Underground River Tour

As I wake up early to ready myself for the last day of our Puerto Princesa escapade, I can't help but feel sad. I've been planning this vacation since February of the same year, I've been asking so many friends who have been there about the do's and don'ts, I surfed the net for reviews and blogs..and now..after my much awaited Underground River Tour, we'll be heading back home..:(

The third and final day is discovering the most popular tourist attraction of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. We will be heading to Subterranean River National Park where the Underground River resides. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pack all our things because after the tour, we'll go straight to the airport for our 5:30 p.m. flight back to Manila. We had longsilog for our breakfast, with our hot coffee and choc.

my breakfast plate 

fran pension cafeteria

outside the cafeteria

We took photos of the pension house, for remembrance. We went to the pool (i regret not dipping into it), and to the kubo infront of our room.

view of the pool

way to the pool

way to our room

tambayan just across our room

Kuya Peter (the tour guide) arrived at exactly 8:00 a.m. to pick us up.

bidding Fran Pension house goodbye..

inside the van, mga antok pa..

It was a rough 2 hour drive to the town of Sabang, the drop off point to the national park. On our way, we stopped by a breath-taking view from Buenavista View Deck.

View from the deck 

from the deck

After taking shots from the view deck, we proceeded to Sabang.

a cross on top

elephant-like mountain (ah basta mukha raw syang elepante)

When we reached the drop off point, we registered our names and waited for our designated boat. It was a 20-30minute boat ride from the mainland to the park. Many beautiful sceneries bumped our sight on our way to the Underground river.

Then, a sight of the park's seashore..

inviting..

We then alighted from the boat and took some pictures while waiting for our turn to sail inside the soon-to-be (one of the) 7 Wonders of the World.

the trail to the Underground River

ang galeng lang ng background e..hehe

And then, our turn to experience the beauty of the underground..

ang bunganga ng kuweba

about to enter the underworld..hehe

The boat used to sail the underground river is small, you have to balance yourselves inside the boat so as not to make it sink. Be advised that the entrance of the cave has this stinky smell of the bats' urine, who live inside the cave. There are these tour guides who'd paddle the boat and keep you entertained with their funny punch lines while explaining the limestones seen while you sail.

As we entered, limestones with different awesome shapes welcomed us. Its a bit scary inside, given that its a cave and its dark, (you only have this flashlight on the boat to light you),  you'll also never know how deep the river is. But still, its applauding beauty will never fail to catch your attention.

unicorn daw yun e..

sabi ni kuya raffy (bangkero), mga sitaw  yan..haha

another well-formed limestone sa 'palengke' sa loob ng underground

The tour lasted for about 30-45 minutes. Alas, I don't have (yet,hmmm..) this good camcorder or an SLR to record and capture the beauty I saw inside.

on our way out!!

After visiting the underworld, we headed to Sabang beach for our buffet lunch.

view of the Sabang beach

The place is astounding, of course, with its white sand and wide seashore. We enjoyed our buffet lunch by the sea. Then waited a little longer until the tour guide told us we had to go.

may 2 Korean nationals na raw na namatay kasi di sinunod ito

a scenic view after a bountiful lunch

ang ganda ng Palawan!

As we entered the van, and went to the airport, my heart aches in lonely, realizing that we'll be living this precious place we longed to visit.

Fritz with Kuya Peter, and our ever attentive driver

Sakto! We're 2 hours early for our flight, but then, our flight back will be delayed due to bad weather in Manila. So, while waiting for the flight, we chilled inside the Cafe and chitchatted about our trip.

with my mocha shake and chips

ang lalim ng iniisip nya rito!

Finally, after an hour of waiting, its time to go home. The escapade was far from what I have imagined. I did not just enjoyed it! I loved it! With all the great places we saw, (this is where I discovered the fun of snorkeling), all the bonding moments we had, the chismisan and laughs we had at the pension house.. its all worth every single penny we spent, its worth the vacation leave filed, and the time spent. I can't wait to visit Palawan again! I'm sure the next time, Puerto Princesa Underground River is already a part of the 7 New Wonders of the World!
:D

Honda Bay Island Hoping

Day 2 of the Puerto Princesa Escape is waking up early, getting ready early, eating early..and everything early! hehe.


Since our tour guide told us that we will be fetched @ 7:30 a.m. for the day's activity, we woke up as early as 6:00 a.m. to fix the things we needed to bring for the island hopping. (im sorry but 6 a.m. is waaaay to early for me, im not an early person kasi)


After packing our bags, we headed to the cafeteria to eat our complimentary breakfast. We had fried rice, corned beef with sunny side up egg served with hot chocolate and coffee. Then, after the scrumptious meal, we went back to our room to wait for our sundo. (yeah, yeah, we both didn't bathe that morning, i felt it wouldn't be necessary, 'cause we'll get soaked and wet on the beach anyway). 


15 minutes passed and off we go!


Availing the tour package for our Puerto Princesa Getaway also means that there will be others who will join us. (fail ito, since kami ang unang nasundo, we had the 'privilege' to wait for the others sa pagsundo sa kani-kanilang tinutuluyang hotel, parang nagtour na rin kami..sayang ang time.tsk).


Finally, after decades of waiting for the two families who'll be joining us, we proceeded to our destination for the water activity of the day,. splurging on the treats of Honda Bay.


First, we stopped over to a shop where we can rent snorkeling gears and camera cases that we'd be using for the activity. I don't have an under water digicam, so I really need to rent one of their camera cases. Since Fritz became addicted to snorkeling after we first tried it in Zambales, he rented a snorkeling gear to be used on his newly discovered passion. (sorry i can't recall how much their prices are)


Palawan boasts of many beautiful small islands, with its soft white sand and abundant flora (and fauna). Here, you are able to relax, find serenity, a peace of mind you can never feel in the city. It  also has a rich marine life, thousands of different types of fishes swimming underneath the ocean which keeps the balance of nature thus preserves the ecosystem.


We headed to Honda Bay, (the drop off point for the Puerto Princesa island hopping), to unveil what is said to be the "Last Frontier".

view of the rich ecosystem of Palawan

Being as stubborn as I can be, I forgot to charge the digicam the night before the tour. But ofcourse, I need not to elaborate what happened anymore..we've taken like, 6-7 shots from the camera, and the rest of the pictures were taken from my beloved Nokia X3 mobile phone..hehe..AMAZING!


When I checked the itinerary of Honda Bay Island Hopping on the net, I was actually overwhelmed because there are like, six islands mentioned to be visited including Pandan Island, Snake Island, Pambato Reef, Starfish Island, Lu-li Island and Bat Island. I had my mind set of twice the tiredness we felt the first day. But no, Kuya Peter (the tour guide) said that since there's nothing much to see on the other islands, we'll just visit those more popular ones, (Pambato reef, Snake Island and Pandan Island).


First, visiting the fishes of Pambato Reef. It is a spot where you can find a lush growth of colorful corals and swimming fishes of different kinds.


(forgive the not so professional shots, from a not so expensive cam., ;)..)

snorkeling me

under the sea

corals..oh corals!

fish..captured!

After visiting the fishes' sanctuary, we headed to Snake Island for our lunch and for more snorkeling activity. We enjoyed swimming with the fishes here. Why named Snake Island?  Because the island's form is that of the reptile., not because its an island full of snakes! (frankly, yun din akala ko talaga, heheh)

snake island, ah basta sa snake island yan! ;)

The next stop was Pandan Island, where lots of Pandan-like plants live underwater. It's more relaxing here, with all the scenic view from our kubo and  with its wider seashore compared to Snake Island. I didn't snorkel much here because i was way too tired to go swimming, so i just enjoyed the view from the kubo and took some shots from my phone while I wait for Fritz to get tired of playing with the fishes.

Greetings!

Fritz..tired after like more than an hour of snorkeling alone

posing underneath the three-trunk tree..hehe

Prices of their foods

TIPS!

The Island Hopping made me appreciate snorkeling, feeding the fish and watching them dance under the water. Its an exceptional experience that I would really love to try, over and over again. Its where I discovered why Palawan is said to be the Last Frontier of the country.


We returned back to the pension house at around 5:00 p.m. Though we are both tired from the Island Hopping, we just took an hour rest and off we went to our dinner at Badjao Seafront. (nagpareserve na ako the night before so as not to disappoint myself kapag fully booked nanaman)


We hired a tricycle which costs P50.00 from the pension house to Badjao Seafront. The place is actually built above a mangrove forest, giving you a scenic view of the beach. You would have to cross a wooden bridge from its facade to reach the restaurant.

The Facade

The cozy wooden bridge

Upon reaching our designated table, the waiter approached us and handed us their menu. We ordered fried rice, Sinigang Soup, Tuna, and Shrimps, with my fresh buko juice and Fritz's can of coke. The foodies are all good, but costs too much for its price of 900 pesos (plus). The food is actually for 3-4 persons and its too much for our tummies. We didn't finish it all and just decided we'll give the left overs to the suuuper accommodating staffs of Fran Pension House.

*My advice is to not eat here if you're on a tight budget, especially kung dalawa lang kayo, not unless you are  having a grand  Puerto Princesa visit. Its costly, and the food is just too much for two people. I think it would be more enjoying if you are traveling with your barkada, mas mapapatipid, mas maeenjoy ang mga meal, para sulit din ang kain. ;)

just before we eat them

yumminess

After Badjao Seafront's delightful dinner, we hired a tryke back to Fran Pension House for also P50.00. Since I realized that it would be our last night of stay in the pension, we decided to have our pictorials for our memorabilia. hahaha!

Long Shot!

maitim na background, maitim na mga tao..hehe

Kulitan to the max

lambingan, ek-ek

Another long shot. :D

The second day was all worth the money and the energy spent. Just remembering how we indulge on the  white sand beaches of Puerto Princesa and swam with the nemos is worth it all.


stay glued: Underground River Tour