Turista, Part Six - Paradise Days One and Two
I
As i've said before, Gianina and i have decided to take "mini-vacations" whenever we go to the Philippines. This year's destination was Palawan.
We flew out of Manila via the brand-spanking-new NAIA Terminal 3 and touched down in Puerto Princesa (the capital of Palawan) around 10AM. I thought the pilot was being presumptuous when he welcomed us to Palawan by saying "Welcome to Paradise!" But it turns out he was spot on.
Palawan is an island province located on the western edge of the Philippines, and (i realize this is a major understatement) it is a really interesting place to visit. IMHO, it's a good representation of what the Philippines is really about - hospitality, fresh food, and miles on miles of unspoiled (or minimally-spoiled) land and sea teeming with biodiversity.
The drive from Puerto Princesa to Daluyon Resort took around 2 hours through partially-paved roads. The ride was definitely worth it, as the seclusion of the place was a nice change from the hustle-and-bustle of Manila. At around the midpoint of the trip, we stopped at a view point and were treated to this beautiful vista:
I won't really say much about our accomodations (the interested reader is directed to my tripadvisor.com review), but i think it suffices to say we weren't terribly disappointed. I think the location was worth the little trade-offs (except fothe city tour, but that's a story for the next post).
To understand how far-flung we really were, here's a picture of the resort from about half-a-mile out:
Not much excitement on the first day, as it was spent mostly soaking in the ambience, loafing around, and having a romantic dinner on the beach.
II
Day Two had two activities.
Our morning (and early afternoon) was spent waiting in line to get into the Underground River. For the uninitiated, this is a 5-mile-long river that winds underneath a mountain (beneath the Sleeping Giant; see the picture above) to eventually terminate in the South China Sea. Until recently, it apparently was in the running to be named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World (I'm not entirely certain how the voting works - it still seems to be the top in its category but not listed as a "Finalist.").
Prior to getting on the little paddleboat, there was some interesting human drama:
1. A caucasian foreigner, annoyed at having to wait so long (we were told we had to be there at 10:30AM but really only got on the boat at 1PM), started to raise hell and complain to the hapless attendant about the tardiness. On being told that the boatmen were on their lunch break, he yelled "WHAT ABOUT MY F@#%!NG LUNCH BREAK?!" While i could definitely understand his frustration, i couldn't see why he could just buy a snack if he was so hungry.
2. A local know-it-all, after witnessing the above exchange, proceeded to lecture the hapless attendant (and everyone else within earshot) about how things should be handled instead - i.e. tourists should be told that the time is a moving target, that there's actually a substantial wait, etc. While i know she meant well, i don't understand why she had to repeat her comments THREE FREAKING TIMES to no one in particular. I guess know-it-all-ism can't exist in a vacuum (i.e. when no one acknowledges that you are indeed right). At least she stopped after the third time.
The Underground River is actually only navigable until a quarter of the way in (or half for the intrepid traveler who is willing to take the time to obtain a special permit), and consists mostly of looking at interesting rock formations, and avoiding accidentally drinking bat or bird urine (we were advised to keep our mouths closed when looking up). Not really much for the casual tourist, but interesting enough if you're into geology or even history.
The short stretch of forest you have to walk through is also a nature park of sorts where monkeys and monitor lizards abound.
The second event of the day was a visit to a Mangrove Forest. We were taken via a short carabao-cart ride. Given the short distance we had to travel (roughly a quarter-mile), this was quaint but entirely superfluous.
Mangroves are apparently trees that grow in brackish (a mixture of salty and fresh) water, which i vaguely remember studying in college. Once felt to be useless aside from being a source of wood (and mangrove worms, which Andrew Zimmern has enjoyed in the past), they are now known to play a significant role in ecosystems, being spawning grounds for various fish and shrimp.
(That wasn't all the Mangrove Forest grew... with pockets of mostly stagnant water abounding, it was also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. For some reason i had a major brain-fart and forgot to apply insect repellant before the jaunt, resulting in tons of bites. We are still currently taking malaria prophylaxis.)
This part of the trip was actually somewhat poignant. The tour guides are volunteers (i'm not sure if they have day jobs, and i was a little afraid to ask) who have been doing these for years. When they talk about the Forest, one gets an appreciation for the love they feel for it, but it also makes you wonder - who will keep doing this once these men have passed on?
Anyway, Gianina and i capped the day off by just sitting on the beach, having a leisurely conversation (a luxury when you have a two-year-old constantly running around), and just watching the sunset.
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