Disconnected, but not quite in Coron

TO BE in Coron is to abandon the doldrums, the routine, the unhappiness of running after Derek Ramsey in vain. The thing is, in Coron, you never want to get out of the water, be it the sea, the lake or the hot spring.

Coron is a small island town found in the northwestern tip of Palawan. It is one of the three islands that form the Calamianes group of islands. It is reached by plane from Manila in an hour or less, depending on your preoccupation during the ride.

From Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan, it is about three hours or so by land route.

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It’s best to explore the town by foot, not only because everything you need to find out about it such as the market, church, restaurant, travel agency, pier and dive resort is within walking distance from each other, it just is the practical thing to do in a town so small you meet the same strangers at almost every street turn. Don’t pack high heels or ties when you go to Coron; you won’t need them.

Small as the island is, there is plenty to explore that it leaves you wondering if all the natural beauty of the Philippines was endowed to this place with backward amenities yet with Smart-provided 3G/high speed packet access (HSPA).

In Coron, you are disconnected from the world but not quite.

Facebook and YouTube are sites as popular as the Twin Peaks and Kayangan Lake.

Coron feeds on your sense of adventure, for the unknown, for the deep. You don’t go to Coron to stay in bed and read or watch TV.

You go to Coron to swim in Atwayan Beach or in the inland Kayangan Lake, snorkel in Siete Pecados, climb Tapias Hill, soak yourself at the Maquinit Hot Spring, take a boat ride around the island with postcard-pretty limestone ridges as view, and most of all, to dive. In Coron, you do something.

You can never get enough of Coron’s underwater scene. This small island of Palawan is acclaimed to have one of the best dive sites in the world, its reefs under marine protection. In its waters are 12 sunken World War II Japanese shipwrecks, a fun treat to dive enthusiasts. Owing to the appeal of high-level diving in Coron, SeaDive Resort houses the only hyperbaric chamber in this side of the Philippines. The others are in Luzon and one in Cebu.

Accommodation isn’t a problem as there are a number of modest resorts all over Coron. If you’re the type who doesn’t need his t-shirts and shorts ironed, then the regular accommodation in Coron should suit you fine. You won’t be spending much time in your room anyway. In Coron, your place is found under the sun, in the lake, in the hot spring, underwater, in your openness to embracing the strange and the unknown, in letting go of Derek Ramsey.