Our group met at the Manila Airport and got acquainted in person, rather than on a Zoom Video.
Coron is part of the Province of Palawan, which is that long strip of islands on the far west (left) side of the Philippines. To the right and down a bit on the map is a 'heart', and that is usually where i start my adventures, and when i stay with my friends Kevin, Nadia, and Viana.
i’ve never been to this part of the Philippines. It’s further away from where i normally am, and known to be quite touristy. It is known for its thousands of secluded giant rock islands that jut out of the ocean randomly, with beautiful beaches. It is not known for Muck Diving, and i knew this. But this was an opportunity to see something new. View from the plane, the islands go on forever! Mostly uninhabited.
We were scheduled to spend 5 days in Coron. I wasn’t sure what we would be doing. I didn’t know that this part of Palawan is known for its Wreck Diving.
From Wikipedia: On 24 September 1944, a squadron of 24 Helldiver bombers burst out of the sky above Coron Bay in the Philippines, located the Japanese supply fleet hiding among the islands below, and proceeded to blow it apart. The dive bombers, escorted by 96 Hellcat fighters – some of which were also carrying bombs – had just 15 minutes to sink as many ships as possible before their fuel would get too low for them to complete the 340-mile return journey to their aircraft carrier. The attack was ruthlessly successful and left a legacy that wouldn’t be discovered until recreational diving came to this remote part of the Philippines." I obviously failed that segment of my WWII history class.
i think i’ve mentioned how i feel about Wreck Diving; but ‘when in Rome’. We immediately signed up with Neptune Dive Center, conveniently located right across the street from Jai-cob Suites. The next morning we loaded the boat for our day of diving.
Our first dive was called Barracuda Lake. It offers one of the most unique diving experience in the world. I had heard about this Lake and suggested we dive there. It holds both fresh and salt water. It is an unusual lake, that sits high above the ocean. The process, which was new to all of us..., we get all ‘geared-up’,… jump in the water and swim, yes swim, to the island (not far). Then we take off our gear. There are a series of steps to get up to the Lake. My Dive Guide carried my tank up, some people chose to wear theirs. Once at the top, we again put our gear on, and jumped into the lake.
When you enter the water, it is a ‘normal’ 82F … the deeper you go … the hotter it gets …. and hotter and hotter. It was fun watching the temp on my Dive Computer…. 88F… 92F … 96F … 98F … finally it showed 100F, at around 50 feet; but unfortunately it did not register on the log. Sylvia smartly took a photo of her’s at 99F. Most hot tubs are kept at 104F. Photo by Sylvia. Upper left side shows 54'
I should mention that no wet suits nor skins were needed
There were LOTS of snorkelers there, who were NOT able to experience much; i think it’s a rip-off for them for the $$ they probably spent for the ‘opportunity’. You HAVE to dive to experience it.
40min or so, and we were at our next dive destination. We were asked if we were claustrophobic, i am not. But we were going to be going INSIDE the boat, where there was NO DAY LIGHT! He told us we would be able to see some concrete bags, some chicken wire, and some engine stuff. We would be in the dark for 15-20min. I said i would give it a try. They gave us lights and told us to say close and the signals necessary to communicate with the light… In the water and approached the boat, or ’stuff’ that might have been a boat. Then we entered a dark area, and the Guide more or less disappeared into the dark. He showed his light back to where the ‘hole’ was and we all went through… reluctantly. We went a ways, i couldn’t see anything but ‘gray fuzzy gloom’
Then they disappeared again, and i did not see a light where the ‘hole’ was. I just stayed there, thinking they would come back from wherever they went. But they did not. Butch was behind me and asked me if i was ‘ok’. Well, i wasn’t panicking, but didn’t know where to go. He gave me the sign that we would stay together. I was really thankful that he stuck with me. We did not go through anymore ‘holes’; but eventually got out of the dark… somehow…. We stayed there for awhile, looked at some fish, coral, and this Crocodile Fish. It really does look like a crocodile !
A very large group of Snappers swam by
Then we started moving again, up slowly. You have to do ‘safety stops’ along the way if you are deep. There was a lot of current, and they had a rope tied to the boat that we could hold on to, so we didn’t get sweeped away by the current. All of a sudden, there were a lot of people hanging on to the rope, there was a current, we were bumping into each other. I was just trying to remain calm, and watch my Dive Computer to make sure i was ‘safe’. Eventually, we were able to surface, and the first thing i said was, ‘That was the dumbest thing i’ve ever done!’ Everyone else thought it was cool, and saw the concrete and chicken wire, etc. so, i now i know i really don’t like Wreck Diving. The group did another Wreck Dive, but i happily stayed on board.
The next 2 days they did 3 more wreck dives each day. I was happy to not dive. I should mention that the other wrecks did NOT involve a dark inside tour. Had that not been my 1st Wreck Dive of the trip, i might have continued. The others said it was cool to just see the outside of the ship. But as it was, i was finished.
We all had dinner together in the evenings. This was the first night. Sylvia and Butch in the back and Shari and I in the front.
Pacifico was good, and Altrove Trattoria was good for wood-fired pizza, and Korean BBQ one night.
They had a fun time teasing Sylvia and I with our ChopSticks.
Shari did the ordering at a Sushi place. I really like it, i just
never know what to order.
It was ChopStick teasing time again
After dinner we'd walk around like the tourists that we are. Some of the streets here are really lit
up...maybe left over from Christmas? We found the things we needed and things we didn't: several Mango Fruit drinks. The rest of the town wasn't much, it all needed some of those tax dollars.
Back to diving: On the first dive, i asked Ronaldo, if there were any ‘muck diving’ locations, and we talked a bit about it. But he said that the boats were full everyday with people wanting to do Wreck Dives. So that was the end of that. We were in Coron, and that’s what divers come here to do. I understood that.
After their last day of wreck diving, Shari came back and said she convinced Ronaldo to take the 3 of us girls Muck Diving! Shari is our ‘organizer’, and that’s how she is … very persuasive.
We were all pretty excited. So our last day, we headed out on the boat, a special Muck Diving tour, just the 3 of us girls, Ronaldo, Captain, and crew. Usually there are at least 8 divers on a boat. So, this was exceptional and very special.
and me underwater
This BatFish was REAL friendly. He wouldn't leave us alone.
Our first dive was good, Ronaldo showed us some little critters. Several very colorful FlatWorms that i don't think i've ever seen before.
And several new Nudi's for me !!!!! I think this is a Roboastra gracilis
Not sure what it is, but i have some ideas :)
Hypselodoris bullockii ?
Not a Nudi, ... not a Shrimp, .. I think it is another Cowry ? ...on a Whip Coral
One Sexy Shrimp, hiding deep under a coral home.
There were a couple large clams
And of course, Nemo ... can't resist that face
Here is a dark Nemo, with striking red edges on it's fins
The one that got the most attention was the Goby with a mouth full of eggs ... that's how they keep them safe !
I really liked this coral
Me, fins in the air
But the 2nd dive we saw less, and by the 3rd dive it appeared that Ronaldo just wanted to get it over with. In fact, he ‘lost’ Shari and I in the fog (visibility was not good). We waited 1min (the rule), and kind of knew the way we were going, so we just safely returned to the boat. We were surprised that Ronaldo and Sylvia were not there. They appeared a short time later and Sylvia was VERY concerned and disgusted that Ronaldo wasn’t aware that he had lost us. A Dive Guide should never lose his divers.
I could tell another story about Sylvia getting ‘lost’ the day before. Long story short: She surfaced and the boat was just a speck in the distance because of the current. They eventually sent a kayak out for her. She is an experienced diver and said she was 'fine' ... but it never should have happened. I'm sure i wouldn't have been 'fine' :( You're going to have to look really hard to see her, and this photo was taken after the kayak had reached her, so she was further away than that.
So that was the end of diving in Coron. All in all, i’ve seen better ‘handling’ of dives by a Dive Shop.
We did enjoy the ‘town’ of Coron, and walking around.
The next day we left on our 3day 2night Paradise Adventure Tour !
Stay tuned !
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