Blog Diving in Coral Bay, Coron

After recharging on Boracay from my long flight to the Philippines, I felt ready for what I thought would be my biggest challenge in the Philippines.. I had long wanted the perfect dive operator in Coron in northern Palawan. The area is world famous for it's Japanese wrecks, sunk in 1944 in a crucial attack by the Americans. The many wrecks are resting in a bay a little hour sail from Coron town on the main island Busuanga. Several dive centers are battling monopoly on the diving from Coron, all of them seemingly affected by the slightly seedy atmosphere of this grubby little port town. I had already been here once, checking out several dive centers, and being disappointed each time, I had almost given up on hopes.

The wrecks are unarguably some of the best wrecks in the world, they are nothing less than f****** stunning! But you want your guide or instructor to be on the ball on these wrecks, diving them carelessly can be a very daunting experience. Previously I had only looked in Coron town and the islands on the way out to the wrecks. The islands are numerous, most of them uninhabited. This time, I was lured out to a little island located beyond the wrecks, a good hour and a half sail from Coron. The trip itself did the trick. I was sold. If there was ever a dream of sailing amongst untouched islands in the tropics, I was living it. And I was going to the one of the very last inhabited island in the chain of islands

Getting into my new role as the female version of Crusoe, I saw the island of my dreams approaching, complete with white beach, leaning palm trees and a boutique 15 bungalow resort. I was going to live on it, and dive the wrecks from it. Setting off from my perfect balcony each morning.

Being greeted by the Danish couple who operated it, I knew I had found my dive operator. With a professional dive center full of well-maintained equipment, a very enthusiastic dive instructor and a nicely done mural giving information on the wrecks I were to dive, all my previous dreams of finding a shop in Coron was gone. The instructor was finishing a course with four Swedish guys who were back packing around the Philippines, but Monika, the Danish owner was more than happy to show me the house reef. She normally guides on the boat as well, she has spent years setting up their perfect little resort, and she is still ever so excited about the diving here. The house reef was perfect for teaching, but I was very happy to see that they had their own little wreck next to it. Warming me up for the many cool wreck dives to come.

Coral Bay, on Potototan Island was everyone's "drop off the face of the world" fantasy . The rooms, each individually decorated with wonderful natural materials, were simple (no AC or hot water); but who needs a droning machine when a cooling sea-breeze provides the best climate control in the world! And it didn't have a noisy bar down the beach, or a hundred people to throw rubbish everywhere. But it did have an atmosphere like nowhere else, the best food I'd had in the Philippines and the options for all the nature experiences wanted. If the diving isn't enough for the guests the trekking on the island is brilliant and there's free kayaks for anyone to use. They also have windsurfing for free, but I stuck with the trekking, and kayaking… I was told that a dugong was hanging out on the reef just around the corner. I didn't find the dugong, but I did find a large number of other deserted perfect beaches, and I claimed them all…

Go check out the dive and stay packages for Coral Bay, Coron on the Blue Venture (www.blueventure.net) or on the Kilroy website.