Well things haven't quite gone to plan the last week but that's what makes travelling interesting - read on to find out more. It's a long one so I suggest you put the kettle on or have a stiff drink at hand.
We spent our first day in Coron planning what to do, the first job being to choose a dive centre to do the wreck dives. Coron is one of the best sites in the world for wreck diving - in the Second World War the Japanese hid their supply ships in a bay between the islands where they thought they were out of range of American artillery. In September 1944 a squadron of 24 US bombers & 96 fighter planes located the Japanese fleet and proceeded to blow it apart in the 15 minute time slot they had to ensure they had enough fuel to make their return journey. Quite a high number of the US planes did run out of fuel or were shot down by the Japanese, but the operation was ground breaking at the time.
The legacy of this is 12 well preserved wrecks all easily accessible from Coron and at moderate depths for wreck diving (10 to 30 metres).
Like Puerto Galera, there are countless dive shops in Coron so we visited one that seemed to get good reviews and happy that they looked like a good set up with good rental equipment we signed up for 3 dives the following day.
We also signed up for an island boat tour the day after. Coron town is small but full of traffic & tourist bars and restaurants so we couldn't see much more of interest for us here but we read a travellers blog about visiting the north of the island (Busuanga) which is supposed to be peaceful and unspoilt. We booked a stunning looking retreat overlooking the sea for 2 nights and planned to hire a scooter for 3 days to get us there. Then on return from there we'd have a final night in Coron town before catching an early ferry to El Nido, another popular tourist island in Palawan. We love a good plan.
It was a windy day for the diving which involved a 90 minute boat trip to the bay. We were allocated our own Dive Master and he made me feel at ease saying that we did not have to enter the wrecks if I was not comfortable. I desperately hoped I wouldn't chicken out so Colin didn't miss out on the full experience.
Our first dive was the Kogya Maru, a 130m long ship lying on its side. The wind was still up so once in the water we descended down a guide line attached to the wreck. The visibility wasn't terrific, in fact it wasn't until we reached the upper part of the wreck we could make its form out. Our guide signalled to the entry points to the cargo holds and asked if I wanted to enter. The entry points were large and I could see the exit route so feeling relaxed I gave the thumbs up. We had small torches and it was fascinating seeing cement bags, rolls of wire and even a bulldozer. Back outside we continued over the surface of the wreck where lovely coral formations have taken over with shoals of small fish and larger lion and scorpion fish. We were soon ascending the rope for our 5m safety stop.
After the required dive interval the boat moved on the short distance to the next dive site and we got ready for our 2nd dive on the Olympia Maru wreck, a 128m long vessel standing the right way up. This ship had masts and open cargo bays with easy entry so I found this one even more enjoyable. Before we entered our guide took us to some whispy coral on the side of the wreck where we saw two seahorses nestled.
Inside we saw the prison cell, engine room and boilers. Most mind blowing was the sacks of rice which 80 years on still had rice in them. Back outside the lovely fan coral was home to an array of fish - scorpion and puffer to name a couple.
We had lunch back on board before the third and final dive - the Morazan Maru at 112m lying on its side. This was originally an English freighter ship that was captured by the Japanese in Shanghai in 1941. We swam through the cargo bays. There are bricks in there with English wording still clearly visible.
Back onboard we stripped off the diving gear & the crew handed around a cold beer for the journey back. My beer wasn't going down so well and I started to feel a bit yuk. I put it down to the boat pitching around in the still windy conditions. My neck felt strangely stiff and sore which I again put down to the wind. I was relieved to get back on land and after Colin settled up for the diving we went straight back to the hotel and still feeling nauseous I went straight to bed. When I got up later for a shower Colin noticed my back had a mottled rash covering it.
When I came round in the morning Colin had googled my symptoms and said it sounded a lot like decompression sickness - nausea, dizziness & the rash all classic symptoms. Thankfully I didn't have some of the more serious ones of loss of feeling in limbs. The rash had actually faded considerably too. Colin went to the hotel reception who gave him details of a diagnostics clinic in town. He then called the dive centre who gave him the name of a guy called Ben who apparently is a dive sickness expert. We didn't realise at he time he is actually based in Manila so when we couldn't get hold of him Colin said we must get to the clinic. By this time I'd vomited and was so dizzy I could barely stand. I somehow managed to get down the stairs and onto a tricycle for the short journey to the clinic where they ushered me into a cubicle and I was seen by a doctor straight away.
I was asked questions about what I'd been doing and my symptoms, and had a nurse taking my vitals and bloods for testing too. My eardrums were checked as many diving accidents involve perforated eardrums. All tests were showing up ok though. I was put on a saline drip to rehydrate me. While all of this was going on Colin was still trying to get hold of Ben. I tried to get up to use the bathroom but after taking just 2 steps had blacked out. My doctor (Clifford) was also trying to contact Ben and had spoken to a dive shop who said there was no decompression chambers on Coron which I was a bit taken aback by being a big wreck diving area. After a couple of hours Ben finally contacted Colin and said having seen the photo of my back said it was almost certainly DCS (decompression sickness) and I should commence treatment asap. I was put straight onto pure oxygen (which we have now found out if this had been administered right after the dive it may have saved me deteriorating to my current state) and now had the issue of how to get me to a hyperbolic chamber. After more asking around we discovered there is in fact a hyperbolic chamber at a dive shop in Coron. Thank goodness ! Twist in the tail - only a guy called Arni can operate the chamber and he is currently setting up a new dive centre on a remote island and not due back to Coron until April. With more liaising with Ben he confirmed Arni has the chamber and although old it works perfectly well. If Arni wasn't available my only option would be a low level medivac flight to Manila where Ben could treat me.
Colin switched into full throttle mode on what he does best - harangue people until he gets what he wants (I can see his old work colleagues nodding at this point). He marched round to the Coron Divers shop and met Arni's wife (Donna) who confirmed he was away and very hard to contact. She also said if she could get hold of him it would take him 2 days to travel back by ferries and buses. To her credit she tried calling him constantly and he finally picked up. He'd just finish taking clients out for a dive and said without hesitation he'd set off immediately and expected to be back in Coron the following evening. Colin couldn't believe it ! This would save complicated travel arrangements to move me with oxygen let alone thousands of pounds of costs.
Back in the clinic I was still being treated fantastically by the doctor and nurse. I felt ok propped up on the trolley so had another go at getting up to go to the bathroom - same result as last time but worse - full black out again. I was feeling really worried now, but I was hoping it may be due to my blood pressure readings being so low compared to my normal. The nurse was recording 90/50 on some readings - they kept saying this was in normal range but I assume if my body is used to a much higher normal it must surely be a factor.
Colin is 100% my hero for all he had been doing - making things happen, clearing up after me when I blacked out, sitting with me in the clinic and having to bring me food. Clifford the doctor did suggest I should be eating healthier choices than biscuits , cereal bars and fruit sweets, but I wasn't really feeling the urge to eat rice.
The clinic had a steady stream of clients all day, both tourists and Filipinos. A lot of cases revolve around motorcycle accidents, diving injuries, sun burn (or sun poisoning as they call it) and infections. The clinic is incredible - clean, modern equipment and staffed with a small team of medics , most of whom lodge on the upper floor of the clinic. The clinic is open 8am to 6pm but they never turn people away who turn up out of hours.
The night shift nurse continued to check my vitals, oxygen and saline all through the night.
Colin brought me a healthier breakfast the next day (fruit, seeds , muesli & yogurt) to appease Clifford. We had the day waiting and hoping Arni wound make it by the evening, although in all honesty we weren't too hopeful knowing the random nature of the Philippine ferries and buses. I was banned from trying to stand up all day as no-one wanted to have my dead weight to pick up again if I blacked out.
As it approached evening Colin got a message from Arni that he'd arrived and was getting the chamber ready. An ambulance was called to take me the five minutes to the dive shop - I was still not allowed to stand or walk, so had to be wheeled to the pavement and stretchered into it. Clifford and the night cover nurse came with us.
Arni was ready for me when we got there. He'd been travelling more than 24 hours and had only about 4 hours sleep. He ran through everything again and showed me a plan drawn up by Ben based on my diving profiles and symptoms. We couldn't fully understand what he
was proposing to do but it looked like it would be 5 hours 45 minutes in total.
A group of helpers had to lift me up on a (baking) tray into the chamber (which I now think of as 'the chamber of secrets' per Clifford's colleague). I could just about move my arms and legs but had to lie flat. The telecom between the inside and outside was broken so Arni said he'd provide me instructions from outside and whatever happens I must not sleep. To be honest my biggest worry was can I last 6 hours without a toilet?
The door was sealed - according to Colin the seal was lose so he had to assist getting it closed. Then the treatment began. It was really hot in the chamber and when the oxygen was pumped into the heavy rubber mask I had to wear it took my breath away. I could feel the pressure changing and had to equalise my ears as I would descending on a dive. The first 2 hours or so involved me putting the mask on for 15 minutes then removing it for five minutes - a welcome respite as it was so heavy. Arni also asked me to move my arms and legs around - I'm assuming this may be to dislodge nitrogen bubbles? But all this movement was making the chamber even hotter - I was sweating like I was in a sauna. I could hear snippets of conversations outside. Colin said Arni didn't stop for the full time twiddling controls on the chamber - there was certainly no automatic control settings. Arni had been a diver for the Philippine Navy and his job would be to disconnect mines, so he spent much time in hyperbolic chambers as part of his job. After this he set up dive shops in Coron, El Nido and Port Barton (although he had closed the latter two now) and he acquired this old chamber which he has used over 100 times. The last time he'd been called to use it was for a Filipino pearl diver. His new project was setting up a new dive centre on an unspoilt remote island at the south end of Palawan - Colin said the photos looked stunning.
Colin was very amused that Clifford had MacDonalds burgers and fries brought in for everyone - so much for a healthy diet!
The last two hours were torture for me - I was drenched in sweat, the mask felt claustrophobic and I could hardly breath. The sequence was now an hour on air then 15 minutes off. I couldn't doze as the air flow altered so much as Arni shot cold blasts of oxygen in for a few seconds which when switched off made it feel even hotter. Colin's cheery face appeared in the porthole and he thought he was bringing me good news - just one hour to go. I nearly burst into tears - that seemed like an eternity.
Finally at around 1am the door was opened and I breathed a sigh of relief. The next scary part was how they were going to lift me out and down with less people. I think they were shocked with how dripping wet I was. I was finally on my feet again and was taken back to the clinic to be administered oxygen for another 12 hours.
I had a surprisingly good sleep, as did Colin. Sunday is the medics one day off a week but there were people outside early in the morning and before you knew it they were inside being treated. Clifford was happy for me to be discharged early afternoon - although feeling light headed the dizziness had finally gone. We can't thank the team in the clinic enough for their care and treatment over my two days there. They really are special people. We asked if we could take them to dinner that evening - we were chuffed when they said yes.
After I'd got showered and changed for the first time in two days we went to see Arni to thank him and settle the cost for the chamber and his travel costs. Again, we can't thank him enough for dropping everything to come and treat me. We are now planing to visit his island for a couple of days after doing the other touristy bits in Palawan.
We booked a table at a nice airy bar/restaurant near the clinic in the evening. We had our fingers crossed that they hadn't had any emergencies to deal with or had decided they were too tired to come out on their evening off.
Clifford and three of the ladies arrived. They had never been to the restaurant before and it suddenly dawned on us that everyone was a tourist there and the westernised version of Asian cuisine may not be to their taste. I wasn't drinking but they introduced me to a must try Aperol Slush. We really enjoyed the evening with them learning a bit more about life in the Philippines. They said there are three B's that the Philippines find most important:
Boxing
Basketball
Beauty Pageants
and Harry Potter seems to be their favourite British thing.
And there endeth my drama (I hope) - apologies it's all been about me me me. We promise more pretty pictures next time.
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