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Published: February 4th 2008
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Kids Playing
Kids on a swing infront of our place on Siquijor. Giants in Palawan!
Hello again to all our family, friends and blog trackers alike! No, there are no giants in Palawan (that we have seen yet?), but we did get to watch the Super Bowl this morning (7am, Monday) and got a good dose of North American sport... great game!
As you probably have figured out, we are now on the island of Palawan on the far west coast of the Philippines with the South China Sea on the west and the Sulu Sea on the east. Some of you might remember "Survivor Palawan" from way back when, well we are here now and doing more then just surviving! This island is AMAZING, and we've only just begun!
After spending 5 wonderful days and 2 not so great days (I ended up with bed bugs-45 bites on the back, and Kels got a tummy bug) on the beautiful island of Siquijor, we took a day's worth of ferries to Cebu City, then a 1 hour flight to Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. The city is basically a one street town with tricycles (taxi scooters with roofed-sidecars, aka Hubel-Hubles) all over the place...gotta love the Asian cities...beep beep,
Scootin...
This guy was just another obstacle on the bumpy road...cow, chicken, goat, crazy driver, dog, pig, diesel bus...good times! honk, honk, vroooom! The first day we got our bearings and found a few more books to read (yes folks, I CAN read!).
Then the next day we heading to Sabang, to "travel into the center of the planet" down the Subterranean River. After a 2 hour trip down one of the bumpiest roads I have ever been on in the back of a van bouncing over a dirt road with rocks varying between the size of my fist and my head (and I've got a pretty big dome), we arrived in Sabang. Then we took a 15 minute "Bangka Boat" ride to the cave entrance, where we also saw monitor lizards and monkeys. The we boarded a small paddle boat and a guide paddled us into the cave along the subterranean river. It was very dark and very cool, with huge dome caverns as high as 65 meters above us in some places, with lots of stalactites and stalagmites...oh yeah did I mention the 47,000 bats in there too! Pretty freaky, but they were mostly sleeping, and I don't think I got "Guanno'd" while we were in there. The river actually travels 8km underground (the longest in the
Our Saviour!
Not surprisingly the rough roads got the best of us and we got a flat on our scooter...this guy fixed it! world), but tourists are only allowed 1.5km, which took about 1 hour return...very cool and highly recommended! After the cave we had lunch...grilled fish, grilled pork, rice, and young coconut juice - just stick a straw in a coconut and suck! Very delicious, then we hung out on the beach, put a little more red on the shoulders and then back in the van for another ass-pounding trip home! The Subterranean River was a great trip, not too claustrophobic and as long as the bats are sleeping that's ok with me! That night we had dinner with a French girl we met on the trip to the cave at a delicious, authentic Filipino restaurant in Puerto Princesa called Kinabuchs. The 3 of us tried "Crispy Pata" which is crispy pork leg, and it was deadly! There's not a lot of fat on the leg (and actually not a whole lot of meat), but the crispy skin and BBQ meat is delicious! Needless to say we all ate our fill and we now have a new friend from Bordeaux!
The next day was another fun-filled day as we went out to Honda Bay (pronounced "On-Dah" Bay, meaning deep bay...). This
Jeepney!
This is the common version of public transport...and yes they all look this wild! was an island hopping trip on a bangka boat that brought us to 3 beautiful islands for some snorkeling and exploring. We visited Pandan Island, Snake Island (no snakes, just the shape of it) and Starfish Island. The sun was hot again and the wind was up, making the boat ride a little choppy and splashing the odd wave into our snorkels, but this is anything from a complaint...it was a stunning trip with lots of beautiful fish to see and long sandy beaches to explore! I know, I know, it's a tough life, but you are all welcome to join us in the suffering!
Today was Super Bowl Monday and we are also going to see a few more of the sights in Puerto Princesa including the "crazy market" and the pier. Then tomorrow we are heading north first for a stay at the private Coco-Loco Island (nice name, eh!). We will slowly make our way North to El Nido at the northern tip of Palawan to the Bacuit Archipelago (this was actually where Survivor Palawan was filmed). We'll be there for a few days kayaking, snorkeling and exploring, what is said to be one of the most
Smile!
Two good looking kids on the beach at Sabang. beautiful archipelago of islands in the world...don't worry we'll take lots of pictures!
As you can see we are loving our time here and would recommend a visit to the Philippines to anyone!
OK, I think I've blabbed long enough, enjoy the pictures and keep your comments and news from home coming, we love sharing our adventures with you and love hearing from all of you!
Lots of Love from the Philippines!
Until next time...
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Lindsey
non-member comment
Love the Green Flash
Great public transport, how do you think something like that would go over in Vancouver?