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 |
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.
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