Palawan Part Two: The Last Frontier
"Tito, swimming na tayo."
The whole time we were at Palawan, these four words would always wake me first thing in the morning. My niece, who i believe is more fairy than human has managed to do something no alarm clock can do: wake me up with a smile.
Despite her request, we had to do away with swimming at the resort pool. The borrowed Expedition just arrived, and we all needed to shower, dress up, stuff the luggage, and eat before we embark on a long road trip. Puerto Princesa is smack down in the middle of Palawan, and our vacation lies somewhere north, hence a 4 hour drive is in the works. And this is not the same as driving via SLEX to Laguna. 1/3 of the journey is smooth road, 1/3 is unpaved road, and the remainder is composed of rickety bridges and dirt trails. Lots of trees, lots of farmland, and lots and lots of soil.
Luckily, my brother managed to get ahold of a big vehicle like this Ford, so the bumpiness was reduced. A lot. But not enough for my nephew to chuck his breakfast into the barf bag we wisely snitched from the airplane.
For all the brochures extolling Palawan, those pictures represent a small fraction of what the island is all about. Palawan is unfortunately poor, and without those world-class resorts, nobody would bother constructing the roads. Actually, sections of the road. I noticed that stretches of paved ones alternate with dirt ones. My brother told me it was an example of corruption at work where officials would proclaim project completed but in reality would deliver only a hundred meters. Sigh! While not exactly friendly by Bacolod standards, the people kept to themselves a lot and look pretty much resigned to their island's fate. I really wouldn't know as i was in the middle seat hurtling at a hundred kilometers an hour, but the vehicle slowed enough for me to see people at work or rest and look into their eyes.
After the long trip, we arrived at Taytay, Palawan. A speedboat took us to the waiting boat offshore and from there we proceeded to Club Noah. I suspected Gian had a bigger breakfast than everybody else, as he continued his stomach churning episodes in the boat.
Personally, i find it thrilling to be out in open water again. My adventures touring the country's best beaches are in full swing. The moment we saw Noah though, all thoughts sailed away and i was captivated. here was a nice sanctuary miles away from the nearest civilized outpost. And you wouldn't mind being stranded:
greeted by the staff singing some welcome tagalog ditty i don't know, we proceeded to check our rooms. Aside from the big house, we have stairs leading out to the ocean. Even better, the coral reefs were directly below the house, so a lot of fish came and went. We even saw a 4 foot baby shark prowling around. Thiking about our Puerto galera experience, we made a mental note to stock up on lots of bread to feed the fishes.
Part of the accommodation is breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet, so food will never be a problem here. I told Kim the game plan, and she immediately wrapped bread slices and smuggled it back. Hurrying back, i took the first steps down the sea stairs and promptly slipped. Algae! Checking in my wounded bottom and pride (in that order), i took a few slices and hoped the fish would come. They did, and they were loads bigger than the cute fishes in Mindoro. They came at such a rush that i did a quick calculation, dropped the bread in the water, and contented myself watching them up close. Palawan fish are much more serious when it comes to feeding time, they're much bigger, and i prefer going back to Manila with ten fingers. It's a no brainer then.
We spent the first afternoon exploring the place and swimming. Fish (and sea urchins) were everywhere. Looking at the sunset makes you forget a lot of things. And it makes you appreciate everything. Ask gian. He's having so much fun kayaking among the fishes he forgot the hell-ride he endured to get here.
Sometimes it's the destination, not the trip.
The whole time we were at Palawan, these four words would always wake me first thing in the morning. My niece, who i believe is more fairy than human has managed to do something no alarm clock can do: wake me up with a smile.
Despite her request, we had to do away with swimming at the resort pool. The borrowed Expedition just arrived, and we all needed to shower, dress up, stuff the luggage, and eat before we embark on a long road trip. Puerto Princesa is smack down in the middle of Palawan, and our vacation lies somewhere north, hence a 4 hour drive is in the works. And this is not the same as driving via SLEX to Laguna. 1/3 of the journey is smooth road, 1/3 is unpaved road, and the remainder is composed of rickety bridges and dirt trails. Lots of trees, lots of farmland, and lots and lots of soil.Luckily, my brother managed to get ahold of a big vehicle like this Ford, so the bumpiness was reduced. A lot. But not enough for my nephew to chuck his breakfast into the barf bag we wisely snitched from the airplane.
For all the brochures extolling Palawan, those pictures represent a small fraction of what the island is all about. Palawan is unfortunately poor, and without those world-class resorts, nobody would bother constructing the roads. Actually, sections of the road. I noticed that stretches of paved ones alternate with dirt ones. My brother told me it was an example of corruption at work where officials would proclaim project completed but in reality would deliver only a hundred meters. Sigh! While not exactly friendly by Bacolod standards, the people kept to themselves a lot and look pretty much resigned to their island's fate. I really wouldn't know as i was in the middle seat hurtling at a hundred kilometers an hour, but the vehicle slowed enough for me to see people at work or rest and look into their eyes.After the long trip, we arrived at Taytay, Palawan. A speedboat took us to the waiting boat offshore and from there we proceeded to Club Noah. I suspected Gian had a bigger breakfast than everybody else, as he continued his stomach churning episodes in the boat.
Personally, i find it thrilling to be out in open water again. My adventures touring the country's best beaches are in full swing. The moment we saw Noah though, all thoughts sailed away and i was captivated. here was a nice sanctuary miles away from the nearest civilized outpost. And you wouldn't mind being stranded:
greeted by the staff singing some welcome tagalog ditty i don't know, we proceeded to check our rooms. Aside from the big house, we have stairs leading out to the ocean. Even better, the coral reefs were directly below the house, so a lot of fish came and went. We even saw a 4 foot baby shark prowling around. Thiking about our Puerto galera experience, we made a mental note to stock up on lots of bread to feed the fishes.
Part of the accommodation is breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet, so food will never be a problem here. I told Kim the game plan, and she immediately wrapped bread slices and smuggled it back. Hurrying back, i took the first steps down the sea stairs and promptly slipped. Algae! Checking in my wounded bottom and pride (in that order), i took a few slices and hoped the fish would come. They did, and they were loads bigger than the cute fishes in Mindoro. They came at such a rush that i did a quick calculation, dropped the bread in the water, and contented myself watching them up close. Palawan fish are much more serious when it comes to feeding time, they're much bigger, and i prefer going back to Manila with ten fingers. It's a no brainer then.
We spent the first afternoon exploring the place and swimming. Fish (and sea urchins) were everywhere. Looking at the sunset makes you forget a lot of things. And it makes you appreciate everything. Ask gian. He's having so much fun kayaking among the fishes he forgot the hell-ride he endured to get here.
Sometimes it's the destination, not the trip.
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