banana malcapuya loop

On the second day of our Coron trip, we decided to visit the "alleged" best beaches of Coron: Banana Island and Malcapuya Island.

Our boatman asked if he can meet us at the Pier earlier than scheduled, so we left the pier at 8:00AM and traveled to our first stop: Malcapuya Island.

The reason behind leaving early is to have more time to enjoy the islands, and boy, are we glad we listened to the boatman! We were the first ones to get to Malcapuya Island that day and we got dibs on the best spot along the shore -- the treehouse which was right smack in the center of the beach shore! Not only did we have the best seat in the house, but the treehouse also had a hammock which was perfect for chillax time! While we were exploring the island and taking pictures, our boatman prepared our lunch: a seafood fest of sorts with our grilled crabs and fish, some fruits and a big bottle of coke. What's not to love about this trip?!

While having lunch, we saw two big spots near the shoreline and got excited with the idea of corals that are close to the shoreline, which meant that we didn't have to swim too far to see the fishes. Right after lunch, we took a dip to check it out and got the surprise of our lives. The big spots weren't corals, they were schools of fish!


One was a school of small fishes and the other was a school of slightly bigger fishes! We had fun playing with the fishes that swam with us.

After enjoying Malcapuya Island, we left for another beautiful island called Banana Island. The boatman said that the island is banana shaped, thus the name. I didn't really notice this when we were there. One thing I noticed, though, is how amazing the island is! The sand is fine and white, the water is very clean and cool and the corals and fishes are very much alive and colorful! I even saw a sting ray here! I was struck with awe upon seeing the sting ray, and when I realized that I wasn't seeing it from an aquarium but that I was actually swimming with it, I panicked and swam away! Alas, GM was not able to take a picture of it, no thanks to me =S sorry! It's just that I recall Steve Irwin being killed by one so I kinda got scared and panicked.

By the way, while we were in Malcapuya Island, there was this one tourist who was walking along the beach with his lifevest and snorkeling gear on. GM and I were making fun of him because it was really funny how scared this guy is of drowning. I mean he was WALKING along the shore with his snorkling gear on, how crazy is that? But then I realized, I had my lifevest on the whole time we were in Banana Island! Who's afraid of drowning now, kiddo? hahaha!

After Banana Island, we headed off to our last stop for the day, Bulog Dos Island. It's a little island not far from Banana, which was also beautiful with its sand bar and rock formations.

We had fun taking pictures of ourselves here. The water looks great but we were already too tired that we just opted to take pictures in crazy poses. Tripods and camera timers rule!

These islands are a little bit farther than most tourist spots in Coron, I guess this is why the beauty of these islands were preserved. It really is worth the time and effort to visit these islands. Perhaps it would be a great experience to be able to stay overnight in Malcapuya or Banana, we didn't have the chance to but I would definitely recommend it.

Next post: day 3 of our coron trip -- calauit safari and concepcion falls :)