Day 1 in Coron

I was  recently invited by my friend Sarita to spend six glorious days in her hometown of Coron in Palawan. Naturally, I did not refuse. I had long wanted some rest and recreation and this was the perfect opportunity. I found myself on a Bombardier with my friends flying off to Busuanga at 1:45 in the afternoon.

The  Calamianes group of islands

The Calamianes group of islands comprises about 160 little green masses of land with incredible white -sand beaches, excellent dive spots, colorful sea creatures and crystal clear water you would want to dip into at all hours of the day.

Sunset at the port

The minute we walked into the door of her well-appointed ancestral home, Lia, Sarita's sister welcomed us and showed us our accommodations. The home was warm and inviting with groups of furniture in wood just asking for casual conversation. 

the Jovellanos' home

We spent a couple of hours getting a load off and then Lia invited us to visit the family-owned resort. Sarita, Fides, Joy, June, Tom and myself packed into the pick-up truck driven by Lia and we drove to Maquinit to luxuriate in sulfuric hot-spring pools that drained off into the ocean. The resort is popular among tourists who frequent the resort specially in the afternoons until ten in the evening to relax in its soothing hot waters and give their skin a good algae treatment.

Maquinit Hot Springs Resort

When we were about to doze off from the springs, we were dragged off to have dinner at Santino's Grill where we feasted on fresh seafood, lato ( a type of seaweed) salad with salted eggs and barbequed meat and chicken.

Tuna Kinilaw

Tuna Salpicao

Fully sated, we went back to Sarita's home for cups of coffee and conversation amidst raucous laughter. Then we all went to sleep after a long day of travel and discovery. The next few entries will be filled with more photos as Coron is such a magical place filled with ecological wonders. Sometimes words would not be enough to describe it. Photos will be more appropriate. Look at some of the photos and see for yourself. Don't you wish you came along?