Calamianes: Coron Harbor Center [Watery Wednesday]

@ mirandablue

The Coron Harbor Center was our first stop after checking in at Darayonan.  We took a tricycle and cruised around town. The harbor center is part of the reclaimed land facing Coron Bay, it's also where the Coron Gateway Hotel is located--the first boutique and luxury hotel in Busuanga Island.  Of course, we didn't stay there.:p

@ mirandablue

Beside the Gateway Hotel is the town's public market, a police station, a tourist desk, and a park called Lualhati Park dedicated to the mother of the mayor and governor--the mayor of Coron and the governor of Palawan are brothers (it seems a political dynasty is alive and well in these parts).  The park offers a beautiful view of the mysterious and rugged Coron Island, the third largest island in the 80 plus islands in the Calamianes, and part of the ancestral domain of the indigenous Tagbanua people.

@ mirandablue

Outriggers are the usual mode of transport around the islands.  Tourists rent outrigger boats to visit the islands, snorkel and dive.  Boatmen also act as guides, they know where the best coral reefs and ship wrecks (Japanese World War II ships) are, they took care of our lunch, and made sure we enjoyed our stay.

@ mirandablue

Aside from tourism, fishing is the main source of livelihood here.  Hotels and restaurants in Manila get most of their live seafoods from this area.

@ mirandablue

We're still in the monsoon season, and the weather had been unpredictable.  It was a cloudy afternoon when we arrived in Coron, and it rained all through the night until the next morning.  The mountains were also covered with fog which was quite enchanting.

The harbor center is a jump-off point to the Calamian Islands.  This is where we rendezvoused with our boatman the next morning for our Coron adventure.

Coron Island at the background

@ mirandablue

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