Coron Day 3 - Kayaking at Kingfisher Park

Continued from Coron Day 2

We woke up late and thus left the lodge at almost the same time that we did the previous day. Although some of our snorkel stuff were left in the boat, we had much luggage to bring as we had checked out of the lodge already. We were going to stay with my dad on another island because he had arranged for our diving lessons.

Like the previous day, Boyet and I had gone to the market to buy our stuff while Ria and Ikee were left at La Sirenneta to order our breakfast. I was so confused as to the fact that even on our 2nd day I couldn't find any other seafood at the market save for fish and squid. I was already craving for some shrimp or crabs but didn't get the opportunity to get any of those. I didn't want to get them from the resto because the prices were expensive. To me, it was silly to buy something priced as high as in Manila when I'm already at the source.

Our boat was still docked there as it really is convenient for us. After breakfast, we headed for our first stop - the Kubo sa Dagat.

Kubo sa Dagat.



I had read about Kubo sa Dagat during my research but had confused it with Kingfisher Park. Apparently, these are two different locations owned and operated by the same people - the Reyes'. Kubo sa Dagat is a lodging place in the waters of Malbato Bay while Kingfisher Park is on the island across it where the mangroves are. Most of the activities being offered at the Kubo sa Dagat are actually done at the King fisher park - kayaking, birdwatching, trekking, firefly tour, etc.

When we got there, I crossed one boat to get to the front desk and asked about the rates. It was 500 pesos per person to kayak to the mangroves where will also do the birdwatching. But Borge and Nikko, the admin officers, gave us one person free and even gave us coffee. So, we took the chance.



To get to the park, we had to bring our boat close to the island. But we were still about 500 meters from the boat to the entrance of the mangrove area and our boat couldn't get any closer because the water level was too shallow for it. Thus, we donned our life vests and paddled our way to the mangroves. The sea had started to get a little rough but we paddled along with the direction of the waves so it was not difficult to cross over to the other side. I and Boyet were together, Ikee was with Mang Godie (our guide) while Rhia chose to go alone. If I hadn't known that she was in the rowing team previously, I wouldn't have agreed for her to go solo. But then that would have entailed a debate. LOL

Inside the mangrove plantation was a stream. We were asked to paddle gently and to stay quiet so that we didn't scare the birds. I brought my camera inside the Lock and Lock container which I bought to keep it waterproof. It is cheap but it served its purpose so well, I tell you. It was a great shock protector too. My "photographers" were to scared to bring their expensive equipment so I was the only one who had pictures. LOL



There were huge trees in the area. Birds seemed to be everywhere but we couldn't see them because they were hiding somewhere. I deduced that we needed more time there so we could see the creatures. I was able to spot one but Boyet had asked me to take some pics and the bird flew. It was kinda big and blue with a long bill. Later on, Borge told me that it was one of the Kingfishers. I regretted not being able to see it for a long time although I was slightly elated having spotted it there. There were 6 other species but of course we told we had to be there as early as 5 am to spot more. I guess this would be one of those things we need to do next time. LOL



After more than an hour, Mang Godie told us that we should leave already because the current was getting stronger. We were on our way out of the path when we saw some women harvesting some shells. Turned out to be capiz shells - the ones that you see in old spanish houses. Rhia took one and ate it when she learned they were edible. You see, adventure IS our middle name. hahaha

From across the entrance I had seen the waves devouring the water underneath them. It got me a little scared because I thought about Ikee and that Rhia was alone. Also, that Boyet and I were no expert "kayakers". Could we make it? I was more sure of Ikee's safety than our own. She was with an expert. Boyet and I had each other but neither of us could be of more help to each other than we are to our own selves. Nonetheless, we had to try... and well, I'm writing this to you now so I guess I could say that we did a pretty good job back there. Thank God.

Another nice thing that the Kubo sa Dagat guys did for us was they allowed us to cook our meal there. We didn't have time to go to a beach to have our meal cooked as originally planned. After we cooked, we paid our fees and were on our way to the Lusong Wreck.

Lusong Ship Wreck.

We spent 1 hour sailing from Kubo to the Lusong wreck. There was no beach there. It was above the wreck that we stopped at. Lunch was at our boat but we hadn't eaten much because everyone was too curious about the ship below. That, according to our boatman and guide, was a ship from the japanese time. It was there perhaps because there was a really strong current that time. We had noticed this and I suggested we do not go into the water anymore. But then curiousity still ruled that a few minutes later we were splashing our way to feed the fish with our bare hands. These little guys were so naive that you can actually kiss and hold them. That's me with a little fishy.



We were going to the Coral garden which was just a few minutes from us but decided not to go. Instead, we headed for Cullion Island.

Cullion Island

The last stop before we went to see dad was at Cullion Island. This was the former Leper Colony. I say former because you can hardly find any leper there now. As my uncle who is also a dermatologist would say, there is about less than 1 percent of the population who can get afflicted. Most likely, we weren't one of those. LOL

First stop there was at the Museum. It was huge as the ones I had seen. But it surely was interesting. There was this video that told about the 100-year plight of the lepers and the colony - how it was a sin to be a leper in the olden days, how the lepers were shot or burned and how they had settled in this once-upon-a-time-God-Forlorned piece of land in the middle of nowhere. Yup, it was interesting and melodramatic at the same time.



From the musueum, we went to take a few shots of the old church and we were off to see dad for our first scuba lesson with Chuck. We stayed with daddy for the remainder of our stay at Coron. For our the first night we went out to sea to fish and stargaze. As in Port Barton, I had seen 4 meteors while waiting for my fish to take the bait. Amazing!

Coron Day 2 - Island Hopping Coron Loop

continued from Coron Day 1...

We were up at 5:30 am because I had planned to leave to go island hopping by 6. But our boatmen who were coming from Cullion Island were not there yet. I was a little pissed off of course because the boat owner, who happens to be my dad's kumpare, and I had agreed that we should start at 6 and not at 5 as I had originally suggested. The poor guys had to sail for over an hour because the sea was a little rough and it was still dark.

At 7 am I decided we should just go to the marketplace where we would buy the food stuff we needed for our trip that day. Part of Coron's allure is being laid back. However, it's too laid back you can't find any food in most of the islands. There are some resorts that do offer food but then you'd have to pay and exorbitant entrance fee and pay for the food too. Now, that wasn't practical because we had intended to go around and not stay in just 1 island. This I think is one great opportunity for those who would like to do business there. hint* hint*

Ted, the boat owner, told me to meet the guys at La Sirennetta, a resto by the sea very close to the market. They have their own dock which our boat can stay at. So, I and Ria went o buy our food while Boyet and Ikee ordered our breakfast. It's a good thing that La Sirenneta had a set meal for 100 pesos each which included dried danggit, tocino, some fried rice, and coffee or juice. Cheap eh? When we got there, the food was served.

Siete Pecados.
Our boat was docked by the pier owned by the resto. It was convenient because the boat was just a few steps from where we were. After we ate, we boarded and were off to our first stop - Siete Pecados. Today's itinerary is the usual Coron Loop. If you are looking for a place on Google Earth, I don't think you'd find it. It's a small island that doesn't even have a beach. Nope, not at patch of land to step on. The great thing about it though is that the people had put some ropes in to the sea so we didn't get scared about drifting off. We had to stay in our boat and jump into the water if we wanted to snorkel. There is a 100 peso fee per person just to snorkel there. We all did but decided to leave just after 30 minutes because the water wasn't clear enough for us.

Kayangan Lake.



Our next stop was the world-famous Kayangan Lake. I guess most of us would be familiar with it as it is always featured as the mountain lake with some people snorkeling in it. I always see in in the Mabuhay magazine of Philippine airlines and the magazine of Cebu Pacific. We docked near the entrance of the trail. There were some limestones at the side that I wasn't able to resist having our picture taken. The water was clear and had different shades of green and blue. There were islets at the background and the sky was blue too with the sun golden up high. It was perfect. Besides, the trail looked difficult and looked unstable. But, there was railing made of wood that it could just be possible for my knees to take the trek up.

We started our hike up. It's so amazing that Dong, our boatman's assistant, was behind us yet had waited for us up at the highest point of the trail. There were some unstable rocks alright but then the trek was not as steep as I had imagined. As we got to the peak, we were directed by Dong to go a side trip before we descended to the lake. Lo and behold, what seemed to be the most wondrous sight was right before my eyes. The view of the greenish bluish water and its islets where some flora had grown and which I had lusted for and tried for my "photographers" to capture. Now, it is a better view and all the more alluring. the islets had the bluish-golden horizon for a backdrop. I wanted to jump for joy as I had looked at the view by the cliff. Yes, it was treacherous. But then again, what beauty does not lie beyond a dreadful trail?


As we went our way down to the lake, what was once a dream for Boyet had now become a reality. It was as beautiful as we had seen in the pictures. Deep, still yet cool and clear water, with towering limestone walls, some tiny fish in the shallow and a wooden bridge that served as both a path and a bench to its visitor. We just loved it. We stayed for about an hour but had to leave as it was nearly 12 noon and we still had to cook lunch. Too bad.



Banol Beach



There was nothing much that we did at the beach but to laze, swim a little and cook our meal. But this stop was really restful. There were some huts a few meters from the coast. Our hut was situated next to a huge kalachuchi tree which gave a wonderful shade. I spread out the mat I brought from manila so Ikee and Ria could lay down. We had broiled pork and fish and a seaweed salad that i had prepared. For dessert, we had brought some local mangoes that were so sweet even while they were not so ripe yet. I kept them cool in the small cooler that we bought. it was quite a meal.

By 2 pm, we were on our way to our next stop - the CYC beach. However, we didn't quite like the place from afar and thought that we would wasted time staying there. So we headed for the Twin lagoon.

Twin Lagoon.

The lagoon is enclosed by some limestones. There used to be only 1 way to get there: you'd have to dive deep through a subterranean hole. However, now, they've placed a platform with a wooden makeshift stairway of about 15 steps up. But, to get to the platform, I had to go through a bridge and ride a raft. The rest of my crew did not want to go there so I was the only who braved it. I saw the hole beneath the platform. It didn't seem to be a difficult swim. But I was told that if you raise your head while still there at the hole, you run the risk of hitting your cranium on to the pointed ceiling. Now, that's a risk I didn't want to take.



Barracuda Lake

After the Twin Lagoon, we proceeded to the Barracuda Lake. It was our last stop for the day because everyone we talked to, even our boatman, didn't want to take the risk of being at sea in the late afternoon. It was a wise decision as the water had become a little rough already. But, we still had time to see one more spot so off we went to the nearby lake which was also on the way back to Coron. Like the other stops, there was an entrance with a platform. I guess the Tagbanuas got used to having visitors around that they constructed several of those platforms for their guests to use. There was a short but winding path leading to the lake. however, unlike Kayangan, this lake had a small mouth which we deduced was the only take off point. It was a little dark and really tight there that none of us wanted to go for a swim. So, we just took some crazy pictures and were on our way home.

As we had sailed back, I notice a white tower northeast. The boatman told me it was a lighthouse. Thus, I asked him to go a little close to it and stopped there for a little while to take some pictures. After that we were homeward bound.

Dinner was at the Kawayanan Grill. I was told this was one of the top restos on the island. It was good but not very good.

Coron Day 1 - Coron Town Tour

Hey guys! I'm back from Coron. Here's my story:

Our semi-annual family vacation trip this year was in Coron. As always, I am the trip director and organizer thus I made some research. 1 month prior we had decided on going to the town. It had been for several years that Boyet wanted to visit Kayangan Lake and we had chosen between going to Batanes and Busuanga. The Batanes trip had been too expensive for us. So, we opted for Busuanga instead.

After the decision had been made, I did further research and we booked our flight. We flew via Cebu Pacific because at that time they offered the lowest fare. However, 2 weeks after, my cousin Ria decided to join us in that trip and booked with PAL whose price was way lower than ours. It turned out that both airlines would be delayed at some point. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours going to Coron while Ria's flight was delayed for about 3 hours going back to manila.


Day 1.


Our flight left NAIA 3 at almost 12 noon and an hour after we landed on the tiny airstrip of Busuanga. Like all the other times, Cebu Pacific was late for a little over 2 hours. When it finally landed, the plane bounced off the ground once before it did finally touchdown. Scary eh? It wasn't my first time to experience that with them so I wasn't scared anymore. The worst I gave was a shrug and a squirk. I left out on the arrangement for the airport transfers for this trip. Apparently, though, the lodge we were booked with arranged it for us. We had to pay 150 pesos per person. Quite expensive for approximately a 20 kilometer trip from the airport to Coron town but we didn't have a choice. There was no other means of transportation. I was just happy that the van was there.






We got to the Coron Village Lodge at almost 2 pm. Our first lunch was right there at the lodge since it was late and we were all starved from that dreadful trip. Sadly, there's very little vegetable choices at the resto. Lunch consisted of just tuna with lemon butter sauce and sinigang na baboy for soup and veggies. I can't say food was good but it wasn't really bad either.

We decided to stay at the lodge till Ria arrived. Anyway, we wanted to take some nap after lunch. When finally my cousin came at about 4 pm, we took a tricyle to a local resto to reserve for some barbecued pork and rice so they can cook for us while we were at Mt. Tapyas. after that, we grabbed some mineral water and took off the the Mountain.

The fee for going up Mt. Tapyas was 100 pesos per guest. Nearly all places in Coron had fees. Some say it is really to help maintain the place. There were 724 steps going up to the top of Mount Tapyas. At the 500th plus step, I stopped and told my family to go ahead. I didn't want to risk having any pain on my knee because I was afraid that if it ever happens, it might not go away until after our trip. At first, they didn't want to leave me behind probably thinking that I was just too scared or too tired to walk up any further. But then, I was determined not to leave the spot where I was. They said there was a huge cross at the top. This was supposedly the mark of Coron from afar. All that 724 steps were quite steep. Fortunately for the visitors there were landings after every 10 or 15 and there were shades spread out through the stretch. From where I was a panoramic view of the Coron Bay could be seen. I was told it was quite beautiful up there.



It was almost 5:30 when we got down from Mt. Tapyas. From there, we just picked up the food that we had ordered and went our way to Maquinit Hot Spring. The road was half good and half really, really dusty and rough.

There are 4 pools at Maquinit. Despite the 50 pesos entrance fee, there were more visitors than I had expected but there was enough space for everyone. The water was hot at 40 degrees centigrade and stung at first. But as soon as we were immersed in the pool, it became pleasantly cooler and relaxing. The trick is not to get intimated by the warmth at the start because the body does acclimatize.

Although the water was really pleasant, I didn't really like the feel of the slimy moss on the stones and walls. These guys are thermophilic and could withstand the heat. Also, I didn't like how the pool was under illuminated. on the topmost pool, it was a bit eerie because it was underlit and the pool appeared dark in that area probably because of the growth on the walls and ground.


We stayed there for an hour. There were some huts that lined the side of the park all the way to the entrance. The great thing is that there was a sari-sari store inside that sold a lot of things including soft drinks, chips and noodles - enough to feed the hungry guests after a dip at the warm pool. It did make some back and leg aches go away. After all it was like a hot compress.

On the way back to the lodge, we stopped by Manang Lita's Cashew Store. I figured there wouldn't be any time to do that in the next few days so it was an opportunity to do it then. After that we went back to the lodge, and retired early. It was going to be an early start for us the following day.



To be continued...

Philippines' Not-so-Hidden Secrets: Port Barton, Palawan

Don't you get this feeling that you can't seem to write about anything even when you really, really want to? The writer's block. I have that so often that I wonder why I even have this much number of articles already. LOL

Anyway, to always have something to write about, I've decided to come up with a series of articles on the Philippines. This is my first article.

Perhaps one of the best, if not the best, vacation trips that we have had as a family was during a trip to Port Barton back in 2006. My dad's invitation to visit the place had been long standing. His persistence is admirable. Just to tickle our visual senses, he'd brought home pics from SEAir that featured Palawan and Port Barton.

When we finally decided to go, I told them we'd stay only 1 night at Port BArton. From dad's description, I deduced that the place is a laid back which nothing else to do but lie on a hammock and bask. Now can you blame me for alloting just 1 night there? What's more is that I didn't get more info about the place from the internet that I did from my dad. We wouldn't be flying that far and doling out so much moulah to go to a place to sleep with only 4 days to spend. No sirree, it wouldn't, couldn't happen.


But my dad's assessment had been as accurate as it had always have. It was the best part of our trip. The sand, the sea, the night sky - these were perfect. It wasn't your usual resort with the grand structures that you would see on the pages of a travel magazine. But it had more of the natural setting that one would look for. For one, the hotel, Greenviews, that we stayed in had huts that were typical of a tropical island - the roof was made of grass, the walls were made of woven bamboo with just an electric fan to augment the cool breeze; the beds were made of coconut lumber and had thin mattresses; the floor was made of wood; the windows were of native materials too.

For an urban family, we are so accustomed to the luxuries of the usual hotels that they all looked so alike and having to stay in a hut is something out of the ordinary. That was just part of the thrill.

The night we got there, like I had said in my other article, everything was pitch black. But this just gave us a wonderful sight - I saw what had been the most beautiful nightsky I had seen ever. The stars were countless and seemed more like twinkling diamonds set on a huge onyx, with occasional sightings of meteors rapidly flashing across it.


The beach was sandy. It wasn't as fine as powder like that of Boracay but it didn't have anything that would hurt our feet - no stones, no thorns, no trash. It had some trees that gave some shade that it had been a shame we didn't have time to lay on a hammock underneath them.

The water - ah the sea - was so clear that even at a depth of about 30 feet or so, the bottom looked like it was just a few meters below the surface of the water. The additional treat there were the tortoises that came so close that it had almost poked our boat. and the fish seemed almost too eager to investigate on the strangers that had paid them a visit. Fishing and snorkeling were all that we could muster in such a short time. I would have wanted to have an introductory dive because the fish and corals were as I had seen in some of the screensavers on my desktop.

The food in the hotel was both pleasurable to the eyes and to the palate. From that time on, I had spoken of Port Barton as though it were paradise. Well, that it really is to me. I would be back there if it weren't for the fact that I plan on getting my daughter to go to more places than I had when I was a child. Soon, though, I hope we'd have time and resources to go back there as we had planned before we even left the place.

*Note: the pics have not been edited to give you a picture of how the place really look.

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Palawan Day 3: Fishing at Port Barton

Port Barton is a bay on the west coast of Palawan facing the China Sea. It was nighttime when we got to Port Barton and although we could hardly see the path we were taking (there was no light along the beach), the sky was lit up by the millions of stars that twinkled. It was agreed that we'd go fishing the following morning. But of course noone thought any of us was serious about waking up so early as daddy wanted to leave at 4:30 a.m. It was really hard for ikee and boyet to get up because we were tired from yesterday's activities (as usual). But dad and I had not been able to sleep very well since there was not electricity from 12 MN to 5 am. Of course I didn't know that Port Barton would only have electricity at certain hours of the day. But even if I did, would I have a choice? The option is not to go to Port Barton. But that is a very remote option for my family. We'd much rather endure the heat than miss out on the opportunity to discover this place. And quite frankly, you'd hardly need the fan anyway.

Fishing has always been one of the favorite things that my family likes doing. In the past, we only got to fish in aquariums or fish ponds and never a large waterform such as this bay. The fishing activity was pre-arranged and our guides with their speedboat were at the beach to pick us up at 4:30 a.m. sharp. But then daddy didn't want to leave the resort until there was light on the path so we had to wait for it to be switched on. As we sped off on our speed boat and were just scouting for a place to fish, my daughter and I took the time to look into the heavens. I had never in my whole life been able to see a shooting star. But there, that early morning, we saw two of them!

Soon after our guides were able to choose a spot and our reels had baits on them. My daughter who had originally wanted to do this activity became worried because daddy had told her about how she should hold the nylon string but that she had to release the string as it would be able to cut her finger off if she held on to it when she catches a big fish! Poor girl. She merely helped us with the things to prepare for our line but no longer cast one down for herself. We did what we're off to do anyway and she helped out in reeling the lines in and choosing a spot for each one of us to let our lines down. The first catch of the day was mine. it took just about 5 or 10 minutes to do it. It was a half kilo grouper (lapu-lapu) and wasn't as hard as I had imagined the "fight" to be. But daddy said I was just lucky that I didn't catch a talakitok instead. Half a kilo talakitok would be 5 minutes pulling. The other members of the "fishing team" (just nice to read that is all) caught their own fish. If we had made a rule to eat what we caught, I would be able to eat 4 meals with my catch while they'd have to watch out for what I'd have left. hehehe

We had breakfast (fish and rice with some coffee and papaya) at a nearby farm. After that we proceeded to the snorkelling site. My daughter had not approved of this route because she wasn't wearing her swimsuit and had her jogging pants on when we left the resort in the early morning. But we could not afford to lose an hour or so just to get our things from the resort and head back to the snorkelling site. I offered for her to wear my shorts since I wore my swimsuit anyway - a practice that I had since my teen years. My swimsuit serves as second skin to me whenever I'm anywhere near a beach. Of course she agreed. That was the best option we had.

We got to see several islands. Port Barton seems to have marine life even in shallow waters, unlike the other beaches we had gone to before where you'd only be able to appreciate the sea creatures when you go to the deeper parts of the beach. We had the time of our lives when we first saw a tortoise, a real live one, swimming quickly away from our boat just like a thief would when caught in the act of stealing. But of course this creature was not stealing anything, it was running for its own life. Did it think we meant it harm?

Just as soon as we saw the tortoise, we saw a manta ray swim past the other side of our boat. I was very eager to jump into the water equipped with just my fins and dive mask but then again I was scared of what else there was there in that sea. the water was so clear even at 30 feet deep and the corals were all too inviting. Jeff, our guide, is a dive expert and had encouraged me to jump in as he had done. Yeah right, I do snorkelling but not diving... yet that is. Now I'm really determined to learn to dive. I can swim, but not dive. How hard can that be?

The islands were spectacular! There is one which they call the german island (only because it is owned by a German National) where one side of it looks like a place taken out of a comic book! It's so beautiful, that it looks like how you'd picture an island where a damsel gets lost in and is there for a few days without food and water, and all but clear sea water and some coconuts all around her. Only this time, instead of a damsel, there's a dog in the island.

The islands we went to were almost uninhabited. What is sad is that some people do not have the drive to help in preserving nature. One island had a few used bottles in it. while on the main beach of port barton, a few plastic bags were seen swept on land by the waves.

We had lunch at the Greenviews Resort. Daddy had ordered some shrimp and crabs and some seaweed salad. We were all hungry of course and had devoured our meal like prisoners. It rained while we were at sea and this probably contributed to why we had to eat a lot - we had to warm ourselves up. Some excuse...

It rained again after lunch. But noone could stop both my husband and my daughter from having a good time. Greenviews has a garden and some hammocks where one can stay. It also has a gazebo right in the middle of the garden and I thought it was a good place to hold a garden wedding. All over the place were coconut trees, some shrubs and ornamental plants. There were no other guests but us. The father-daughter guests went around playing under the rain getting themselves really soaked under some downspout. After all getting wet didn't have to mean getting back into the water.

Palawan Day 2: St. Paul Underground River

This day we woke up late. We agreed with dad that we'd leave the pension house by 7 am. But dad texted that he was still having breakfast with a former Mayor-friend of his and we were all too tired to get up anyway. At least I got a little time left to charge my cam which I forgot to do the night before.

It was almost 10 am when we checked out of Lola Itang's. On our way to Sabang where the underground river was, we found this view deck and asked the driver to stop for some photo op. Little did we know that there would be several viewdecks before sabang. Of course we were running late so we just had one more stop for a photo op.

The road to Sabang is made up of 40% very good road and 60% really rough and brain-joggling, bone-breaking, muddy trail. But these were all worth the trip since the underground river is a beautiful, beautiful place. It is 1 of the 5 world heritage sites in the Philippines as declared by the UNESCO, along with the Banaue Rice Terraces, Vigan, Tubataha Reef (at the southern tip of Palawan), and some Churches.

It was almost 12 NN when we got to Sabang. There's a port in Sabang from where we bought tickets and took the boat ride to reach the other side of the coast. We could have reached it by land but we would need to walk for 2.5 hours through the jungle going there and another 2.5 hours coming back. Besides I don't think any of us were really fit to walk that far.

We ate lunch first. The Pier is full of small cafeteria that serve local fare most of which are seafood. There are several souvenir shops that sell mostly shirts, and shorts, and other beach items. Somehow I think these guys are more tame than their counterparts in the other beaches in the country. They just greet you with a smile but ask you what item you are looking for. I hate it so much when vendors practically drag you into their store just like they would drag their goods in after a delivery.

It took us 30 minutes to get to the beach just a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the underground river. From, there we were met by the regular inhabitants of the area - the monkeys and the monitor lizards. The people who were running the place didn't seem to mind them and in fact tried to warn us to keep our things and not to bring food with us because the monkeys would steal those anyway.

There was another 5-minute walk to get to another port where a smaller, non-motorized boat was waiting for us. Our boatman, Chris, welcomed us and gave us a brief orientation on our do's and don'ts, what we would see and expect to learn from the trip. We were told that the boats used to have engines. but the fumes would discolor the rock formations so these were discontinued. The river is subterranean and for a while I thought our "banca" (filipino for a mall boat) wouldn't fit and our heads would hit the ceiling. But I was proven wrong. there was enough room for 2 bancas at the entrance and even 3 or four could fit inside. The trip took us about 1.5 hours to finish. The stalactites and stalagmites took on different shapes that resembled several "everyday" things that we see - mushroom, candle, lrt, dog, corn, a sexy lady. It was very dark in the river you wouldn't see a single thing when the rechargeable light is put out. It was also surprisingly cool.

What added to the pleasure of seeing the beauty of the underground river was the fact that our boatman was really a humorous guy. At one point I asked him whether the water in the river was salty. He answered promptly and said that it was not so salty. Just to satisfy my curiosity, and since I knew noone would be seeing me in the dark anyway, I tasted the water. Of course I reported about what I had learned about it. Just as though he didn't quite hear what I said, he announced that the bats used the cave as it "batroom" to relieve themselves when nature called! Yuck! But of course we all laughed at my experience.

When we were on our way back, we saw a macaque. and another macaque. and more macaques... that the whole troop was there! The boatmen who had gathered to leave the place with us pointed at a particular one and said that it was the leader and the bossy one of all. Not that we didn't like seeing them (macaques) but we didn't want to lose any of our stuff. So we left them alone as they did us.

We went back to our service vehicle and proceeded to Port Barton where we would be staying on our third and last day since the fourth day would be the trip back home. It was nighttime when we reached our destination. There was hardly any light on the path to the Greenviews Resort. But I had not seen so many stars in all my life as I had in Port Barton that night. Awesome!

Palawan Day 1: City Tour at Puerto Princesa

The PAL plane that my husband, my daughter and I took left the Manila centennial airport at exactly 8 am and got to the Puerto Princesa airport at about 9:05 am. Daddy was there waiting for us and so were the staff from Lola Itang's Pension house. First stop was at the pension house where we checked in and unloaded our stuff. After this, we were off to the Iwahig Penal Colony.

Iwahig is a big place which is a prison but is basically the residence of the inmates and their families too. There we went around and purchased some souvenir items from the gift shop. I learned that when purchasing goods from this shop would mean helping the inmates earn. I suppose that if you have to buy something to remember anyone by, it might as well be something to help them. So, I bought some keychains, an arnis (mahogany wood) and some pens. From the way the goods have bee made, you'd deduce that the people who made them have been trained well. I just hope that there be some effort to market these goods to alleviate the living conditions of the families there. Some inmates recommended that we go check out the Balsahan natural pools which is just about 3 minutes away from the shop. So, off we went.

We were hungry when we got to Balsahan. At the gate, we were told that we'd have to rent a hut which cost 100 php. Also we had to order lunch right there. There was only 1 dish that they serve - broiled native chicken. Of course we didn't have a choice so we ordered two chickens and rice. They only had coconuts for beverages so we ordered these too. The chicken tasted really great despite the fact that it didn't have anything on it - not even salt! Why won't it be when these are killed and dressed only when there is an order. We asked for some soy sauce and red peppers to dip them in. It's funny how the lowly "tutong" turned out to be my daughter's favorite calling it "chips" which made it sound a little "sosyal".

While waiting for our orders, we proceeded to the hut assigned to us. This was the chance to go around the area. Balsahan is part of Iwahig and therefore proceeds from the use of this area would go to the inmates. It has several huts and gazillion trees that provided the cool and shady atmosphere to the resort. We were told that some inmates maintained the place. I should say they have done a pretty good job at maintaining it. The nice thing about Iwahig is that you can bring your own food to eat there or you can also bring raw food and have the inmates cook these at the resort for a fee. Such are the filipinos - ever so resilient and resourceful.

Our next stop was the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (formerly known as the Crocodile Farm). We got there at 1 pm. However we were told that there was a guided tour scheduled at 2 pm so we decided to stay. There was a fee of 50 pesos each (i'm not sure about the price really, could be more). The highlight of this activity was the opportunity to pet a crocodile but none of us wanted to do that. We left just after a few minutes of staying since we had to go to other places and there were plenty of mosquitoes there anyway.

Next we went to Mitra's ranch but this had been closed because there was an on-going renovation. On our way back we stopped for some water at the Baker's hill. I had heard from a friend that this bakeshop/bakery is originally from manila. The area had a small kiddie playground but the kid with us (my daughter) who is almost 12 years old was no longer interested in it so we went on our exploration of puerto.

Next stop was VietVille, the vietnamese village where the "boat people" were accomodated. Here you'd be proud to be a filipino because you know that we are indeed hospitable and warm having given these people a modest place to live in. There were but a few people left in the village though because most of them had migrated elsewhere. There is a restaurant that serves french-influenced-vietnamese food. But we were too full to try their fare. apart from the restaurant, there's a buddhist temple and a catholic church in the area. I heard there was a lagoon somewhere but did not get to see it.

After Vietville, as we were on our way back to the city, we noticed a hot spring resort and restaurant called Kim's. We checked it out and found that this place had about 6 or 7 huts with a small pool to dip in, kinda like a jacuzzi. The water gets really hot when the water is allowed to flow from the faucet sticking out from behind the pool. Apparently the owner had built a piping system from the hot spring to each cottage. There's a pool at the middle of the common area for those people who do not want to get their own cottage. The place is owned and run by a korean national so the restaurant serves both filipino and korean fare.

We had dinner at the Badjao Seafront Restaurant. My dad said that during the first few times he had gone to the restaurant, the mangroves that lined the entrance weren't there. Obviously these were planted in by the owners so now it looks like a restaurant amidst a mangrove plantation. This is very good for the marine life in the area and also contributes a lot to the ambiance of the place. You should try the steamed talakitok with the seaweed (lato) salad. But do dip the salad in some vinegar and onions so they don't smell like the sea.