May 29 - The homestay owner gives me a lift on his scooter down to the ferry ticketing office. Here, I discover that there is an issue with the ferry to El Nido. It didn’t go yesterday due to weather, so today is fully booked. But we can come back at 16:00 and check for cancellations.
What this tells me is that uncertainty has now enveloped our advance. I plan the remainder of the day such that we can check other options for getting a boat out of here.
Wash some clothes and stop by a travel agency. They claim to have ferry tickets for tomorrow, so I shell out the 9000 pesos. But the ticket can only be confirmed later.
The day is cloudy and not so hot. We decide it will be fine to climb up the hill behind town (Mt. Tapyas), where there is a big metal cross. It is over 700 steps, but not so bad in this weather. The top is windy with good views of the southern side of Busuanga Island and the strait.
Get some lunch, ends up being the most expensive yet, at $27. Then a brief jaunt through downtown. Coron Town has done a good job of cleaning up garbage. There is almost no place with litter, noticeable to us given how ubiquitous it is elsewhere in southeast Asia.
Feel uneasy about the ferry situation, so make a stop at the travel agency. Indeed it appears the ferry will not go tomorrow to El Nido, but there is a flight. I pay out another 6000 pesos to book it if possible.
At this point decide to hang around by hotel, as clearly it is going to take some work to leave Coron Town. Around 19:00 I receive a text saying that there is no room on the flight, and it ends up being cancelled anyway. There is nothing more to be done about this today. I let the hotel in El Nido know that we will not arrive there for the 31st of May, and secure our room here for an additional night.
Philippines