We didn’t get much sleep last night because we didn’t get to the hotel until about 1am… but we were up bright and early to get to the domestic terminal of the Manila airport this morning! So early, in fact, that we couldn’t even check in for an hour once we got there. We had totally miscalculated how long it would take us to get to the airport… we were banking on a 30 minute no-traffic distance but WITH that notorious Manila traffic. Instead, it took us 10 minutes. Lessons learned.
Our plane actually left EARLY (like as in 15 minutes… have you ever heard of that before?) and when we pulled up into the Busuanga Airport it was barely 10:30am. There was some amazing scenery as we were flying into the airport, sailing over hundreds of tiny islands.
Our plane actually left EARLY (like as in 15 minutes… have you ever heard of that before?) and when we pulled up into the Busuanga Airport it was barely 10:30am. There was some amazing scenery as we were flying into the airport, sailing over hundreds of tiny islands.
We ended up finding this awesome deal with a place called Majika Island Resort and so we booked it… finalizing the details 30 minutes before we boarded the plane! The driver was waiting for us to take us to Coron city proper and have lunch and wait for the boat to take us to our private island paradise.
We walked around the town of Coron for a couple of hours… bought a few things we needed, let Rex practice his Tagalog, and then it started to rain.
We walked around the town of Coron for a couple of hours… bought a few things we needed, let Rex practice his Tagalog, and then it started to rain.
Yeah, it was only a passing shower, but we stepped into a kind lady’s shop for nearly half an hour waiting for it to stop pouring. In that time, the drains(of which there were 2 right by her shop) quickly filled and the street turned into a river!
People were still making their way along with their umbrellas and pants hiked up like it was an every day occurance… and I would wholeheartedly believe that it is!
Once the water was about half a foot deep, it stopped raining. This was good because the next step was water coming into the shop we had taken refuge in. We promptly purchased flip-flops(plastic ones that we could get wet) from the store owner and by the time the quick transaction was done, the streets had nearly cleared of all the water! Insane!! I would definitely say that the Philippines is built for rainy weather.
We tried to make a stop at the only ATM on the entire island before heading off to Majika’s, but the ATM was out of order. Well, I guess $40 (in pesos) will have to get us through the next 10 days! Both places we’re staying at are all-inclusive of food and water activities, so it should be no problem. Just no shopping!
Finally we boarded our bangka for the 45 minute ride to our island resort.
Once the water was about half a foot deep, it stopped raining. This was good because the next step was water coming into the shop we had taken refuge in. We promptly purchased flip-flops(plastic ones that we could get wet) from the store owner and by the time the quick transaction was done, the streets had nearly cleared of all the water! Insane!! I would definitely say that the Philippines is built for rainy weather.
We tried to make a stop at the only ATM on the entire island before heading off to Majika’s, but the ATM was out of order. Well, I guess $40 (in pesos) will have to get us through the next 10 days! Both places we’re staying at are all-inclusive of food and water activities, so it should be no problem. Just no shopping!
Finally we boarded our bangka for the 45 minute ride to our island resort.
The ride was GORGEOUS beyond belief! There are small islands just scattered everywhere throughout this area of Palawan (the province we’re in). These islands are called the Calamian Islands, in the northern-most part of the province. The islands all have mountains running through the center, but I’m not sure if any are volcanic.
The resort is… well, not what I’d think of with the word “resort”, but it’s comfortable and the staff and food are amazing! We have our own private cabin… although we don’t have electricity in it for 12 hours a day! The beach is totally gone during high tide, but the view of the islands across the way is amazing!
We took a “kayak” (not exactly what would come to mind when you think the word… this was a Filipino style one)
We took a “kayak” (not exactly what would come to mind when you think the word… this was a Filipino style one)
We rowed out to see what was around the corner of our island, and we found a breathtakingly beautiful mangrove forest! There were areas that looked like trails for boats running through, so we rowed our way in. It was really something to see all those crazy roots entangled in each other on the banks of the ocean!
While we were kayaking we also found some starfish in the shallow waters near our resort. We picked them up and took some pictures with them… so awesome!
After kayaking, we came back to watch a beautiful sunset from the handmade floating pier on our beach. I only had our old camera with me out there, so I sure hope those pictures turned out well!
There is another group here with us for the time being that are staying in all the cabins farthest away from the domestic animal area… so for now, we’re having to deal with the persistent calling of the rooster. Have I ever mentioned that I hate roosters? Well there you have it. And I’m sure this will not be the last you hear of this particular complaint.
Yummy meals/dishes today: fried squid cakes (but SO good), chicken adobo, sweet rice with cinnamon and potato, lumpia Shanghai
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