Showing posts with label coron. Show all posts

Coron Photo Diary: CYC Island, Twin Lagoon, & Maquinit Hot Spring


This is it. This is the last and final post of my Coron Photo Diary. After a full itinerary of island hopping and activities, we ended our Coron trip with three activities: visiting CYC Island, swimming at Twin Lagoon, and relaxing at Maquinit Hot Spring.

CYC Island

CYC Island is right by Banol Beach and as I described in my previous most, the water is breathtaking. The water so clear you can see the bottom of your body that's submerged in water. CYC Island stands for Coron Youth Club Beach because it is the island Coron's youth's fancies most since it has no entrance fee, or at least that's what our tour guide told us. When our boat docked, our tour guide allowed us 40 minutes of fun on the island. My uncles decided to stay by the boat while my aunts, mom, and I took a bunch of photos by the beach.


Twin Lagoon

There are two parts to Twin Lagoon. The outer lagoon where all the boats dock has turquoise water, while the inner lagoon is deep blue and can only be seen by either walking on a ladder, or choosing to swim or raft under a cave like barrier. When it is high tide, most people use the ladder to pass the cave or dive down. Fortunately during our visit, it was low tide, so we got to swim underneath the cave. The inner lagoon is surrounded by rocks and trees.When you're in the middle of the inner lagoon, once you look up and spin around, it can get overwhelming. The rocks are so high you feel trapped inside the lagoon. Just relax.

Before I talk more about swimming in Twin Lagoon, I want to talk about showers. Have you ever taken a shower at a house where the water is warm but someone uses the toilet or the sink then suddenly your shower goes from warm and cozy to being cold? I learned at my last job that it's because the thermostatic mixing valves has a fault or a plumber didn't do the piping correctly so showers sometimes goes from warm to cold when the same water pipe is shared for different parts of the house. Now remember that unusual change of water temperature while showering, but instead of it being in the shower, you're swimming in a pool the size of a football field where the water changed from warm to cold. Swimming through Twin Lagoon feels like that. Twin Lagoon is a mixture of fresh water and salt water, therefore, the change of water temperatures. When you are swimming in the inner lagoon, one moment you will be in cold water, but in a few seconds you'll be swimming in warm water. It's unusual. It's strange. It's a mixture of hot and cold (literally). It's mother nature showing us her beautiful doing and God giving us an opportunity to experience and witness His creation.


Maquinit Hot Spring

To end our Coron activities, we visited Maquinit Hot Spring. The walk from the entrance to the hot spring pool is welcoming. There are trees surrounding the area and picnic tables and benches are built for families to set their belongings. We got to the Maquinit Hot Spring around four pm. It was perfect for us since the sun was beginning to set we didn't have to endure the sun burning our faces at the same time as our bodies were in a pool of hot water.

Maquinit Hot Spring is rare because it's a natural hot spring that is made of saltwater. I suggest going into the hot spring slowly because it is very hot, and the bottom of the pool is covered in stones. Where the hot spring ends, the beach to the ocean begins There is a bridge that's connected so people can walk on the dock. While my family took pictures in the pool, I took the opportunity to walk along the dock. Unfortunately, the ocean water isn't so clean on this end of the island so they put up barriers to prohibit anyone from going into the water. I ended up going back for another dip in the hot pool and sweat a good amount before riding a tricycle back to our home for the weekend.


I know this post is a lengthy one, but it's also the last one. Thanks for keeping up with my Coron Photo Diary. Thank you for taking the time to read through them or look through the photos if that's all you wanted to see. If you decide to go to the Philippines, Coron is an island you must visit if you're here. It's stunning! I recommend you to see the places I talked about and see how beautiful they are in person. Thanks for reading!

"Veni, Vini, Amavi." 

Coron Photo Diary: B- Floating House & Banol Beach



I met Nemo and Dory!

Hi everyone,

I was initially going to release this post and the last post of my Coron Photo Diary last week, but I had to put it on hold because I had to pack a bag to backpack across another island (those stories will be written later this week so watch out for them). This is #3 of my Coron Photo Diary. Let me tell you what happened after Kayangan Lake (read about #2 of my Coron Photo Diary here).

After visiting my Kayangan Lake, we hopped back on the boat and sailed through the ocean. We stopped in the middle of the ocean, at a place called the B-Floating House, to snorkel once more. Under the house, I saw so many fishes I didn't want to come up for air. I now understand why people love scuba diving. You don't have to come up for air with an oxygen tank behind your back (but scuba diving is one activity I have yet to cross off my bucket list). At the B-Floating house, my uncles, aunts, and mom opted out of snorkeling. The tour guide led me around the coral reef. It was just me, the tour guide, and the deep blue sea. It was then and there I met Nemo and Dory. Pretty cool seeing things in real life that I once watched in a movie. "Fish are friends, not..."

After snorkeling, we headed towards Banol Beach. I had no idea how Banol Beach looked liked prior to coming here, but let me be one to tell you that there are places that have white beaches and crystal clear blue water, and Banol beach is one of them. With a growling stomach, I had to put my hunger on a really quick hold so I could stand in the water and take it all in. Words can't even describe how gorgeous this place is and pictures definitely don't do it justice, so I'll let you see it for yourself.


 
 

Banol Beach


I know I've been posting a lot of underwater photos. Are you tired of them yet? Ha. I have so many photos and you're only getting a handful of them. Banol Beach is a sight for sore eyes. I couldn't stop looking around. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to stay there very long. It was only a pit stop for lunch so people aren't allowed to wander off for very long.

What I appreciate most about this tour is how cautious all the tour guides were. They want to preserve Coron's culture so you see everything in it's natural habitat and the indigenous people who live there in their true setting. Untouched. Natural. Beautiful.

"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature's simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard."

 

Coron Photo Diary: Kayangan Lake


Hello there!

#1 of Coron Photo Diary was for Siete Picados (read it here). This is #2 of my Coron Photo Diary, and today, I'm writing about my paradise dreams coming true at Kayangan Lake. You ever have the weird feeling when you go somewhere you never thought you'd ever see in real life? This was it for me.

When my family and I were planning Coron, the one thing I requested was to go to Kayangan Lake. I saw it all over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so it was only right that it was on our itinerary.

Kayangan Lake is just as beautiful as you see it online. The boat ride to the lake itself is gorgeous. I saw the water change from deep blue to turquoise. When the boat docked, my excitement increased ten folds and I couldn't wait to get off. Once you see the "Welcome to Kayangan Lake" sign, the adrenaline kicks in and you just want to run up the steps to see the lake itself. But you have to wait because you have to walk through a set of stairs to get there. 150 steps up. 150 steps down.


Halfway through, you'll see the signs to point you to the infamous observation deck or if you'd like, you can continue straight to the lake. If you don't take the photo at the view deck, did you really go? Of course, we waited in line and took photos. HA!
Once we finally made our way down the other set of 150 steps, we entered the actual dock of the Kayangan Lake. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Stunning. Breathtaking. You get so overwhelmed by the true beauty of it all, you really have to just stop and take a look around. (If you ever find your way there, STOP AND TAKE IT ALL IN). Whether or not you believe in anything, things of such beauty astounds me at what the world holds. In my case, it always humbles me to see items listed on my bucket list in real life. The God I believe in paints such beautiful pictures for us to see so why not enjoy them while we can? And if I did believe in reincarnation, I was definitely a mermaid or a fish in another life. ha! There's something about swimming in water that calms me (or maybe it is because I grew up swimming most of my life). We weren't allowed to swim in the lake without life vests on, but our tour guide helped me take photos underwater without getting caught. Then, I got my family to do it too. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the photos just as much as we had fun taking them.






Thanks for reading my post! If you have visited Kayangan Lake, let me know how your experience was and share your photos with me. I'd love to hear about your experience.

“I address you all tonight for who you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers.” ― Brian Selznick
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