Our flight arrived 27 minutes ahead of schedule and as soon as we got out of the arrival area of the teeny tiny airport of Busuanga (Francisco B. Reyes Airport), I saw our tour guide waiting and holding a piece of paper with my name legibly printed. He then introduced himself as Ryan as he ushered us to the waiting car to go to our hotel.

Princess of Coron Austrian Resort and Lodging House

We arrived at our hotel and Ryan gave us time to acclimate and freshen up. Two rooms were reserved for our group. We decided that the girls will be staying at the 3rd floor and the boys will be occupying the room that's near the pool. We were impressed with the interior design of the room especially the bathroom. Maybe we didn't really have very high expectations so any little thing that surprised us, amazed us too to say the least. I wish we were provided two pillows each though but I controlled any prima donna streak I have in me. Good thing I brought along my Spongebob plush toy (it served as extra pillow).

Mt. Tapyas Climb

Jeff, Karen, Jigs, Christian, Kessa Thea, Lai, Rodney, Nori = The Big Bang Travellers

We were scheduled to climb the 720+ steps of Mt. Tapyas. The mountain stands 210 meters while its cross is more than 2,000 feet above sea level. We hoped for sunset but we were unlucky because Coron had overcast skies. It kind of served as a blessing in disguise because the climb was not that difficult. The fresh breeze was a bonus too.

The trail to the summit was safe and comfortable enough since it was paved and concrete but the steps were a little wet because of the rain so we made sure to be extra careful. Also, there were hand rails along the trail to help pull ourselves up the mountain and there were plenty of shaded area scattered along the trail where tourists may stop and take a rest (take pictures too). Ryan, our tour guide, gamely answered all our questions. The young girl who sells water and Gatorade and climbed with us to the top told us that the mountain has manganese mixed with the soil which is the main reason why there weren't tall trees growing on the side.

After enjoying the amazing view from Mt. Tapyas and after countless jump shots, we left the place at around 6PM and trekked back to the foot of Mt. Tapyas. We then headed towards the Maquinit Hot Springs. It is the only known saltwater hot spring in the Philippines and probably the only one in Asia. The hot spring is just about 25 minutes from the town center and is perfectly located between a hill and the blue sea whose shores are lined with mangrove trees. Karen, Jigs, Lai and Rodney decided to stay outside and feast on balut and quail eggs while Ate Nori, Jeff, Christian and I headed to the hot spring pools. It was therapeutic!

The water actually comes from a volcano located underground and its temperature is about 40 degrees Celsius. We stayed in the water for about 30 minutes and then we had dinner. We had crabs, fried fish and grape seaweed salad. I'm not a huge fan of crabs but I enjoyed our dinner. We all tried to eat using our hands. It was a lot of fun. After dinner, we decided to dip in the hot spring again for 10 minutes before we decided to go home and rest to recover some energy for the next day.

When we reached out hotel, we all agreed to swim in the pool. Ah, the energy of the young... endless, bottomless, infinite!