Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Heyo Family and Friends,

We’re happy to hear you’ve had some warmer weather in the midwest lately and that you’ve almost said goodbye to all of your snow. As you inch into spring/summer where you are, we’ll start to inch into rainy season here beginning in June, which will last through October. As you know, we’ve been trying to get in as much travel as possible within the Philippines, prior to baby boy’s arrival and before summer ends. One of those trips was our recent adventure to Coron, a small group of islands located at the northern tip of the Palawan Province here in Philippines. Most often when people travel from outside of the Philippines to visit, they go to Palawan because it boasts some of the most beautiful landscapes and beaches. Palawan is located southwest of the main Luzon Island that we live on. Coron did not disappoint and we’d highly recommend it.

Due to the area’s COVID alert level 1, no COVID tests were required prior to the trip but we did need to complete S-Passes for all travelers in our party. This is essentially a vetting website where you upload all of your identification details, travel details, and your vaccination records for travel approval by the local government. Thankfully because all of Merrick’s adults were vaccinated/boosted, he was not required to be tested. With approved S-Passes in hand for all four of us (Charity came with), we were all set to go. While the flight time itself was short (<1 hour) from Manila to Busuanga Island‘s Francisco B. Reyes Airport, we had delays on the tarmac in Manila without aircon in the sweltering sun. It was HOT and Merrick and preggo Mama were not too happy at that moment. After a really wobbly landing in Coron, due to island crosswinds, we began our adventurous van and boat transfers to our resort, Club Paradise Palawan, located at the northern tip of Coron on the tiny Dimakya Island. The resort is the only accommodation on the island and the surrounding area is a marine sanctuary, offering incredible snorkeling and diving. Notably, the Kuya (meaning “older brother”, used as a polite way to address an older-than-you man in Tagalog) gave Merrick a firsthand look at the boat’s motor… he was pumped. Our travel time from home to the resort was about 6 hours. Once we arrived at Club Paradise, all transportation was by foot or golf cart.

The trip was incredibly relaxing and our beachfront sunset villa deluxe served us well, equipped with a private lanai. We spent most of our time on the beach lounging on a day bed with fresh fruit smoothies in hand, playing in the sand, and swimming in the ocean. Mom and Dad snorkeled every day, sometimes with a guide, and saw a ton of marine life. Notables included four hawksbill sea turtles (with one swimming about 1 foot from us on the surface), a black tip reef shark, various types of sting ray, clown fish, various jellyfish, giant schools of jack fish, fluorescent parrot fish, and some pufferfish. The area is also known for their dugong sea cows but we didn’t see any unfortunately. You’re more likely to see them while diving the area since they eat the sea grass on the ocean floor. Travis kept up with his triathlon training by using the open-air gym for a run and completing an open water swim along the island’s shoreline. Other activities included kayaking as a family, Charity napping in the villa hammock, Merrick chasing little crabs around the beach, and a massage at the spa for Mom and Dad.

One of the most interesting things was the wildlife on the island. Like Singapore, monitor lizards live on the island. The biggest one we saw was ~5 feet long. Unlike Singapore, these big boys and girls were walking around everywhere throughout the day, which was awesome. They have blue tongues that flick in and out of theirs mouths and we learned they climb trees, which must be the reason birds hate them… likely they eat their eggs from the nest. One of the most surprising parts of our stay were the flying fox. They are the largest bats in the world, primarily eat fruit, and live on the island by the tens of thousands! We have seen these bats before in the Maldives but not in these quantities. Their wing spans are about 5 feet and because of this they fly more gracefully like a bird. Because they’re nocturnal, they would hang in the trees on the island sleeping during the day and every night at sunset they would all simultaneously depart for their nighttime feeding. Due to their sheer number, it was an incredible sight to behold.

Overall, Coron’s mountainous backdrops reminded us of Malaysia, jagged limestone reminded us of Thailand and Vietnam, and white sand beaches/azure colored water reminded us of the Maldives. Simply put, the place is gorgeous. We plan to go back to Coron and experience more of the local adventures such as island touring, swimming Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon, and Barracuda Lake, and scuba diving, activities we decided not to do on this trip due to Merrick’s age and Mama’s pregnancy. Maybe you’ll join us on that trip!

Tomorrow we leave for Mactan-Cebu with some friends to celebrate Merrick’s second birthday. It will be our last trip as a family before little brother joins us. So for the next 4 days, Merrick will be living his best life on the water… his happy place.

All our love,

xo Team Jansen