Jagged/ABC Wednedsday

J is for Jagged

These are jagged granite cliffs of Coron Island, one of the 80-plus islands in the Calamianes in northern Palawan.  The craggy cliffs have been slowly shaped by the elements over millions of years, they jut out of sea like some mythical creatures.  The caves in northern Palawan are also home to balinsasayaw (Collocalia whiteheadi), a species of swift endemic to the Philippines that produces a prized saliva---bird's nest, a delicacy for Chinese diners.  Price of bird's nest is no joke---a jaw-dropping P80,000 (roughly US$2,000) a kilo.  But the jolting fact is, the bird is endangered...so please stop eating bird's nest soup even when you have the money to pay for it.

The mysterious Coron Island is an ancestral domain to the indigenous Tagbanua.  The island and the rest of the Calamianes attract thousands of nature lovers every year. There are  lakes, coral gardens, rocky coves, cave systems and sugar-white sandy beaches.  For the adventurous, there are about 12 dive sites around this area, mainly Japanese shipwrecks sunk in 1944 by US Navy action.   It was a joy visiting this slice of paradise.

Busuanga Island is the jump-off point to anywhere in the Calamianes; Coron Island is just a 20-minute boat ride across the bay.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Multicolored bancas/MYM and BM

Multicolored bancas and a hut in Coron Island.

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I/ABC Wednesday

I is for Islands

My first glimpse of the Calamian group of islands in northern Palawan from the plane as we approached Busuanga Island, the largest island in the Calamian.  There are about 80 islands and islets in Calamian, most of them are uninhabited.  The islands are known for its pristine beaches, great snorkeling opportunities, wreck diving and scuba diving---rated  by Forbes Traveler's Magazine as one of the top-ten best scuba diving sites in the world.  There are 14 wrecks located around Busuanga, Coron and Culion Islands alone---mostly Japanese vessels in World War II.  Limestone cliffs, granite rock formations, fresh-water lakes, mysterious lagoons and caves can be found in the islands. The second largest island, Coron, was awarded to the indigenous Tagbanua people in 1998 as an ancestral domain.  It gives the Tagbanua the right to manage and preserve the rich marine and land resources of  the island that have sustained the community for centuries.  In 1906, a leprosarium was established in Culion Island, the third largest island, under the American Commonwealth of the Philippines.   

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Mellow Yellow Monday # 41: Make a move

Don't wait for the boat to come in.  Row out to meet it.

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Mellow Yellow Monday #40: Kayak

A yellow kayak at Atwayan beach in Coron Island.  The kayak was first made and used by the native Ainu, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland.

No Monday blues at Mellow Yellow Monday

Sign @ the beach

@ mirandablue

A tarp at Atwayan beach in Coron Island.  A few meters from this white sanded beach is a shallow reef covered with colorful leathery and soft corals, sea stars, anemones--they were the only ones I could identify.  It was  an enchanted forest underwater.   We snorkeled with the small reef fishes. 

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A woman in a canoe

@ mirandablue

A Tagbanua woman paddling a canoe through calm waters of Coron Bay on a rainy afternoon.

"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted.  Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world." ~ Hans Margolius

Posted for Midweek Blues and Watery Wednesday

Mellow Yellow Monday #38: Rowing

@ mirandablue

Some people walk in the rain, others just row.

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