Coron, Palawan: its broad daylight. the fun. anything wholesome.

after the Anawangin-Capones trip i had with liss, raech and her highschool friends: seph, abby, mel and jere; i suddenly felt the Coron, Palawan trip dragging me. a little with the preparations and more with meeting its dues. to the information of everyone, only my mom knows about it. though she didn't fully agree to it, at least, i was having that assurance that she'd still give me the money to pay for it. and i decided that i won't be asking for an extra allowance days prior the trip for a good-shot when the time comes that i'd be bringing up the budget for my Palawan getaway. i was able to pay for the package as she gave me a sum too much for my basic allowance. though i still had to squeeze with what was left since the Zambales trip was illegal, thus, giving me no right to ask money for it. ok. so, i was surviving. with minimal starbucks visit which was really hard, to the deprivation of the taste of Jolibee and sticking with homecooked meals. the idea of steak was dropped, it was a luxury then!

the day before the trip, karen and i were on a panic with the absence of preparations. but, hell yeah, i still managed to meet with a friend for my pre-palawan. lotsa booze, boyz and smoke in our now-favorite hang-out Tomato Kick in UP Village. pizza and marinara that cost TK two bottles of hot sauce! wohhooo! maybe that's what got me inquiring for a tarpaulin printing from a cute attendant at 12 midnight. it was just after a couple of hours of sleep that i packed my stuff with a hangover. and going back to my trip allowance, i was able to save enough. but, i already told my friend to get some extra cash ready in case i ran out. as, it turned out that my mom totally forgot about it and left for the farm without a penny in my bank. the farm is a tiring 4-hour drive from our city address. cellphone signals in the house only range from a single bar to 'out of coverage area.' so she most likely didn't get my text messages. and with both my parents in there, all the money made from the deliveries were sent back and not deposited directly to the bank. ok mom, u have forgotten. but, that's not gonna stop me.

i met up with jim in Trinoma. and while we were there, papa called and i had no choice but to tell him that i was leaving for palawan later that day. so little questions asked. who i was going with. the whereabouts. no scolding for not asking permission. and he said that i should take good care of myself. after a while, he called me again, and asked me where would i get my allowance. they were worried that my mom forgot to send me money. and if they send someone to the bank, it won't make it by the time the bank closes. so, it was my fault that i didn't have money. my consequence for not telling papa about it. arghhh! after buying dry bags and other necessary stuff, we met up with karen and ayla in Pier 15. the whole boarding process was tiring, and a coca-cola vendo was a bliss. the Superferry departed around 4:15pm and we finally had our breakfast. rested and roamed a little. then, dinner before the orientation. the trip was arranged by the Travel Factor. and being newbies among the regulars and kaladkarins, we were still gauging characters. we hanged-out in the viewing deck after, until it's time to freshen-up and hit the bunks. me, having so little of sleep from last night, with a hangover, should have been snoring at the mere sight of the bed. but, no. after twisting and turning. and some more twisting and turning. and a lot more of twisting and turning, i was fully awake. so was the guy in the next bunk. it took some yosi breaks to lessen the torture of not doing anything. i was only wishing that it'd be sunrise too soon so that everyone would be awake for the group picture in the deck.

TF UBBE Coron, Palawan. group picture before docking in Coron pier. by gerrick.

our group was assigned to boat 3. together with the couples; mitor and kabbie, brian and jaycelle, another set of barkadas; jolly, lira, kat and abby, and the solo's jerome and cae. our boat leader was mhe(f)p. and because of some mixed-ups, we boarded the what-was-supposed-to-be boat 1. lucky for us!

inside boat 3. by ayla.



CYC Beach.
after breakfast.
while waiting for the lunch to be cooked. we had to, since ours was the master boat.
boat 3 bonding.
by ayla.



group picture in CYC Beach. by ayla.



CYC Beach.
boyish with the girls of boat 3. by ayla.



Snorkeling in Coral Garden. by jolly.



Lusong Wreck. by jolly.



Calambuyan Island.
after lunch.
strong current.
by ayla.



North Cay.
boat 3 in deep blue.
with the sun up and high, it was a dragging hop.
by ayla.



that kind of a Guess pose. by ayla.



Kayangan Lake. by jolly.




Twin Lagoon.
an identity crisis.
salt or fresh water?
hot or cold?
by jolly.



boat seatmates.
having the taste of sunset before going home.
by ayla.

boat three was the best. and of course, people from other boats would refute it. but then, it's subjective. i would not know what it was like to be in boats 1 and 2, nor would they be able to have that taste of the perky, fun, active and great people of boat three!

brian. jaycelle. ayla. karen. jim. me. mitor. kabbie. jerome. cae. jolly. lira. abi. kat.

and TF's leia who joined us from time to time.

by jerome.