Manu and I managed to meet up and travel a new land with a couple of his friends just as we did one year ago. After tossing and turning with Workaway projects and indecision for the first half of my trip, I welcomed the break from solo travel and the shock of transitioning from the Buddhist mainland to the Catholic, hug-accepting Philippines. We were remote, we were on island time, and life was treating us real well.

 

 

Getting There & Away

Fly—To get to Busuanga Island, we flew with the airline Cebu Pacific from Manila (MNL) to Busuanga (USU), $72, 55 minutes of stunning views. To get to Coron town we took a shared shuttle from the airport for $3. Other cities connecting to and from Busuanga included Cebu, Clark, El Nido, and Puerto Princesa. Other airlines with service to this island were Philippine Airlines and Cebgo. Check Skyscanner for schedules and prices.

To get to Manila I flew from Bangkok (BKK), Thailand. Don’t wait last minute like me and try to find a flight for as low as $60. Within the MNL airport I purchased a SIM card with the provider Globe, giving me 6GB for around $15. To meet my friends and catch my domestic flight, I took the free shuttle between the terminals with minimal waiting (transferring terminals had a notorious history of being difficult and winded).

 

 

Boat—To leave, we took the slow boat at 8am from the Coron port to El Nido on Palawan Island (both islands are within the province of Palawan), 8 hours, $24, lunch included. The fast boat left at noon and took 3.5 hours, $34 for adults and $30 for students with ID. The reverse trips from El Nido to Coron left at 8am for the slow boat and 6am for the fast.

The reason why I always chose the slow boat was because it was cheaper and there was always space along the cushions to stretch out and sleep. I could sit at the hull, or chill on the upper deck, and I often had data signal on my phone. When departing from Coron, the slow boat actually reached El Nido at an earlier hour than the fast boat. Plus, the onboard meal was always healthy with veggies, protein, steamed rice, and a banana, served hot on a beautiful woven plate.

 

 

Accommodation

In pursuit of paradise we booked an Airbnb called Sanctuaria Treehouses, around $12 per person. To get to the beautifully built lodging with views that swept over the mangroves below us, we had to take a tricycle motorbike for nearly an hour from Coron town, taking us past Concepcion village, $6 per person. With good company and the place to ourselves, nothing could bother me, but I was disappointed with the staff and maintenance. Because our rooms were not ready, we found it hard to wash with the provided saltwater, and the place was unclean in general with animal droppings in the rooms, I would not recommend this stay.

Before our boat to El Nido we stayed a night in Coron town in the lovely Coron Backpacker Guesthouse, because Marley’s Guesthouse was full. I stayed in Marley’s my second time through Coron and preferred it, $4 per person to share a double, wifi, fans, clean and well-stocked kitchen, and solid tunes 😉

 

 

See and Do

Day 63

Three Belgians and I walked along a highway in the early hours of the day to try our first Jollibee. It’s horrible and horribly sweet but if the Filipinos love it, then I gotta too.

*****

Two days of planes and airports had taken its toll as I kept nodding off and jerking awake in the tricycle, trying not to fall out into the cold rain.

 

 

Sanctuaria at last. To celebrate, we fired up the grill. Being in the Philippines meant our groceries were limited to pork, tomatoes, and onions, but with dollar rum and a full sky of stars it was all glorious nonetheless.

Day 64

A neighboring resort rented us a pair of two-person kayaks for a total of $10. A school of fish leapt through the surface of the water for such a fleeting moment I am not even sure if I imagined it.

I could not peel myself away from this one broken pier. The sunset was so brilliant I didn’t waste a second of it. The flaming reds and impassioned violets told me no grabbing my camera, the blinding oranges threatened against helping my friends in the distance make a campfire. I took in the intense, meditative high… until the mosquitoes realized how good my blood tasted.

 

 

The boys managed to make some tasty instant noodles served in enormous sea shells.

Only after the four of us shared this evening of friendship and gratitude did we return and receive a scolding for staying out so far past dark with the rentals, and a second scolding when they realized we docked on the island with the “big dogs.”

We set things right by chatting with the owners and listening to their three-year-old profess her love of Manila over Coron because Coron had no Jollibee while Manila does.

Upon retreating to Sanctuaria we hung out under the fuzzy Milky Way. Despite the haze of exhaustion coming over me, I spotted a dreamy shooting star.

 

 

Day 65

Arne returned to our game of waterproof Uno holding a sack of cigarette packs, quoting a price so low it made the rest of us laugh out loud.

Some dillydally, the sighting of a large reptile, and an afternoon downpour later, we were back in Coron in order to catch the boat the following morning.

Day 66

Following the alleys of the residential houses built over the water (our guesthouse was part of a floating semi-slum?) I reached the lookout of the water. An egret was waiting to greet me so I got Arne and showed him the bird.

Near the port the only breakfast option seemed to be pork. On that note, we napped our way to El Nido.