clockwise: Banana Island, Malcapuya Island, Bulog Dos Island
Summer seemed endless during our third day of island hopping in Coron. A two-hour boat ride took us to islands a little farther from Coron Island. Each island has its own charm. Fully charged with continental and american breakfast from Coron Vilage Lodge and off we go island hopping, embracing summer time.
The first island was Bulog Dos. Bulog means bald, but it wasn’t bald at all when we saw this pretty, little island. It is the smallest of the 3 islands.
approaching Bulog Dos
turquoise waters of Bulog Island
We were like 7-year old kids as soon as our feet touched the pristine shallow waters of the island. There’s supposed to be a sandbar leading to the nearby island, but it was still too early for low tide. Nonetheless, we enjoyed how far we walked from the shore yet the water is still ankle-deep. Banana Island can be seen from here too.
sand bar covered with ankle-deep water; Banana Island on the left
At the left side is Malaroyroy Island where newly constructed concrete cottages are noticeable. It’s the Two Seasons Coron. It is probably a high-end resort in the making, but the island surely looked nicer when it was still bare, untouched by any developments—naturele, unspoiled, with ubiquity of various shells and corals, and an unobstructed view of the azul horizon.
row of concrete cottages seen on the left side
the other side of Bulog Dos
The water is crystal clear. Under water are various fishes and corals. And we just couldn’t get enough of running back and forth on the sandbar covered by ankle-deep water. It was like walking on waters.
rocky shores of Bulog Dos Island
Banana Island looked so near from here
After running and swimming and splashing, off we went to another gorgeous island—Banana Island. It’s in Bulalacao, Coron, Palawan. It does not really look like a banana to me, but it is one real summer place. It has the whitest sand and is my favorite among the 3 islands of the day.
approaching Banana Island
Coconut trees and hammocks are everywhere. It instantly became my favorite because of the hammocks, actually. A little off the shore, the ground is covered with bermuda grass where I rolled over. Nah, I lied down and gazed at the leaves of the coconut trees being swayed by the summer breeze—very relaxing!
We stayed here for lunch. Lunch prepared by our boatmen was delicious. I loved the shrimps! They taste different in Palawan, eh? Very tasty and juicy. After a couple of minute-food coma (blame the siesta-inviting hammocks), we explored the island. It sure felt summer time as the heat of the sun was starting to get intense. Thank God for the rows and rows of coconut trees that offered us shade.
lunch and siesta
There were only 3 groups of tourists, including ours, in Banana Island at that time. This is my kind of beach place, not too crowded, not too commercialized. It reminded me of the many memories of my childhood on the beach. Well, beaches near our place today are not as good as they were back then.
And because jump/levitation shots are just really fun to do, we exhausted ourselves jumping dozens of times just to get non-fool looking jumpshots. Water current at the other side of the island is a bit strong. Yet, it didn’t stop us from exploring what’s under water. The sea floor from where we chose to snorkel is quite rocky. Most parts of the island, however, are covered by fine white sand. There were lots of fishes too!
jump/levitation shot 😀
The sun was unforgiving when we arrived at Malacapuya, but the irresistible charm of this island would just make anyone want to bask in the sun all day.
view from the cliff: the other side of Malcapuya Island
It has the longest stretch of beach area. We got a chance to meet the owner of this gorgeous island, too. He’s a simple-looking man.
It was in this beach place where we found the most number of starfishes and sand dollars. I only see sand dollars in pictures!
a sand dollar
The picturesque view from the cliff was made more romantic by the presence of these lovers. They seemed to be in their “secret place”. What can I say? Date spots are sure more fun in the Philippines! 🙂
It’s romantic, actually— edge-of-the-cliff rendezvous with your lover with a grand view of the azul horizon!haha!
pronouncing thine love at the edge of the cliff, with the sky, the mountains and the sea as witnesses 😉
azul horizon
Bulog Dos Island seen afar
The summer heat was getting more scorching. So we descended and decided to see the sandbar before going back to town. On our way to the sandbar, a dog came along with us and he led the way to the sandbar.
the dog that led us to the sandbar of Malcapuya
It was still high tide and only a small portion of the sandbar can be seen. Nevertheless, we were amazed by the dog that accompanied us all the way to the sandbar and back to our boat. Smart boy!
the dog seemed showing us where the sandbar is
lucky dog, living in a gorgeous island
one last look at Malcapuya Island
Back on our boat, tired, sun burnt and all, my heart felt like breaking as I realized it’s the end of the tour. I didn’t want to leave, but of course we had to go back to beloved jobs and bosses. But I knew right then that this is just the beginning of my love affair with Palawan. 🙂
My Happy Trails 