Finally finished moving apartments. Woke up at 6am and waited for the movers to come. They hauled out the boxes and we waited for them to finish unloading before I started my assignment, FIX THE KITCHEN! That was seriously the highlight of my day. I'm such a dork, I know, but I was really having fun with among the mess of pots, pans, canned goods and kitchen appliances. Now the kitchen looks good on the outside and and inside too! Drawers and cabinets are arranged by kind and some in color :) I miss being in the kitchen so much! I was in a bit if a high that even when I was tired from all the arranging, I still found the energy to make quick eggs and ginisang sardinas for dindin. We all scarfed down our food within minutes and tossed all the dishes in the dishwasher since no one wanted to wash anything.

Jose's (Kate's husband) daughter Chasi asked me to accompany her to the pool for a late afternoon dip. I sat by the lounge chairs and watched Friends episodes on my iPod while she swam.

I spoke to my mom (finally) last night and we talked for a while. She broke my news to family in New York and it looks like I'll be in the big apple soon. Will wait for Bea and Paul to arrive mid-August so I can see them then decide when I'll move to the east coast after that. I haven't been to back to NY since 1996 so this should be interesting. If my friends in NY are reading this, I'm heading in your direction soon so do holler so we can meet! I'll be familiarizing myself with the subway since I'll be staying with my aunt in Queens. I'm both apprehensive and excited. My departure will depend on when I am able to arrange to have all my stuff and place them in storage until I can decide what my action plans are.

I'll be sharing a room with Chasi until she heads back to Carson on Saturday. I will no longer be bunking in the living room yehey! There's still more unpacking to be had tomorrow and if time permits, I'll take that walk to the mall nearby to check out the Mac store and, uhm, Old Navy. :)

As promised, here is my current Dylan replacement. Don't mind me going "Joann! Hello!" in my annoying baby voice. She's too cute for me not to fawn over her. She's an incredible mix of her parents, grandmother and, yes, her uncle.

Chopsuey clips of the last couple of days from the night I arrived. The following were all taken before the unfortunate incident so I was more eager to document my stay and I seem more normal. Ha!

Had a late dinner at IHOP on the way to the apartment from the airport. Went to the mall the next day then lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and we all ordered different varieties of salmon. Paul Santiago, that was a TIRAMISU CHEESECAKE in the clip and it was the sh!t. Used the pool the day after that and I remembered that I forgot to buy another underwater case for the flip. Bea or Paul, can you buy one for me and I'll pay you when you come over? Thanks!

Moving apartments tomorrow. Been busy with packing stuff all day. Internet and cable will be disconnected tomorrow and won't be back for five days max. Hopefully we get it sooner or I'm able to hook up with an open wi-fi connection. Maybe one of the neighbors didn't set up a password. We'll see.

Will be up early tomorrow to haul stuff out back and forth. It's a bigger place and I won't have to sleep in the living room anymore hurray! I'll be having a fun day re-organizing the new kitchen and I can't wait.

Went to a remittance center today to get money. Been mistaken for a latina once again. The lady behind the counter started speaking in rapid Spanish and I stared at her blankly and went "huh?!" I need to continue my Spanish lessons. I started listening to those free Spanish podcasts a few months back and stopped because of work stuff. Oh dear, I just remembered, Grace! Your Spanish CDs are in SF, I will try to return them to you as soon as I get my stuff, I promise.

Note to self: Stop using redundant titles.

Pardon me. I have been itching to write for two days. It took me a while to choose an appropriate blog address and even now, I am still somewhat skeptical of my final choice.

Never mind, I think it's somehow appropriate given my current situation.

So what have I been up to? Here I am in sunny Orange County, where the people and my surroundings really do look like they do in that show I never saw. I've been introduced to a funny little bratty baby that I seem to love so much. I cannot stop kissing her and usually try to beat her mother and sister in picking her up every time she starts crying.

She cries a lot but I managed to learn how to shush her by whispering in her ear
and having weird baby conversations with her. Even babies need to be heard sometimes.

This is my third blog in three years, that might be a coincidence, I'm not too sure. I've been itching to give updates over the littlest things. Currently staying in a nice apartment complex equipped with a pool and a gym. I used the pool once the other day and it felt slightly bizarre as it looked like a poolside scene in a typical California B-movie with a poolside cast consisting of a latino family, a an old but diva-hot-mama type Vietnamese woman in a skimpy hot pink string bikini who looked like she's comes to the pool A LOT, a couple of teenagers sunbathing and chitchatting by the pool, a couple who came just to sunbathe and blast their portable stereo that played really old hiphop music, the Filipino folks who took their other pinay house guest (me!!) to swim as they sat poolside drinking bottles of Coors Light and of course, there's the lone, old, fat and very hairy guy who slathered his manbody in oil and baked under the sun for everyone to enjoy.

The apartment complex

Its very sunny here. So far, I haven't felt the need to bust out my thick clothes and hoodies and am still able to walk around in my Havaiianas. At night it gets cooler, so people sleep better. I haven't had an experience where the baby wakes up bawling in the middle of night yet. So far, she's been very good. People here sleep at midnight and wake up at noon, including baby Joann. Breakfast is had at 12nn and lunch would usually follow a couple of hours after that. Dinner is taken at everyone's own time with whatever is left from lunch. I have absolutely no complaints about it as the baby alone takes a lot of all our time. I didn't realized how often they needed changing, feeding and how often they nap and wake up crying. Whew! I don't know how a mother can do it all on her own on top of all the housework! Joann is a doll! I've only known her for a few days but I love her already.

Today I was reunited with an old friend, Ben and Jerry's Pistachio ice cream! I bought a pint of that plus a pint of Haagen Daz's Butter Pecan. I had a bit of the pistachio shortly after dinner. I went through less than a quarter of it and stopped. I don't know how I was able to finish a whole pint in one sitting before! And I did that every night! Yes, I know what you're thinking. That's why I blew up to the size I am today and have been unable to lose the weight since. Well obviously, my appetite has gone down (this may be due to other reasons...) and I am not as snacky as I thought I was going to be. We went to the grocery store today and I picked up a few toiletries, ice cream, some onion bagel and herb cream cheese just in case I get hungry while every one is asleep.

I also started to familiarize myself with my current location. Armed with a map, and the Orange County Transit Authority website, I tried to see how I'll be able to get around the places I needed to go. This is one of the few things I hate about Southern California. Everyone needs a car to get around properly. Everything is far apart and the buses are not as reliable as they are in San Francisco. I found that the bank is nearby and there's a theater that's a short walk away (after Sagada, everything seems a short walk away to me now) and there's also a mall that's a bit further off. The area seems to come well-equipped and I shouldn't be bored as much. I haven't unpacked any of my luggage since we're all moving to a bigger 3-bedroom apartment in two days. It's just in the next building so it should be easy to transfer stuff back and forth.

Finished watching the last few episodes of The Big Bang Theory a couple of days ago and, remembering AJ's recommendation, have begun watching Burn Notice. It's a funny little show. The score is bad, the characters have little to no chemistry and it could have better editing but I'm enjoying it so far. It's witty and has funny moments. Basically its good enough for me to sit through until the fall season premieres start. They have a divx player here so I no longer have to suffer watching my illegally acquired movies in my Macbook screen.

I have videos I want to upload (mostly of Joann) but I will do so tomorrow. It's late and I'd like to finish watching episode 3 of Burn Notice.

Lastly, excuse my blog's temporary ugly appearance, I have been meaning to change my blog's design for a long time and now I have more reason to finally start designing given my fresh, new start. Give me some time to update this little eyesore.

Upon Paul's recommendation, I had dinner at Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen last night with Jammi, Matthew, Niki and Pia. We had an awesome feast! The food was so good it annoyed me that I discovered it so late!

In the order you see them in the video below, this is what we had,

1. Parmesan coated tortilla chips with cheese pimiento dip
2. Potato Marbles (baby potatoes seasoned and baked with cheese with a side of sourcream and chives)
3. Chicken Bacon Mushroom melt pizza
4. Creamy Chicken Calzone (ham, bacon, roast chicken, egg, mushroom, cheeeeeese!)
   
5. Spinach and artichoke pizza
6. Blueberry cheesecake dessert pizza
   
7. White chocolate Strawberry Madness dessert pizza (strawberry preserves topped w/ shaved white chocolate)

Everything was absolutely delicious that Pia and Jammi want to go back there tonight! I kind of want to too after seeing the video. If anyone is going to visit BF, then you have to try this place!!!

Sagada - a town where the skies are blue, the sun is warm, the breeze is cool and the clouds come down to kiss you both in the morning and at night.

I will describe the trip for the benefit of people who have never heard nor seen Sagada. This is going to be a looong post. If you're at work, make sure the boss isn't walking around. Keep your mouse hovering over the minimize button to quickly hide it. Hahahah!

I would recommend Sagada ONLY to people who really want to see it. Otherwise, I would advise you to stick to your usual plane-ride-beach vacation. The trip to Sagada from Manila lasts 12 hours IF you are lucky. Going there, Niki and I were on the road for 16 hours because of changes in bus schedules and a landslide. We had to wait for an hour by the side of the road under 3 o'clock heat as tractors cleared the road for vehicles to pass. Then the way back to Manila took 14 hours due to uberly slow bus drivers.

From Manila, we took an air conditioned bus to Baguio which traveled for 6 hours. The bus was not full so Niki and I were able to recline our seats and snooze the whole way there. From Baguio, we had to take a cab to Dangwa terminal where buses to Sagada were stationed. The road to Sagada from Baguio is looong, winding, steep and very rough. The trip alone can tire you out and this is what I was saying earlier about you having to really want to go there for you to be able to bear that 6 hour ride. I remember thinking "Oh gawd, please let this be worth it."

Was it? YES IT WAS.

We got to Sagada by 5pm Friday afternoon so there was nothing else we could do but check-in at the Residential Lodge (P200/person a night, shared toilet and bath, hot/cold showers, free coffee/hot water/tea, internet at P30/hr) and find a place to eat. Niki and I are both fans of yoghurt so despite it being close to dinner time, we decided to try out the Yoghurt House. I've read so much about it during my research of Sagada and read several recommendations, including a friend who's recently been there. Niki and I ordered a Robust Tuna Salad Sandwich, a mushroom and cheese pasta to share and each had yoghurt with banana, granola and strawberry preserves.

I once remember blogging about being the maker of the best tuna sandwich ever but will now have to concede to the fact that that was much, much better than my sammie. It was amazing, it was a triple decker sammie that had all the usual condiments but with extra cucumber slices and cheese that was dipped in yoghurt. They used spicy tuna too so that added a bit of a kick to your usual fish sandwich. The pasta was alright, tasted like your usual pinoy party spaghetti, very cheesy. Then we got to the main event, the yoghurt! What can I say that won't require me saying things like awesome, amazing, uberly delicious that my tongue wanted to start screaming from the mixture of flavor and texture? The yoghurt, along with almost everything in Sagada, was fresh and home-made. Nothing in this town is processed or store bought. Their servings are nothing like in Manila where they scrimp you with ingredients. By the end of our meal, Niki and I felt like we had to take a walk to let all that food settle in.

We had an early start the next day, we didn't want to start hiking with a heavy stomach so we had some bread and coffee from the lodge then I had the Yoghurt House sandwich to go, to eat after all the hiking we were about to do. We had a map, which we bought from a souvenir shop the day before and opted not to hire a guide to take us around.

The day's itinerary: Echo Valley, Bokkong Falls and Kiltepan Viewpoint. It took us a while to get to Echo Valley, we weren't sure which trail to follow and had to ask directions. We were directed to a path through the woods that crossed a cemetery over to the other side of the mountain. We got to a certain point when Niki and I decided to stop and have lunch. We sat on a couple of small boulders and enjoyed our sandwich while taking in the view in front of us. Little did we know that we were already at the edge of the cliff overlooking Echo Valley. We got to this viewpoint and started screaming nonsense to the wind (it's not called Echo Valley for no reason, you know). Going back, we decided to pass through a different trail which ended up getting us lost. I had to maintain my composure but my mind was slightly racing at the thought that Niki and I were lost in the woods and are passing through steep old trails that seemed like no one has used in a while. We hiked through sharp weeds, thorny branches, cobwebs and muddy slopes. We were walking for a while until we ended up exactly where we came from. I was relieved, tired and pissed off at whoever made that stupid trail. Sabi ni Paul, Bea and Grace baka na-enkanto daw kami.

Memorial site of italian tourist who died
after falling off the cliffs taking photos in Echo Valley

Rice fields en route to Bokkong

We were all hot and sweaty from all the walking that we were looking forward to going to Bokkong falls to cool our tired feet. Again, we were doing this without a guide and ventured out on our own. We did happen to come across two young kids who said they were also on their way to the falls and that they could take us through a short cut. We later on realized that "short cut" for the townsfolk meant cutting through corn and rice fields, hiking up and down muddy terrain and at one point, crossing a small river. I could see the kids laughing at these two tourists struggling with their gear trying to keep their already muddy shoes and pants and their cameras from getting wet. When we got to the falls, I was only too happy to kick off my shoes and socks and dip my tired aching feet in the cool water. Niki did more than that as the video below shows.

We were too tired to head out to Kiltepan point plus after one of the boys told us it would take another 45-minute walk to get there, I bailed and headed back to town. Niki and I were mighty hungry from all the trekking and headed straight to Masferre's Country Inn and restaurant.

We went in with our wet clothes and muddy shoes and ordered two sandwiches, a BLT for Niki and a Chicken-tuna-apple sandwich for me. Both came with a side of fries and as previously mentioned, everything was fresh and the fries were more like wedges cooked just right and sprinkled with some sort of spice. Niki and I downed our food like a couple of hungry elephants and headed back to the lodge to shower and change for the afternoon's next activity, spelunking Sumaguing Cave.

We met our guide, Orion at the Municipal Hall then we walked walked for about 30-45 minutes to Lumiang Cave were he showed us the small wooden coffins that were stacked up at the cave's entrance. If I had any doubts that these small wooden containers held human remains, they were quickly obliterated when I saw a human skull peeking through one of the coffin's holes. It began to rain but we continued walking towards Sumaguing Cave. When we got to the entrance, Orion stopped to light his kerosene lamp then we began the descent to the cave's opening. Niki and I came prepared and brought gloves that would hopefully prevent us from touching guano as we climbed down. As we climbed down every few feet I would glance behind me as the light from the cave's entrance grew dimmer. The smell was not as bad as I anticipated. The first stage was muddy and slippery and it was hard to distinguish the mud from the bat sh!t until I saw Niki grab on to what she thought was a rock, only to have her glove sink into it, ewwwww!

When I turned around and saw nothing but darkness and shadowed images of rocks, my fear of the dark began to freak me out and I couldn't stop thinking of the movie The Descent. Laugh all you want, Bea but if you're down there in darkness surrounded by nothing but rocks and dark corners, you will freak out too. Niki, in turn, was afraid of heights so it took her forever to climb down the rocks and steep steps. I could barely see where I was going since Niki was covering the light from the kerosene lamp and her shadow kept covering my path from view. When we got to the part where the muddy rocks end and the watery flow stones began, we were asked to remove our slippers since our feet would have better grip on the rocks even if we had to walk on an incline. We continued down through the freezing water, rappelled down a rope and were shown several aptly-named rock formations such as the queen, king, pig pen, elephant's head, princess' bath tub, turtle head and several others. There was also a mossy stained area at the bottom, that when you stared at it for awhile, would form a picture of the holy family. The climb up was faster but we still had to traverse the 245 ascending steps to the main road from the cave's entrance. Add to that the 45 minute walk back to the lodge in sopping wet clothes combined with the cold night air. We walked on an inclined road most of the time and our path was lit only by Orion's lamp. There are no street lights in Sagada so if you don't have a light or a flashlight, it would be dangerous to walk the pitch black streets at night. Having just rained an hour before, small snakes littered the streets as Orion cheerily pointed out to us, poking one for show. Our room smelled like an old lady that night as Niki and I slathered our tired bodies with Katinko and Balpirik and sank into beds and passed out.

The next day we had breakfast at Yoghurt house again then tried the expensive coffee alamid (civet coffee) at Bana's Cafe. We were planning to go to Bomod-ok falls that morning but our shoes were still wet from the hike the day before. Orion also told us that we would need to take about an hour car ride to the drop-off point then take another hour trekking through terraces to get there. I may have heard wrong but he said something like 1800++ steps. We then figured our bodies would not be able to take any more of that so opted to walk around town instead. We shopped for souvenirs, went back to the lodge and took a nap. When we woke up, we found that our shoes had dried and hurriedly dressed to hike to Kiltepan and also see the underground river. Unfortunately, weather prevented us from doing any of that because as soon as I stepped outside, I saw from afar that rain clouds started to move towards our direction. We went back to Masferre's and ordered a burger each and allowed the rain to pass before venturing out again. We knew Kiltepan and the river would not be a good idea now since it had just rained. The trails would be very slippery and muddy by now and if they were anything like the steep paths we passed by the previous day, then hiking there would be even more dangerous.

We didn't want to waste our day so we walked the opposite direction towards Lake Danum, the map said it was an hour's walk from the town so we hiked up the winding dirt roads and stopped to take pictures as we went along. We were greeted by a rainbow on the way and saw that we were at a point where we were higher than the clouds.

We were walking for a quite a while and could see that the sun was about to set. We preferred not to get stuck on a dark road by the mountain so turned around and saw that the fog had settled and covered our view.

night fog

We had a modest dinner of instant noodles and crackers at the lodge but tried the lodge's own home-made yoghurt with bananas and honey. Their version was excellent too as it had a slightly sweeter taste and smoother and un-whipped like texture.

We woke up early the next day to have time to eat breakfast at Masferre's again before catching the bus back to Baguio. Niki and I shared cheesy pancakes and a ham, mushroom and cheese omelette with toast. The toast was not your run of the mill white bread either. It was a crusty-soft baguette that went wonderfully with the butter and local strawberry jam.

Despite the long and tiring trip, Niki and I still managed to attend the TPC party at Mall of Asia. We arrived hours late and were greeted by a very inebriated group of our ex-workmates including my two very drunk bosses. Cheers!


some photos are screenshots from the videos I will edit
more photos from Sagada here and here
photos from Niki's camera can be seen here.

Been trying to pack for Sagada for about 3 hours already. I don't know what to bring! I got helpful tips online and also from Sheila and Mau who have recently been there. I am so nervous and excited! My travel situation has changed since I first introduced the trip. My costs have gone higher due to reasons I'd rather not dwell on. Despite these changes, slightly sprained feet and a scratchy throat that usually means a cold is coming, I am still heading out to Sagada tonight. Even if I had to do this trip alone, I would still go. Time in the mountains is better than staying at home stewing in disappointment. I was already preparing for Niki to cancel on me until she texted me with "Let's Do This! Bahala na si Batman!" even after I mentioned individual costs going up and the rain during travel.

Weather forecasts say the storm is way, way north of Batanes by now so I have nothing to fear. Not even a little rain will stop me from doing this. Besides, if I had let myself get discouraged by rain and ominous weather forecasts, then I might have never seen Coron, Vigan, gone to Baguio and back to Boracay in the less than a month. Beat that!

Want to know where I've been? Here's a hint:

Still don't get it? How about this?

No? If you still don't get it from this photo, then you need to see a doctor.

Despite heavy rains in Manila and continued cries of people saying, "Bora in this rain? Anong gagawin mo doon?," me and my mother-in-law still jetted out to the island. I'm very happy to report that apart from showers in the early morning and very occasional rain clouds that pass by, it was quite sunny there. The weather was actually awesome because of the strong winds because no matter how high the sun would get, the wind canceled out the intense heat. Although it is also because of the strong winds that caused the island's facade to change. They built windbreakers of bamboo lined either with nets or plastic along the shore to block the winds from blowing everything inland. Like for example, this is how the front of Le Soleil looks like,

Some establishments have only just begun building theirs.

Kiteboarders have also littered the waters of Boracay. I guess this watersport is very big this time of year. The waves are stronger now as well and makes for a very fun swim. I was reminded of when Niki and I were diving through waves in Bohol. Lots of fun! Niki, you should have been there!!

Apart from the wind, waves and kiteboarders, every thing is just perfect and I am very pleased with my second, albeit short, visit. Since Coron, I have been longing to hit the waters again and I am grateful that Paul's mom invited me to tag along.

More Boracay pictures here.

Since my travel plans are back to back, I had only two hours to allot for a brunch date with my weird, giant friend. We went to Café Francais and Amalia's but since they were both still closed, we ended up having brunch at Mocha Blends. We each ordered a latte and their Aussie Breakfast Platter, which I underestimated. I thought it looked so little but I couldn't even finish my plate's contents.

My mother-in-law was going to visit her house in Tubao, La Union for the weekend and since I was not doing anything at home, I decided to tag along. Little did I know I was up for a jam-packed travel weekend. She took me to Baguio for a short side trip since it was only 45-minutes from her house. We went to Camp John Hay then to the market to buy sweets and pasalubong. We also watched Mama Mia! in SM Baguio. She loved the movie so much and was laughing so hard within 5 minutes in the movie.

Tested out my new gorillapod knock-off. Seemed to work just as well as the original.

On Saturday, we traveled 4 more hours up north to visit Vigan. I've been wanting to see Vigan for a long time and I'm very sad to report that I was kind of disappointed. I was under the impression that the whole city would be peppered with their trademark of old spanish houses. The reality is, only a few houses have maintained their old Spanish charm and the rest of the city looks like a cross between Intramuros and Sta. Mesa. Fast food chains and other commercial establishments have defaced the appeal of the old town. It was raining and my mother-in-law insisted we ride a kalesa to go around, only to have him take us the long route to Calle Crisologo. We later found out that it was only a few steps away from where he picked us up.

I will be out again until Wednesday. I won't say where I'm going. I'll just surprise you with pictures. :)

More?
Vigan pictures here.
Baguio pictures here.

Niki, my pet fish, found herself at home in Kayangan Lake's clear fresh waters. Here is a short clip of her playing with the sunken wooden canoe.

I keep trying to edit the videos but keep having to stop because looking at the videos only reminds me how much I miss the place so much. I'll try to upload little sneak peaks for now.

Depart: Friday, July 4, 4pm

Ferry leaves about an hour late. PAGASA scares us with a storm warning in Coron. We say "f*ck it, we're here and we are ready to roll!" The 14-hour ferry trip was not so bad if not for the horribly loud snorer that slept to the immediate left of my bunk. He produced a curtain of noise that made me want to cry. Thank god for Sleepasil.

We arrived in Coron and was greeted by cool morning wind and light sun. It was a bit cloudy but we didn't care. We took a tricycle to the lodge to change and drop off our stuff then took another tricycle to the dock where we were to meet up with Erika, the other girl who was joining us and our boatman, Mang Golem.

Day 1 Coron Itinerary:

Maquinit Hot Springs

We might have enjoyed this place better if we visited at the end of the day after all the swimming and action to dip our aching bodies.

Siete Pecados Marine Park

Amazing fish and snorkel spot. Cool clear waters.

Twin Peaks
Another snorkel spot with less fish but a sh!tload of sea urchin. Don't worry, the waters are too deep for anyone to step on them.
Twin Lagoon
We passed by en route to CYC Island since the tide was still high and we couldn't access the small opening to the 2nd lagoon.

CYC Island
An island with a fine white sand that used to stretch several meters out. The sands that used to be here were shipped to other places to create man-made white sand beaches. FAKERS!!!

The waves were rough on the way back to the twin lagoon so we stayed about a half hour more on the island to wait for the waves to calm. When Mang Golem, the boatman, saw that it had calmed down a bit, he took us out but was still greeted by rough waves that made all of us slightly fear for our lives. Water kept splashing in the boat that it kind of looked like a scene from A Perfect Storm. Grace looked like she was going to cry. Niki and I faced the back of the boat just so we wouldn't see the waves coming. I half-wished my Flip hadn't run out of batteries so I could capture that life and death experience.

Twin Lagoon Take 2
When we finally got to the lagoon entrance in one piece, I was the first one in the water. There were two other boats that were docked so I was unable to take a photo of the lagoon opening. I swam through and what awaited me on the other side took my breath away. It was indeed a lagoon similar to what you see in epic movies. Clear blue-green waters surrounded by towering mountainous rock formations that looked like they grew out of the water. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip. The water seemed bottomless and I found that my snorkel gear was useless since all I saw was darkness below my feet.

My Flip miraculously started working when I got to the middle of the lagoon so I was able to take a few footages but later that night I realized that no matter how much footage or photos I took, nothing compared to being there surrounded by all that beauty. Having realized this, I took less photos the next day and allowed myself to experience everything instead.

Day 2 Coron Itinerary

Skeleton Wreck
This was the first time I have ever seen a shipwreck up close so I was a bit apprehensive to jump in. In movies, shipwrecks are usually associated with ghosts and man eating creatures. I waited until Niki jumped in before I geared up and joined her. I freaked out a bit when I first saw it and I couldn't allow myself to look at it for too long for fear of seeing something unnatural. Niki and I swam closer and when the clouds parted slightly, letting the sunlight through the waters, it allowed us to have a better view of the ship. It was absolutely amazing. Too bad the flip was unable to catch all the details of the wreck. We could only see a third of the ship since most of it was buried deeper where the light couldn't reach it but whatever we saw was amazing enough for us.

Banol Beach
This was not part of the original itinerary. We were supposed to go to Maynuno beach instead but the boatman said that it was further off and we were scared of encountering the same rough waves as the day before so we went to Banol instead. We didn't regret paying the extra 100php to visit Banol's clear blue waters and clean, powder white sand. We took the most number of photos here and spent some time sunning ourselves by the shore.

Twin Lagoon Take 3
Since Grace didn't swim with us at all the previous day, she was unable to see the lagoon so we requested that the boatman take us there again so that she could see it. The bangka had to go all the way to the other side of the entrance since the tide was still high and there was no way we could enter it the same way yesterday.

Funny story before we got to the lagoon:
While having lunch in Banol, one of the boatmen told us that a week before, a tourist went diving in the deep waters of the lagoon and saw a couple of giant Barracudas. Needless to say, he freaked out and surfaced right away. Thinking that barracudas don't really go to the water's surface, we still decided to go and swim.

Barracuda Lake
Despite the name, we did not see any barracudas nor are there any more of them there. The way to the lake was a bit of a tough climb since we had to scale through sharp rocks. Thank god my Havaianas were tough enough for the rocks to not slice through them. We didn't stay too long since there was nothing to see but more deep blue waters that seemed to go on and on below us.






Kalachuchi Beach
The beach wasn't so great but we managed to find a small area where we could climb through to the other side to take a few photos.

Kayangan Lake
This is the reason why I wanted to go to Coron. I have heard of Kayangan being the cleanest body of water in the Philippines and I have seen pictures of it's amazing beauty. It was only fitting that we saved this for our last stop as it will be my last memory of Coron. The way to the lake was another demanding climb, though. We had to go up a few hundred steps then down again to access the lake. The entire body of water is surrounded by the same rock formations and there was no other way to get to it. It seemed that nature intended for visitors to earn their way to Kayangan and only the worthy can enjoy the lake's splendor.


Every time I would google Kayangan Lake, I would always stumble upon the same photo over and over again. I half-wondered why there was only this one view that everyone seemed to share. I promised myself that I would try to take a different photo only to find out that the reason why was that at the top of the climb, the trees would open up only slightly to allow this one view.

Niki and I spent a long time playing in Kayangan's stunningly clear waters (I could take an underwater video or photo several feet away and could still see through the waters very clearly). I used up all of my flip's memory in Kayangan and I can't wait to start editing the videos.
Coron is now at the top of my favorite places to visit. I will definitely come back and would recommend it to anyone. The amount we spent on the entire trip was less than half of what we spend on our Boracay trip last March. The people in Coron are very friendly and accommodating and it helped that everyone speaks tagalog quite well. I will consider this place when planning my retirement. I could buy a small lot to build a small house, buy my own boat and hire my own boatman so I can visit Coron's waters anytime.


Special thanks to Mr. Owen Ferrer of DIYCoron who made arrangements with the tours and boatman. I would have been lost without his help. He was also kind enough to always keep me posted regarding weather changes in Coron so I can plan my trip accordingly. It was also through his site that we found Erika who shared the trip with us.

I'm still on a travel high and may not be able to recover for a couple more days. I really didn't want to go and I wished I could have stayed a week at the very minimum. There's still so much more to see and I will make it a life's plan to see them all.

I took a lot of photos but as previously stated, no amount of good photography can capture Coron's beauty. I tried my best though and you can see them all in my multiply.

Photos I took are played below


Select ones taken by Niki and Grace are below