Busuanga: Evergreen Diving Resort in Popototan Island, Busuanga, Palawan

After a 2-hour scenic boat ride from Coron Town, we finally reached our first destination--Popototan Island. There are 2 resorts on this island, Coral Bay and Evergreen Diving Resort. Evergreen is owned and operated by a German named Arno who used to build airports before deciding to settle in Popototan. I booked Evergreen because I read on the internet that their housereef is spectacular. I already knew that the beach itself would be mediocre (the sand was not fine) so as soon as we arrived I was itching to go snorkelling to see what I came for--the colorful corals! Included in the price (per person 30 euro/day) was full board and lodging, so before plunging into the water we had a nice meal of fried chicken and vegetables. After the meal, finally, we were able to go snorkelling. We were not disappointed at all. Present in the housereef of Evergreen Diving are many different species of hard and soft corals of different colors. Obviously, this reef is in recovery from the worldwide coral bleaching that happened several years ago because the color is mostly on tips of the hard corals. I also saw lots of fish and starfishes. The Evergreen Diving housereef did not disappoint me at all.
I liked very much the native cottage where we slept. It was very basic (I think even the plumbing was constructed by Arno) but somehow in a nice secluded island, that's how it should be. The resort was quite "natural" so we also had a few wild animals in our room like 2 bats and other unidentified creatures. The electricity goes off at about 10 pm so when the animals start making noise at midnight I have no interest to identify them. The only thing I did not like in this resort was the food. Being in an island in the middle of nowhere, I guess one would expect to eat fish and seafood. I was a little disappointed to have always been served chicken.

One high point about this place was it made me try to scuba dive. It helped a lot that the dive instructor, Olivier, made us feel very comfortable and safe. I came there without any intention to dive, but after an hour of talking with him, my husband and I committed ourselves on going on a discovery dive with him the next day.

Diving was such a big discovery for me. I loved it. I loved to see the corals and fishes so close. I loved the wreck (Lusong Gunboat) where we dived. It was great. I loved it so much that next year I will do a full course. Take note, this is coming from someone who doesn't know how to swim (I took swimming lessons twice but I don't like swimming). Take note that Evergreen is a diving resort, so that's what people from the other side of the world come here to do. Busuanga is famous for wreck diving. I believe there are 10 Japanese wrecks there.

The only really negative event about this whole trip was when our boat had an engine problem and stalled halfway between Popototan and Coron. We were probably 100 meters in front of Sangat Resort. Night was falling fast and we were still 1 hour away from Coron. We were drifting. I was a little scared. We tried to signal to Sangat with our flashlights to help us and then we tried to shout for help. They didn't bother to help us at all. So much for helping your fellowmen in need. We used our last bar of battery on the cellphone to SMS Arno that we were in trouble. Imagine our disapointment when he replied that he made a wrong computation on our bill and we needed to pay him a few thousand pesos more but said nothing about helping us and in fact he didn't do anything to help us. I was terribly upset! That was not really a good time to ask us for more money. Another thing that was amazing for me was that the people on the boat (the owners of the boat and some people from Evergreen Resort) were so afraid to call for help. I felt that they were afraid to be charged by Sangat if Sangat sends a motor boat to help us. In the end, the boatman SMSed another boat to fetch us which took a few hours to arrive (of course we were not fully informed if a boat will really come or when it will come). We were stranded for 4 hours! In fairness, Arno did not make us pay the transportation from his island to Coron but of course we had to pay the few thousand pesos he miscalculated.

Accomodations:
Evergreen Diving Resort
Coral Bay Beach and Dive Resort
Sangat Island Reserve

Related Posts:
Busuanga-Arrival
Coron Island
Coron Island Part II

Technorati Tags: Coron Palawan Busuanga Evergreen+Diving+Resort Diving wreck+diving snorkeling corals beach

Busuanga: Arrival

After a 1-hour flight from Manila, we arrived in Busuanga. Asian Spirit has a jeepney that transports their passengers from the airport to Coron Town (150 php, 40 minutes). Mara, a girl from the island resort that we booked, met us at the airport. She arranged for a van for us to go to Coron Town (still 150 php). My first impression of Busuanga is that it is green, wild and isolated. It is a stark contrast to overpopulated Manila. I found the unpaved road to Coron and the fact that we didn't see another car on the road for half an hour very refreshing. I was quite thankful for the air conditioned van though as the road was very dusty. Coron Town is a charming, small town. There is not much to see or do in Coron Town, the real prize are the islands around. The pier where we took the boat to go to the island is beside the market. Anyway, in this town, everything is just beside the market.

There is no beach in Coron Town but there are a lot of island resorts not so far away...

Related Post:
Busuanga-Popototan Island
Coron Island
Coron Island II

Asian Spirit

There was a deafening silence as the passengers of Asian Spirit bound for Coron boarded the plane. I guess we are all asking ourselves the same question and yet too afraid to voice it out loud "Can this thing actually fly?". The interiors of the plane looked very badly maintained, the windows were browning on the sides, the aircon was off, the seat upholstery was old, and paint was chipping off. It felt like the plane had not been maintained for 20 years. All I was praying for then was that they maintained the engines better. The propellers started to move (someone literally jump-started it by hand) and the plane started to take off. There was silence in the cabin. The plane started to fly. Suddenly, I remembered a joke someone told me a few years ago "Fly Asian, land in spirit." I refrained from telling my husband and Marido (our Italian friend) this joke during the flight because I noticed that they were also very silent. There was still silence amongst the passengers, as if they were afraid that the sound of their voice would cause the plane to have problems. The next thing I hoped for was that the plane could land. Then finally Coron! The plane lands on YKL airport (more like an airstrip) surprisingly smoothly. As soon as we landed the other 2o+ passengers started to chatter. Yes, we made it! Welcome to Coron!

PS
I didn't mind the flight at all anymore during the return flight. I guess it was the shock of seeing the plane for the first time. But knowing that the plane could actually fly and land made the return flight quite pleasant.

Related Posts:
Busuanga-Arrival
Busuanga-Evergreen Diving Resort
Coron Island
Coron Island II

Technorati Tags: Asian+Spirit Coron Airlines

The return to paradise

It took me 2 days to readjust to the chaos that is Manila. What Filipinos call simply as Manila actually consist of 16 cities and 1 municipally (including the real Manila) spanning an area of 636 sq km and containing 12 million people (officially, but more like 20 million in reality). Having been away for 1 1/2 years living in aseptic, predictable Zurich, I had forgotten about the murderous bus drivers, the traffic jams, the smoke-belching jeepneys, the poverty, and the sea of people everywhere you go. After 2 days though, I was back in my element, my natural habitat. I was a local again. It felt like I never left.
Manila is the antithesis of Zurich. Zurich is the perfect city, rated as having highest quality of life on earth and Manila is what would happen if EVERYTHING goes wrong. Chaos everywhere! It is not for everyone. Not everyone can understand or appreciate this city. It is not charming, it is not beautiful, and it doesn't fill you with romance. What makes Manila exceptional is how it goes on despite the chaos. That somehow, one way or another, things work, move and run. There is some sort of mind-bongling order in the urban, montrous jungle that is Manila.

I don't think one should attempt to visit Manila like how one would visit Paris, Rome or London. Museums do exist but the main exhibition is the life on the streets. You won't find much culture hanging on the walls or built into buildings, but if you close your eyes to the ugly buildings you would admit there must be something really special in the genuine smiles of the people and how they keep their smile living this montrous metropolis.

Manila is full of contradictions. On one side there are places like the "Mall of Asia", 3rd largest mall in the world (in terms of leased area), where you can find very expensive things, on the other side there are the slums, congested areas of poverty and filth. Manila is a lesson in reality and possibilities that a city like Zurich will never be able to teach. There are things happening in Manila that someone living in Zurich will never have imagined in his greatest nightmare.

For me, there is no other city like Manila. I love Manila!