Coron town and around

Today is the 8th of January and there seems to be plenty of time to kill and write about our experiences in Coron. The Journey ferry from Coron to Cuyo islands was supposed to leave at 15.00 (3pm) but apparently it is arriving from Manila at that time and we will be leaving Coron after the loading around 21.00 (9pm) and we might get into the vessel at 6pm to chill out instead of staying in this waiting room. Fingers crossed. Hopefully I will be able to post this at some point. And hopefully the man behind me will soon stop playing 'Gangnam Style' from his phone, since I have heard it few times too many.

Before we left from Finland we did make a reservation to Coron Backpackers Guesthouse for 4 nights and decided to extend our stay if we felt like it. On New Years Eve we were finally there warmly wellcomed by manager TJ and later we enjoyed a spectacular fireworks.

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse has basic stilt house bamboo accommodation in a local area, and it is definetely NOT for high maintenance guests. The neighbourhood is poor, though the hostel itself is located on one of the nicest "streets" and the neighbours are nice. A narrow wooden walkway leads to the hostel. The bamboo walls are thin and in the mornings you will wake up to the sounds of people living next door; taking care of the kids, doing laundry, listening to music, taking shower..or sounds of cocks, chicken, cats, dogs, pigs (yes, also under the stilt houses) and some freaky words of the talking birds. You're able to see the water underneath your room through the bamboo floor. The guesthouse gives towels and sheets and has well equipped kitchen for the guests. The manager TJ (at the time) can help you with anything you might want to know.

The town itself is smallish, but according to locals it has multiplied in one year of time! I can understand that because there is a lot of talk about Philippines becoming the new Thailand. New hotels are build in high speed, cafeterias rise up in 4 days of time (we saw that happening!) and more tourists are drawn to see the nature wonders or take a dive at the world famous wrecks. The town is very tourist friendly, everything is near or you can take a tricycle. There are several ATMs that accept foreign cards (max take is 10 000 PHP and in peak season they might empty quickly). Euro exchange to PHP can be a challenge, but with the help of TJ anything is possible. English is widely spoken and services are good from a take away latte coffee to local eats to pizza and European cheeses. Only thing missing is electricity at certain times a day and chain food stores such as Jollibee or McDonalds. Our favourite food was definitely at Kapemos on National Hway after Neptune Dive Center.

One notable thing in the city is really the lack of electricity from time to time. The city limits the consumption of electricity and the times when the power is cut off, is called 'brown out'. And yes, the cut off itself is done using physical man power. One morning we witnessed the whole episode when some guys drove by on scooter and extended a long plastic rod to open or close the electricity circuits from the electricity poles itself. This might happen randomly throughout the day, so, no one can really tell when they have power. Some places do have own generator, some not. When there was no electricity on our guesthouse, there was no way to flush down the brown things in the toilet or take a shower (use the water bucket).

The main sights is town is to climb the 720 steps to see the view from Mt Tapyas, take a trip to nearby hot springs and rent a boat out to Coron Island to experience the Kayangan lake (snorkeling to see pipefish and cleaner shrimps) and Barracuda lake or take an island hopping tour to nearby beaches and islands. It is said to be a once in a lifetime experince to dive in Barracuda lake, where the water suddenly changes the temperature to 38 degrees and you can sort of see the 2 water surfaces from below. We only did the snorkeling bit. On Coron island one too popular spot is also the Twin Lagoon or Twin Peaks, where you can snorkel under a small opening to another lagoon. I think it is not worth to see at the moment and when I was thinking aloud why it was so popular, I was told that the corals had been spectacular only 2 years ago, and now destroyed by the amount of people going there...sad.

After some snooping around we got info how to get to the CORON sign on the neighbouring hillside right under a weather station. There are steps in front of the Ampfibiko Dive center that lead to a street parallel to the main street. From there one has to turn left and follow the road, untill you reach a tight turn left. From that turn there is a dirt road to the sign and to the weather station up the hill. But, there is also a small farm house by the sign and I do not expect those people to like tourists wandering around, so we just quickly took some shots of the sign and headed away as soon as possible before the sun went down.

Coron, the wreck diving capital of the Philippines

The reason for people ( tourists ) to come here is the world top class wreck diving, island hopping on the way to El Nido town ( going north back to Manila or further south to Palawan. Coron town is the biggest settlement in Busuanga island and most of the traffic is to/ from here, but more about that and what else to see on my entries later.

Before leaving Finland I did my normal searching for a reliable Dive Operator. Most of the Finnish people are adviced to go to Rocksteady or Sea Dive. Sea dive has also their own accommodation, bar ( yes, we are from Finland) and restaurant. But, after a bit of reading I wanted to search more and I found Neptune Dive Center. After reading their blog I was sold! Friendly and rapid reply to my mail, small groups promise, new operator with new equipment and in mails some more good information about arrivals etc. Even a notice that Coron Town usually arranges a huge fireworks on New Years Eve, that are impressive compared to the size of the town. Nice.

Most of the wrecks are sunk on the 24th of September 1944 by fighters and dive bombers of US task force 38. There are a lot to choose from (there were 14 of sunken Japanese cargo ships, that had assembled to this area) but mostly there are 8 popular ones to go to. Recreational diving, as the average depth is somewhere near 24- 30m. Some of them reach the max depth of 43m, so, if you're into heavy stuff with mixed gas and depths, this is your place to be. The length of the wrecks can be 160m. Penetration to wrecks is also allowed for advanced divers with more experience.

We made our way to Coron Bacpackers hostel, checked in and I went to tell to Neptune that I was ill and my diving had to be delayed. After a nice talk at the center, I hoped to get a reef dive for my first dive, and on day 4 of the year 2013 our ´bangha´ (outrigger boat) left the town. I was not sure what kind of challenge I was about to have since my last dive had been Sipadan area more than 2 years ago, and it had not been a too good experience in whole.

My first 2 dives to 1st Atan Reef and 2nd Neptune Wall in Coron Bay were crap. Mostly because I was panickly checking my air consumption, fixing my BCD (too big) or just doing anything other things you might name, than diving or relaxing. After Sipadan, also the visibility was a shock. In here, that day it was from 7- 10m, but that of course depends on the weather. We (there was 4 of us, and 2 DMs) did the dives with a 3,2mm full body suit. The water temperature is around 28 degrees of Celsius. Still, on the second dive I felt cold. My own estimation was that I will be ok again after 3 dives, and I was. Also, I decided to do only 2 dives a day, which was a good decision but I was not able to have one dive free day in between and my last dive was a bit exhausting since I had a disagreement with my mask at Lusong Coral Garden (6th dive), lost a lot of air in stupid struggle. BUT I am happy that I seem to know my limits.

The wrecks then. First dive on second day was Kogyo Maru, length 144m and depth 34m bottom, lies sideways. I still was suffering from some ear problems and it was easier all together with a size smaller BCD. A wreck with easy penetration, enough light, even though we used torches. Inside cement bags, bulldozer and a tractor. When you penetrate the ship, you cannot really tell what is what unless told, since you are so close to the objects. We went through a small hole through the cargo rooms, oh, excitement! A bit intimidating at first because of the visibility and sudden darkness after reef dives.

Second was Olympia Maru, length 144m max depth 30m and It was better. I figured out my problems (1kg too much weight on me) and we made a practical joke by taking down a floating flipflop from sea surface. We descented quickly, there was a boat filled with Korean divers arriving at the same time and we did not want to be stuck in the narrow sections with them. The visibility was not more than 10m but since the place was shallower, the lighting conditions were nicer. I had the impression that this wreck was more sympathetic, maybe because we finned in the place where the boat crew had been sleeping. The rest of the time we hovered above some Korean divers and watched them struggle through the wreck in total chaos and who ended up attacking our 5m depth decompression bottle below the boat like crazy men to oatmeal porridge.

Last dive day was again with DM Roberto. I hoped I had had a dive free day, but as the situation with our Cuyo island steel boat leaving time, made me jump in the water third day in a row. I suggested we do a wreck and reef combined. Wreck was Morazan Maru, and it was easily the best dive site I went to. Lots of natural light, only one spot inside where torch was needed and I felt good examining slowly the lighting conditions and the shades of sea water against the wreck openings and the fish in between. Beautiful. Very relaxed dive with right amount of weights and I was easily controlling my buoyancy through the smallest openings. Visibility inside the wreck was maybe 15m and the views from the different openings to another spaces were spectacular. I am sure to dream of that in the future.

All in all I would say, that for a person, who has only been reef diving before and done no night dives, wreck diving can be extremely intimidating. But for a diver that has somewhat experience, it is a great way (with a good dive master) to explore more of your strengths. If you are not sure about your buoyancy, do not go, or do not penetrate. I can fully understand the thrill it gives for some sort of people, but in my opinion it is not for beginners under 20 dives. I would have not had the guts then. Also, if you happen to be a Finnish person who has had at least some murky dives in Finnish waters while working your buoyancy in this 6m darkness and handling a torch, this might be the right task for you.

There are about 15 Dive Operators around the town and I can surely say, that Neptune has earned all the 5 stars (*****). It may not be the cheapest in town, but there are a limit of 4-5 divers on one boat, and a dive master leads 2 divers. In my case I consider myself super lucky, I was able to dive 2 days alone with a local DM, Ronaldo, who knows every wreck by heart after 20 years of experience in the area. And could go there blindfolded. I felt safe to follow him through the smallest ventilation channels or cracks. Neptunes equipment is new and well maintained and the amount of the guests keeps the standard high - less persons on board, better food! The boatmen were cooking. Also, after seeing the amount of divers some other dive masters from some other dive shops needed to handle...huh. Another plus was the extra air bottle below the dive boat in 5m, for safety especially on wreck sites. Also, in Neptune, the DM fills in the dive info for statistics, but also fills in the amount of the dives the guest has done. Just in case your dive log book goes missing, you can get the a statement about how many dives you have before, plus the dives you did with them (and where) all combined. Clever!