JOTAN23: Day ONE - 4D3N Coron Adventure

We were about to book at CORON GATEWAY HOTEL when my friend's cousin offered us their "guest house." LUCKY US!!!! hehehe

We arrived Busuanga Airport at 10:30am and was picked up by JJ to drive us to the guesthouse. (Php 150/pax)

JJ was kind enough to drive by "Chooks to Go" so we can buy 2 whole chickens to bring with us for our island hopping.

It was June and the weather forecast said there will be thunderstorms. The gray clouds got us a bit worried.

After about a few minutes, the sky started to clear and this lifted our spirits! yey!

Goodbye airport...

HELLO, CORON!!!

Notice their eggs? Coron eggs have smiley faces!!! hehehe

From the guesthouse, we rode a trike going to the pier near Coron Gateway Hotel.

The tricycle drivers normally charge Php 8/pax for a ride :)

4 people can fit at the back, 2 in front and 1 behind the driver.

Toto, our boatman, met us at the docking station.

(Contact numbers/details at the bottom. FYI: SUN Cellular does not work in Coron. NO SIGNAL FOR SUN SUBSCRIBERS as of JUNE 2010)

All 6 of us were comfortable with the boat so I guess, it's okay :)

Toto charged us Php 3,500 for this day's tour because we will be touring the CALUMBOYAN ISLANDS.

That's TOTO, our Coron Boatman, looking cool as ever. On the right is the boat's "COMFORT ROOM"

We reached Calumboyan Island after about 1.5 hours and this was where we had our lunch.

Picnic tables were available on the island.

Entrance fee was Php 150/pax.

Please do not leave anything on the island, even your trash should be brought back to the boat.

Calumboyan Island was wonderful! The water was so clear that you can actually see the corals while you're still on the boat. Be careful when snorkeling here as there were lots of sea urchins. If you have flippers, use them! Aqua shoes are highly recommended. Some of us also used ordinary trekking sandals and Crocs.

Here are some underwater photos of Calumboyan Island:

Please refrain from touching the corals. These are delicate creatures and let's help protect them.

Most of the fishes were hidden at the bottom of the deeper water.

So mostly, you will just see corals here...

...But the corals were just amazing!!! Different shapes, different colors, different sizes!

The blue corals really stood out among all the corals in the island.

We didn't spend too much time at Calumboyan because Toto said that there's more in our next destination, CORAL GARDEN. If there is someone on duty, entrance fee to CORAL GARDEN would be Php 50/pax. Otherwise, it's free.

It was like literally being inside a huge aquarium..WOW!

Don't forget to bring BREAD! Feed them under water and be amazed!

We didn't want to leave CORAL GARDEN but we have to move on.

The water was so clear and full of colorful fishes!!!

And now, we're off to LUSONG GUNBOAT. Same with Coral Garden, a fee of Php 50/pax is required if there's a guard on duty, otherwise, it's free.

Just beware when stepping on the ship wreck or when touching it because of the rust. Always wear aqua shoes or any feet protection.

Our first day in Coron was just AMAZING!

We can't wait for DAY 2 :)

The CALUMBOYAN ISLAND TOUR was perfect for our DAY ONE CORON ADVENTURE.

On our way back, we saw these holes on the island

At first, we thought these were caves of some sort but Toto said these were canyon blasts from the war.

Okay, now, what to do next?

Instead of being dropped off at the docking station near Coron Gateway Hotel, we asked Toto to drop us off to LAMBINGAN BRIDGE because the guesthouse was closer to that area.

Just a warning: LAMBINGAN BRIDGE is not a stable bridge! If you're not comfortable in walking on swaying wooden planks, then don't bother going there.

We still had plenty of time to go to MOUNT TAPYAS or MAQUINIT HOTSPRING but we decided not to go anymore. Roundtrip trike to each place would cost you about Php 300 per trike. These, like most places in Coron, are open till 10pm.

We had dinner at the guesthouse and were craving for dessert and WIFI so we decided to go to SEADIVE RESORT.