Friday, June 22, 2007
Wednesday 13th June 2007 - Up the creek without a paddle
Fluorescent orange was always my first choice in the morning.
Cave rock formations note the swallow flying in front in the pitch dark. Light is from camera flash
Wednesday 13th June 2007
Up at 6am to get ready, have breakfast and wait for tour van due to arrive at 7.30am Filipino time. It arrives at 8. The journey is 2.5 hours to the village of Sabang from where we take a motorised outrigger boat to the bay and jump off station to the Puerto Princesa underground river tour. We make a couple of comfort stops and the second is at Ulugan bay on the west coast. The views from the observation point are quite spectacular as I hope you will see from those above. I would like to have experienced the mangroves, mountains and coral reefs here but time both on this tour and our holiday precludes it. The road has turned from concrete surface to rough earth and stone and is as bumpy as hell. After a few miles we hit a short stretch of concrete road again. Our tour guide Donna informs us that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had journeyed along the same road about a year ago to visit the underground river but gave up the drive because it was too rough for her. AAAAAHHHHHH! So she authorised the govt to invest peso500,000,000 in creating a new concrete road to Sabang to encourage tourism and obviously investment. Unfortunately that amount of money only buys about 5km of concrete road so they built on only the worst sections of the track. We eventually arrive at the village, harbour and bay of Sabang and take to the outrigger boats which sail us to the other side of the bay where the underground river and caves are. The beaches are almost white sand and clean and beautiful. We take a short trek through rainforest to a reception point for the outrigger paddle boat into the caves. Due to the amount of tourism the govt has restricted the amount of the 8.5 miles of navigable river that can be viewed to no more than 1.25 miles. We are required to don life jackets and helmets and one person has to sit at the bow of the boat to train the battery spotlight on interesting geological formations. Yes Ludy was that person. We are in a small lagoon surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs, mangroves, rainforest and a small sand bank which divides the brackish water from the sea. This small lagoon seems to home thousands of small fish which from time to time leap en masse from the water in a silver blanket then flop back to the water with what sounds like a cork being pulled from a bottle. It is quite beautiful and peaceful and it would make a tranquil retreat were it not to have such a unique phenomenon as the underground river. At the entrance to the cave we notice swallows flying in and out all the time and our guide explains that they nest in and around the cave and also fly for some distance down into the depths of the cave and river system. It is the longest navigable natural waterway in the world and the Philippine and Palawan govts are very proud of it. Not to mention its tourism value to the economy. The caves and river are only legally navigable by licence from the govt and for tourism only for just over a mile. Archaeologists, geologists and historians can apply for licences to navigate further and only genuine explorers are licensed to explore further. There are some truly amazing sights inside including large stalacmites and much larger and longer stalactites. Some of the lime formations have produced recognisable shapes such as images of Jesus or Mary or a jellyfish or one slightly macabre formation of 2 bodies hanging upside down.! The river depth ranges from a couple of feet to 40 or more in places but the water always felt about the same temperature. There are one or two places where you emerge into a huge cavern with a ceiling which is only just discernable even with the powerful torch lamp on the boat. At one point our oarsman (well paddler) noted that if you looked up into the ceiling with the aid of the light you could see the water droplets raining down on us which had permeated the high limestone mountains. If they were cold droplets they were from the mountains but if they were warm they were from the bats His advice was to keep your mouth shut just in case! Just before we reached our turning point and heading back to the the cave entrance ourguide asked if we wanted to proceed further along the long and dark forbidding cave we could see stretching before us in the beam of the baterry light. A few of us said yes. Good, says our guide you carry on by swimming coz I'm going back, have fun! After our pioneering of mountain caves we decamped to the picnic area for buffet lunch. Pretty good food considering which included cooked crab. We had lunch guests in the form of macaque monkeys and monitor lizards who cleaned up after us. Actually they also cleaned up whilst we were eating, stealing some chicken left unattended by one of the other parties! They also steal bottles of water but, are guide informed us they haven’t yet mastered the art of unscrewing bottle tops so they bite the plastic and drink from the piercing or by the dribblings from the holes. As she said it we then watched the macaque which had just stolen some water, climb to the top of a nearby tree and sit down and proceed to unscrew the top! Monitor lizards roamed freely around the site but were far shyer of the humans. We made our way back to the outrigger boats beached on the beautiful almost white sand and headed back to the bay. As the tide was now out we couldn’t moor at the small harbour we left earlier and so beached up on the glistening sand bay just before it. The backdrop to the beach was just as you would imagine a desert island or the most beautiful beach scene of your dreams. The blue green sea lapped gently against fine, almost white sand which was fringed with tall palm trees who in turn were shading small beach side restaurants, bars and cool seating areas. Interspersed almost invisibly from the sea, amongst the palms were a number of small palm laced walled, palm roofed and wood framed rooms belonging to entrepreneurial locals and some foreigners and being rented out as beach front holiday accommodation. Behind this the tropical forest stretches into the distance ever upwards reaching some of the highest peaks of grey and white streaked limestone mountains whose tops are shrouded in low misty clouds of white cotton wool. A view I could sit and stare at for hours just relaxing and letting my mind soar free, and my body warmed and tanned by the hot sun. I took some photos from the boat which reveal only a hint of the beauty and tranquillity we witnessed. Palawan has already, and it’s only day 2, worked a magic, hypnotic spell on us, making us feel relaxed, comfortable and entranced by all we’ve seen. The heat and humidity is still omnipresent but it is less intense than Manila and a little more bearable. Add to that the cooling sea breezes and you truly are experiencing probably as near as you can get to Paradise.
Our guide Donna tells us that in this area there are quite a few accommodations available for rental. They are all quite basic and naturally quite cheap. They are constructed of natural materials such as walls of interwoven palm leaves, roofs made of palm leaves or some with tiles made from local clays and the house frames from local forest wood. Some have electricity but that is often only available for a few hours a day. Some have their own generators but again they do not have them running all day and night. There is drinking water but it is all imported from the city of Puerto Princesa. Washing water is, during the rainy season collected in barrels and made available for ones ablutions. We have about half an hour before the bus leaves to return us to Hotel Asturia so we take a small tour and inspect the stalls and kiosks. Ludy bought a sarong for peso130 after a little gentle bartering and some of our fellow travellers bought Palawan t-shirts for a similar price. Donna bought a bag of mangoes, which we were instructed to peel not cut and then to suck the juice rather than eat the flesh. They are the most sweetest, juiciest mangoes you will ever taste and I would not be surprised if they were the basis for ‘Nectar of the Gods’!
Well, we have to leave our little corner of Paradise and take the 2 hour (Gloria road as I shall now call it!) back to semi civilisation. We have an uneventful trip back with a stop at a small bakers shop which originally just served the local community, but with the advent of the tourists to and from the Underground river and caves has enterprisingly made itself a must see stop off. The reason? They sell a pastry delicacy that many if not most Filipinos would die for to eat. Hopia, in its many flavours is a little like the shape and pastry of a vol au vont but not completely cooked. Personally I do not like them as they are almost stodgy and at the same time a little dry. We had one more comfort stop where I had a view of Honda Bay which has hundreds of little islands dotted around it and mountains in the distance once again with their summits shrouded in mists and some with the clouds encircling their lower slopes. Back to the hotel at about 5 and the cool of our air con room! We take a tricycle at 7.30, driven by a local called Ronnie, to a restaurant recommended by Donna and Janssen yesterdays guide. It is called Ka Lui and is unique in that you are required to remove your shoes on entry and walk barefoot around the restaurant. You have a choice of dining tables too. Normal height, sitting in chairs, mid height sitting on lowish stools or Japanese style, cross legged on cushions at a low table. Guess which option we took? (I wished I hadn’t later, as when I got up to go to the comfort room I fell over as my leg had gone to sleep!) The ambience was incredible with a great deal of attention to detail with the decoration. One which I particularly liked was a fish tank. Set into a wall with a background of bamboo sticks the wooden fish were most attractively and randomly arranged, hanging from string and being gently buffeted by the breeze from the fans to simulate their motion underwater. Saves on water and all the cleaning associated with tanks. Another brilliant feature was the giant clam hand basin which was situated near the restrooms at the rear of the restaurant. To obtain water you turned a small tap set in a barrel not dissimilar to a beer keg. Very different and totally in keeping with the setting. The food was outstanding including the fresh and lightly boiled seaweed! We also ordered clam soup, a mixed seafood platter of white fish, prawns, squid, clams and a side order of a lobster each! Very good value at around £16 including wine and gin and tonic. When we left Ronnie was waiting for us and whisked (relatively considering it was a motor tricycle) us back to Hotel Asturia and the sleep of a contented diner.
Up at 6am to get ready, have breakfast and wait for tour van due to arrive at 7.30am Filipino time. It arrives at 8. The journey is 2.5 hours to the village of Sabang from where we take a motorised outrigger boat to the bay and jump off station to the Puerto Princesa underground river tour. We make a couple of comfort stops and the second is at Ulugan bay on the west coast. The views from the observation point are quite spectacular as I hope you will see from those above. I would like to have experienced the mangroves, mountains and coral reefs here but time both on this tour and our holiday precludes it. The road has turned from concrete surface to rough earth and stone and is as bumpy as hell. After a few miles we hit a short stretch of concrete road again. Our tour guide Donna informs us that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had journeyed along the same road about a year ago to visit the underground river but gave up the drive because it was too rough for her. AAAAAHHHHHH! So she authorised the govt to invest peso500,000,000 in creating a new concrete road to Sabang to encourage tourism and obviously investment. Unfortunately that amount of money only buys about 5km of concrete road so they built on only the worst sections of the track. We eventually arrive at the village, harbour and bay of Sabang and take to the outrigger boats which sail us to the other side of the bay where the underground river and caves are. The beaches are almost white sand and clean and beautiful. We take a short trek through rainforest to a reception point for the outrigger paddle boat into the caves. Due to the amount of tourism the govt has restricted the amount of the 8.5 miles of navigable river that can be viewed to no more than 1.25 miles. We are required to don life jackets and helmets and one person has to sit at the bow of the boat to train the battery spotlight on interesting geological formations. Yes Ludy was that person. We are in a small lagoon surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs, mangroves, rainforest and a small sand bank which divides the brackish water from the sea. This small lagoon seems to home thousands of small fish which from time to time leap en masse from the water in a silver blanket then flop back to the water with what sounds like a cork being pulled from a bottle. It is quite beautiful and peaceful and it would make a tranquil retreat were it not to have such a unique phenomenon as the underground river. At the entrance to the cave we notice swallows flying in and out all the time and our guide explains that they nest in and around the cave and also fly for some distance down into the depths of the cave and river system. It is the longest navigable natural waterway in the world and the Philippine and Palawan govts are very proud of it. Not to mention its tourism value to the economy. The caves and river are only legally navigable by licence from the govt and for tourism only for just over a mile. Archaeologists, geologists and historians can apply for licences to navigate further and only genuine explorers are licensed to explore further. There are some truly amazing sights inside including large stalacmites and much larger and longer stalactites. Some of the lime formations have produced recognisable shapes such as images of Jesus or Mary or a jellyfish or one slightly macabre formation of 2 bodies hanging upside down.! The river depth ranges from a couple of feet to 40 or more in places but the water always felt about the same temperature. There are one or two places where you emerge into a huge cavern with a ceiling which is only just discernable even with the powerful torch lamp on the boat. At one point our oarsman (well paddler) noted that if you looked up into the ceiling with the aid of the light you could see the water droplets raining down on us which had permeated the high limestone mountains. If they were cold droplets they were from the mountains but if they were warm they were from the bats His advice was to keep your mouth shut just in case! Just before we reached our turning point and heading back to the the cave entrance ourguide asked if we wanted to proceed further along the long and dark forbidding cave we could see stretching before us in the beam of the baterry light. A few of us said yes. Good, says our guide you carry on by swimming coz I'm going back, have fun! After our pioneering of mountain caves we decamped to the picnic area for buffet lunch. Pretty good food considering which included cooked crab. We had lunch guests in the form of macaque monkeys and monitor lizards who cleaned up after us. Actually they also cleaned up whilst we were eating, stealing some chicken left unattended by one of the other parties! They also steal bottles of water but, are guide informed us they haven’t yet mastered the art of unscrewing bottle tops so they bite the plastic and drink from the piercing or by the dribblings from the holes. As she said it we then watched the macaque which had just stolen some water, climb to the top of a nearby tree and sit down and proceed to unscrew the top! Monitor lizards roamed freely around the site but were far shyer of the humans. We made our way back to the outrigger boats beached on the beautiful almost white sand and headed back to the bay. As the tide was now out we couldn’t moor at the small harbour we left earlier and so beached up on the glistening sand bay just before it. The backdrop to the beach was just as you would imagine a desert island or the most beautiful beach scene of your dreams. The blue green sea lapped gently against fine, almost white sand which was fringed with tall palm trees who in turn were shading small beach side restaurants, bars and cool seating areas. Interspersed almost invisibly from the sea, amongst the palms were a number of small palm laced walled, palm roofed and wood framed rooms belonging to entrepreneurial locals and some foreigners and being rented out as beach front holiday accommodation. Behind this the tropical forest stretches into the distance ever upwards reaching some of the highest peaks of grey and white streaked limestone mountains whose tops are shrouded in low misty clouds of white cotton wool. A view I could sit and stare at for hours just relaxing and letting my mind soar free, and my body warmed and tanned by the hot sun. I took some photos from the boat which reveal only a hint of the beauty and tranquillity we witnessed. Palawan has already, and it’s only day 2, worked a magic, hypnotic spell on us, making us feel relaxed, comfortable and entranced by all we’ve seen. The heat and humidity is still omnipresent but it is less intense than Manila and a little more bearable. Add to that the cooling sea breezes and you truly are experiencing probably as near as you can get to Paradise.
Our guide Donna tells us that in this area there are quite a few accommodations available for rental. They are all quite basic and naturally quite cheap. They are constructed of natural materials such as walls of interwoven palm leaves, roofs made of palm leaves or some with tiles made from local clays and the house frames from local forest wood. Some have electricity but that is often only available for a few hours a day. Some have their own generators but again they do not have them running all day and night. There is drinking water but it is all imported from the city of Puerto Princesa. Washing water is, during the rainy season collected in barrels and made available for ones ablutions. We have about half an hour before the bus leaves to return us to Hotel Asturia so we take a small tour and inspect the stalls and kiosks. Ludy bought a sarong for peso130 after a little gentle bartering and some of our fellow travellers bought Palawan t-shirts for a similar price. Donna bought a bag of mangoes, which we were instructed to peel not cut and then to suck the juice rather than eat the flesh. They are the most sweetest, juiciest mangoes you will ever taste and I would not be surprised if they were the basis for ‘Nectar of the Gods’!
Well, we have to leave our little corner of Paradise and take the 2 hour (Gloria road as I shall now call it!) back to semi civilisation. We have an uneventful trip back with a stop at a small bakers shop which originally just served the local community, but with the advent of the tourists to and from the Underground river and caves has enterprisingly made itself a must see stop off. The reason? They sell a pastry delicacy that many if not most Filipinos would die for to eat. Hopia, in its many flavours is a little like the shape and pastry of a vol au vont but not completely cooked. Personally I do not like them as they are almost stodgy and at the same time a little dry. We had one more comfort stop where I had a view of Honda Bay which has hundreds of little islands dotted around it and mountains in the distance once again with their summits shrouded in mists and some with the clouds encircling their lower slopes. Back to the hotel at about 5 and the cool of our air con room! We take a tricycle at 7.30, driven by a local called Ronnie, to a restaurant recommended by Donna and Janssen yesterdays guide. It is called Ka Lui and is unique in that you are required to remove your shoes on entry and walk barefoot around the restaurant. You have a choice of dining tables too. Normal height, sitting in chairs, mid height sitting on lowish stools or Japanese style, cross legged on cushions at a low table. Guess which option we took? (I wished I hadn’t later, as when I got up to go to the comfort room I fell over as my leg had gone to sleep!) The ambience was incredible with a great deal of attention to detail with the decoration. One which I particularly liked was a fish tank. Set into a wall with a background of bamboo sticks the wooden fish were most attractively and randomly arranged, hanging from string and being gently buffeted by the breeze from the fans to simulate their motion underwater. Saves on water and all the cleaning associated with tanks. Another brilliant feature was the giant clam hand basin which was situated near the restrooms at the rear of the restaurant. To obtain water you turned a small tap set in a barrel not dissimilar to a beer keg. Very different and totally in keeping with the setting. The food was outstanding including the fresh and lightly boiled seaweed! We also ordered clam soup, a mixed seafood platter of white fish, prawns, squid, clams and a side order of a lobster each! Very good value at around £16 including wine and gin and tonic. When we left Ronnie was waiting for us and whisked (relatively considering it was a motor tricycle) us back to Hotel Asturia and the sleep of a contented diner.
Labels: Gloria Macapagal Arroya, Hopia, Hotel Asturia, Macaque monkeys, Monitor lizards, Palawan, Puerto Princesa Underground River and caves Palawan, Sabang, Ulugan bay
Tuesday 12th June 2007 Welcome to Paradise (Palawan)
Checking out raw materials for Lu's new handbag. Hotel Asturias swimming poolTuesday 12th June 2007
Up at the ungodly hour of 4am (very reminiscent of he good old days with early morning 4.20 work starts) and wait for Dodi to collect and whisk us to the airport for Palawan. Finished the packing and wait for Dodi. And wait. And wait some more. We know all about Flipino time but this is ridiculous. We have to be at the Airport before 7.00 due to security measures even for internal flights and Manila traffic can be horrendous at any time of day or night for no apparent reason. At 5.30 we get a call to say he is on his way but stuck in traffic (see my point?) so we make an executive decision ( one of only a few decisions we have made this trip) to take a taxi. Annabelle the maid hails one for us and we bundle in with the goodbyes and good wishes from all and sundry. We impress upon the taxi driver the urgency of his mission and he sets his jaw and guns the motor. We set off at an impressive 30 kph for the next 10 minutes due to tricycles and speed bumps until we reach the main highway. Here we chance our luck and find a relatively unbusy and free flowing 4 lane road and at last we’re off. 20 minutes and we’re stuck in a traffic jam and no-ones moved for a minute or two and suddenly we’re off again and passing an accident between a lorry and a pick-up truck. Glass everywhere from a windscreen but no-ones bothered and they all drive over it and around the 2 vehicles involved. We reach the airport in 55 minutes at 06.35 which must a Manila record and reward our driver with the fare of P345 and a tip of P155. He had informed us on the journey that he rents the Taxi from his brother (a system which all taxi drivers seem to use, no not rent from our drivers brother, but rent 12 hours use of the taxi from the owner) for P500 a day. Some pay more depending on wether they are relatives, friends, 2nd cousins twice removed or how new or old the taxi is. So he was happy because his first fare of the day (he was on his way from home to the Mega Mall at EDSA north) had covered his rent to his brother. Everything else earned today is his, yaaaay! So almost an hours journey of around 20 miles cost us £5.50. At the airport everything runs smoothly and to time and we’re off to Palawan. Palawan airport is literally a tin roofed brick shack. Customs is relaxed, Ludy took both our passports through and went and waited for our luggage. The carousel was about 20 feet away from customs and so he just looked over to check me out. I think. The hotel bus was outside to greet us and we were whisked away with much efficiency and courtesy. Our new lodgings, Hotel Asturias, is only 2 storeys high and has a Spanish Hacienda feel to it. A big airy reception welcomes us and a large board declaring that The Hotel Asturia welcomes Derek Scanlon & Co ! Ludy says she can’t remember ever being christened with that name. Making our way to room 227 we pass the Pescados Restaurant and a largish free form swimming pool situated in the middle of the hotel surrounded on all sides by the guest rooms. Our room is a generous size with tv, air con and ensuite facilities inc a bath and hot water! (but no bloody hairdryer says Lu) It’s just after 10am and feels like the middle of the afternoon and with the trip around Puerto Princesa later at 1.00pm I feel like catching some zzzzz’s. But we’re in a new town and country (although it is still part of Luzon in the Philippines) and we feel duty bound to have a quick look. So we take a tricycle (they are slightly different here as they have a shell which encloses the passenger and driver rather than just a sidecar as in Manila.) into the centre of Puerto Princesa for peso20. The town is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea in a natural cove with the sea ferry terminal located on the harbour in the west. It is a bustling ‘city’ where the biggest danger to life and limb is being run over by one of the thousands of tricycles or slipping in the water in the indoor wet market with all the fish. We are told that this is a "No Littering " city and to be honest we didn't see much litter at all. You know, we were talking later on in the journey and neither of us can remember seeing many people smoking. I'm sure it's not banned but maybe they are a more self conscious and healthier island race than we give them credit for. Anyway after all our walking around, all we end up buying is a couple of bottles of water so make our way back to the hotel to get ready for our tour. Naturally whilst we are out the hotel has provided 2 complimentary bottles of water!
We are collected at 1pm by Janssen, our tour guide from Ellen’s Travel and tours. We go to another hotel to collect 5 more guests of which only the family of 3 are ready. After 20 minutes the young couple appear and we’re off. Our first stop is the city museum which houses many objects and artefacts to do with Palawan history and its indigenous people but with 2 slightly more interesting items. One is a burial pot which is about 2.5 feet high and about the same in width. It is an ancient Palawan burial rite where the dead are returned to a crouching/sitting position as if on their haunches and placed in the pot then buried. The ancient Palawan man was obviously not a lofty individual. The second is fossil remains identified as human, found at the Tabon Cave complex in Luzon, Palawan and dating back some 22-24,000 years. They are acknowledged as the oldest homo sapien remains in the Philippines and earned Palawan the title of the ’Cradle of Philippine Civilisation’. Our next stop is altogether more up to date but equally if not older. We are at the crocodile farm. The Philippine and Palawan croc is a highly endangered species and a conservation scheme was set up by the Govt to protect and increase their numbers. They now farm the little critters in large numbers and many are sold for the shoe and handbag market. Our guide said they are snapped up by customers ha ha! We had the pleasure of holding one for a few moments firmly behind the head and on the tail. No just a baby of about 9 months of age, who do you think I am Crocodile Dundee. Oh and his mouth was bound tightly shut by an elastic band. Snappy elastic on a future strappy basket. We then went fishing for crocs. Standing on a walkway above fully grown crocs in their pools we watched as a number of visitors paid for the pleasure of teasing the prehistoric time warps with a couple of fish tied to string attached to a very strong meta pole. The idea was to ‘dance’ the fish in front of a croc’s nose and then watch him thrash about as he tried to take the bait. Very entertaining. From here we ventured into the islands penal colony to view their way of life. Not as daft as it sounds because the Palawan govt have taken an enlightened view to how prisoners approaching parole are treated. They are given small farm holdings owned by the govt and to whom rent is paid. They then work the land and earn and learn. The term for renting is up to 20 years at which point they must be returned to the govt. Presumably they are expected to have saved to be able to afford their own smallholding in that time. Not quite proper joined up thinking because these people are poor, the income is poor and at the end of the lease term their chances are poor. We miss out on the butterfly farm because by now it is raining cats and dogs and of course we are behind on time due to a certain late couple who are on their honeymoon. One of the many outstanding natural features of this very pretty and interesting island is a beautiful tree whose flowers are bright red, nicknamed ’Fire Tree’ when in full bloom and we are lucky enough to witness it. They are in abundance on one of the mountainsides and it looks for all the world like there is a red hot flow of lava inching down the wooded slopes. Our tour takes us back through the city and a few more points of local interest and back to our hotel. We decide to eat in the restaurant and take their buffet dinner. Wish I’d looked harder before ordering. Our choice was grilled tuna, prawns, breaded chicken pieces, breaded pork strips, garlic rice and the only vegetable was green beans in oyster sauce. Unfortunately they had been steaming away for well over an hour and a half before we got there so they were not in their best condition. We also braved a half bottle of Cashew nut wine. Very, very sweet and best served highly chilled or as a dessert wine only. Cashew nuts are an abundant crop on the island and grown all year round except during monsoon months of May, June, July. We retired to bed after dinner as we are tired and have an early start tomorrow for our trip to Sabang and the underground river tour.
Up at the ungodly hour of 4am (very reminiscent of he good old days with early morning 4.20 work starts) and wait for Dodi to collect and whisk us to the airport for Palawan. Finished the packing and wait for Dodi. And wait. And wait some more. We know all about Flipino time but this is ridiculous. We have to be at the Airport before 7.00 due to security measures even for internal flights and Manila traffic can be horrendous at any time of day or night for no apparent reason. At 5.30 we get a call to say he is on his way but stuck in traffic (see my point?) so we make an executive decision ( one of only a few decisions we have made this trip) to take a taxi. Annabelle the maid hails one for us and we bundle in with the goodbyes and good wishes from all and sundry. We impress upon the taxi driver the urgency of his mission and he sets his jaw and guns the motor. We set off at an impressive 30 kph for the next 10 minutes due to tricycles and speed bumps until we reach the main highway. Here we chance our luck and find a relatively unbusy and free flowing 4 lane road and at last we’re off. 20 minutes and we’re stuck in a traffic jam and no-ones moved for a minute or two and suddenly we’re off again and passing an accident between a lorry and a pick-up truck. Glass everywhere from a windscreen but no-ones bothered and they all drive over it and around the 2 vehicles involved. We reach the airport in 55 minutes at 06.35 which must a Manila record and reward our driver with the fare of P345 and a tip of P155. He had informed us on the journey that he rents the Taxi from his brother (a system which all taxi drivers seem to use, no not rent from our drivers brother, but rent 12 hours use of the taxi from the owner) for P500 a day. Some pay more depending on wether they are relatives, friends, 2nd cousins twice removed or how new or old the taxi is. So he was happy because his first fare of the day (he was on his way from home to the Mega Mall at EDSA north) had covered his rent to his brother. Everything else earned today is his, yaaaay! So almost an hours journey of around 20 miles cost us £5.50. At the airport everything runs smoothly and to time and we’re off to Palawan. Palawan airport is literally a tin roofed brick shack. Customs is relaxed, Ludy took both our passports through and went and waited for our luggage. The carousel was about 20 feet away from customs and so he just looked over to check me out. I think. The hotel bus was outside to greet us and we were whisked away with much efficiency and courtesy. Our new lodgings, Hotel Asturias, is only 2 storeys high and has a Spanish Hacienda feel to it. A big airy reception welcomes us and a large board declaring that The Hotel Asturia welcomes Derek Scanlon & Co ! Ludy says she can’t remember ever being christened with that name. Making our way to room 227 we pass the Pescados Restaurant and a largish free form swimming pool situated in the middle of the hotel surrounded on all sides by the guest rooms. Our room is a generous size with tv, air con and ensuite facilities inc a bath and hot water! (but no bloody hairdryer says Lu) It’s just after 10am and feels like the middle of the afternoon and with the trip around Puerto Princesa later at 1.00pm I feel like catching some zzzzz’s. But we’re in a new town and country (although it is still part of Luzon in the Philippines) and we feel duty bound to have a quick look. So we take a tricycle (they are slightly different here as they have a shell which encloses the passenger and driver rather than just a sidecar as in Manila.) into the centre of Puerto Princesa for peso20. The town is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea in a natural cove with the sea ferry terminal located on the harbour in the west. It is a bustling ‘city’ where the biggest danger to life and limb is being run over by one of the thousands of tricycles or slipping in the water in the indoor wet market with all the fish. We are told that this is a "No Littering " city and to be honest we didn't see much litter at all. You know, we were talking later on in the journey and neither of us can remember seeing many people smoking. I'm sure it's not banned but maybe they are a more self conscious and healthier island race than we give them credit for. Anyway after all our walking around, all we end up buying is a couple of bottles of water so make our way back to the hotel to get ready for our tour. Naturally whilst we are out the hotel has provided 2 complimentary bottles of water!
We are collected at 1pm by Janssen, our tour guide from Ellen’s Travel and tours. We go to another hotel to collect 5 more guests of which only the family of 3 are ready. After 20 minutes the young couple appear and we’re off. Our first stop is the city museum which houses many objects and artefacts to do with Palawan history and its indigenous people but with 2 slightly more interesting items. One is a burial pot which is about 2.5 feet high and about the same in width. It is an ancient Palawan burial rite where the dead are returned to a crouching/sitting position as if on their haunches and placed in the pot then buried. The ancient Palawan man was obviously not a lofty individual. The second is fossil remains identified as human, found at the Tabon Cave complex in Luzon, Palawan and dating back some 22-24,000 years. They are acknowledged as the oldest homo sapien remains in the Philippines and earned Palawan the title of the ’Cradle of Philippine Civilisation’. Our next stop is altogether more up to date but equally if not older. We are at the crocodile farm. The Philippine and Palawan croc is a highly endangered species and a conservation scheme was set up by the Govt to protect and increase their numbers. They now farm the little critters in large numbers and many are sold for the shoe and handbag market. Our guide said they are snapped up by customers ha ha! We had the pleasure of holding one for a few moments firmly behind the head and on the tail. No just a baby of about 9 months of age, who do you think I am Crocodile Dundee. Oh and his mouth was bound tightly shut by an elastic band. Snappy elastic on a future strappy basket. We then went fishing for crocs. Standing on a walkway above fully grown crocs in their pools we watched as a number of visitors paid for the pleasure of teasing the prehistoric time warps with a couple of fish tied to string attached to a very strong meta pole. The idea was to ‘dance’ the fish in front of a croc’s nose and then watch him thrash about as he tried to take the bait. Very entertaining. From here we ventured into the islands penal colony to view their way of life. Not as daft as it sounds because the Palawan govt have taken an enlightened view to how prisoners approaching parole are treated. They are given small farm holdings owned by the govt and to whom rent is paid. They then work the land and earn and learn. The term for renting is up to 20 years at which point they must be returned to the govt. Presumably they are expected to have saved to be able to afford their own smallholding in that time. Not quite proper joined up thinking because these people are poor, the income is poor and at the end of the lease term their chances are poor. We miss out on the butterfly farm because by now it is raining cats and dogs and of course we are behind on time due to a certain late couple who are on their honeymoon. One of the many outstanding natural features of this very pretty and interesting island is a beautiful tree whose flowers are bright red, nicknamed ’Fire Tree’ when in full bloom and we are lucky enough to witness it. They are in abundance on one of the mountainsides and it looks for all the world like there is a red hot flow of lava inching down the wooded slopes. Our tour takes us back through the city and a few more points of local interest and back to our hotel. We decide to eat in the restaurant and take their buffet dinner. Wish I’d looked harder before ordering. Our choice was grilled tuna, prawns, breaded chicken pieces, breaded pork strips, garlic rice and the only vegetable was green beans in oyster sauce. Unfortunately they had been steaming away for well over an hour and a half before we got there so they were not in their best condition. We also braved a half bottle of Cashew nut wine. Very, very sweet and best served highly chilled or as a dessert wine only. Cashew nuts are an abundant crop on the island and grown all year round except during monsoon months of May, June, July. We retired to bed after dinner as we are tired and have an early start tomorrow for our trip to Sabang and the underground river tour.
Labels: crocodiles, Ellens Travel and Tours, Hotel Asturia, Palawan, Tabon cave complex Luzon
