Island Treasures
Coron isn’t just about the islands.
The town itself has a lot to offer
and it’s important to set aside
a bit of time for shopping. The
Coron Public Market in front
of the pier has a lot of dried
fish for you to take back home.
Meanwhile, Asian Arts and
Crafts
is where you should go if
you’re looking for native crafts.
Palawan is well known for its
cashew nuts, so stop by Coron
Harvest to pick some up and be
sure to chat with the entertaining
proprietress Lita Escarda.
PHOTOS
LESTER LEDESMA; AL LINSANGAN (CALAUIT)
Safari adventure
Rolling out of bed at 3am, we started
the next day bright and early in order
to catch a glimpse of all of the animals
at Calauit National Park. The park is
located on the 3,700-hectare island of
the same name, and is about two hours
away via badly paved roads plus a
45-
minute boat ride from Busuanga.
The park was set up in 1976 when
then President Ferdinand Marcos
responded to the International Union
of Conservation of Nature’s appeal to
house some animal species caught in
the middle of Kenyan civil strife. The
adopted animals eventually took to
Palawan’s climate.
A visit to Calauit National Park
included a ride to the giraffe enclosure,
where you can feed the giraffes,
then a safari, where zebras and
impalas were roaming about. There are
other attractions along the way, such
as monkeys and pythons, which can be
viewed in their enclosures depending
on whether they’ve been caught or
let loose that day. The island houses
a small enough animal population
that the keepers have given names
to almost every member, and tend
to take them in when they’re sick, or
when they misbehave and might pose
a temporary threat to the island’s fragile
eco-structure. Like any safari, Calauit is
hot and dusty, so bring water and a hat,
and make sure to slather yourself with
sunblock beforehand.
There are many reasons to visit
I S L A N D - H O P P I N G A D V E N T U R E S
Coron, all of them valid — beautiful
beaches, unique attractions, friendly
people, vistas that will blow your
mind. But what people don’t tell you
is that there are even more reasons
to go back. Because once you have
visited Coron, you, like many others
who have been there before you, will
realize just how much willpower it
takes to leave.
Cebu Pacific flies to Busuanga from
Manila and Cebu.
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