Traversed Puerto Prinsesa Palawan

        Last Friday, August 19, 2011, my husband, Bobot and I left Manila aboard Zest Air to Puerto Prinsesa. Our flight was delayed for an hour. We were supposed to depart 3:30 PM but was able to fly by 4:30PM.

When we reached Puerto Prinsesa Airport it was already 6:15PM. We hired a tricycle which I found so amusing and asked the driver to bring us to the House of Big Brother where we were booked with another couple who were a brother and a sister in SFC (Rodel and Aileen), for four nights. After changing, we headed to the conference site at the Puerto Prinsesa City Coliseum. Before proceeding in the venue, we looked for a place to dine in and we found Pares Resto where I ordered rice with boneless bangus, salted egg, tomatoes and seaweed while my hubby had super tapsilog meal. It rained that night and drenched, we entered the venue. What a familiar feeling! A night with our brothers and sisters altogether praising God.  The first talk was a great starter with a priest as our speaker. He was so cool and  very confident in delivering his  talk. It was a night of music for the Lord and I  knew from the start that its going to be a fantastic weekend ahead.

     The second day started with a worship and a breakfast with our group from SFC Sto Tomas. We had rice and breaded pork for breakfast before heading to our chosen workshop, One Nation, where we will have a Palawan tour through the Palawan Heritage Center museum and a film showing. The workshop was inspirational as we were given a grand time in the Puerto Prinsesa's hightech museum with a hologram Tagbanua explaining their heritage to us. The museum was not as big as I thought but it had important artifacts of Palawan shown on display or through wall photographs or with the use of their touch screen computers and telephone-operated screens. However, they did not allow cameras inside. After the museum tour, a film about Ninoy Aquino's last journey was shown highlighting his heroism and love for the Philippines which inspired most of our younger brothers and sisters who might not know what happened during the People Power days. We had a group sharing and the activity aroused the Filipinos in us. 

We went back to the hotel where we spent the next few hours resting. At 4PM, we visited Bona's Chaolong where we ordered with delight their bestseller Chaolong pork or beef stew. We were so excited while waiting thinking that its the best soup in town. Lo and behold, the soup arrived! It  tasted sweet and salty and sad to say, I really did not enjoyed it as much as I wanted to. I realized I was never a fan of any Vietnamese food. Well, most of us did not liked it so much but some of our brothers finished theirs with delight. And we headed back to the coliseum for the Saturday mass, dinner and conference talks. 

    The second night was a blast. The two talks were given by a sister and a brother with so much to offer. They were so blessed with sense of humor and they knew how to get across their audience with so much information and inspiration. What struck my hubby and I were the couple who shared about their failure to have a child and how they accepted their fate when two different doctors told them that the husband would not be able to produce the sperm count required for child bearing. 

The story was so close to my heart because it was also our desire to have our own baby. 
We were married for one year  and three months already and we are still trying to have a child. But God assured us of His faithfulness that night. Truly we are blessed. We went home at 11PM.

     On the third day of the conference, we had to wake up as early as 4PM as we were required to attend the ANCOP global walk starting from the Puerto Prinsesa baywalk to the coliseum. An exercise was lead by a tito from Couples for Christ Puerto Prinsesa and we followed the exercise in glee. We had great fun walking for 5 kilometers for a wonderful cause of sending our poor brothers and sisters to school through ANCOP Foundation. It was a great deal for me as I was supporting the cause for a few years now and was able to send an elementary and a highschool kids to school. 

The last session was given after the 9:00 AM Sunday mass. Bro Shok who was a wonderful speaker lead the crowd into an enlightening and heartwarming worship. The sharing of a priest who joined the conference awakened our parochial hearts, a sister who suffered from an illness which found sense of belongingness, a couple who were financially challenged but were immensely blessed in service, and Palawan governor Bro. Baham each gave their share of God with us. The conference was highlighted with the group in a chain of prayers as they were lead into a worship while touching the cross on a network of hand over another's. After the wonderful Stronghold conference, we were promised by God a wonderful tour and He did not fail us.
 
       My husband, our roommates and I were fetched by our tour guides, Zandro, and headed to Honda Bay for our Island hopping tour package. We were brought to a store where we rented snorkels for P150 each and an underwater camera case for P250 before heading to the port where a boat was waiting for us to bring us to Snake Island. The trip was a long one, about 30-45 minutes and it rained and we were tossed by the waves but it was still an enjoyable ride despite the rains. The rain stopped as soon as we set foot on the Snake Island where a buffet was awaiting.

Praise be to God! We had a feast and enjoyed  grilled talong, sugpo, adobo, mangga't alamang, banana and a cold coke. We enjoyed it so much because we did not have our lunch before leaving the conference. It was after only about 5 minutes when we decided to go snorkeling. The boatman assisted us in the deep part of the snorkeling area. It was such a sight seeing big yellow fishes, blue koi-like fish and other smaller colorful fish swimming about and around us while the boatman fed them with the bread we bought from the store earlier. The boatman was so swift and I admired him for his moves underwater while pressing our camera for a nice shot of us while snorkeling. It was tiring breathing through the snorkels and we decided to rest and just enjoyed the warm water. 

And we did enjoyed the beach all the more because our boatman impressed us with his knowledge on how to take wonderful photos. I realized that through the seasons these boatmen learned how to take picture from the tourists they had before and these had become their talent and additional skills. 

     After Snake Island, we were brought to Pambato Reef and to our horror, we were greeted by numerous jellyfish as big as a volleyball. We decided not to go to the water for another reef and fish mingling but after seeing our companions rising from the water with great smile and amazement on their faces, we changed our minds and asked our boatman to assist us again. And what a great sight it was indeed! Those were the most colorful corals I'd ever seen, blue, pink and purple corals while huge colorful fishes swim around us. However, I had to jump up the floater because of the huge jellyfish beside me. I panicked but was able to restore composure when the jellyfish slowly swam farther. We just had around 5 minutes on the water because our boatmen were requested to leave to prevent overstaying on the raft. 

        We were brought to our hotel by the tour van satisfied and hungry at the same time. We took our bath and prepared for a dinner date with our group at the Badjao Seafront. We hired a tricycle whose driver was very much willing to take us there and agreed to fetch us after for P150 which was a pay after deal. The small bridge crossing the mangroves or bakawan which was the entrance to the place had a welcoming atmosphere. It lead us to the resto entrance where piano music was being played while our group seated at the center of the resto already binging on the feast. We had our dinner ordered earlier by one of our sis,  Meane, so we only waited a while.

 The four of us  shared our meal and had more than enough. We had to take home our leftovers. It was such a romantic  night and I thank God that we decided to follow our group. We almost did not go because of my hubby's headache. I was glad we came.

      The next day, the four of us who enjoyed each others' company the whole time, needed to be ready by 6:30AM as our tour guide would be fetching us that time. But before they arrived, we surprised one of our brothers, Wilson, for his birthday. After singing "Happy Birthday" our guide arrived just in time. We fetched two more groups before heading to the Subterranian River. 

It was an hour-long drive before reaching the docking area where we'll ride a boat to the Underground River. The twenty-minute boat ride was very relaxing. The rock formation surrounding the waters were so soothing to the eyes and we just fell silent as our eyes  feast on the beauty around us. Alas, we reached the Underground River beach!

Fine sand greeted us as we set foot ashore. We have to hurry as more tourists would be there and we  wouldn't want to be waiting for a long queue  for a boat going under the world's famous cave.  We were given a  head gear and a life jacket. The life jacket had been a friend these past days. After, registration, we took a short walk along a road of wood planks, the gigantic trees already overwhelming us. 

They warned us to be careful with our things as monkeys were all over the place who'd grab any food their eyes would set upon. We were also expecting  bayawaks to cross the road anytime as we walked but no monkey nor lizard were visible that time. By the time we reached the  embarking area, other tourists were already on line waiting for their turn. Of course, we were so excited. Who wouldn't when you know you'd be seeing one of the Philippines great wonder. Our turn came and we couldn't wait. 

Our boatman, Mang Rogelio remarked "Di naman kayo excited?". Then he started paddling. As we enter the dark cave he began his very informative yet humorous tales about the underground river. Boatmen like him were trained as tour guides while navigating the cave. They knew the figures, the dates, the names and whatever history therein. Other than the facts, he was so funny as he shared some jokes about the cave. He said that the small bats were called a different name- bata. He showed us stalagmites and stalactites forming different interesting figures such as mushroom, papaya, puso ng saging, cucumber, the Nativity,the Last Supper, a cathedral,a candle, a king, a guard, an angel, a sexy lady they call Sharon Stone, and others which are even sparkling due to rich mineral deposit. 

How wonderful it was to see great wonders underneath the mountain. Later on we found out that the water is brackish since it is there where the saltwater and freshwater meet. Fish abounds there, too. However since it is declared a national protected area, fishing and swimming are already prohibited. We also learned that not only bats inhabit the cave but swallows or balinsasayaw are familiar flyers in the cave. 

Enjoying the 30-minute Underground River experience is an understatement. We thanked the boatman as we leave and the smile seemed not to leave our faces. Before leaving we were able to see a bayawak and it was the biggest  bayawak I had ever seen. Monkeys now out of their hiding places stared as our boat leave the island. We then went back to Sabang beach. A few meters away the port where our van was parked. It was as beautiful as Boracay shore only the sand is not as white and a few dogs roamed the place. Another bountiful meal awaited and we once again binged. We enjoyed sinigang na buko,  grilled pork, kangkong stew, adobong manok, tuna belly, ensaladang pipino, banana to name a few.  Tasting tamilok was an extra challenge. It tasted like oyster but since my mind reminded me that its worm-like and slimy made me want to vomit. Good thing the vinegar made great wonder. The four of us had a piece each and our faces expressed a promise not to eat another.

After eating tamilok

Before eating tamilok

The walk towards the waiting van was a good one passing by beautiful rest houses along the way. Our ride to the Ugong Rock took about 15 minutes. After a short briefing and signing a waiver, we were given a pair of gloves and a head gear each. Our guide lead us into the rock mountain were we would experience spelunking or caving. 

The passageways were so narrow I thought I won't fit through. I had to congratulate myself for climbing the rock wall with the use of a knotted rope. Honestly, I feared my husband or I would fall and break our spines but thank God we're not that old not to flex our bones for the climb. Lo and behold, we reached the top of the cave. Our gasping for air was replaced with another blows of heart beats upon laying our eyes on the zipline we had to use to go down. It was my first zipline and I wasn't sure if I was excited or if I was frightened for my life. It would be the longest 20 seconds of my life, I thought. 

We just joked around to ease our tension and decided who'd go down first. I was the second from the group following my hubby and when I saw how gracefully Bobot went ziplining I envied him and relieved that he survived it. Then, its my turn. I had to make sure my harness was in place and I asked the man assisting us to re-check twice before releasing me. And when they released me, I had to scream and what a scream it was. One of the screams was a praising to God as I yelled "I love you, Lord!" at the top of my lungs. Before I knew it three men were releasing me from the rope. I was free. I was alive and whole. It was a great awesome feeling. The van followed us since it was a field away (about 300 meters) from the Ugong Rock. We were allowed to sleep during the trip to the Crocodile Farm. Holding a baby crocodile was a strange feeling. I was afraid it would bite but was relieved upon seeing the mouth was tied and had my photo taken with it. Bobot refused because he hates reptile smell. 

The Crocodile Farm was smaller than I thought and contrary to what I knew that it houses hundreds of crocs, it only had few mature crocs. However, they have at least ten hatchlings for every age up to 1  year. I did not have a great time there because aside from muddy roads there were very few animals, aside form the crocs in their care. Maybe because they were just rescued from the wild to be protected. But as I saw the animals, I pity them because they didn't look too happy to be in that place alone in  a cage. We proceeded to Mitra's Ranch, ranch house of former Speaker of the House of Representatives Ramon Mitra. We just enjoyed the Honda Bay view as the ranch has the grandest view of it. No wonder why the late Ramon Mitra opted to stay in Palawan. Next stop was Baker's Hill where I planned days ahead of buying several boxes for pasalubong but was disappointed because there were very few products left to buy because according to them hundreds had already been there to buy their famous hopia. I just settled on hopia monggo and baboy because there were no more hopia ube available. We enjoyed the place though. The next place we visited was the Binuatan weaving where I tried to weave. The people there were so accommodating assisting us and patiently teaching us how to do the weaving. Their products were so colorful and I honor them for their creativity in using grass fibers endemic to their place. One of our companions asked if we could drop by at TESDA for a photo op with a Transformer Robot which transforms into a green and yellow Willys Jeep and we did had a robotic moment. We passed by the baywalk as we headed to Tiangge to buy pasalubong. They laughed at me because they thought i was going to buy the whole Puerto Prinsesa. I couldn't help myself because I wasn't sure when I'd be coming back. If I couldn't bring my family to Palawan, I'd bring Palawan to them. But their products were cheap enough so I was able to buy what i think I need to. I regretted not visiting the Cathedral because some in our group needed to go home for their dinner date and it was already 7:00PM. The van brought us to the House of Big Brother and we thanked Lotlot,the day's tour guide, for a grand day. 
 Rodel, Aileen, Bobot and I prepared for dinner and decided to dine at  Balinsasayaw, a famous resto serving nido soup or bird's nest soup. We enjoyed our last night together and went home satisfied and in anticipation to going home the next day. We packed our things and slept early for  the next day's flight.

    Going to the airport brought feelings of loneliness that the vacation had to end but of great thanksgiving that we were allowed by God to experience His infinite love through His creation. We had breakfast at Jollibee before proceeding to the airport. We were just on time and did not wait that long before Zest Air gate opened. With hearts filled with joy for the whole experience we stepped inside the plane and promised ourselves that we'll be back again some time soon to have another series of jump shots on Palawan shores.