The Wonders of Puerto Princesa

The Wonders of Puerto Princesa

Before July ends and before I forget the details, I'd like to write and share my Puerto Princesa experience.

I've always wanted to go to Palawan. Desperately that I can settle with anywhere-in-Palawan. It has been one of the places in my to-see-before-I-die list. Since I started working and earning my own travel money(thank you Lord), my list of places to-go has become longer and longer. Now, I have to begin exploring those places I'm fascinated about, otherwise they will remain to be just my dream destinations.

I spent a fortune on travels for this first half of the year. The 1st month of 2008, I was freezing in New York. The only reason why I decided to go to the US on a winter was because my friend got married in California. And since I was there, I was convinced by my grandaunt to fly to NY. After my US trip, I took another month-long vacation sometime in March. I went to Bacolod. Came May, I was in Zambales. End of July, I will be in Baguio. Whoa! Road Runner!

Considering my early travels here and abroad, the places I've been, the people I met, the food that I tried, the experiences I went through...my advice, take yourself to one of the beautiful and peaceful cities in the Philippines, Puerto Princesa--the ecotourism capital of the country... and you will find yourself loving this country of mine even more!

After deciding on the dates (July 12-14), I booked myself to an early flight that leaves Manila to Puerto Princesa--Palawan's capital city. Three major airlines are operating daily to and from Puerto Princesa (PAL, CebuPacific, and AirPhil). I never had a problem looking for a nice accommodation because there are plenty to check through the net. My friend's wife, who frequently goes to Puerto, took the time to make my itinerary. She gave me a list of places to visit and eat, and of course, names of travel agents whom I can arrange my tours with. She also recommended Badjao Inn, which is right at the very heart of the city, as my lodging house.

Day 1. My flight bound to Puerto was at 8:45am. It was going to be a time of my life...good riddance! And there I was...35,000 feet above sea level! As we were approaching the main island, I could see the white-sand-shoreline from the top. It was amazing! I couldn't be more excited. My plane landed at about 10am. With may carry-on luggage, I rushed toward the arrival area and tried to look for my transfer. There was Joey, the staff of Badjao, waiting for me. And he welcomed me to Puerto Princesa and so did the fair weather.

Badjao was not far from the airport. It was indeed less-than-10-minutes going there. I checked in and they gave me room number 6. I asked if they could arrange me a City Tour after lunch. I didn't quite bother to book ahead because I was advised that it's normally easy to get a tour. And it was indeed easy. After several minutes, the front desk officer told me that I was to be picked up at about 1:15pm and the tour will cost me Php600. Not bad!

City Tour. One of my travel quotes is "Never waste time when you're traveling...explore as much as you can." To start my Puerto adventure, I ordered some specialties of the house for brunch before I walked around the Rizal street of Puerto. There were a lot of interesting restaurants and bars left and right. The people are very friendly and tourist-oriented. You'll never feel endangered. I noticed that there were just two distinguished tricycle colors--blue and white. I learned later that the city has a color-coding ordinance. Impressive!

I noticed that I walked far already so after I withdrew money from the bank, I took a tricycle back to Badjao. Just a piece of advice, bring loose change--bills and coins. Sadly, the banknotes circulating in Puerto are soiled and mutilated. I worked with the Central Bank and it's a shame to see our banknotes falling into pieces.

Anyway, enough of my clean-note-policy sentiments, I took a nap as soon as I got into my room and was only awaken by an intercom tone calling my attention. My tour guide, Danny, was already waiting for me. I was fortunate enough because Danny is the president of tour guides association in Puerto. I felt safe again (thank you Lord). We started rolling and little did I know that the road I took led me to new friendships. We dropped by another hotel and picked up by Tita Mel and her doctor daughter, Leah. Then we went to fetch Nors, who happened to be a friend of my co-worker. The last people who hopped on were JC (whom I later found out to be a christian) and 2 of his cousins, and Mr. and Mrs. Galler, an old lovely Filipino couple who live in the U.S.

Our first stop was at the Butterfly Garden. It was just a small garden but we were asked to first watch a 5-minute video to educate us on butterflies. Then we headed toward the sanctuary, enjoying the colorful creations flying all over. The next stop was the famous Crocodile Farm--Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center. We were brought to a room filled with crocs "artifacts". I got the chance to talk to the guide and I learned that the center is just really conservatory. It was never meant to be a tourist destination. The guide said some of the crocs I've seen in Subic (when I went to their crocofarm) last year were from Palawan. After my photo op with the baby croc we headed toward the Iwahig Prison Farm. I've been to Muntinlupa Medium and Maximum Security so I was not agitated as my other tour mates. It was a big "prison" farm with tennis courts, basketball court, school, hospital, houses and recreation centers. Everyone came and left alive. Our next stop was the Mitra Resthouse. It's owned by the former Speaker Mitra and the place was overlooking Honda Bay. The view was fantastic! I took some pictures of and with my new friends. After that we headed to our last stop, the Baker's Hill where we got to eat so of it's freshly baked bread and cookies. There were a couple of ostriches in the compound and a playground for kids. A 4-hour city tour for Php600 was quite a good deal considering I had a great time with my friends. We bid each other farewell as each team hopped off and wishing we will see each other around.

I went back to the hotel, tired but had the time of my life. I rested for a while and did not date miss KaLui. It's one of the famous restaurants in Puerto. And I say, it was! The ambiance was pretty much like those you see in the provinces, made of nipa and has a very native design. The waiters were overly friendly, I say. I ordered BlueMarlin, Buko juice in real coconut, and a mouth-watering dessert. It completed my day one!


Day 2. Underground River or the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. How can you afford to miss this if you're already in Puerto. Aside from being a candidate to one of the new 7 wonders of the world, the underground river is really one of a kind. Another ONLY in the Philippines. So I got up very early in the morning, ate breakfast and took a shower... I was ready by 7am. This time I joined a different group of travelers. Our guide, Ana of Topstar, was a bubbly lady and was very friendly. In the van were 2 French, Merriam and Damian, 4 from NXP (they happened to know my friend in NXP), and one american guy with his Filipina girlfriend. It took us 2 and 1/2 hours of bumpy ride going to Sabang, Puerto Princesa. Imagine traveling for less than 3 hours and you're still within the borders of Puerto Princesa! According to our guide, Puerto is the largest city in the Philippines even if Davao claims to be one. After several hours of anticipation, I can say it is the largest city. And it's really green. Everywhere I turned, I saw green green grass.. green trees... and I would open the window once in a while to take in some fresh air.

We arrived in Sabang port at about 10am. I got into the pumpboat. They will only allow 6 persoand with 4 mild-mannered tourists from Taiwan. The boat ride was about 15 minutes to the other side of the island. My eyes were delighted to see the beauty of God's creation. The deep-blue see, the blue skies, the lime rock formation, the beach, the people...everything I saw was GOOD. God is a God of wonder... And I only saw a small part of what He originally created. We hopped off the boat and started walking toward the river. There I had to ride in a paddle-boat to see the underground river. I wore my life vest and my hardhat and sat on the best seat. I was privilege to hold the spotlight too. So I got to see everything...I wanted to see! Gladly, they have english-speaking guns in the boat so my team had to split. I ended up taking a boat with Ana ide. "Manong" took my breath away as he explained the stalactite and stalagmite. I believe that if Batman was for real, he would have taken a trip to the underground river. There were a lot of bats! My funny guide said candidly, "it's okay to look up...but you better close your mouth!" Then he casually pointed out the featured formations such as, the cathedral, the carrot, the mushroom, the bird, etc. etc. It was about 45 minutes going in and out of the river. And we only reached a portion of the entire stretch. So if you get to Puerto Princesa, by all means, take that ride of your life.

After the mystic river cruise we headed to Sabang beach for lunch. Surprisingly I saw my Day1-gang. They went to the underground river earlier and was halfway with their lunch. I excused myself from my group, grab food from the buffet table and joined them.

When we were called to pack up and homeward bound, we kissed each other goodbye. I was touched with what Leah said, "you seem like a longtime friend" and the feeling was mutual. I went back to my groupmates and we drove back to the main city after having a quick stop in a view deck overlooking South China Sea. (The entire trip was worth Php1,500)

I arrived in my hotel about 6pm and went straight to bed. I was super tired. Eating at KinaBuch was a good motivation to get up. So I did. It was right beside Badjao so going there even at 9pm did not give me a fright. My desire to have coffee at Kamarikutan will be fulfilled when I get back to Puerto. At least I have something to look forward to.

Day 3. Honda Bay. I made a typical 3-day-Puerto-Princesa-getaway itinerary. Going island hopping around Honda Bay became the highlight of my trip. It was time to get toasted. I did not get a package tour unlike the previous days. With the fear of missing my flight back home, I made my own schedule and went on my own. I hire a tricycle going to Sta. Lourdes about 8:30 in the morning. God blessed me with an ilonggo driver, Jaime, who eventually decided to go island hopping with me rather than sitting all day in the wharf waiting for me to come back. He signed me up to the local authority that regulates the trips. He eventually became my assistant photographer. Fast promotion! Then after paying Php 1,300 for the boat rental, we were ushered by Manong Titong, my boatman/tourguide for the day to our official carrier.

The guide suggested that we go to Luli Island first for the corals. I thought it was named after GMA's daughter, Luli. But after inquiring, a silly answer was, "Lulubog Lilitaw kasi yan man..kaya Luli ang pangalan." He was explaining that the island can be seen if it's low tide but during high tide, it disappears. As a seasoned swimmer (uuhhmmm), I did not put on my mask and snorkel. I just wore my goggles. Since it's my first palawan swimming experience, I decided to wear a floater... just to make sure I get to see the rest of the islands! The guide plunged into the sea water and we're off swimming. I brought me to deeper parts of the sea for me to enjoy the coral reefs. I saw beautiful and colorful fishes, of different sizes. I took a picture in my mind (I'm not into underwater cameras yet) of what I saw. God, You are good! My swimming partner tried to explain to me everything I wanted to know. Understanding his limited knowledge of the underwater world, I still listened attentively to his lectures.

After 30 minutes of "goggling" we moved to the Starfish Island. By its name, it was an island of starfishes. It was a beautiful island. One of the best. It was one of those rare moments when I really wanted to shout to the top of my lungs, "WOW!" As in Wow Philippines! I said to myself, "This is Palawan."

I was so excited to see a starfish, at least one... so I took of my outer garment (but not nude, hello?!) and swam toward the deeper part of the sea. I only saw pink starfishes. I took some a brought them to shallow waters for photos. Thanks to the tripod! After several shots, I told my boatman that we move to the next island for lunch.


Snake Island. Unlike the Starfish Island, Snake Island is not a hub of snakes. The shape of the island was snake-like...that's why. It was a better place to have lunch. There's a store that sells food for lunch. A number of cottages can be found in the island and a couple of improvised bathroom. It features school of fish not far from the shore, so you need not go deeper. In a waist-deep area, you can find a lot of fish freely moving around you. If you don't even have to bring crumbs of bread to attract them, though it helps. If you swim farther, you will see some better view of the underwater. Since I'm not afraid of water, I went toward the deep. My guide swam along. I felt the heat of the sun in the mid-day so I had to go to the cottage and rest. I bought fresh fish from Manong Titong and he was so willing to grill it for me. Super delicious lunch with matching buko juice... Fantastic!

As much I wanted to do sunbathing and linger for a while, I was watching my time because I don't want to miss my flight back to Manila, so after I got satisfied with my official photos (thanks to the tripod again), I asked my companions to move to the last island, Pandan.

Pandan Island has plenty of coconut trees. It was much cooler there than the other islands. It has also facilities but no water supply. People can eat there and enjoy the cool sea breeze. It has a volleyball court too. I took some postcard shots then coursed back to the mainland.

We safely docked, I took a quick shower in the coastguard's building for Php20 then we drove back to the city. After 30minutes of tricycle ride, I arrived in my lodging house. I settled my accounts and Joey, the driver, was waiting for me. Good thing he booked me earlier so it was stress-free. In the airport, I was startled to meet my Day-1 friends, JC and his cousins who will be on the same flight, and Mr.&Mrs. Galler who were bound for Cebu. We exchanged stories of our "Today's Adventure" and they we're so happy I went to Honda Bay.

Our plane left Puerto Princesa at about 5pm. I was sitting next to the window, reminiscing my 3-Day escapade, browsing through my pictures of the beautiful Palawan as the plane took off.

I realized that we should never feel endangered in our own land. We should explore, see and experience what we have here in our blessed country. We should travel more often and try to see the best side of our land and its people. We should learn to love our own and do our part to promote it. We must never lose heart but put our hope in our God who lavishly showered us with His grace and wonderful creations. We must allow Him to speak to us through the things we see. For one thing I was reminded of Psalm 139, "Where can I go from you Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? You are always, always there..." He is indeed everything... and if we just open our eyes and heart to what He's saying, I'm so sure that we can find ourselves enjoying His presence.

You see, I was all by myself in this trip. I traveled wishing to have someone along. My heart was a bit broken when I left. But God cared so much (and He still cares) for me and He wanted me to have Him in all my discoveries...in all my trips... He became that friend whom I so wanted to have...and gave me much more. I came back having a lot... people that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Until the next trip...

Anawangin-Capones-Camera Getaway

ONE STARRY NIGHT. TWO FUN-FILLED DAYS. THREE GREAT PLACES. SIX COLORFUL TENTS. TWELVE GREAT FRIENDS.

(it's not Bicol this time... it's Zambales!)

May 24, 2008, my THY Marketplace Family in Makati decided to take an adveture before the end of summer to Anawangin Cove, Zambales after a "canceled" trip to Puerto Galera. We got panicky as to where to go because the dates have been set already, but thank God we came to discover a summer getaway in Zambales through a local newspaper. After checking out a number of blogs of those who have been to the cove, we started preparing for the trip and looking forward for the camp-life experience.

There were about twenty-seven (27) who signed up for the weekend trip but due to the typhoon the Saturday before the 24th and due to some unexpected circumstances, not to mention the conflict to some company outings, we were down to 12. Thus, came the joke, 12 disciples- Greg, Joel, Roche, Tin, Jai, Klaire, Lulu, Kat, Honey, Harry, Athan and the blogger herself.

And since we wanted to do more with less time, we resolved to leave Makati City on a Friday Night (May 23). We carried with us sets of camping and swimming clothes, our tents and gears, cooking pot and frying pan, liters of water, food to munch (and 5 kilos of rice), pre-cooked food for lunch and dinner for the Saturday, and a lot more. Victory Liner (Pasay station) was our official carrier to San Antonio, Zambales for only just about Php240 (one way). We departed at about 11:45pm with much anticipation and excitement. We had a pre-arranged trip to Anawangin Cove with side trips to Camera and Capones Islands. We were surprised to arrive in San Antonio at about 3:30am because the bus ride was really fast. I remember talking with my bestfriend on the cellphone before we left the Pasay station, and as soon as we hung up, I was off to dreamland--to sleep supposed to be. But Mr. Speed-Racer-Bus-Driver drove really fast that before I could get myself to sleep, my friends were grabbing their stuff and started calling out everyone's attention, "we're here...check if we have left something... hop-off!"

There we were, in San Antonio, Zambales at 3:30 in the morning. Now what?! We stationed in a waiting shed for a few minutes then decided to go to Brgy. Pundakit by tricycle to meet our hired boatman. Good thing we did our research on the hows and whats and the whos for this trip. We took 3 "motorcabs" for Php80 each from the drop-off point of the bus to Pundakit beach where we can take a boatride to Camera and Capones Islands and the Anawangin Cove. It was more or less a 10-minute ride until you get to the fishing village. You can feel the cold sea breeze getting into you, so better bring a jacket.

Our motorcabs did a full stop and the captain boatman (together with his crew) came to meet us. My friends did some inquiries as to what time would be the best for us to start moving and rowing. We all agreed, 7 am sharp. As we were waiting in a small nipa hut, I pulled my easy-to-pitch tent and took a nap. Few hours later, we changed into our swimming outfits and hopped on the boat. The boatride costs Php450 for each person and we hired an extra boat for Php1,200 for our bags and other stuff. We also saw quite a few travelers along the shore, waiting for their hired-boats. Actually, this unregulated-tourism-system is helping these fishermen earn more than their fishing enterprise. No worries, there are plenty of for-hire boats in the village. Just ask.

First stop, Camera Island. It doesn't look like a typical SLR or your Point-and-Shoot, they just call it Camera Island. I was in awe of the beauty of the island and I forgot to ask the history of its name. We tried to find a perfect spot to take our photos, and good thing Captain Hook este Manong Vic, our boatman, volunteered to take our group picture. It's really a WOW. As in, WOW Philippines! Crystal-clear waters, amazing rock formations, warm sand, and of course, great friends to share the experience with.

Next stop, Capones Island. Don't ask me for the legend story of the Island. I heard there was a lighthouse built in 1886 and still operating until now. Sad to say, we were not able to dock on the area near the lighthouse because the water was really rough on that side. It was too dangerous to swim for the others. I was almost tempted to jump off the water but the all-for-one-one-for-all principle prevailed. We decided to go to another side of the island instead. There we spent 3 hours swimming, sunbathing, and staring at the horizon. I'm a water person. I started swimming at the age of 8... and I can say, it was one of the nicest beaches I've been..in the Luzon area! The best part was...we were the only people in the island at that given time. It was as if we owned the "resort". We were alone in the beach because we were soooooo early. We were enjoying the scenic view and quite wondering where did all this beauty come from... then a knock-out answer came, "Genesis Chapter One".

Final stop, Anawangin Cove. From Capones Island, it took us 45 minutes to reach the most awaited moment of that weekend. The place was a paradise. First rate. From a distance you can see a very long shoreline and the most famous pine trees. We pitched our tents as soon as we arrived, that was about 11:30am. We were so hungry despite of our morning snacks, and so some of the girls started preparing and cooking for lunch...in a conventional way. Camping life!

After our lunch, we headed toward our tents and rested for a while...the nap turned into hours of sleep. Yes, we got tired. We tried to walk along the shoreline and did little discoveries of what the place has to offer before the sun would set. Take note, there was no electricity available in the beach. It's good that we brought with us an emergency light and a bunch of flashlights. We cooked our food using charcoal and some twigs, and I say, "it was super fun!". It brought back memories of my girl scout days. We only brought one lamp so we had to eat before it gets dark in the woods. By 6pm we started having our scrumptious dinner (thanks Jai!).

Then we headed for the beach...night swimming! We had so much fun swimming, star-gazing... and singing! We got so amazed by those glittery particles in the water and wondered if they were bubbles or just the sand reflecting the light. The night was so asthonishing that we couldn't contain our joy and thankfulness to the Creator and Sustainer of Life, the Maker of heaven and earth. We started singing, "How Great is our God" and everyone kept on singing one song after the other until we moved up to shore singing, "...and I will rise on eagle's wings".

We took a bath in a nearby water pump to wash off the sand and the after-sticky-feeling of the seawater. It became another bonding session especially for the "sisterettes". Don't worry, there's also an available facility for bath and to-do-your-thing. See for yourself when you get there!

Everyone was in their PJs and was getting ready for a good-night-outdoor-sleep. Yes, camping life! Joel, Roche, Honey, Jai, Klaire and I were all set-in-tent but the others, Greg, Athan, Harry, Lulu, Kat, and Tin, were still chitchatting outside. Unfortunately, we were so exhausted to do the bonfire so we settled with an omni lamp. I can hear the sound of the crickets and the sea breeze, the conversation and giggles of my neighbors, and not to mention some guys snoring. Guess who?!

May 25, 2008, Sunday morning was beautiful as ever. Everyone woke up very early but me. I’m not a morning person..and everybody knows that. The girls did the kitchen thing. And the boys, what do you expect?! (Peace!). In fairness, they helped in and yes, were forced to wash the dishes (Ha!). It was a heavy breakfast, and the only food supply left. Our improvised-kitchen became another getting-to-know venue. One thing I learned in all my outdoor and ministry experiences, you get to know people better when you live with them, even for just a short period of time. The truth of the matter is that, their true characters are being revealed especially when they are tired or HUNGRY.. in this case, BOTH . (Ha!)

Our agenda for our last day: go trek in the woods and after that swim to a very fascinating spot where the river meets the sea. So everyone got themselves armed with… a bottle of water and camera!

Campers ready?! Onward march! Not far from our campsite, we saw a beautiful spot--a stream of water. It was so clear and cold. We were crossing over and realized that it was a perfect spot for photos..and so we stopped. Thank God for tripods! Then we moved on. Up, up, up to the hills and jungle. We crossed 4 streams of water (Greg blurted out, "it's like crossing the Jordan river!), struggled with weeds and strange looking plants and trees, bitten by ants and insects, and we got lost for a few minutes. After a 20-minute trek, we reached a majestic place in the middle of the forest. It was surrounded by mountains and trees. It was super green..and magnificent. I couldn't even describe what we saw in words . God is really a God of wonder.

After resting for a few minutes we decided to head back "tent" (head back home?). We were earnestly looking forward for another swimming experience...yes, to that place where the river meets the sea. Everything was washed out when we dipped into the cool waters of "river-sea". Aaaaaahhhhhh... For me, it was the best place to swim in Anawangin Cove. We did some sort of sea-water scrub for free that you normally pay for over a thousand pesos in Makati. While the girls, of course, took advantage of the natural spa...the boys, enjoyed swimming! (oh well!) The view from the river-sea was awesome. Indescribable.

After our last swimming activity, we got ourselves ready for home. (Sigh!) We waited for our water vessel to bring us back to the mainland. The water was rough and it was drizzling but it was part of the adventure...and it was fun! We arrived safely in San Antonio and took a bus to Olongapo City and from there homeward bound to Manila.

I had sooooo much fun that weekend. So, if you have the time and the resources, and great friends and family to be with you in a quest of a lifetime, explore Zambales and discover not only one of Philippines' best but one of God's best.

And I thank the Lord for not allowing us to go to Galera (all things work together for good), He opened a wide door for us to take pleasure in His beautiful masterpieces in the Province of Zambales.

Until the next trip...

(for more photos, please check http://pinoynga.com/thumbnails.php?album=101)