What was supposed to be a two day exploration of a new island turned into a 24 hour whirlwind. At that time, Typhoon Basyang was in the southern part of the Philippines, and even though we were far from the Typhoon and safe, we were feeling the effects from it. Our ferry ride from El Nido to Coron was cancelled due to high winds and heavy rain, so we had to rearrange our travel plans for the next two days. We had to seek out new bookings and at the same time cancel existing reservations. We ended up staying in El Nido for an extra night and headed to Coron on the ferry in the early AM. We got to the port around 4am and it was an unorganized madhouse, as hundreds of people were dealing with the same travel problems. I was freaking out quite a bit because I thought we were going to be stranded for another night. Thankfully we were able to get on the ferry and we were off to Coron. The ferry ride was comfortable and smooth and calmed my nerves. Four hours later we finally arrived to Coron Island.
We arrived to town around 11am after disembarking from our ferry and retrieving our luggage. We were able to book a last minute room at a place called Patrik & Tezz Guesthouse right off the main access road of Coron-Busuanga. The guesthouse was a small wooden structure raised on stilts that sat above the water overlooking the Coron Harbor. It had only 6 rooms and a shared bathroom for all the guests to use. This was definitely not Cadlao Resort, but it was one of the only bookings available as we scrambled to find a place to stay last minute. The owner was great with communication and was very understanding. They actually stayed on site but unfortunately, we missed them during our stay.
We tried to take a nap but it was blazing hot with no air conditioning in our room. The small oscillating fan just wasn’t cutting it. The completely open window didn’t help as we could hear everything outside. The manual flush of the commode from the next building over wasn’t the most ideal sound to listen to over and over again. This wasn’t exactly what we had in mind for our stay, but at that point we were just thankful to have accommodations. After a short rest, we were back on our feet. We now had less than a day to explore Coron.
The town was beautiful. It was a lot slower than El Nido, not as congested. It had a homier feel to it. The tropical essence of El Nido was now replaced by lush green mountain peaks, more similar to the what we would see back on the east coast in the States. We wandered down to Bayside Plaza in what looked like an abandoned park. We decided to sit on a bench and take in the expansive views of the harbor. We were the only ones there. It might have been the stressful 24 hours we had, it might have been overall travel fatigue, but we were so content with the stillness. The calmness of the Plaza was well needed and refreshing.
As you approach Coron, the first thing that you can see in the distance is a giant cross that overlooks the town. The cross sat upon the peak of Mt. Tapyas with giant Hollywood sign like letters next to it spelling out Coron. We made our way to Mt. Tapyas and what stood between us and the peak was 721 stairs that zig zagged all the way up to the top viewing area. This was the most visited tourist destination on Coron except for the island hopping tours which we were unable to partake in with our condensed schedule.
The hike up wasn’t too taxing. There were several rest points and there was not one bad view of the town. The weather was somewhat cool as it was already later in the day. It was great to get moving and some exercise. 700 feet later we made it to the top. There were endless views of the town and the surrounding island summits. Bright yellow and orange hues highlighted the partially cloudy sky as the sun fell into the mountaintops. This was supremely stunning. The beauty on top of Mt Tapyas is something I will always remember.
Our flight was early the next day so we had to get in everything we could that one night. On the way back to our guesthouse, we did stop by a few markets to check out the local vendors. The streets were quiet and peaceful, and restaurants and bars seemed to be spread out on different streets. We stopped at Get Real Bar & Restaurant, a Mexican Filipino fusion restaurant. This was an open air restaurant with modern decor and tables that allowed us to look out to the street. The food was pretty decent. We ordered Adobo Beef Nachos, a Four Cheese Quesadilla and a Chicken Adobo entree. The mix of cuisines was an innovative touch. We searched for dessert after and found Pedro’s Gelato. It was a great way to end the night and our short stay in Coron.
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