Palawan, the last frontier of the Philippines

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We flew from Boracay to Palawan which is physically remote from all other major islands in the Philippines. Side note, did you ever notice that you spell Philippines with a Ph and two p's but Filipino with an F and one p? Silly, huh?

The locals totally over hype the fact that this island is home to the world's longest subterranean cave. Well, it's actually second longest now that a longer one has been found in Laos. Leaving the airport I saw a huge sign saying that the subterranean river was "Voted #1." Um, number one what? Big black hole? Tourist money extractor? And then hotel staff and drivers everywhere told us it is one of the 7 wonders of the natural world. Is there actually even such a list? I Googled it and yes, there is such a list but this subterranean river isn't on it. Hm, false advertising.

We took a day trip to the river and it was "nice" but not spectacular considering all the "two thumbs" up talk we heard. And it probably would have been more appealing if we hadn't spent from 7 am to 5 pm getting there and waiting around for hours for less than 45 minutes of time boating through the cave. On the up side, it had a huge chamber in it with gray and yellow formations that looked like candles dripping. Toby thought it looked like the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland and all that was missing was a skeleton with an eye patch resting on top of a pile of glistening gold and sparkling gems. Speaking of Disneyland, the boat guide did a Jungle Cruise style presentation with silly "looks like" jokes about Sharon Stone, bacon, and a male mushroom (a giant mushroom with two small mushrooms at it's base.)

The next day we took a 6 hour bus ride to the north of Palawan. The countryside is beautiful with rice fields swirling around patches of coconut palms on one side of the road and occasional glimpses of white beaches and blue ocean on the other. We stayed in a beach town called El Nido which is the jumping off point for island hopping tours to the Bacuit Archepelago.

The island hopping was fantastic with so many different things to see like pocket size tropical beaches, megalithic islands of volcanic rock, warm waters for snorkeling, caves and bright blue lagoons. Enjoy the pics. 😊

P.S. A little internet search explained that for some reason we kept the Spanish spelling for Filipino (though in their language they spell it Pilipino because they don't have an F) but the Americans started spelling Philippines with the Ph and the extra p. Jeez, how stupid is that? Maybe some executives of a credit company made that decision. Or some democrats. Just kidding (kinda.) ;-)

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Photos

Bat cave
I kind of like bats but am a bit repulsed at the same time. That little flap of skin that sticks up off their nose is creepy and the fact that they can carry rabies is not a plus. But they do eat mosquitoes so that puts them ginormously into the "good little buddies" column.

Cave snake
I guess that these snakes can swim as this one was nestled in a niche about half a kilometer inside the opening.

El Nido Beach
The view from our hotel's common area. We sat here and had a brain cell killing session with a few other tourists on our last night. When we paid less than $2 for a large bottle of Tanduay rum, our Danish friend asked if they actually put alcohol in it. The next day he knew the answer to that all too well.

One of the many beautiful beaches
in the Bacuit Archipelago. My house goes right here. :)

Large Lagoon
The little boat we went island hopping in was a real photo buster. Ropes, railings and other piss ass tiny boat rigging was in the way of most shots. But the views were great anyway. I guess ya just have to go yourself to see the unencumbered views. :)

Swim through entrance to Small Lagoon
You swim through this little hole and find yourself in a turquoise pool surrounded by volcanic cliffs. The lagoon weaves around a bit and is great fun to explore. There's not a ton of fish to snorkel with but there was a beautiful little cuttlefish, iridescent and speckled with silver dots, who kept me company. He's my friend. I named him Fred. ;-)

Bay outside of Small Lagoon
Lovely contrast between the jagged volcanic walls and the blue water.

Clown fish in purple anemone
He's got a beautiful pad, no?

Green cave
This reminds me of the ice crystal cave in the old Christopher Reeve Superman movie except it's green.

Snake island
How cool is this little sand bar? They call it snake island because it moves around from day to day. On one side of the sand the water was bathwater warm.

Sunset at Manila airport
Next stop Palau!

Comments

[alquin]

The Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. In spanish, they call it Filipinas. The people of the Philippines is called Filipinos (specifically filipino for male and filipina for female). Pilipino was changed to Filipino (refering to 111 regional dialects of the Philippines). And the St. Paul sub river was voted to carry on for the 2nd phase of the competition which basically represents the Republic of the Philippines and will be decided this July for the final 7 nature wonders of the World. Hope this will not confuse you in anyway.