July 10, 2008

• Uncovering the secrets of Palawan

  Travel

  Puerto Princesa is known by a dozen monikers. Its reputation goes beyond the desire of the locals to make their city the most livable place in the country; a desire instilled in their hearts by Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, a full-fledged environmentalist.

  The city is a recipient of the Hall of Fame Award for their constancy in being the cleanest and greenest city in the country; and the Peace Award as the country’s most peaceful city.

  

  Rarely (if not at all) would you see a vagrant roaming the streets and definitely no trash, waste or garbage along the sidewalk, as according to our guide, littering is rewarded with a 2-month free lodging in jail.

  Residents would proudly claim that most if not all of the people in the city live an honest life. A tourist said that one time he accidentally left his mobile in a local restaurant and when he realized his loss he returned to the restaurant and was ecstatic to recover his phone unscathed. “Had it been in Manila, it would have been gone in an instant,” he said.

  Puerto Princesa is also home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a World Heritage site and a nominee for the worldwide search for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. In addition, it is the jump-off point to another World Heritage site and another nominee for the New 7 Wonders of Nature search, the Tubattaha Marine Park (don’t forget to cast your vote at www.new7wonders.com).

  The city lies at the center of the island of Palawan occupying a land area of 253,982 hectares and stretches 106 kilometers. The east coast faces the Sulu Sea and the West Coast the South China Sea. Its sundry shoreline is punctuated by mangrove swamps, limestone cliffs, scenic coves and white sand beaches frequented by tourists and locals alike.

  Because of Palawan island’s proximity to all three major island groups of the archipelago (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao), its people is as diverse as its landscape, that is why it won’t come as a surprise if someone would talk to you in Cebuano. Although, the major dialect used is Tagalog, a number of locals still speak Cuyonin, a dialect spoken by one of the island’s original settlers, the Cuyonons.

  The city’s virginity does not only lie on the fact that it is close to nature but also because despite it being declared a highly urbanized city, many areas are still devoid of electricity. And the city center does not look like any of the other highly urbanized cities in the country with its highrise buildings and cemented roads. Here you will find establishments laden with trees, and the tallest that a building can get is three-stories high since the airport is located in the city center itself, forbidding high rise buildings to be built. A curse? I would say: a blessing.

  When it comes to food, Puerto Princesa has a lot to brag about. Here you can find the most authentic Vietnamese restaurant and the cheapest at that. No frills and fancy plating found in so-called high class restaurants, just plain honest-to-goodness home-cooked Vietnamese food. This is because a few years back, many Vietnamese found refuge in the island and some decided to stay to help create a progressive Puerto Princessa, thus the many Vietnamese carinderia. Others chose to stay because they married the locals, while most decided to leave seeing a “worse than home” condition in a country they thought they’d adopt.

  Exotic is also what you’d find here with the famous tamilok (which I later found out, in Cebuano would refer to the worst kind of phlegm), fresh mangrove worms eaten raw or dipped in vinegar. There is also the lamayo which is fish marinated in vinegar and aged before subjecting it to high temperature oil, aka frying. It’s great for breakfast with fried garlic rice and sunny side-up eggs.

  During our brief stay in Puerto Princesa, we visited the famous Dos Palmas Island Resort and Spa. A 45-minute boat ride along Honda Bay (a spin off of the Spanish word hondo which means deep) would take you to Arreceffi Island, one of the 16 mystifying islands in the bay.

  Arreceffi plays host to this island resort and if you have no plans of staying the night you can enjoy the island’s day-tour package (adult: P2,500, kids: P1,250) which would include activities like kayaking around the island, snorkeling or diving in the exotic Helen’s Coral Garden, swimming in the resort’s immaculate white sand beach or their perfect infinity pool, biking all over the island, and other recreational activities like karaoke, tennis, basketball and billiards. Except for the diving gear, everything is part of the package so you need not worry of paying extra plus you get to enjoy bottomless tea and coffee and a welcome drink that would warm your heart, though the drink itself is refreshingly cold.

  The resort’s commitment to its fragile ecosystem is concretized by the presence of the Research Camp which “monitors, safeguards and preserves the ecological balance of the diverse marine and terrestrial ecosystem around the island and Honda Bay.” However, the resort still runs on petrol?? which is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases, thus a prime cause of global warming. Dos Palmas Operations Manager Johann Catill however revealed that they are trying to come up with cost-effective eco-friendly and sustainable source of power to replace their existing inefficient piece of crap.

  Catill revealed that the resort will soon be putting up a fishing village in the 35-hectare property to showcase the life of the local fishermen. “We will be asking fishermen to live in the village to act as curators for the visitors,” he added.

  A visit to Puerto Princesa won’t be complete without dropping by the much talked Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. From the city proper you would need to take a three hour ride to Barangay Cabayugan (P120 by jeepney, P150 for foreigners) where you would take a 15-minute boat ride (P700 per boat) to the park. The park itself has an entrance fee of P150 and is open from 7AM to 4:45PM.

  Despite the heavy downpour, our tour guide promised that it is still a safe ride to the park. The thrill of the prospect of being blown by the strong winds to the rocky shores of the park or to the vast South China Sea was an adrenalin rush in itself. However, the cliffs, lagoons, coves, and caves that border the shoreline coupled with the lush green virgin forest that contrasts the hard landscape was postcard-perfect.

  The whole park covers 22,202 hectares and aside from the underground river there are loads of activities that can be had like a trek through the monkey trail or the jungle trail. You can also go on a wildlife watching adventure or a more quite bird watching expedition.

  

  Since the underground river (which is the longest in the world at 8.2 kilometers) was enlisted in the New 7 Wonders of Nature search the queue of people wanting to view this spectacular natural wonder is terrible, but you can always pass the time counting and identifying the trees surrounding the river.

  The tour inside the underground river itself would take around 45 minutes and the farthest that it would take you would be to the cathedral (which by my estimate is only around 2 to 3 km from the mouth of the cave) where you would be bombarded by the beauty of the natural rock formations that seems to depict popular biblical scenes. Those with the most active imagination and the most sensitive senses might feel uncomfortable at the thought of disturbing the sanctity of this natural holy place, so be warned.

  Although we missed a few of the places listed in our itinerary because of Frank’s unholy visit to the islands, the trip was worth the time we devoted away from the pressure of deadlines, even for just a moment. And the little delay we experienced on our return trip (also because of Frank) was a blessing as well, giving us the much needed rest we were deprived from enjoying all the sights of this beautiful paradise in such a short time.

  And taking a plane whose customer service exceeds expectations, even for its budget passengers, made the brush with Frank less of a tension and more of an experience that complemented a wonderful experience that is Puerto Princesa.

  PAL Express, the low-fare brand of Philippine Airlines, flies daily to Palawan from Cebu.
   

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