wreck diving in coron

after visiting my host family in san agustin (a whirlwind of a trip that involved a lot of uncomfortable travel, but i think was worth it in the end. the worst part was trying to get back to manila, on that same awful boat, but made much worse by the multitudes of holiday travellers. they oversell the tickets, even if there are not seats or beds available, so we watched in horror as people dragged cardboard boxes onto the boat, spreading them out in every available corner – outside on the hard metal deck, in hallways, on the stairs – and children and the elderly slept on them, shoved together with no hint of privacy or personal space. we were also sold these bogus tickets, but said something to a crew member who found us an empty private cabin, where we were able to sleep. there were a number of these cabins – all empty because no filipino could afford them and no crew member would offer one to them. we were shocked and disgusted by this treatment of people, this herding, this utter disregard for people’s safety and comfort. but i am completely digressing and so will stop this sidenote here), we made it to manila, managed to make it to the airport after having numerous arguments with cab drivers (who literally are all evil and refuse to turn on meters and charge you uproarious amounts to go a mere few kilometers), dealt with the incompetent people at asian spirit (they won’t give out e-tickets, so we had to go to the office to get them to print out our tickets and literally the girl took a good thirty minutes to figure out how to enter our confirmation number onto the computer and hit print), and boarded the airplane to coron.



[propellers and everything!]


coron is the main town in the calamian group of islands in the north of palawan. it is famous for it’s wreck diving and it is the wreck diving that draws tourists to this isolated area of the earth. during world war ii, the japanese used the bay as a secure, sheltered area to anchor their ships and protect them from US planes. in 1944, a US air strike bombed the bay, sinking 24 ships all in close vicinity. the area is full then of these wrecks, all in excellent condition and at relatively shallow depths (the deepest we went was 34 m). in short, it is considered the best wreck diving in the world. how could we not come here to dive?

coron is a cute little town, built basically on top of a mangrove forest. i was a little worried that it would be overly touristy, because of its appeal as a dive site, but was pleasantly surprised. there are decent places to stay, eat, and a number of dive shops, yes, but it has also managed to still remain a filipino town.





it is impossible to explain diving, and even more so to explain wreck diving. neither brad or i had dived a wreck since our advanced certification wreck dive, so we were both quite excited. diving in general is a freeing experience and feels like you’re flying; over and through a wreck that feeling is even more prominent. it’s especially cool to be swimming through these ships. wrecks are eerie, they are haunting, to swim through passageways, windows. swimming where 60 years ago, people ran and walked, climbed, worked.


[olympia maru


[taiei maru]


[irako]




[kagyo maru (two above)]


on the third dive, we exited the wreck and then … there was … a manta ray!!!!! i almost had a heart attack right there under water from excitement and happiness. i was certainly NOT expecting that. oh my gosh, it was beautiful and gorgeous and she was stunning and graceful as she flew off. my gosh, amazing.







so yes, i highly recommend diving in coron. each dive was great and unique.