Scuba Diving Adventure

The Philippines is rich in marine ecology and biodiversity. In fact, it is part of the Coral Triangle. According to World Wild Life (WWF), Coral Triangle refers to the waters of Papua New Guinea, TImor Leste, Solomon, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines where there's vast amount of corals and marine biodiversity. Located specifically in the little barangay of Anilao in Mabini, Batangas is the center of this Coral Triangle. No surfing this summer but I got another new ocean experience - scuba diving!

"Wondering free wish I could be part of this world."

It was my friend who got really enthusiastic about scuba diving that she even enrolled herself so she can have her own license got me into this. Fortunately for me, there's no need to have a license to go into the depths. For beginners or non-licensed, there's a basic introduction for scuba diving wherein you will learn the basics such as the proper use of the equipment, proper breathing, underwater hand gestures, and few others. I was accompanied by a master scuba diver. What a cool name eh? And that's how I did it. 

It was a struggle to equalize the air pressure in my nose and ears. I was already telling the master scuba diver (I really like his title haha) to go up but he signaled back the equalize sign. So I did it again anyway trying to tolerate the pain. I was there for more than 30 minutes, interacting with the colorful corals and fishes, feeding them, and more. 

Relaxing after the dive.

Chasing sunset "ala eh" edition. 

Planet Dive

One of the best things about Anilao is its proximity to Manila. Upon reaching Anilao, there are many resorts that nestle around and offer great packages for day tour or weekend stay. We went for Planet Dive. It has a friendly package rate for intro to scuba diving which includes buffet lunch, unlimited drinks, diving gears, and the use of cozy lounge along the beach side. 

Amazing Coron

Palawan is tagged as one of the best islands in the world. No doubt about that! The first time I went to Puerto Princesa was in 2012 and it was one of a kind island experience. The Underground River, beaches, and Pambato reef literally took my breath away!

This year, I went to Coron and it's definitely another unforgettable summer adventure. Finally I got the chance to personally see those postcard-worth photos posted in Facebook and Instagram.

I was saddened to see these bald mountains. Good thing to know, these are manganese-rich mountains where trees can't grow.

 Coron is a small town located in the northern part of Palawan. After an almost two-hour drive from the Busuanga Airport is a very little community of small sari-sari stores and very simple houses.

 

This picture shows a dirt-hugging road to the market and the port. 

According to one of friendly tricycle drivers, Coron was hard-hit by typhoon Yolanda too in 2013.Today, this humble community is back on its feet; thanks to its beautiful islands and tourism.

After dinner, we walked around the town and found some holes in the wall. The jolly owner of Trattoria Altrov'e drove us in to eat pizza AFTER DINNER.

After everyone got inside the inn, three of us walked farther and found the street called "Makati, Palawan" where most tourists drink and eat. It's where we also found an ice cream house. Just a little chit chat with the staff and they let us enter their "pantry" to scrape the mint gelato fresh from the machine.

The Island Hopping Adventure

Most islands in Coron are concentrated and they are approximately 30 minutes away from each other.  We had the whole day going to four islands. I expected to see more colorful coral reefs and fishes but the Pambato Reef in Puerto Princesa is still the best marine sanctuary I ever saw in my whole snorkeling life so far.

This is the breathtaking view from the top of the 10-minute steep hike before reaching the Kayangan Lake.

This is the Kayangan Lake which has crystal clear water and often regarded as one of the, if not the most, cleanest lakes in the Philippines. A little farther over there are amazing underwater rock formations. 

Twin Lagoon. One of the postcard worth scenery. It's very surreal but they were right in front of me. The first lagoon is where the boats duck while the second one is hidden and can be accessed by small opening underneath a rock. 

Squad goals in the middle of the Twin Lagoons. The water temperature in this part is warm while in the other part is cold. The water is also blurry and the underwater can't be seen. This is the result of the merging of the fresh water and sea water.

Mt. Tapyas can be reached by more than 700 concrete steps. It feels so relaxing to just sit there and watch the sunset.

Maquinit hotspring. 

My Geology professor said that Palawan is the safest island in the Philippines because there are no faults and volcanoes. But hotspring comes from volcanoes. Googling my curiosity, the temperature of hotsprings also comes from the geothermal heat or the heat of the earth's mantle.  So most probably, Maquinit's temperature comes from the geothermal heat. Geologic ignorance aside, Maquinit hotspring is very hot during daytime. I guess it's best during twilight or evening after a long day in the islands.

And that's Coron. Next stop: El Nido? :)

Mt. Maculot - The Rockies!

Mountain climbing becomes a hype nowadays. It got me a little curious so on a Holy Week break, my birthday week as well, I had my first ever official climb. I wanted Mt. Pulag but I was not ready for that two-day climb. As a noob, I chose Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas.

According to phmountains.com, Mt. Maculot is the 9th most wanted mountain in the Philippines. The summit is 930 meters above sea level (MASL) while the rockies (which is hiked by most mountaineers) is only 704 MASL. We went up for the rockies since it is more scenic than the summit.

"We're gonna climb that mountain! We started the climb at 5am.

Good morning from up above!

 It really feels great to be on top. It gives anyone a bigger point of view in life and everything and a feeling of power to reach for our dreams. The world is a huge playground and what's out there is an exciting adventure of a lifetime.

This part that looks like another mountain is the Rockies. Crossing it is the greatest challenge of this climb and I loved it!

Climbing up the Rockies is difficult. One wrong step, you're dead. And I like this kind of adventure. The adrenaline rush made me feel so alive.

Overlooking Taal Lake. 

Living on the edge!

It was an easy climb. Endurance is important. Thanks to my bi-weekly run habit. Going down Maculot is more challenging than going up. But it was nice to pass by climbers who are already catching their breath and to cheer them up that they're almost there while in fact they're not. Haha

After the climb, we dropped by the market to buy Batangas delicacies - kalamay and ube halaya. It was a rewarding experience but it was humid when we reached the grounds. We were sweating like forever when we went down. It's summer. :)