A PARADISE CALLED CORON A vISIt tO thE SAfE hAvEN Of CLub PARADISE PALAwAN

Coron is a 1st class municipality in the province of Palawan. It is home to the Coron Island Natural Biotic Area, which is listed in the natural category of the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. This information a lready suggests that you can expect to swim in clean and clear waters and be closer to nature and wildlife.

It is also home to Dimakya Island and its exclusive island resort, Club Paradise Palawan.

How to get to Coron

W E t raveled via Sunlight Air’s new hub in Clark International Airport to Busuanga Airport. That, in itself, is an entirely new experience. Passengers of connecting flights from NAIA i n Manila can get on a P2P (Pointto-Point) bus at the airport that goes to Clark directly. Sunlight Air also offers flights to different destinations such as Siargao, Camiguin, S an Vicente and the latest stop is

Naga in Bicol. The bus ride from Manila took about 2-3 hours. When we arrived, I couldn’t help but marvel at the modern and huge airport in Clark. I appreciated the space and the food choices offered at the restaurants. We even had to take a golf cart to our gate since walking would take a few minutes.

The flight was on time and it took only over an hour to get to Coron. Francisco B. Reyes Airport, also known as Busuanga airport or sometimes called Coron airport, is the gateway to paradise. After waiting for our bags and paying the 200 p eso environmental fee, we headed outside the airport towards the parking area.

Club Paradise awaits

We were picked up at the airport by the resort’s shuttle van and t aken on a short ride to the port of

THE CiT y THaT SHoES madE

Here in the Philippines, when one mentions locally made shoes, the first word that comes into mind is Marikina. The Shoe Capital of the Philippines, the shoe making industry in this city began in 1887 when Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevarra served as Marikina’s captain municipal.

Historical accounts s ay that he ripped apart his pair of imported shoes to see how it was made and then put it back together again. Using the dismantled parts as padron or patterns, he then was able to produce cheap canvas shoes that eventually evolved to the leather tanned footwear made of imports from e ur ope. Kapitan Moy’s willingness to open up a small shoe store ignited the interest of his community. Soon, every corner of Marikina has a shoe shop of its own.

At the poblacion is the house where it all started. Constructed in 1780 by Don Jose Guevarra whose family owns “Asyenda Tyason,” it is now almost two and a half centuries old.

Formerly the old Kapitan Moy building, the first pair of shoes in Marikina was designed and made here in 1887. Andres Bonifacio of the Katipunan once visited the place and American soldiers made it a camp in 1901. Then, it became a primary school in 1907, the house of the American tribunal and, from 1942 to 1945, became the Japanese Imperial Army’s headquarters. In 1968, it was declared as a National Shrine by the municipal council and NHCP. Now the city’s Sentrong Pangkultura ng Marikina, it houses the Café Kapitan r e staurant at the ground floor and the second floor is a venue for seminars, conventions and other events. Beside this house is Chanyungco Heritage House, an elegant bahay na bato (stone house) built sometime at the turn of the 20th century by Thomas Chanyungco, a shoe manufacturer who owned Gandara shoes, a prewar brand. These two houses are not the oldest structures in the city. The honor belongs to the nearby Baroque-style Church of Our Lady of the Abandoned, which was built on its present site in 1687. It was destroyed twice during earthquakes, was gutted by fire in 1891 ,and suffered major damage during the PhilippineAmerican War in 1898 and its bell tower w as totally destroyed during World War II. By 1957, the church was restored and refurbished. It is home to the venerated image of Our Lady of the Abandoned (fondly called “Mama Ola”).

The church is known for featuring Metro Manila’s longest Holy Week processions with around 87 floats (as of 2023). Nationwide, it is third overall after the St. Augustine Parish in Baliuag and the San Isidro Labrador Parish in Pulilan, both in Bulacan, which features at least 110 floats.

Across the Sentrong Pangkultura ng Marikina is the Museo ng Sapatos (Shoe Museum), which is housed in an old stone building (bigasang bayan) built in 1880s by Doña Teresa de la Paz of the affluent Tuason family to store palay. Opened on February 16, 2001, it aims to showcase the shoes worn by

Decalachao. From there, we took a 30-minute private boat trip along mangroves that open up to the sea. Along the way, we were given snacks and a native token from the resort.

We marveled at the crystal blue waters and powdery white sand beach as we arrived. We were welcomed with hot towels and the customary welcome drinks before heading to the resort’s front desk to check in.

Sunset Villa

O UR ro om was in front of the beach and near the clubhouse. It had a queen size bed, a spacious bathroom, and all the amenities you would need. There was also an available beach bag to use around the resort or during island tours.

A fter settling in, we were treated to a relaxing organic foot wash and scrub at the room’s veranda. The view of the ocean from there was well appreciated. It was so relaxing that I w as able to take a short nap at the daybed after the massage.

In the late afternoon, we were also pleasantly surprised that the resort’s housekeeping team provides snacks with their turndown service. The provided snacks were tasty treats of local delicacies like fried puto bumbong and chocolate candies.

Private dinner by the beach

T HE highlight of the day was having dinner at Firefish Restaurant. T he moonlight dinner was set up at the beach, a few steps away from the restaurant. The coastal cuisine combined with the ocean breeze makes f or an excellent meal. The restaurant serves a huge variety of fresh seafood and tender meats that we savored as we enjoyed the surroundings.

Complementing the meals were the herbs and spices that are organically grown from the resort’s garden.

The Sunrise Coffee Service

A PERFECT way to wake you up the n ext day is the resort’s sunrise service. Just let the housekeeping team k now what time and they will bring your morning coffee with pandesal and a platter of fruits. Definitely a great way to slow down and enjoy the veranda views before heading to the Firefish restaurant for the breakfast buffet.

There are many choices during breakfast. What’s available are the usual Filipino breakfast of fried rice, beef tapa, adobo, tuyo and the like. Guests can also have pancakes, cereals or assorted fruits. Guests take t heir time to eat up before the day’s island festivities.

As you walk the resort’s pathways, don’t be surprised as you encounter monitor lizards and exotic birds along the way.

Eagle’s point

R E ADy to take in more of that fresh ocean breeze? Club Paradise also has a hiking trail going up to Eagle’s point, Dimakya island’s highest point.

O nce up there, be rewarded by magnificent views of Isla Walang Lang-Aw (Island without Trees) and Coron’s glorious sunsets.

Takeaway a 16cm. x 16cm. shoe design made of brass. Just outside the Shoe Museum is a century-old acacia tree, one of two Heritage Trees in Marikina, which are enduring witnesses to city’s history particularly, the growth and struggles of its footwear industry. Now laying on its side, the trunk blocking J.P. r i zal Street and half of the roots unearthed and exposed, it was uprooted by a tornado spawned by Typhoon Ompong on September 14, 2018. First aid methods and bonsai techniques had been used to revive this acacia and it is now considered a symbol of the community’s own survival and resilience. At the nearby Philippine International Footwear Center is the Otto Shoes Mini Museum, which exhibits works of art using shoes as the medium. prominent figures and personalities in the Philippine history and to trace the history of the shoe industry.

C LU B P aradise Palawan is best described by one word, and that is p eace.

“Everyone has a gift of space in the island, even if we’re high in occupancy, people don’t feel like the re sort is packed because the island is huge and has almost a kilometer of beach front where people can enjoy”, said Hotel Manager, Mr. Joegil M agtanggol Escobar.

Mr. Escobar also mentions that the resort has an in-house marine biologist who helps the Club Paradise team maintain and protect the e nvironment. Just snorkeling in front of the resort can be gratifying because the underwater marine life is in abundance.

Discover paradise. It still exists and it is found here in Coron. Welcome home to Club Paradise Palawan.

The centerpiece of its exhibits are the 749 pairs (as of 2020) of size eight-and-ahalf footwear of former First Lady Imelda r Marcos, an active promoter of Marikina’s shoe industry, are displayed. Also on display are shoes worn by former Presidents Ferdinand e . M arcos, Fidel V. r am os, Joseph e s trada (a size 10), and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. There are also shoes donated by other poli - ticians (Sen. Loren Legarda, Cong. Jose de Venecia, Bongbong Marcos, Miriam Defensor Santiago, etc.), showbiz figures (Dolphy, Fernado Poe Jr., Christine r e yes, etc.) , athletes, and other well-known personalities (Lisa Macuja- e l izalde, First Lady Amelita r a mos, etc.). Aside from celebrity shoes, it also displays the products that made Marikina as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines. On another corner are award-winning shoes, mostly fantasy footwear from the city’s annual design competition. There is also a display about footwear through the ages.

On the sidewalk surrounding the Shoe Museum is the Shoe-perstar Alley, a walkof-fame inaugurated on November 13, 2012 (Sapatos Festival). It features 49 famous personalities from different careers like politics, sports, arts, entertainment, music, philanthropy, business, news and current affairs, fashion and beauty, and religion who have greatly contributed to the upliftment of the shoe industry in Marikina. Their names are placed on 60cm. x 60cm. tiles that have

About 2.5 kilometers away from all this history is the 23-hectare (57-acre) r i verbanks Center, home of the Philippine’s biggest outdoor amphitheater and outlet center (located inside the r i verbank Mall) for Marikina’s finished shoe products as well as branded labels such as Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma, r e ebok, and World Balance, among others. Its Shoe Gallery once housed the Guinness World r e cords largest shoes in the world (since surpassed in April 2013 by a replica of a Superga shoe), measuring 183 centimeters high, 5.29 meters (17.4 feet) long and 2.37 meters (7 feet 9 inches) wide, equivalent to a French shoe size of 753. The heel measures 41 centimeters (16 inches). It is made of genuine leather and upper lining and took 77 days to finish (August 5, 2002 to 21 October 21, 2002). The shoes can be worn by a 125foot high person and can fit 30 people inside. The materials used can produce 250 pairs of regular shoes. The shoes are currently being rehabilitated.