It's more fun in the Philippines!

Feb. 07-10, 2012
Puerto Princesa, Palawan
El Nido, Palawan


Despite many downs, this week was a definite upper. =) And although I had to shed tons for this trip, every cent was worth the experience. One I can never get back. And one I will surely never forget. =)

Leaving at noon of Feb. 7, 2012 and arriving the afternoon of Feb. 10, 2012, it was one of the best weeks and vacations of my life! =) Stayed at Hadefe's Cottages. Not so grand a place, but has a great provincial feel to it. They also treat their customers really great!


DAY 1. Taraw Beach Resto, Underground River Tours, Travel to El Nido

So day 1 consisted of Cebu Pacific plane ride bound for Puerto Princesa, Palawan from 11:10-12:10PM.

Then, an hour and a half long ride to Taraw Beach Resto for a much-needed lunch buffet (the start of the awesome island dining experience!).

Left around 3:00PM for the Underground River Tours, which has apparently won as one of the World's New Seven Wonders. It's an underground river experience we will never forget! Much to the delight of our river-guide-slash-boat-driver, Mr. Randy (or Randz as he'd like to call himself). Lots of crazy rock formations inside, some looked like mushrooms and people. But two of the most distinct were the dinosaur and dragon formations (two rocks that jutted out the ceiling and formed the heads of dragon and t-rex!). As you go deeper into the cave, you'd notice more and more bats and more and more twists and turns. You can get lost into the endless dark stream if you aren't careful (there are black crosses in the cave walls, though, that was apparently already there when it was discovered in the 1970's). =) And after almost an hour of caving, we were finally out into the light and walking in the forest towards the sea.. The monkeys that roam around the forest that surrounded the cave scared the hell out of me though. I kept hanging on to dear hat and shades so they don't grab it right off of my face! =))

Stayed too long at the underground river so our itinerary was kind of thrown off at this point. =) Was supposed to finish at around 4:30PM but instead, we left the place at close to 6:00PM. =p This was our mistake coz we took for granted what was next. The five-hour drive to El Nido where we will be staying for the duration of our vacay. =) The ride was dreadfully long, leg-cramping, bumpy, and exhausting. And at 120kph, we were bound to have some kind of accident along the way. Good thing Mr. Driver was great at maneuvering SUV's at great speed or we'd have ended up in the hospital at the speed we were going. =p

Finally, after the longest, most monotonous ride of my entire existence, we arrived around 10:00PM (the driver drove really fast!). Walked another kilometer to get to our destination cottages, rested a bit and headed for a late night dinner at a nearby Resto (where a single sunny-side-up cost Php20.00!! Over-pricing much?).

*I didn't take any pictures in Taraw and the Underground River coz it was raining and my cam wasn't water-proofed. Will grab pics off of my companions later*


DAY 2.  El Nido Island Hopping (Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Simizu Beach, Entalola Island, Helicopter Island)

Woke up to a pleasant, sunny morning. Dressed for the beach and headed for a continental breakfast at the shore. Lounged around and viewed lotsa gorgeous jewelry pieces made out of cultured pearls. Then headed off for day 1 of the island hopping. =)

First headed to Entalola Island where we snorkeled for a while. Lots of awesome fishes. Oh, and yes, I snorkeled too! Hah! Lotsa firsts on this trip, eh? =) Snorkeling can now officially be crossed off my bucket list! It was awe-freakin-bloody-some!

Got our fill of the fishes for the morning, and with hungry stomachs, headed for Simizu Beach where we were served fresh and divinely cooked seafood!

With full stomachs, we went straight to the Big Lagoon for more swimming. Apparently, this was one of the places where Borne Legacy was shot. =) Of course, we had to bring life jackets. It was one helluva lagoon. Sooo huge!

Next up was Small Lagoon. It's relatively smaller than the first, but going inside it was more exciting (at least for me). =p We had to swim quite a long distance so most of our muscles ached and cramped and begged for mercy after a while. Much more so with me who has never swam before (I could only do so now because of the life jacket...nifty gadgets, these things are!).

Last stop for the day was Helicopter Island. Full of rocks and huge boulder-like things coupled with a backdrop of greeneries and mountains made for a perfect scenic view! =)

And while some were sleeping, the rest of us went out for a late night walk around town. Stopped by for home-made pizza in a bare-foot restaurant (cool concept, dont'cha think?) before heading back while strolling through the beachfront. =)

DAY 3: El Nido Island Hopping (Snake Island, Codugnon Cave, Cathedral Cave, Pinagbuyutan Island, Seven Commando Island)

With another full sunny day ahead, we geared up for day 2 of our island hopping. =)

First stop, Snake Island. =) Silly ol' me. I actually thought it was called such because of lotsa snakes in the area. =p It was actually because the island looked like a snake head and was connected to another island via a thin stretch of sand bar which made both islands plus the sand bar look like a long snake. =D Tsktsktsk =D

After much swimming, snorkeling, hiking, picture-taking, mangrove exploring, lobster-holding, and gluttonous eating, we finally headed for our next stop, Codugnon Cave.

The way in was definitely difficult. You have to squeeze into this relatively tiny hole to get in. But once inside, you're greeted with a vast and substantially spacious cave interior. If you've got a knack for rock climbing (like boyfie and his friend, Bart), you'll definitely love climbing the steep and sharp rocks towards the top. =) Me, I can't. So instead, I headed low and squeezed through yet another, even smaller, gap between ground and rock to get inside a "bat-cave". You have to get down and dirty with this tourist attraction though. =)

Washed off our "cave dirt" and immediately pushed toward our next cave. The Cathedral Cave (because it's huge and high up like a cathedral). But we didn't snorkel coz we were running short on time (blame it on the vanity at every stop).

Rode another bumpy, wavy boatride and then we landed on Seven Commando Island, the perfect El Nido spot for sunset viewing. =) You can see all kinds of people there. Koreans, Swedish, German, Americans, Blacks, Whites, Orientals...But rarely Pinoy bakashionistas. =p Sipped through refreshing buko juice while bumming with the rest of the pack.

*see the westerner in the middle? Yeah, they're cool like that. =)*

Finally, the day drew to a close and we were finally on our way back to Hadefe's Cottages while the sun set behind us.

DAY 4: City Tour (Crocodile Farm, Bakers Hills, Binuatan Creation, Tiange Tiange)


Had an early start to the day. Left El Nido at around 3:00AM and headed for Puerto Princesa for our city tour while we wait for our flight that's due 12:40PM back to Cebu.

After another long, bumpy and sleep-filled car ride, we were finally able to have a quick breakfast before going to the Crocodile Farm where we shot photos of live crocodiles (and other animals in the nature reserve) and ate the sisig of dead ones (it only sounds nasty but it actually tastes great! Like chicken! ^^).

Next up, a quick stop at Binuatan Creation (a ranch owned by the governor). I wanted to ride the horses but alas, time didn't permit me so. =p

Our third destination for the day was Baker's Hill. A truly fairytale-like place complete with pretty, un-gated houses that looks holly-wood owned, landscaped lawns and crazy statues. =D It's also got this wicked place for dining at the innermost part. Some of the houses here are private property though so it was cool of them to allow tourists to take pictures of their homes. =D

The last stop for the trip was at Tiange Tiange, a really cheap pasalubong center (you can never come home without pasalubongs! As is the Filipino tradition ^^) in the middle of the busy town.

We had lots of other stops planned but we didn't budget our time well, apparently coz by the time we were done, we were only left with little to spare for check-in before we board the plane.

And so we left Palawan with memories of the glittering seas, the blue skies, the green trees, the soft sands, the colorful fishes and the creation of new friendships formed in the oddest of instances. =)

Palawan definitely did NOT disappoint! <3 It is said that even the most indifferent stares in awe at the beauty that is Palawan, and yes, I now believe that to be true. ^^

xoxo

~hny~