Coron ’09
Hola chicos y chicas! It’s been four days since the hubby and I got back from our Coron trip and I’m still tired. I think it’s time to get a massage.
Before I begin my recap, let me give a shout-out to Daddy Ike and Mommy Baby who invited us on this trip. Mad props to you! 
This was our first time to travel with our Planet Dive friends. Unlike our Malapascua trip, I didn’t organize this one so there was less stress for me. All I had to do was enjoy the dives and pray the weather cooperates. I told my parents that we were going to take the Super Ferry to and from Coron so they were extremely worried (it’s been raining for the past few days). My dad even texted me this on the day of our departure, “Nakasakay na ba kayo? Masama ata ang panahon anak.” Luckily we had sunny skies in our part of the Metro so I texted him back saying, “Maaliwalas dito, Pa. Nakaalis na yung barko.”
The Ship
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say our Super Ferry experience was a 7. Our cabins were adequate but the food was so-so. Best part of the meal for me was the chocolate cake cos, you know, chocolate. The ship was also late. We left Manila at 5:45pm when we were supposed to leave at 4:00; then again at Coron, the ship arrived past 11pm so we were only able to board around midnight when in fact we should have left the pier at 10:45pm. Then there was the case of the toilet that won’t flush which TB did not take lightly. But that’s a story for another day.
The Dives
Day 1: Gunter’s Cathedral and Barracuda Lake
Gunter’s was a 2-part dive. First part was a cavern dive where we had to enter through a tiny crack on the floor then go up to the limestone chamber. We were able to take a look at the reefs outside the cavern since we still had a lot of air left.
The Barracuda Lake dive was…eventful. Haha! This lake is pretty unusual not only because there’s only one barracuda in residence, but also because it’s both a fresh and salt water lake. You have to climb for about 5-6mins to get to the lake. When you get in the water, the temperature from the surface to about 39ft is around 28C but once you hit 40ft the temperature rises to about 38C. The change in temperature creates a thermocline so when you’re above 40ft there’s good visibility but below 40ft the water becomes blurred (or “blarred” heehee!). The temperature goes back to 28C around 50ft-60ft, if I’m not mistaken. The jagged limestone walls underwater were magnificent to behold.
Day 2: Akitsushima, Okikawa, and Olympia Maru
shot line/buoy
Day 2 was all about wreck diving. For a brief history of the sites, visit Coron Wrecks. During the briefing our dive master, Ron, instructed us to show proper respect to the sites and remember that people died here.
I think the wreck dives were slightly frustrating for our DMs. There was a basic difference in the DMs’ goals and the divers’ goals. The DMs wanted to just take us in and around wrecks, we wanted to take pictures. It’s not that they were extremely strict or wimpy, they just wanted to follow the dive plan. I also think that for them, it doesn’t matter if you’re advanced or not; when you have half a tank (1700psi for them) of air left, even if you’re only at 60ft and you still want to look around and take pictures, you have to start heading back to the surface. The one thing I can say about our DM though is that he knows his dive site and dive plan. When he says “when we exit the wreck we should have 4mins before deco,” we will literally have 4mins to deco as we exit the wreck.
Conclusion
All in all, I really enjoyed the whole trip. I got to go to Palawan, meet new people, and do different kinds of diving.
For pictures or videos, go to my Facebook page or Multiply site.
Top-Bottom, L-R: Joel, DMs Mike & Ron, Boni, DM Martha, Baby, Anton, Me, Phoebe, Joy, Jean, Paolo, Ike
I will leave you with my favorite story from the trip as told by Thad. He’s a teacher at one of the culinary schools in Manila. It’s just too funny to pass up.
Conversation after Chef Thad tells his students to get lukewarm water.
Student: “Sir, ano po iyon?”
Thad: “Hindi nyo alam?! Punta kayo sa 7-eleven o sa Mini-Stop bili kayo dun.”
Student: “Sir, magkano po kaya yun?”
