Waking up at 2.30am, we tried shooting a decent piece of sunrise, stopping along the way to the jump-off point for Calauit. No dice. The sky didn’t look promising when we boarded a small boat for calauit.B ut not after a 3.5-4 hour drive over rough terrain and several creeks that made me wonder how our rented Starex van can still run. It almost looked like it’s going to rain but we got a reprieve as the rains waited until we were able to tour and shoot. Our amiable and knowledgeable guides told us about Ilultuk bay and going up the mountain, We saw promise in the expansive mangrove bay and rugged shoreline.
We decided to wait for the sunset at Ilultuk bay; after all, the squall turned into one mighty thunderstorm which allowed us to rest. Good thing the caretakers had provisions since we were originally set to stay only a few hours and didn’t bring food with us. It was quite surreal to nap in one of the open air huts surrounded by this wildlife and flora.
Going back to Coron, we find much of the town plunged in darkness as the generating plant had technical problems. With the fiesta of Coron town proper coming up, the power was channeled for the festivities.B eing able to eat kamayan-style in Salvacion at around 9pm was a big relief and a real treat, with seafood, danggit and bagoong.
I wasn’t able to sleep on the trip back home and marveled at Jerry’s decision to bring his pillow along. The guy was sound asleep most of the way. Of course, the sandman came as quick as soon as I hit the sack. Image: Calamian Mouse Deer, one of only three of its kind in the world; this one is endemic to Palawan, taken at the Calauit Sanctuary
