Lorna, my wife, agreed to let our two boys Luis and Leon go with me to Coron for the Holy Week. Since the price of plane tickets were so expensive, we decided to take the 2Go ferry. My three kids grew up taking the Superferry to and from Coron so the two boys were excited to be taking the ship once again. We boarded the M/V St. Augustine of Hippo at the Manila North Harbor at 3pm on April 11. The ship cast off a little after five in the afternoon. Soon, both Luis (he borrowed his Ate Ella's DSLR), and I were on deck, taking pictures of Manila Bay. I was looking for Terns so I can at least add one bird to my BY2014 list. I was not disappointed as I saw several Terns fly by.
Terns
After a while it was too dark to photograph the birds. I was hoping that we would reach the vicinity of Corregidor before it got dark but it was not meant to be. The sun was a big red ball in the sky, so even if i had the telephoto lens attached, I clicked a few photos.
The famous Manila Bay Sunset
We docked at Coron Pier the following morning, April 12 at around 730am and was at Darayonan by 8. The boys spent Saturday basically lounging around our room and playing video games. Palm Sunday, after mass, we went out island hopping. Coron bay offers different sights..
Yachts of the rich (and famous?) anchored near the Jolo cove...
Young boys fishing near Baquid Island...
A house complete with a view deck and deck chairs built along the shoreline of Uson Island (I wonder how he got his ECC... just asking)
Of course I had to take some photos of the boys for their Mama and Ate Ella back home (even if the boys don't like, haha)
Another photography buff in the family? (Ella, he might not return your camera anymore)
Selfies ain't our thing (we're men..)
We first went to the Ruyukan area near sitio Malbato and kayaked at a mangrove area.
Heading to the Mangroves...
While Kayaking through the Mangrove maze, we heard a bird call and we slowly paddled to it until we saw a beautiful Green Imperial Pigeon up close (closer than I ever saw it on land). Perched on on of the mangrove branches, it was not bothered by the approaching Kayaks. Unfortunately, we did not have a camera (even a point and shoot) with us. We left the SLR's at the banca and the waterproof point and shoot in Manila... (note to self, a bridge camera with a waterproof pouch, would be perfect for a situation like this). We also saw a Black Naped Oriole, an Ashy Drongo and a Pied Fantail among the mangroves. We
Returning from the Mangroves after about an hour
We then proceeded to Smith's Point Beach for a late lunch and some beach activities.
Boys will be boys...
About to enter college and still throwing sand balls with his little brother...
Guapo...
Guapo din...
And of course while the boys were throwing sand balls at each other, I was busy scanning the skies for some birds.
A White-breasted Wood Swallow high up in one of the crags of Coron Island.
An underbelly shot of the White-breasted Wood Swallow
I also saw an Ashy Fronted Bulbul and a black bird that I was not able to identify although I suspect it was an Asian Glossy Starling.
Sometime in the afternoon, we saw the ship we took the day before steam into the bay from the south. The ship was on its voyage from Puerto Princessa to Coron.
We called it a day at around 5pm, tired but happy with our time together.
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