Coron island is off the northern coast of Palawan and it is known for its amazing shipwreck dives.  During WWII, a surprise attack led to the sinking of 22 Japanese ships in the area. We had planned our visit to Coron to enjoy this very unique dive site.

Our first morning in Coron, I was excited to have longanisa, sweet Filipino sausage, for breakfast. Adam had never tried it before and I had forgotten how much I loved the candied casing of the tasty meat.  (Note to self, look for this at the Asian supermarket when I get back to the US.)

We then headed to Coron Divers, where we were paired with our guide, Ken and were later joined by a more advanced level diving couple and their guide, Oliver.  Angel was local from the nearby Apo Islands and her boyfriend Leigh was visiting from Perth.  We were both happy to have a larger diving group but since I didn’t dive in El Nido, I was a bit anxious to dive since it had been a few years.

(Ken later told me he sometimes gets divers who are apprehensive because of his baby face and second guess his experience and skill level since he is in his early twenties. I am thankful he waited until the end of the dive to tell me this, as I had not really thought about when second guessing whether or not I was ready to dive again).

Wreck diving turned out to be much more challenging than we expected, since we had to have precise control of our bodies in three dimensions as we maneuvered though passages in the worn down ship wrecks.   For a few moments, when we were in the hold of a gun boat, in the pitch black, I thought I was going to panic, but when the flashlights came on and I saw the mysterious shipping container and the heavy machinery surrounding us at the bottom of the ocean, I knew it was worth it.

Later that night we met up Ken, Leigh, Angel and a few of the other instructors at a place called Subasco’s for some drinks and dancing.  The first thing they ordered was a “rum tower”.  We had never heard of one before but it’s basically a huge tube with a spigot that they the set on the table which contains a bottle of rum and a what tastes like a splash of coca-cola.  After one of those and a few GSM gin and limes, we were ready dance.   Everyone busted out their best moves (a lot of them scuba themed) and we shut the place down at 1:30 at which point everyone walked us back to our guesthouse and then went home.