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| I went to Coron in 2015 alone. Spending 2 days in the island wasn't enough. I simply craved for more. And so, as the plane hovered above and away from Busuanga, I promised myself that I would go back. Soon. It happened, 8 months after the short jaunt, I was in again for a Coron adventure - and this time with close friends from college. What made the trip much sweeter was the fact that it was all-expense paid, courtesy of a dear friend who's based in the UK. |
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| Banol is the name of this small packet of white sand beach. Our tour guide said it got its name from a chest of gold found in the area. |
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| Loads of boats often flock to this small makeshift docking area. From here, tourists take a short trek to Kayangan Lake. |
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| My friend, Eileen (middle) brought a Fujifilm Intax that had 20 rolls of film. It made the trip more nostalgic than it already was. |
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| Gab, my friend's husband, is Hungarian. They met in Malaysia and moved to the UK. He has a penchant for history and he loves trying out new stuff. |
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| Joining the trip is Birgit who's originally from Austria. She spent years in Spain before moving to the UK where she's currently based. She's planning to do a world tour soon. |
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| My friend, Eloisa and her husband. Eloi is a college friend. She is from Nasugbu, Batangas. She has this loud and infectious laugh which is simply endearing. One of the many things I love about her. |
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| View from the villa at the northern part of the Balinsasayaw Resort. It gets very quiet at night, even the sound of waves lapping the shore seems muffled. |
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| Another thing to love about our stay in Balinsasayaw Resort is the food - fresh and delicious. |
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| My friend, Joy, and I go a long way back. We used to argue a lot. Haha. |
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| I didn't get to see a few other attractions in Coron the first time I went there. Baraccuda Lake was one of them. |
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| How time flies! I can't believe it's been 10 years since college. |
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| We ended our trip on a high note - doing a trek to Mt. Tapyas. Hiking up at 10 in the morning is not a good idea. Watch the video of our Coron trip. |
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| Fortune Island: Of Ruins, Cliffs & Models |
This may sound a bit harsh but let's just say that the beach in Fortune Island is unattractive and well, quite forgettable. The long stretch of coarse and pebbly shore is littered with chicken bones, shards of glass, dried up dog crap and bits and pieces of trash left by campers. Swimming in the shallow area of the beach can be a bit challenging too because it's strewn with rocks in varied sizes and texture.
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| Boat moored at the shore |
But
what it lacks in aesthetics make up for its character and overall vibe.
There is a beautiful ruin on top of the hill, which apparently is
Fortune Island's main draw. The ruined acropolis, built and eventually
abandoned by the Levistes, is reminiscent of The Parthenon in ancient
Greece. Haughty Dorian columns out in the open, perfect backdrops for
themed, and sometimes silly but fun pictorials.
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| Dorian columns |
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| Detail |
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| The columns in B&W |
Our tour organizer, the wacky Rommel of TheLittleFoxPh, shared with us as we were approaching the town of Nasugbu, the jump-off point to Fortune Island, that the island is being claimed by various parties causing some political disputes over the ownership of the island. We were told that it's currently owned by some Korean businessman and operated by local folks of Nasugbu. "You can't simply go to the island without making prior arrangements with the operators," he cautioned. Someone on the island will check your receipt. If it's not issued by authorized people, well, I assume they tell you to get your butts back to the boat and go back to the mainland.
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| People flock the columns |
I was a little brokenhearted in the summer of 2014. Before springing on a Jam Liner bus in Cubao for a long road trip down south, I posted a rather bitter status on Facebook ("I'm going to the beach and I'll forget about you, b*tch") to let everyone know how sullen I was but of course, nobody cared even if it was a finely crafted line, or so I thought. The beach I was referring to was Cagbalete, an island off Mauban in the province of Quezon.
It was going to be a long bus ride, my travel companions had cautioned but I didn't really mind. I was going to sleep anyway. When you're seated next to someone who had lots of stories to share, sleeping was simply hard to come by. My bus mate and I ended up talking about work and career and everything in between all the way to Lucena. We managed to steal a few minutes of sleep before the bus halted at a quiet terminal in Lucena.
We arrived quite early. Buses bound for Mauban didn't start operating before 5AM. So we waited. It pained us to wait, so we asked around to see if there were other alternative means of getting to Mauban without waiting for the bus. I don't remember how we got the jeepney that was willing to take us to Mauban though I recall sneaking away from the terminal and finding the jeepney parked at a gasoline station. We split the fare with a group of Cagbalete-bound travelers we found at the terminal. Slick.
The dawn had just broken. The sun began to peek over a sea of clouds.
Panting, huffing and puffing like a dog, I made a sprint to the top to catch
the rising sun, dodging fellow trekkers along the trail who were equally eager
to see the most-awaited moment and the highlight of the trek: the sunrise. It's
going to be magical and dramatic. I was going to play that scene on my head
over and over again.
Once I reached the top, I realized that I was alone. There was no familiar
face on a sea of strangers, save for this one guy who's also part of the group
I was in for this Pulag trek. I started to worry. Who's going to take a photo
of me with the sea of clouds in the background - proof that I have indeed
scaled the summit of Pulag victoriously? I spotted a group of tour guides
huddled on a slope and asked the one with the most genial-looking face. His
friends giggled and teased him as he
fiddled with my camera. The shots were not bad. I thanked him and looked for a
nice spot where I could concentrate. I needed to take it all in.
I thought about that sad, heartbreaking short story I read when I was in
college. It's about a couple who decided to spend a day in Mt. Pulag before
going their separate ways. They reminisced painful memories and they shared
bittersweet reveries. In the end, they parted ways. It's devastating.
The desire to watch the sunrise in Mt. Pulag was fueled by that story. The
author's descriptions on the sea of clouds were simply captivating, I have
since wanted to go hiking in Mt. Pulag. Written by one of my favorite local
writers, Eli Guieb, the story entitled 'Kasal' (Wedding) won first prize in
Carlos Palanca Awards. Even before seeing pictures of Pulag online, I've long
imagined how beautiful it would be to watch the sun rise on top of the mountain
with the one you love by your side.
Friends would ask what my ideal date was and I would nonchalantly say, an
overnight camping in Pulag. The love of my life and I will hold hands while we
trek, smile at each other while we pitch our tent and kiss passionately while
we watch the sun rise.
As you would probably have realized by now, I didn't climb Pulag with the
person I love. But the trek - wait, this is going to be mushy - was born out of
love. It's true what they say that when you love something, you defy the odds
just to get or do the thing you love. And for me - well, in this context - that
simply means braving a 9-hour road trip from Manila to the Ranger's Station,
3-hour trek from the jump-off point to the camp and another one to reach the
summit. Once you're up there, you'll forget how cold it was inside the tent or
how sore your legs were. What you'll remember, probably for the rest of your
life, is how great it feels to be up there.
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A few months ago, making our way around Kapitolyo in Pasig looking for the inconspicuous Kanto Freestyle Breakfast, we asked a random trike driver if he was familiar with the restaurant. Without batting an eyelash, he pointed us the block at the corner of the intersection. We thought he was taking "Kanto" as kanto. You know, the Filipino term for street corner. Since all cities in the metro have a kanto, asking for it without being clear about it is as tedious as it can get. We ended up eating at a different restaurant.
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| Traffic free in Kapitolyo |
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| Hanging plants on the gate |
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| Tables are always occupied during the busy hours |
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| Straightforward menu |
I've been to Kanto's branch in Mandaluyong a few times before when our office was still in Makati. Seeing the new branch in Kapitolyo set inside a residential garage converted into a dine-in restaurant, I couldn't help making some comparisons. The original Kanto Freestyle branch has tables and chairs set up practically along the sidewalk whereas the Kapitolyo branch has them cramped inside a garage space, though it still maintains this neighborhood feel and homey vibe which is palpable in its home in Mandaluyong. There's also a lot of shade in Kapitolyo, thanks to the big tree just outside the gate.
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| Customers waiting for their turn |
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| Photos that chronicle Kanto's humble beginnings |
What the Kapitolyo branch has that the old branch doesn't are those framed bywords and motto hanging on the walls. If you ask me however, the place is better off without them.
The quality and taste of food as well as the service remain the same. Here are some of the food we ordered.
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| French toast with bacon and eggs (90) |
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| Ready for a full meal |
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| Food stall |
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| Lotus with egg |
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| Vegetables come aplenty |
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| Dragon fruit |
El Nido
El Nido Revisited
El Nido Series
El Nido Tour A: There and Back Again
Saturday, March 08, 2014Ryan Mach
El Nido is love at first sight. After seeing and experiencing
some of its islands, I fell irrevocably in love with it. It's one of
those places that I'd gladly come back time and time again. The fact
that I went there twice within a relatively short interval speaks volume
of how much I love it. You see, I spent my birthday in El Nido in
January of 2013. Three and a half months later, I once again found
myself traversing the long road north of Puerto Princesa aboard an
air-conditioned bus, my heart throbbing with excitement. To put it
romantically, I was back in the arms of love. And oh, I was happy!
The trip was a little different the second time around but
it was sweeter nonetheless especially that I was with friends, who added a new
dimension and layer to the experience. When we planned our Palawan
getaway back in
January, I made it straight and clear to them that I'd be spending 3
whole days in El Nido which means I'd be skipping the Underground River
Tour. They were cool about it, although I sensed some disagreement that
stemmed from the fact that the trip was supposed to be group getaway -
and there I was doing my own thing.
On Day 1, I was practically alone in El Nido.
My friends arrived at 3 in the morning the next day, tired and already
sun-tanned. They complained rather enthusiastically about the awfully
long trip from Puerto Princesa. We'd wake up from time to time, only to find out that we're still on the road,
they told me. Spooked out after hearing a story from fellow
passengers about mishaps on the road, i.e, bus windows getting busted
from stones hurled by unknown perpetrators. "We were asked if we were
carrying illegal mangoes!" one of them blurted out,
eliciting laughter from everyone. I advised them to catch up on
their sleep. Room was rather small for five people but it had a working
A/C. We all conked out and got up at seven in the morning. There was
ample time to take shower and apply sunblock. By eight, we were ready to
head down to the beach for the day's tour but not after taking a
breakfast.
They were keen about spending less while in
El Nido so they only had home-made sandwich for breakfast. I couldn't
even coerce them to eat with me at Art Cafe.
Instead, they watched me eat as they applied
sunblock deliberately. I turned a deaf ear when they made a comment
about my being a spendthrift. It hurt a little but the bacon tasted
great. I argued by telling
them I had a tummy issue and that I needed to eat well. Offered them
some bacon, they refused.
It was already a quarter past 8 when we left Art Cafe
and walked along the narrow pathway leading to the Northern Inn office
where we're gently whisked off to the front beach to wait until the boat
was
ready for boarding.
Island hopping tours in El Nido can sometimes be a
waiting game. Some start at exactly 9AM, others leave a little late.
Like ours. Well, the delay was mainly due to our tour mates who came a few
minutes past nine.
The boat weaseled its way out amidst a
tangle of boats parked closely to one another. A crew of four introduced
themselves, and Dude, our guide started the tour by giving us a little history on El Nido.
