the delay.
Finally, the van arrived and we were dropped at the Lualhati Park's bayside area. This is where the tour boats are docked. Actually, there are hundreds of tour boats in this area and most of them had already departed.
Again, we have to wait for the instructions on which boat to hop in. Each boat has a capacity of around 18 guests excluding the captain and the tour guides.
The tour guide arrived, gave us this passenger's manifest so we can fill it up with our names, it is needed for the boat to be allowed to go by the coastguard. Then we hopped on one of the boats, ready to go, we were given life jackets, that's a requirement although we usually take them off when swimming because we don't want to just float. It's quite hard to swim with a life jacket on, unless if you don't know how to swim.
All aboard! Finally! I guess it was almost ten when the captain said it's time for departure! The tourists applied their sunscreen, prepared their action cameras, and faced the window or the side of the boat where the waters are visible, why do we always do that anyway? But yes, we all faced the ocean and make sure our hair won't be destroyed by the wind!
Our first destination is Siete Pecados Marine Park!
Siete Pecados Marine Park
According to our tourist guide, this area is best known as the perfect diving spot and snorkeling area for beginners. It offers shallow coral reefs with thousands of colorful fishes, they hid on the rocks, swim with the tourists, and even attempt to bite us!
There are rock islands too and when we arrived there, a lot of boats were on their way out.
I guess there's a positive side of us being late in departing as most of the tourists who came in first are now off to the next destination and we can enjoy the place to ourselves!
One by one, our boatmates went down using the wooden stairs and started snorkeling! The boat provides masks and goggles too, included in the package!
This is a protected area, fishing is not allowed and of course, since this is shallow, diving is not allowed too!
Oops, I said that too soon, my husband just showed his diving skills and as you can see, he almost hit the corals! Don't worry, we asked for the tour guide's permission and she allowed him to do so but with a reminder to never hit the corals.
Stepping on the coral reef is definitely a no-no! It will damage the corals but also, it might hurt the person too. Most of us were not even wearing those diving shoes. Most of the tourists were wearing their life jackets and that's cool so to always be floating while snorkeling but we wanted to have a closer look at the corals and the fishes so my husband didn't wear one. I asked him to take videos of what is underneath.
Here goes some of the underwater views:
I guess we were out there in the waters for 15 or 30 minutes? I am not sure but it was enough to make some videos and photos and be mesmerized by the beauty of what's under our feet.
In Coron, we have gone to different shipwrecks and diving sites, if we had enough budget, diving is the best activity to do here because there are more corals to explore. I remember our first diving experience, I was amazed to see so much life underwater that I don't want the session to end! That was a time when the waters above were rough, how much more if we went on a fine clear day?
Anyway, we hopped back on the boat and were ready for the next stop. I'll share that with you tomorrow!
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xoxo,
mommy jean of momentswithmatti
Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.
I don't know swimming sis and we don't have beaches here in my area. But I is my dream if I got the chance I would love to sit near a sea and write my name in sand.