THE COLORS OF CORON
can get good deals on cashew nuts like 100g for R100. Over the past two visits, I have started to favor the baked and brittle variants.
Mount Tapyas is best visited either at sunset or sunrise, so time your arrival at the peak to coincide with those times. Since the climb is 721 steps, with some steps being steeper and higher than others, this is not to be undertaken lightly, especially if you’re not prepared. A typhoon welcomed us on the first day, so we had to postpone the trip to another day. But on a clear sunny day, the views of Coron from the top are not to be missed. And they make for excellent profile or cover pictures to boot. Tip: Go to the back once you arrive on top for a different background (the rolling hills there remind you of Bohol or New Zealand).
Since Maquinit Hot Spring does not allow entry beyond 8 p.m., make sure you arrive at least an hour beforehand so you have enough time to enjoy the free flowing hot mineral pool, rich in salt water. The volcanically heated water goes up to 40 celsius (it springs from the ground) and if you know where to sit, makes for an excellent back or foot massage. For optimal results, stay 15 minutes at a time before coming back into the water. You can bring in food and drinks and enjoy a relaxed time with friends in the covered cottages.
Saint Augustine Parish Church has a different feel when night falls because the colorful ceiling and front of the church are simply breathtaking. Schedule your stop here as soon as night falls so that you catch it at the best time. Use the front camera on your phone, shoot a selfie of the ceiling.
On my last Coron visit, Sophia’s Garden Resort partner restaurant in the city had not opened yet. This time, I finally got to try Viewdeck Grill House. Located on the third floor, it offers the best views of any restaurant in Coron. It’s outdoor area lends you the perfect island dining vibe. The menu, once again prepared by Chef Janjie who is also known as “Lakwatserong Kusinero,” is a good mix of Western, Continental, and Asian dishes. We had pastry-covered tomato, herb and cream cheese soup and cream of mushroom cheese soup, classic style buffalo wings, baked shepherd’s pie, wrapped signature chicken ensiladas, country-style fried chicken, assorted grilled platter of meats and seafood, topped off with cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert.
Go on a safari. We had to set aside at least half a day for the Calauit Sanctuary tour, but in order to maximize our stay, this meant leaving at the crack of dawn. El Comidor prepares breakfast that you can take with you and eat at the docking pier going to Calauit. It’s the perfect arrangement since travel by land in a shuttle van from Sophia’s takes at least two hours.
Amika’s tour guide, in this case, Jonel Vergara, helps arrange everything up to the crossing via motorized bangka to the sanctuary where an inhouse guide associated with the sanctuary takes over. The crossing takes 15 minutes and unless you absolutely need it, leave your bag behind or stuff everything into a waterproof bag.
That’s because when you are in Calauit, you have to be prepared to get wet and step on a lot of animal poop. There are no enclosures for the animals that are herbivores so their poop is basically everywhere. I highly recommend wearing sneakers or FitFlops. We got a quick briefing before we walked into the sanctuary proper. Within minutes, we had our first giraffe encounter. Our guide pointed out that giraffes are among the most elegant animals. As they glide past me, meters away, I could not agree more.
Calauit used to host animals that came from the plains of Africa in the ’70s. Once the caretakers figured out how to get the animals to mate (you have to have your guide explain this), the island started getting populated by what is known as island-born animals descended from the first crop of African animals. All of the original animals from Africa have died and only island-born ones remain. Essentially, Calauit is your slice of Africa in the Philippines.
Giraffes in all sizes and of all ages start walking past us. It is best to keep your distance because a kick from a giraffe can cause serious bodily harm. All of the giraffes have names and you’ll soon learn the difference between male and female giraffes based on their neck patterns.
Calauit is probably the only area in the country where you can safely feed a giraffe in its most natural setting. There is a designated area for feeding. This is as close as you can get to a giraffe and with some patience, you can snap photos that look like you are hugging the giraffe, even giving it a kiss.
They are known as browsers, that is, they like to snap tree branches using their powerful tongues, drop these to the ground as they spread their legs, and start to eat. Their eating behavior is also the reason the trees are shaped the way they are.
Among the giraffes, zebras, which are grazers, roam the grasslands. By this time, you will quickly spot the difference between giraffe and zebra poop. Again, it’s best to keep a safe distance from the zebras, although we were able to get within a foot or so with nothing major happening. Zebras are black colored animals with white stripes, as our guide points out. The blacker zebras are males while the less black ones are females.
While salt in the African desert is plentiful, the Calauit grasslands don’t have that luxury. Instead, the caretakers put out Himalayan Pink Salt blocks which the zebras lap up every so often. We also learn that zebras are very clique-ish, as they don’t tend to mix well even among themselves.
While there are more animals inside the sanctuary—an 18-foot python that is in a cage, elands, waterbucks, bearcat, Calamian deer, Palawan bearded pig, crocodiles, porcupines, mouse deer, monkeys, and an eagle—we spent most of our time with the zebras and giraffes.
After half a day with the animals, and just soaking in the landscape and nature, you are guaranteed to have a renewed respect for Mother Earth. Because of the typhoon—it was zero visibility—we had to cut short the island explorations to Black Island, Sangat Coral Garden, and Islusong Gunboat for snorkeling and swimming, which were part of the tour package.
That left us with time to enjoy Sophia’s pool and jacuzzi amenities instead. Swimming as well as enjoying a hot tub in the pouring rain has a different and unique appeal all in its own and we are glad we got to experience that.
Chef Janjie has traveled to all but three of the 81 Philippine provinces so his finale dinner feast, served gourmet boodle-style, was something we were all looking forward to because we knew it would be influenced by that. He did not disappoint and left us all wanting to come back, soon. His take on seafood kare-kare is best enjoyed with a generous helping of the kare-kare sauce and lots of rice. If you are on a diet, forget it. Like the first trip, where I first tried Chef Janjie’s special bagoong sauce cooked in coconut (it’s so good, you want to bring it with you), this not-so-secret sauce was now part of the dinner.
Because the rains basically kept at it, the sinabawang manok sa tanglad proved to be a comfort dish. The roasted beef caldereta was cooked to the right tenderness as well. A Filipino feast is never truly complete without grilled liempo and instead of the usual canton, we were served crispy canton. We had some vegetables, too: ensaladang talong and okra with salted egg, which also went really well with chef’s bagoong sauce cooked in coconut.
Of the two desserts—fried turon ala mode topped with cashews and maja blanca—the latter proved to be everyone’s favorite. You can eat up to five and still not have enough.
So the next time you find yourself with three days and two nights vacation, Coron should definitely be top of your list. It’s an island paradise with so much to offer and whether you like beaches, mountains, animals, the sea, or just nature in all its virgin glory, Coron really has it all. And while you may want to capture all of its colors and beauty with your camera, your best memories of it are kept in your mind and heart.