WEEK 9 –Corong Corong to Busuanga Island

Saturday 3 March – Corong Corong
Boring boat day –Peter went to the early market. We all went out to dinner at 5.30 and had our order taken by a young boy of about 10. After that we went to a bar which was supposed to have live music from 7.30 but it didn’t start till 8.30 and yachties’ midnight (9pm) was looming so we caught a trike back to the yachts. Two young Lads (one of whom was Jennell) were keen to help us put Bob in the water so we told them they could come out to the boat tomorrow. I had mistakenly thought that they were kids off the little fishing canoes.

Sunday 4 March – Corong Corong
We didn’t go ashore till 3ish and here was Jennell waiting for us. His little mate had to go fishing with his dad. We went to town and back then went ashore again meaning to walk around the beach but there was little Jennell again so we got him to take us to his Dad to ask permission for him to come out to the boat. He took us to the old thatched hut which was on quite a lean built right on the beach. The hut had three small rooms next to each other and a family lived in each room. Jennell had 2 sisters and 2 brothers with the oldest sister (18) living in Cebu (a long way away). The youngest sister was 4 and Jennell is 12. His father was happy for him to come out so we took him to the boat and showed him around and explained how everything worked. Turned out the kids in the canoes came from the other end of the beach and weren’t his friends. When it came time to go ashore he wanted to start the motor and it took all his strength to do it then we let him drive Bob. He had obviously been watching the skipper on the way out as he knew what to do and was a natural. He took us all the way back in no worries at all. We gave him some pencils and books and walked with him back to his house and said hullo to his Mum. As we were leaving he came racing back and gave us three lovely shells. We then had sundowners on Braveheart where Judy had the smoker going trying to make ham – didn’t turn out too badly!

Monday 5 March – Corong Corong – Diapila Bay
11°24.513N / 119°28.548
We went to shore and Jennell met us so we gave him a photo of himself driving Bob – he has a gorgeous big smile. Jennel’s father passed us just after 7 after being out the whole night fishing. We upanchored at 10 and found we had a hessian bag on the anchor. By the time we had examined and exclaimed over it we had drifted to shore in 3.5m so a quick about turn and on our way. As we left the tip of Palawan a pigeon circled around and tried to land in the cockpit then thought better of it and headed for land. Motor sailed the long way round to Diapila Bay and once again the wind howled all night – not conducive to a good night’s sleep!
Miles: 24 TTT: 1015

Tuesday 6 March – Diapila Bay - Linapacan Isle, NW Bay
11°27.695N / 119°47.015
We left at 7 and had a very slow trip beating into the winds and he waves and we suspect the current. It wasn’t terribly rough or anything just very slow under motor doing 2000 revs and averaging 3.5 knots. Copped a few waves over the top and did a bit of dodging! We arrived at NW Bay around 1 – a very deep bay with reef all round and of course as soon as we went in there our depth sounder stopped working. We passed two rafts about a mile apart with lots of buoys between. We wondered if they were pearls. Cilantro headed down one bay and found 10m and we followed Braveheart past the town and found 19m. The vegetation on the island has changed. More shrubby than jungle. Had such a calm night you wouldn’t have known you were on a boat – a beautiful calm night.
Miles: 23 TTT: 1038

Wednesday 7 March – Linapacan – nr Coral Bay
11°58.925N / 119°53.026E
We left at 7 and followed Cilantro out and conditions were really good for sailing so up went the sails and the motor went off! A real sail at last. Came in to Coral Bay but was a bit blustery so we headed up to another island with a lovely sandspit beach and coconut palms. We anchored just before the reef and Chris went ashore. He was met by a security guard (dayshift) who was there to make sure no one landed on the island. We figured he must have been pretty scary as Chris didn’t even notice the three dogs there! The security guard left late in the afternoon with his gun slung across his shoulder! And the night shift came in with his gun slung across his shoulder. It was an idyllic picture with a full moon above the tropical island. The water was just like glass – just gorgeous
Miles: 38 TTT: 1076

Thursday 8 March – Coral Bay, Poppototan Island
Stuart and Jean have a wonderful holiday
11°59.542N / 119°51.452E
We came back down to Coral Bay and anchored off the resort. The anchor chain got trapped in the anchor pipe which necessitated the skipper pulling the whole winch off to free it – took quite a while. We then joined the others ashore. The reef here belongs to the resort so they have protected it so it hasn’t been dynamited or cyanided. The fishermen cyanide the fish so they can catch them alive. The Koreans pay more for live ones. It is 2,800 pesos pp to stay here which includes 3 meals a day - $67 each – not bad value. But the beers are $2 each instead of 50C! We went for a snorkel and were surprised at how many and varied the fish life was. The coral was pretty good and had quite a bit of colour. Went to the resort for dinner – very nice smorgasbord – three courses $12 each. Monica and Olf (Swedish) have been there for seven years and they are the owners. Their website is www.coralbay.ph
Miles: 2 TTT: 1078

Friday 9 March – Coral Bay – Puerto Del Sol Resort, Busuanga Island
12°01.478N / 119°58.988E
When we arrived at the little inlet a boat came out and put us all on moorings. They moved a big local boat to fit us in. The irony of it is it is shallow enough to anchor here – 8m! Came past heaps of pearl farms – long lines of floats. We went ashore, past the pool and found Mike the owner in the restaurant. Seemed if we had a beer or a meal we wouldn’t have to pay a mooring fee and we were happy to oblige. Mike was a fountain of information. His resort has only been there four years. We went across the bay to the ‘lighthouse’ – strange building on top of a hill. The owner showed us all around and proudly showed us all the rooms. It has been built in two seasons and parts were still under construction but was open for business. It has the most stunning views and probably the best place ever to watch a sunset and the Chilean red wine was also very nice! We went back to Mike’s resort in the dark and had dinner on the terrace overlooking the pool – lovely. While there is no beach here there is an emphasis on diving. There are quite a few wrecks of Japanese ships sunk on 24th September 1944. www.puertodelsolresort.com
Miles: 8 TTT: 1086

We have been out of phone and internet range for a little while. We are in what is known as the Calamanian Group of Islands. It is really hard to picture the activity which went on here during the Second World War – it is such a peaceful place but there is much evidence of the war under the water here and a few relics in some of the bars etc. Anyway we really miss you all.
Take care
Dell and Peter