Our Adventures: Coron: Day 3

Traveling in the early morning we were met by a breathtaking landscape. 

Day 3 of our Coron Adventures, we set out really early in the morning-as in like 4:00 AM and this was because we were going to Calauit Island which was about a 2 hour boat ride. We road on a fast boat. 

It was really dark when we set out, it was pitch black and you could not even see your hand in front of you. 

My husband asked the boatmen 'How do you navigate in the dark?' Our guide answered that the captains used the stars, landmarks and mountains. Although that was not entirely reassuring, we put our faith in our guides and the captain of the boat. 

Trying out Black and White to capture the scenery. 

The early morning air was very cold and unfortunately I did not really pack any windbreakers, jackets or sweaters. It was a good thing Dexter brought an extra windbreaker or else I would have lost my teeth chattering from the cold. 

As the sun rises...

God is such an amazing artist. 

Golden sunrise

We shared a great breakfast of coffee with hotdog, eggs and bread. It was an amazing experience to be eating while being in a boat ride while the sun was rising in the east. 

The coffee that they served us was the instant coffee - Nescafe Brown and Creamy and Paul is actually a dark type of coffee guy but he really liked the Brown and Creamy variation and now he gets a whole pack of 3 in 1 sachets when we go out for grocery. 

Writing notes in my iPhone while having a warm cup of coffee. 

Calauit Island is located in the Northwestern coast of Palawan, it is said to be at the very edge of the Philippines' territory in the West. 

Crossing the bridge to get to the island. Underneath the bridge you can see so many fish! At first you would not even think that they were fish since they were so many! 

In 1977 the island was declared as a game preserve and wildlife sanctuary, this was a response to an appeal that was made by the IUCN or the International Union of Conservation of Nature to save endangered animals because of wars in Africa.

A story goes that it was only then, President Marcos who answered the call to house animals from war-torn Africa. It is also said that Calauit Island was chosen since it was far away from other islands- at the edge even of Philippine territory and being isolated would help keep the animals safe from any outbreak that could happen.

One of the island's local giraffes. 

The animals on the island is placed under the Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary where they can live with little intervention from humans. They are not like animals in zoos where they are placed in cages or enclosed spaces, the animals on Calaluit island are free and they can roam on their own.

Initially there were 8 species of animals that were brought from Kenya, Africa. These animals were: giraffes, zebras, impaas, waterbucks, bushbacks, gazelles, elands and topis. They lived with a few endemic Philippine animals like the Calamian and mouse deer, bear cat, Palwan peacock pheasant, sea turtles and Philippine crocodiles. Only 5 of the original 8 species from Kenya survived. 

The African animals that live here today are actually already 4th generation of the original animals that traveled here from Africa. A lot of research was done before the animals were transferred-lots of endemic plants that could be harmful to the African animals were removed in order to mimic Africa's environment. 

It is interesting to note that giraffes that were born in the Philippines are shorter than their African cousins-this is also noted since Philippine born giraffes have less number of bones in their back bone. 

Upon arriving on the island you will see that there is a posted sign of the different fees; these includes entrance fees, filming fees, educational tours, research etc. 

Camping is also offered on the island. 

It should also be noted that the island needs the support from visitors and tourists as it is not cheap to maintain and take care of the animals and their environment. Any donation that can be made would greatly help the island and its inhabitants. 

Only the giraffes on the island have names, our guide, Kuya Orland says that part of giraffe practices is that the males court the females for 15-17 months and during the courting period they would isolate themselves from the rest of the group. 

Eye makeup: Giraffes can be mistaken to be wearing eyeliner and mascara. :p They are also teary-eyed. 

A giraffe calf can be as tall as 6 feet. The favorite food of the giraffes on the island is bakawan, which is a kind of mangrove. Out of 24 hours in a day- giraffes only sleep for 2 hours-they spend the rest of the day eating :p 

Kuya Orland lovingly feeding one of the giraffes. He knows all of them by name. 

Close encounter of the giraffe kind.

One of the highlights of visiting Calauit Island is being able to feed giraffes. All you have to do is to hold on to the branch of the plants that they like to eat and they will approach you and eat from the very branch you are holding. The trick is to hold on to the branch since after biting of from the branch the giraffes would pull-and they can be really strong. A 90 pound person like me could easily be lifted off the safari truck! :p 

The pictures here-show me as smiling and seemingly having a great time but there are photos that show me as being really scared and I admit that I was- I was being paranoid that the giraffe would lick me or bite me or something. :p 

Definitely one of the better photos but an experience I will never forget.

Paul's turn to feed the giraffes.

There is even a trick known as 'kissing the giraffe' it is basically placing a small branch in your mouth and having the giraffe take it from your mouth. Unfortunately we were not brave enough to try that. Although, our companion Teresa was. :) 

Paul- wanting his own share of leaves. 

A tender moment with the giraffe and I think they like being pet :p 

I'm watching you.

Another interesting animal on the island are the Zebras. Zebras can be identified through the stripes around their shoulders- each set of stripes (on the shoulders) are unique- sort of like a fingerprint. 

At the watering hole.

While drinking at the watering hole, the other members of the group would stay alert and look out for predators (even if there are none on the island). Sometimes they would even have their backs against each other just to make sure that no predator would surprise them. It is amazing to think that even if they grew up in an island with relatively no danger or other predators they still carry with them basic instincts that have been passed down from generations. 

There was a family of cute porcupines that were under a log- we had to disturb them from under their log for them to come out. They were so cute! The guides gave them some bamboo to eat and it was hilarious to see them quarrel over the bamboo shoots. (They can be pretty greedy). 

My bamboo! 

My precioussss....

There were also other animals in the island although they were in a confined set-up. 

A lone giraffe in its' natural habitat.

After our Calaluit safari we were scheduled to have lunch on Black Island which was a few minutes boat ride from Calaluit Island. 

Arriving on Black Island. 

Walking towards the hut where we will be having lunch. 

Lobsters for lunch! It was our first time to eat lobsters-definitely won't  be the last!

Black Island and the Pink Slipper

We were scheduled to have our lunch in the Black Island, and this would be a very memorable island for me because as I was having my photo taken by Paul (see image above) my slipper was taken away by the waves :( 

Paul and I panicked and the UV filter of the camera got wet! :((

I had to go through the rest of our trip wearing only one slipper :( 

A lot of people have said that there is something mysterious about Black Island and I would not doubt that for a second. 

A spider in the hut

After lunch we had a short siesta- since we did get up at 2AM. It was a very peaceful and relaxing nap in the beach and definitely recharged us. Paul saw this huge spider at the back of the hut and couldn't resist taking photos. Check out the web! 

After our nap, we went deeper inside black island and went inside a cave where there was a pool inside. I took a dip in the pool although the water was cold, our guide Dexter advised us not to drink the water since we had no idea where it came from. 

Inside the cave.

After our trip inside the cave, we left black island (and my pink slipper) and went out to our snorkeling destinations: (Coral garden and the Japanese sunken shipwreck) you can see our underwater photos below. 

Heading back. One of our guides at the end of the boat as we head back to the town. 

Newly made bed with fresh towels in a cute kissing swan position! :) 

After a long day out- we decided to just eat in the resort (which turned out to be a good idea since there was a black out that night). 

Sunz en Coron in the evening. Love the lights in the pool. 

Sunz en Coron's Baby back ribs.

I've read in blogs that the baby back ribs in Sunz en Coron was good so this is what we ordered. What I didn't know was that since it was Korean styled baby back ribs is was a bit spicy- too spicy for my taste actually but Paul loved it. 

Underwater Photos

Coral Garden 

We toured with an American couple who really travel around the world in order to snorkle and discover beautiful places. They've been to Fiji and Mexico and they really take this snorkeling business seriously. They had their own snorkeling gear and they had their things in ziplock bags, their underwater camera came with an orange buoy so it wouldn't sink in the bottom of the ocean. :P 

They've raved about the beautiful things that they have seen underwater during their trip in Palawan, even saying (more than once) that Coron is the best place they've snorkled in. It has also helped that it has been one of the warmest waters they've swam in. 

The places we've snorkled in during our stay in Coron had so much life, there were so many different kinds of fish you'd loose count if you even attempted to count them. The fishes came in so many bright and different colors. Some of them even came in metallic colors while other fishes shifted in color as the sunlight reflected on them. 

I was wearing bright pink nail polish and the fish would be curious and they would go near my fingers but once they realized my fingers were not food they would swim away. 

Japanese Sunken Shipwreck (Lusong Gunboat)

One of the coolest things we did (and there were a lot) was to snorkle around a Japanese sunken ship wreck. It was sooooo cool! :) I mean this was a WWII Japanese vessel submerged in our waters and I got the opportunity to see it! 

When you arrive at the site of the wreck you can easily make out the structure and of course the inside of the wreck was deep and dark; you will see that the wreck was already overgrown with so many corals, making the shipwreck home to hundreds and thousands of fishes. One of our American companions said that it was 'the best use of a military vessel' she has ever seen-to be overgrown with corals, that is. 

I really wanted to touch the wreck; imagine posting on Facebook or tweeting: I touched a Japanese sunken Shipwreck today' although Dexter didn't advice it since the wreck probably had rust and of course since I could cut myself. (Booo!!! :( ) So I had to be satisfied with posting/tweeting: I swam near a Japanese sunken shipwreck today. 

Coron is known as having the most Japanese sunken shipwrecks. We went to the one that was most shallow- the Lusong guboat. 

When we arrived at the site, there were even Korean divers who were getting ready to explore the site. Maybe next time, Paul and I would be able to explore more of the ship (and other ships) and of course the thousands of fish that call it home. 

Dexter's Secret Hotsprings 

Dexter was very excited to show us this 'secret' hotsprings that he discovered with his friends. Going to the hotsprings you have to go through a mangrove and you can already feel the warm water as you are approaching. During high tide the water would be near the top of the trees. We had to snorkel to get through since there were still corals. 

Entering the island through an amazing mangrove 

Warming up in the secret hotsprings with Teresa and Ken. 

Underwater photo of fish under the mangroves. 

It was definitely an eventful day and one that had so many memories for me. :) Definitely loving Coron! :) Watch out for Day 4 of our Coron Adventures! :)