For three days last month, I, as well as some members of the blogging community, were treated to a gustatory and visual overload courtesy of Sophia’s Garden Resort in Coron, Palawan. We were brought directly to Coron via a 40-minute flight from Manila to Busuanga Airport via SkyJet Airlines, riding in style and roomy comfort on SkyJet’s 80-seater, four-engine British Aerospace 146-100 jet. From the airport, it is a 17-kilometer/45-minute drive to the resort.
Our visual overload started in this cozy, family-friendly Spanish-style boutique hotel, set in a 5,000-square-meter lot. As its name would suggest, it has a lush, spacious and nice central garden area with bamboo groves, mangroves and lots of trees. We all stayed in some of their 22 spacious, clean and elegantly furnished air-conditioned rooms decorated in a minimalist style.
After checking in, our gustatory journey started with lunch at its charming El Comidor Sophia Restaurant. Within its Spanish-style interior, we feasted on food, prepared by Corporate Executive Chef Francis Christian “Janjie” Ocoma (the “Lakwatserong Kusinero” who’s traveled to all of the country’s provinces save for three): Pork Pot Roast, Fish Fillet with Cashew Sauce, Mixed Vegetables, Aglio Olio con Lamayo and Hainanese Chicken, plus Yema Squares con Gelato for dessert.
Come evening, a van brought us to Maquinit Hot Springs, believed to be one of the rarest hot springs in the country and in Asia.
Unique for its saltwater pools (one of only a few in the world), it is one of the best mineral hot-spring sites in the country. Here, we immersed ourselves in its hot sulfuric, mineral-rich salt water, which emanates from the ground and collects in several waist-deep pools 5 meters from the seashore.
To culminate our first day in Coron, Chef Janjie brought us to the town proper to experience the town’s newest chillout place: The View Deck Grill House, where Janjie is also its corporate executive chef. We tried out its set menu, which consisted of two pastry-covered soups, an appetizer of Classic Style Buffalo Wings with Pesto Sour Cream Sauce, followed by hearty Baked Shepherd’s Pie, the deliciously creamy Wrapped Signature Chicken Enchiladas, the crispy Country-Style Fried Chicken and their Grilled Platter consisting of an assortment of barbecued pork, chicken inasal, prawns and tuna. For dessert, there was a slice of the sinful and crowd-pleasing Cheesecake and creamy, rich Tiramisu.
We all woke up very early the morning after, as we were to experience one of Coron’s—as well as the country’s—popular ecotourism attractions: Calauit Safari Park. Our two-hour van ride took us to Macalachao Pier in Salvacion, Busuanga.
Here, we had breakfast before proceeding on our short, 10-minute motorized boat ride to Calauit Island. Upon arrival, we were all requested to sign up on the registration area and, from there, we walked a short distance, accompanied by a local guide, to where the animals grazed.
Opened to tourists since 1985, the park used to have eight species of herbivores from Kenya (Africa), but only the reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, waterbucks and common elands remain (the Thompson gazelles, bushbucks topis and impalas have all died out). Of the remaining four, we only spotted the zebras and the giraffes (the other two are shy and prefer to distance themselves from tourists), as well as local Calamian deer.
The highlight of the tour was the Feeding Station. Here, we got to feed the giraffes with leaves provided by our guides, and got up close to them. We also observed, in their pens, pools and cages in the mini zoo, the Philippine freshwater crocodile, the Philippine porcupine, freshwater turtles, leopard cats, the Palawan bearded pig and the Philippine macaque.
In the late afternoon all the way to the evening back at the resort, we enjoyed immersing ourselves at its multi-colored outdoor swimming pool and heated jacuzzi. For another gustatory adventure, we dined, boodle-style and al fresco, at one of the poolside cabanas, feasting on Seafood Kare-Kare, Roasted Beef Kaldereta, Sinabawang Manok sa Tanglad, Grilled Liempo, Crispy Canton, Ensaladang Talong at Okra sa Ginataang Bagoong and Salted Eggs, plus a dessert of Suman Ala Mode.
In Photo: 1 Sophia’s Garden Resort
2 An array of gustatory delights of El Comidor
3 El Comidor Sophia Restaurant
4 The minimalist rooms at Sophia’s Garden Resort
5 Calauit Safari Park
6 Bonding with giraffes