Palawan Day 4: Ending with a Splash

When I was 9, I collected Lisa Frank stickers (and other designs of course). I remember that being the spark of my fascination for dolphins. My sister also liked dolphins, and because of this, we got hold of a book; a directory actually, of the kinds of whales and dolphins in the Philippines and where they can be found. Ever since, I've had on my mental bucket list that I must 1.) see dolphins in the wild and 2.) if possible swim with a dolphin.

A fisherman/watcher and a pair of spinner dolphins

Fast forward to 2009, I was a wink away to crossing one more item off my bucket list.

Last, but definitely not the least on our Puerto Princesa itinerary was dolphin watching in Puerto Princesa Bay. Our tour van picked us up from our hotel at 7 am to bring us to the Port of Palawan. Even while we were still in the van, I was already praying really hard there would be a sighting. As soon as we arrived, we boarded the outrigger boat along with another group. Along the trip out to the deep blue sea, we learned that they were a group of teachers who also went on vacation before school started.

We were given a briefing by the accredited guide, and gave us a few reasonable reminders and rules – to not feed and not swim with the dolphins isn't too difficult to follow, right? After about an hour, we saw a smaller boat and initially thought the "boat boss" was a fisherman. He then pointed to a direction, and there we went. We later on figured he was a watcher. After about 5 minutes, lo and behold! We got our first glimpse of Palawan's dolphins. We were all ecstatic at the sight of the large school of dolphins jumping around, spinning in mid air as if showing off their skills and tricks to us humans.

Dolphins swimming freely in the open sea 

Some of the last few groups we saw before heading back to the Puerto Princesa Port

We were out at sea for almost two hours seeing mostly spinner dolphins, roaming around, following directions from watchers, possibly even going around in circles and making criss-crossed paths with the other boats set to get a glimpse of these amazing creatures. I didn't get a chance to get close-up photos because the boats weren't allowed to intersect the path of the dolphins and the dolphins didn't go near the boat either. During the only instance the dolphins came very close to the boat, I was too shocked with the sight to even snap away.

Just some of the possibly hundreds of dolphins we saw that morning

Puerto Princesa Bay is conveniently located just right beside Honda Bay so you can actually do dolphin watching in the morning then proceed to Honda Bay Island hopping after.

This trip made me realize how great He really is, and how we humans are but one fraction of the earth's inhabitants. This trip also made me realize that there are even more places in the Philippines for us to discover.

I didn’t “leave my heart in Palawan”. Rather, I took home with me a happier heart and a mind at peace and filled with memories to last a lifetime. 

Flora at Daluyon

Palawan Part 3: Just Keep Swimming

HONDA VS HUNDA

So what is it really: Honda or Hunda?

On our third day in Puerto Princesa, we left Sabang early in the morning and transferred to Legend
Palawan, a hotel in the city proper. We just checked-in, deposited our bags, and hopped onto the van. It took about 30 minutes for us to get to Santa Lourdes Warf, Tagbanua, Puerto Princesa City from the hotel. Because we have already paid for our tour in advance, our tour operator arranged for everything including the fees and registration needed.

Tip: bring your own snorkel and mask if possible, packed lunch, sea-sickness meds and other basic medication. If you can, bring water-proofing for your gadgets so your can take photos and videos of the beautiful underwater life.

Pambato = Bet

Our first stop in Honda Bay was Pambato Reef. It's a protected area discovered by local fishermen in 2006. The following year, ABS-CBN's environmental foundation gave them a helping hand and formed Dalub Karagatan or "School in the Seas", which is the ultimate goal of the facility - to enlighten visitors on the marine ecosystem, it's current condition, and educate us as to how we can help preserve, save and protect it in our own way. With the existence of a proper structure and rules, it is best that you wear the required life jacket, stay within the designated area, do not feed the marine life and leave your footwear in the floating house. You wouldn't want to swim after you slippers or worse, have the fish feeding on your slippers, right? Wear your snorkel and mask, hold onto the pawikan-shaped floater and enjoy the swim around the area. What astounded me was the size of the fish in the area. Some were the size of both my hands with fingers spread wide apart. We even saw a giant clam!

The Dalub Karagatan, with its sea turtle roof

After Pambato Reef, we headed over to Starfish Island. En route, we saw Luli Island and Snake Island. We didn't make stops there because we wanted quality versus quantity, thus choosing to go to fewer islands but having more time there. Starfish Island, locally known as Tabuan Island, was named as such because there used to be a lot of starfish in the area. There still were quite a number when we went, but the boatman said there used to be even more. We stayed to take photos, check-out the mangrove patch, and have lunch.

Mangroves at Starfish Island

View from Starfish Island

After stuffing ourselves with the glorious lunch prepared for us by our guide, we got some rest and headed over to the final stop: Pandan Island. The island was packed with beach-goers when we went, so we docked, and just went straight into the water. We didn't find the need to rent a cottage, since all our belongings were in the boat anyway.

Pandan Island is great for those who are new to snorkeling because from the shore, you can swim to a depth comfortable to you. At about 7 to 8 feet deep, there are already schools of different kinds of fish. Unlike Pambato Reef, they allow fish feeding in Pandan Island. Many enjoy this, but I chose to just snorkel and swim around. At around 3pm, we headed back to the city to get some rest as most of us were tired from swimming all day.

We were supposed to go for Firefly watching early that evening, but because of some hoolabaloo our travel agent was apparently doing, the tour guide and van driver refused to bring us to the Iwahig River. We were still thankful to them because they explained it to us properly that it was the travel agency's wrongdoing and even told us how much we should ask for as refund.

Immaculate Concepcion Church

Since, we had nothing in our itinerary, we just asked them if they could bring us to the church to hear mass. We went to Immaculate Concepcion Church and said a few prayers. Then, our van driver suggested for us to have dinner at Bilao at Palayok along Rizal Avenue (yes, same street as KaLui). They serve mostly Filipino dishes and seafood, which was all that we have been having the past couple of days. So at that point, we were just a bit tired of it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the food as it was not bad at all, our meal was still very affordable and cheap, the ambience was pleasing also. Just like in some relationships, there wasn't anything wrong with Bilao at Palayok; there was probably just something wrong with us. Hahaha!

I couldn't write much about Legend Hotel as we were only there to shower and sleep. What I distinctly remember was that I got rashes from what may have been bed mites. Breakfast wasn't bad, but it was nothing great either. Overall, our stay was pretty okay.

Palawan Part 2: Making the Most of of Sabang

Early to bed, early to rise.

We hopped on our banca early to avoid the numerous tourists expected to arrive in the late morning. As we were headed to the underground river, I saw a sea turtle pass under our boat and even some egrets resting on some rock formations. We also passed a few amazing limestone formations and cliffs. As our boat dropped its anchor, we were greeted by a welcome signage to the underground river.

A map showing the location of the underground river

The underground or subterranean river used to be called the St. Paul Underground River because it is part of the St. Paul Mountain range. At 21 kilometers long, it was the world’s longest, until the underground river in Mexico was discovered. They changed the name to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.

Along the path, our guide Rene explained to us the rules we would have to abide by:

> Do not feed the monkeys.

> Do not touch or pet the monkeys.

> Do not leave belongings unattended as the monkeys might steal them.

> When you see a bayawak or monitor lizard, do not mind them because they don't mind you.

> Take care of your belongings during the cruise in the underground river as, well, the water's pretty deep.

A monkey we spotted along the trail heading to the underground river

I was glad to actually see monkeys in the wild, climbing trees. We finally got to the "pier" and boarded our banca for the underground river tour. Our guide was very funny and informative, he kept all of us giggling the entire time while keeping us informed. I learned that they are all trained for their spiels and even trade jokes or punchlines with one another so they can get the tourists' attention. The formations inside the underground river/cave were really beautiful.

Clockwise from bottom right: Formations of Sagrada Familia, Mushrooms, a Crocodile, a Lady's Behind and Wizard

We then hopped on our boat again to head to the cove nearest to the Sabang Mangroves. We had to take 2 bancas as one would only accommodate 4 persons, plus the guide. The mangrove or bawakan tour along the Sabang river is a livelihood project of the Sabang community, and stretches long enough for a 45-minute to an hour-long tour. It was refreshing to see how vast and rich the forests in Palawan still are. As proof, I even spotted snakes twice along the way.

A snake crawling on the branches of a tree and bakawan branches kissing the water

A piece of the vast forest of Sabang, Palawan

After the mangrove tour, we took the trail and walked back to Daluyon. It gave us a good feel of the coastal village and their way of life. We had lunch as part of the package in one of the restaurants along the beach.

A peek into the simple yet very beautiful life in Sabang

That was just about it for our second day in Puerto Princesa. We spent the rest of the day playing in the beach, frolicking in the pool and just lounging around. 

The sunset from Daluyon

I believe that soon after we visited the underground River, they have implemented rules as to booking for a tour as they now only accommodate a certain number of people at a time. This is actually good because when we were on our way out and when we got out of the cave during our trip, there were just too many people and it was slightly ruining the experience. See more information here.

Palawan: The Last Frontier

It has been a while, so this might be quite a struggle. I'm writing about a trip we took in 2009, so please bear with me as I write all that I remember from that adventure. There are so many highlights from this trip, so I have decided to break it down into four entries.

A young saltwater crocodile guests can hold and have photos with.

It has been a long time since our entire family has come together for a trip like this, so we tried to make the most, and the best out of it.

We took the first flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa via Cebu Pacific, a good idea if you plan to make the most out of your trip. Since a half-day city tour was included in our itinerary, we started our adventure with it to maximize the day. First on the list was the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center more popularly known as the Crocodile Farm.

Guests are welcomed by a display of the skeleton and leather from the largest crocodile they've had so far. Then, we were led into a large, but well-organized collection of crocodiles. They had young crocodiles in a separate facility, which I appreciated because rarely are these babies seen in other zoos or parks. Aside from saltwater crocodiles, they also have other wildlife in the facility like a pony, some wild birds, the Philippine serpent eagle, bearded pigs, and the Palawan binturong or bearcat - a subspecie endemic to Palawan. 

We then headed to Baker's Hill, which is, well, a "compound" of restaurants and shops selling various items such as local delicacies, handicrafts, and other souvenirs. Aside from having photos taken with the various statues and figures, and checking out the bonsai display, we weren’t too keen on eating there so we decided to head to Mitra Ranch. 

Rancho Sta. Monica as it is otherwise known is owner by former Senator Ramon Mitra, Jr., which they have opened to the public as it has a beautiful view of the ocean, including the islands that comprise Honda Bay. We didn't stay too long because we had a couple more things in our itinerary - the Iwahig Penal Farm and of course, lunch. We decided to skip the former and just spent more time on the latter.

We had lunch at KaLui in Rizal Avenue, within the city proper. In KaLui, they request guests to take off their footwear upon entering the dining area. Quite nice and interesting, but can be odd for others, too. I remember having Stingray in Coconut Cream and having their dessert in "original cut" version. We were so happy about the food and service, we decided to come back for more before leaving for Manila on our last day. Not to mention, all 9 of us were so full and satisfied, at a very affordable price of P1,800!

KaLui's "Original Cut" Dessert by request.

Tired and drained from the heat, full from our feast, we headed straight to Sabang, a town most famous for the Underground River. The road trip took about an hour and a half. Some parts of the trip at that time were still rough roads as it was several months before the Underground River was pegged as part of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It was totally fine, as we were all able to still take a nap and have our first glimpse of the St. Paul Mountain Range and some limestone formations along the way. Palawan really is the last frontier.

Daluyon's Facade

Daluyon's Pool, with a view of St. Paul Mountain Range

We stayed at Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort. I stumbled upon Daluyon when I was looking around the internet for reviews of accommodation by the beach. I also saw that it was very near the Underground River and walking distance from the mangroves - a definite plus. I then remembered that a friend of ours stayed in Daluyon the year before and found it wonderful. They may be a bit pricey compared to the homestays and other resorts nearby, but you get what you pay for. You get a view of the St. Paul Mountain from the pool, and Sabang beach which, we find very similar to Boracay. The terrain very slowly rolls deeper and the sand is also very fine. The only difference is that the sand here is beige, though it's (a lot) more peaceful and secluded. Definitely good for families or couples looking for a getaway.

Right after we checked-in, we changed into "resort wear" (versus travel and city tour wear) and absorbed the relaxed vibe. Overall, our stay in Daluyon was very, very wonderful.