CORON, Palawan : Malcapuya Island Tour + Mt Tapyas
We went to CoronGaleri the same time as yesterday. We paid P950 each for this tour and this only includes one island - Malcapuya Island. Malcapuya is pretty far, located near Culion Island. Our group were called and led us to the same port. Expected travel time: 1 hour.
I was ecstatic to see the beach and my initial reaction was "WOW!!" because of its white sand like in Boracay. But unlike Boracay, the waves are pretty strong here.
One guy approached us to ask if we’re interested in checking out large clams. Because of the strong waves, this guy can bring us to the area which is just a little far from the shore via a small Bangka. We politely declined the offer. Instead, we enjoyed the beauty of the place.
Well, it turned out a good decision as we had so much fun in Malcapuya (thanks to GSM Blue Light). By the way, there is a cottage you can rent overnight in the Island. The island has a sari-sari store. Restroom/Shower Rooms are available. Electricity oftentimes goes off because of lack of supply. Pitching tent outside is allowed.
In this nipa hut is where a hilot-type of massage is done. It's P300, good for 1 hour.
Our hefty lunch. Thank Goodness for the extra rice!!! This compensated the lack of rice they prepared for us yesterday.
Our boat left us after lunch.
The rest room...
Dito kami nag-shower.. sa tabi ng poso... The green hut on the right is the shower room...
Buko for sale. P40 each...
Locals showed us these giant clams they freshly harvested.One of our friends got to taste this aphrodisiac!
After consuming 2 bottles of liquor, I dipped in the water of Malcapuya island to wash all the tipsy-ness in me. Unlike in the morning, the water was shallow then.
The boat returned from their trip in Banana and Malroroy Islands at around 3PM, the same time we had to leave Malcapuya. The boat fetched us at the other side of the Island.
An unexpected thing happened. Because of low tide, our boat’s propeller hit a rock. They had to fix it and that means staying for around 30 minutes more. There were tons of starfish this side of the island that we got more excited and opted to play in the water. We took a chance to take some more photos with the starfish and snorkeled a bit.
Overall, our Malcapuya tour was so much fun! An ideal beach bumming!
We got back to Coron Reef Pension at around 4PM, just in time to take a shower before heading to Mt. Tapyas. We met some friends, a Taiwanese and a Korean, during our Malcapuya tour, who joined us hike up Mt. Tapyas.
Mt. Tapyas
700 steps to Mt. Tapyas. I almost backed out upon hearing this. But this is a must see spot so I mustered all my strengths before taking my first step. I felt my leg muscles toning while climbing up and I couldn't help but stop every 50 steps to catch my breath and relax my muscles. Grabe, cardio exercise! It reminded me of our experience trekking Taal Volcano in Batangas.
A MALE sleeping giant. Just let your imagination run...wild. ☺
It was already dark when we reached the top so I didn’t really enjoy the view. It’s best to visit this place during daytime.
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| adjusted exposure settings on my camera to get a lighter photo. |
We didn't last long. We decided to go down just in time to spend our last dinner in Coron. We ate at Centro Coron and it was so ironic though that their best seller, sinigang na pink salmon, was not available. Afterwards, we we went to Ice Valley, a halo-halo parlor. They offer variety of halo-halo's and, honestly, hindi naman siya masarap considering mahal ang price.
Not So Scary Story
It was already dark when we reached the peak of Mt. Tapyas. When we were able to regain our strengths spent during the climb, we decided to head back. My friend has this 3rd-eye sort of thing which he had since he was a kid. While we were descending, we noticed him stepping down the stairs in a serpentine manner. We thought, it was just because he was trying to avoid people coming from the opposite direction. Halfway down, we were startled upon hearing him swear so loud. We asked him what's wrong but he didn't respond. He didn't talk about this incident until we head back to Coron Reef Pension.
My friend said when he was walking down the stairs, he saw a black, wall-like image that came from nowhere, instantly blocked his path and hit his torso. He also said there were some people walking and playing beyond the fence and the reason why he's been pacing from one side to another is because he was seeing some sitting beside the stairs. At one point, he said he noticed fireflies from the right side.
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if there are unnatural elements there more than we think we know considering the fact that the island became part of the WWII. As they say, the tip of the mountain was bombed back in the day and part of it was cut off (na-"tapyas"). That's where Mt. Tapyas got its name.
For me, this is the place is perfect to spot Coron 180 degrees. But I would suggest visiting this during daytime for a better view . As for the story, I don't mean to scare. I just want to share my experience as it is. Honestly, it added spice into our adventure. ☺
CORON, Palawan : Welcome to Enchanting Coron
CORON, Palawan: Coron Reef Pension
CORON, Palawan: Coron Town
CORON, Palawan: Coron Island Tour + Maquinit Hotspring
CORON, Palawan : Malcapuya Island Tour + Mt Tapyas
CORON, Palawan : Our last day + Itinerary and Expenses
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