Coron

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The reason people come to Coron is for the diving. Specifically for the wreck diving.

During World War II, the Japanese put a large amount of their supply ships in Coron Bay. Their thinking was that its location was too remote and far from USA troops to be affected. That was a major miscalculation. In 1944 the US launched its longest range attack ever. They had just enough fuel to get to Coron Bay, drop bombs for 15 minutes, and then head back to their base. During that short time several ships were sunk. Luckily, for scuba divers, many sunk in waters shallow enough to dive. I ended up entering 7 ships, all about 150 meters long.

They were actual ships that you can enter and squeeze through parts. If you feel comfortable in tight spaces and low light, it can be a lot of fun. One of my favorite dives was inside the Akitsushima. It has several, narrow passages throughout it and it really felt adventurous squeezing through it. One bad thing is that the visibility inside and out of the ships is very poor. Nearby oyster farms have added a lot of particles and in the last decade it has reduced the visibility to only a fraction of what it was before. That's why I do not have many photos of the ships. Still I had a blast and would recommend coming here if you're an advanced diver.

Because it was low season, ferry and plane schedules to Coron were not daily. I ended up staying a week and luckily met some good friends to keep me busy during my time out of the water. Coron is a small town and many of the hotel staff took us out to local spots during the nights. Coron isn't breath taking with its beauty, but it does have some charm. It's surprisingly fast for a small town and filled with friendly locals and not many tourists. Maybe during high season it's full of divers, but during my stay, I and a few others were the only ones there. We were also blessed with good weather and most of the time it was dry with a cool breeze. It was a very fun and physically exhausting week. Good times.

See you next time

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Comments

[Leslie]

That's too cool! The first time I saw the little Mermaid my idea was to someday dive into ships and pick up forks and hair brushes like she did. No but seriously, those pics are awesome I can only imagine! Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two thumbs up ;-)

[anonymous]

your pics are sooo good. they're so artistic. i especially love the red and orange sunset. and after reading how you went inside the ships, i wish i was a professional diver!!!