Palawan Day 1

I wouldn't consider it as a vacation month, but an invitation came July so what the heck! Let's Go SaGo!

It would be our first family trip to Palawan and good thing we are not coming in blind.  Uncle Nelson and Aunty Beth invited us to come over.  We couldn't pass the opportunity since they will be migrating to the US of A together with their twins Neil Christian and Neal Dominic (Chin-Chin, their daughter will be staying in the Philippines for now).

We immediately booked a flight bound for Puerto Princesa and they will be waiting for us when we arrive.

After an hour and a half smooth flight, we arrived safely and started kissing the ground hehehe. First time bay!

As expected, Uncle Nelson is already there waiting for us.  We didn't waste any time after the customary hi's and hello's. And we're off!  Just a quick stop at a convenient store to buy some stuff and proceeded to their house to pick up our "baon" and the rest of our hosts.

First on the list is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River.  A couple of hours drive from downtown with winding and some dirt road portions (I think as of writing, the road construction is complete already). We arrived at the jump-off point around noon time and had lunch before we proceeded.

From here, we rented a boat bound for the river about half an hour away.  I was a bit wary on how big the boat was because I'm carrying a bunch of camera equipment.  2 dSLR bodies and 4 lenses, so I'd rather be the one to fall in the water than my cameras. :)  Good thing it was a big boat.

From the entry point (yes the one with the big sign) there's a couple of minutes walk into the forest until you reach the pier where you rent a life vest a helmet (required) and the boat of course.  Gone are the days of the old typical "banca" that we used to see on those post cards.  They are now using a more modern flat bottom fiberglass skip.

You need a camera flash inside the cave.  They don't allow flood lights or pressure lanterns anymore.  They only use a not so bright spot lights inside.  According to the guide, bright lights disturb the bat inhabitants of the cave since they are asleep on day time.  Baka daw mapuyat.

The trip inside the cave and back didn't even take an hour.  The boatman said it is longer but the local government only allow tourist up to a certain portion of the river for safety reasons.  I guess you can go further if you can secure a permit or something.  The boat ride may be short but the sheer beauty of the cave will put you in awe.  No wonder it is included in the New Wonders of the World polling.  Don't forget to vote!

Now I can say, "Been there, done that!" looking at the post card.

After the subterranean river tour, we then proceeded to a 3-hour or so trip to Taytay where we will be spending our evening.  Our host owns a rest house there.

We arrived around 6:00PM just about ready for dinner.  The care taker already prepared some of the dish that we will be eating for dinner.  They have tinolang manok, steamed crabs, fried fish, and lastly adobong sitaw for our vege. Tired from the trip, we were all hungry and waiting to devour the food that is about to be served.  I was  right..about the devouring thingy. Just look at the plates!

 

Having our tummies filled and having great funny stories about the family of hour host.  It was a fun evening even though we're tired from the long trip.  Some of us even have energy left to take a crack at the videoke machine.  I would have sang but it might rain the next day and ruin the rest of the tour.  So we crashed for the night afterwards looking forward to the 2nd day!