Take Me...

...to the beach! 

ESCAPE

Your gentle touch

   Your hums and whispers

I crave.

My soul's serenity

    My mind's tranquility

You pave.

Your warm nice glow

    Your comforting heat

I miss.

Take me now

   In your embrace

Oh sweet ocean's bliss.

Read More

The Coron Island Tour - Part II

Coron / Busuanga has become one of my earmarked vacation places. The crystal clear waters, the flourishing flora and fauna -- it is really a great place to relax. I have previously blogged about the first part of our Coron Island Tour which happened on the second day of our trip. For the first part of this tour, please click here.

Our next stop was the seven islands known as the Siete Pecados. I have a vague memory of these islands; I remember back in 2000, when ship travel was still the more common way of transport from Bacolod to Manila, this was included in the route and I often counted these seven islands.

According to Andrew, our tour guide, Siete Pecados means seven sisters. Based on a legend, there were seven sisters who left home on a stormy night and were never found.  Their family seached and searched to no avail. One day, their parents prayed to the gods to let them see their daughters once again. Days after, these seven islands sprouted out of nowhere. 

So that's how the story unfolded and became part of the local history.

Anyway, going back to the trip -- the following pictures portray the seven islands. I wasn't able to bring a camera with a lens that is wide enough to take a picture of all the seven islands together so please bear with me.

Read More

The Coron Island Tour - Part I

"The newt play the flute, The carp play the harp, The plaice play the bass, And they soundin' sharp The bass play the brass, The chub play the tub, The fluke is the duke of soul. The ray he can play, The ling's on the strings, The trout's rocking out, The blackfish she sings, The smelt and the sprat, They know where it's at, And oh, that blowfish blow! Ha-ha" - Sebastian, The Little Mermaid

A lot of people who I have talked to seemed to be pretty curious with our Coron trip. I think people have been wanting to go but some might have thought that Coron is only for divers because it is, in fact, very popular with its wreck and reefs dive spots. Truth be told, this was also my hesitation at first, but to set the record straight, this island is for everyone who wants to relax and have a good time. For beach-lovers, this place is heaven.

On our second day at Coron, we have decided to go on an island tour. It was only practical for us to get the package offered by El Rio. The itinerary was: Barracuda Lake, Kayangan (for some, it's Cayangan) Lake, Siete Pecados and Maquinit Hot Springs. Looking at several tours offered by the resort, there still seems to be a lot of places which we could have gone to such as the Calauit Safari Farm, Culion and several other islands. But due to lack of time, we settled with the Coron Loop Tour instead.

Boats for the tours leave the Coron wharf. There are several tours leaving towards the different scenic spots the whole day.

On the way to Barracuda Lake.

Read More

El Rio Y Mar: Simply Paradise Part II

I would not tire of saying this again, but I have fallen in love with Coron. Or shall I say, I have fallen in love with El Rio Y Mar.

I have already written about the kinds of accommodation that you can avail if you are considering this lovely resort. If you haven't seen that post, click here.

So now, I will walk you through the remaining amenities and activities which you can enjoy at the resort.

The Library

Even if there was no TV set in our room, I really did not run out of things to do. And quite useful was their library which featured quite a selection -- they even had a Murakami! There were board games as well such as Scrabble, Pictionary, Taboo, chess and backgammon.

Read More

El Rio Y Mar: Simply Paradise Part I

"Take me somewhere I can breathe, I've got so much to see, this is where I want to be in a place I can call mine." - Pure Shores, All Saints 

I've always loved the beach. I do not know what draws me to it -- maybe it is the scorching heat of the sun (I never really liked the cold), the sound of the waves crashing on the shore or simply the feeling that when you are at it, you have all the excuses in the world to bum and laze around. Yes, maybe this is why I love beaches so much.

So when I had the chance to finally visit Coron, I chose El Rio Y Mar, a nice little island hidden somewhere far away from the town proper.

Read More

Chronicling Coron

Disclaimer: The past four days that I have been out of civilization made me realize one thing -- posting photos of the places I go to may not be enough. Why? Because my short-term memory is as crappy as ever. So kindly indulge me as I chronicle important things through some words and a little "photography"..

Date: November 22 - 25, 2012. 
Itinerary: Coron, Busuanga. 
Event: Edzel's Birthday. 

I love the beach.That is the word that would immediately pop into my mind when you say vacation. Beach = vacation. 

So for Edzel's birthday, I got ourselves a vacation to Coron, Busuanga. I booked a flight through Air Philippines on the day of Edzel's birthday - November 22. Flight schedule was at 13:50 so there was a lot of time to goof around.

AirPhil Express leaves for Busuanga at the Terminal 3 Airport.

It only took roughly an hour from Manila to Busuanga. Despite my paranoia for propeller planes, we safely arrived at the Francisco Reyes Airport. Did not have a very good landing though, hehe. Probably because of the really short runway.

Safe, sound and on-time.

Read More