Enchanting Coron: CYC Beach, Kayangan Lake & Maquinit Hotspring

Date: 14 November 2012
Time: 1300H

After our sumptuous lunch at Atwayan beach, Ate Isay offered to take us to CYC Beach. My fiancee and I were both happy that she brought us there even if it's not part of our tour. 

CYC beach means "Coron Youth Club" beach, many people went there especially the youth because it is surprisingly cheap, no entrance fees. You just need to bring your food, water, your friends and your picnic lunch. If you are going to eat here, be sure to bring your trash bags because the place is very clean, you may not want to leave your garbage elsewhere. By the way, there are no stores here so you better bring everything you need. 

 RAYMOND & KHAYCHELLE

My fiancee :) <3

Time: 1430H

Next destination: Kayangan Lake (Twin Lagoon was temporarily closed because of the conflict between the Government of Coron & Tagbanua Tribe (the inhabitants of the area)

Ate Isay said there are at least 13 lakes in Coron Island but only two are open to the public. The Kayangan Lake and the Barracuda Lake. We only went to the Kayangan Lake. I don't like to go to Barracuda lake because as the name implies, there are barracudas there, no water activities just sight seeing.

Entrance to Kayangan Lake

After the 10 minute trekking, we reached the view deck of the famous limestone formation Coron is famous for. This was my personal favorite. My fiancee was very happy when we reached the top. It was all worthy. We were both speechless when we were there. We just took photos and enjoyed the majestic view.

Behind the view deck was a cave

Time: 1530H

On the other side is the famous Kayangan Lake, the water there is 70% fresh water and 30% sea water. This was all about refreshment. I loved the water there. Not too warm, not too cold. Many guests loved that place as well, they considered this as a break from all the beaches they went to. 

We found needle fishes here, don't worry, they are harmless species, they just have a needle-like mouth without the sting. We also found small shrimps there and they crawled over our feet. There were small snails too. 

Whats fascinating about that place were the limestone formations underwater. They were like stairs made in a natural way. No underwater photos (dead batt) :(

Time: 1600H

Last Destination: MAQUINIT Hotspring

Have you imagined a hot spring of sea water?

It was a 15 minute boat ride from Kayangan lake. The water temperature was like 37-39C. At first, it was very painful, we never thought it would be that hot. The elderly and the Koreans loved the hot spring. It took us a few minutes before our bodies adapted to the water temperature, soon as our bodies adjusted to the heat, it became a very relaxing experience for us. I was not able to get a photo of the pool itself because we were to busy enjoying it. The warm water relaxed our tired muscles from all the swimming and the trekking we did earlier. I think that was the best hot spring experience ever. 

Entrance to Maquinit Hotspring

 Time: 1700H

Next destination: HOTEL :) 

Enchanting Coron: Twin Peaks & Atwayan Beach

Date: 14 November 2012 (Wednesday)
Time: 1200H

From Siete Pecados, we went to our next destination which is called the Twin Peaks.

It is called Twin Peaks because there are two islets. In between those islets are coral reefs with plenty of colorful fishes, big corals, and LOTS of sea urchins.

Your boat will drop you approximately 30- 50 meters from the islets depending on the sea level. It was low tide when we went there, so we have to swim farther because boats were not allowed to get near it as it may destroy the reefs.

When I first got into the water, I was pretty scared because it was so deep I can't see a thing but blue dark water. I just kept on moving until we reached the reefs. The water current made me so tired because we are going against the currents & I have to swim some more.

I enjoyed the view underwater. If I were to compare between Siete Pecados and Twin Peaks, I would say Twin Peaks is better. There were more corals, different types and sizes, more fishes of different species as well. Whats scary though were the group of  sea urchins. They were black and has long spikes. Ate Isay told us just to float on the water. Not doing so, will give you a very big chance of catching the urchins' spikes. (OUCH)

Unfortunately, there were no photos (DEAD BATT) :( 

But I could really attest that: 

Twin Peaks is better than Siete Pecados. 

Time: 1200H

The long swim made us super hungry, so Ate Isay said that we were having lunch at Atwayan beach, I was excited because I saw our viands and they were all delicious, not to mention red crabs, barbecue, ensaladang talong, and grilled fish with fresh fruits as dessert. We headed back to our boat and went to Atwayan beach.

So this is ATWAYAN Beach. Just a small beach perfect for buffet lunch, there are nipa huts there which you could rent for a very affordable price. 

Limestone formations around the area

 Oh, I love dogs :)

View from Atwayan Beach

 Our LUNCH

Pork Barbecue

Red Crabs

Grilled Fish

Ensaladang Talong

Enchanting Coron: Siete Pecados

Date: 14 November 2012
Time: 1100H

When we arrived at our hotel, shortly after I opened my luggage, someone knocked at the door, she said the van is already waiting for us. We are scheduled for the Coron Island tour. We packed our things again into a smaller bag, change our clothes and ran into the van like hell's coming for us. 

They dropped us on the boat docking area near the public market where many boats wait for their other guests.  It is an exclusive tour. So they are just five of us in the boat, my fiancee and I, Ate Isay and the two boatmen.

 This was our boat:

And our tourguide for the day, Ate Isay

 Our boatmen:

Kuya Erick

Kuya _________, (I forgot his name)

 Some views from our boat:

Coron Island

Some fishermen

The famous Sea Dive Resort & Restaurant

La Sirenetta

 Mt. Tapyas

Ate Isay shared some history about Coron and how Coron got its name. She said that it originated from the Tagbanua (inhabitants of Coron) word "korong" which means in Tagalog "kulong". Korong and time passed by, people started calling it Coron. She said that Coron is shaped like a big "palayok" or a pot. It is surrounded by groups of rock/ limestone formations. This place is rarely affected by typhoons, because the place is protected by the rock formations making the waters completely calm and not turbulent.

Our first destination is Siete Picados or "Seven Islets"

Siete Picados is considered as a marine park already. It houses fishes and corals of different kinds. We had some underwater photos of the Siete Picados, all photos were shot using OLYMPUS TOUGH TG-820.