Diving in Coron

Our first stop in the Philippines landed us in Coron Town on Busuanga Island, part of the island hat of the much larger Palawan Island on the Western Coast of the Philippines.

We took an hour flight from Manila into a small airport followed by a scenic van ride into town. My favorite part was the very tiny but absurdly formal one-plane airport. We collected our luggage at the charming baggage claim, which proudly sported a wooden platform shaped to look conspicuously like a conveyer belt. The airport staff bring the luggage directly to it, through a door, often moving slowly enough to make eye contact with someone claiming their luggage and deliver it right to them. Everything about this pleases me.

Coron Town is a tiny fishing village that has seen a boom in tourism, though not for the town itself, rather for the beaches, lagoons and lakes of nearby Coron Island. We got the scoop when we asked the staff at the Sea Dive Inn (incidentally kind of a dive to stay in, but so was most of Coron Town) about where we could get in the water, fully intending to quite literally get our feet wet. One friendly waitress told us that beaches could only be reached by a boat tour (so off the island?) or a very far trike (a motorcycle with a modified aluminum shell and psychedelic painted chrome) ride to the other side of the island (wait what island are we on?) Looking out at the bay full of beckoning ocean, Alex and I sat confused, but enjoyed the hell out of the view. A second friendly hostess then explained that the “nice” beaches with the “fine, white sand” were not on this island, which had mostly rocky beaches. We found out later, with the help of some daylight and other locals, that this was code for: Coron has no functional septic system and the toilets, like the ones in our charming hotel, empty directly into the water below. Oh island life!

Coron Island sports in impressive number of blindingly beautiful nooks but no formal accommodations. It is, in fact, ancestral domain belonging to the indigenous Tagbanuas; pretty much the only people living on the island. The only way to safely land on the island is by local boat and with an invitation on one of the soft, white beaches. Each one has it’s own caretaker who lives there on the beach or just nearby in the brush. And who will delightedly scare you off if they aren’t expecting you or your kayak. However traditional some of their lifestyle, they have cell phones and they party. But that’s a different story.

Coron Town’s other main attraction, also not in the town itself, is the diving. The aftermath of WWII kindly left 11 low-depth shipwrecks, which make for fantastical dives. After 3,900 pesos (~$88) a piece, 28 checkboxes denying medical conditions and acknowledging all the ways SCUBA can kill you, a 20 minute training video (watched over breakfast) that reintroduced the ways I might die, and a 10-minute underwater test that covered what I assume are the basics: (1) Can I breath underwater without holding my breath (2) Can I put my breathing apparatus back in my mouth if I lose it behind me without freaking out and (3) Do I understand the basic hand signals (flailing counts for HELP, but is not the preferred signal).

Then we dove our first dive ever…. to a shipwreck…

Needless to say it was incredible…aside from the constant fear of making my lungs explode (the least scientific explanation of what happens if you hold your breath when diving). With Boy Alex as my safety buddy, we delighted in, amidst, and f2f (face to fin) with the fish. Below is me apologizing to the Parrot Fish for mistaking him for Boy Alex.

We dove the Skeleton Wreck and the Okikawa Maru, and then filled our bellies with a lunch of freshly caught fish, vegetable curry, and rice all prepared on the boat, topped off with watermelon for dessert. Eat all the fresh fish I can? I accept your challenge Palawan.

In the afternoon, we took a break to commune with fishees a little less formally. Is there anything more magical than in-your-face life? We can’t think of anything.

Coming back on the boat in the afternoon, I found myself basking in the beer and the background. The land here gets the coveted AlexCubed Screen Saver Award.

Then BAM! There it is, the awareness. I’m in the Philippines. With my love. Flapping my pink hair in the breeze and having my toes licked by the smooth warmth of the waves. Holy shit. I love my life.

For better travel advice in Coron than I gave try Coron travel