This was at the Manila airport where we had about a four-hour layover before we headed to Palawan. We wanted to get out and see a little of Manila, but the area around the airport looked extra sketchy so we chose to wait it out in the airport. The Manila airport was laid out poorly, and you had about a ten-minute shuttle ride to get from the domestic building to the international building. Also, nothing was labeled and we basically just wandered and asked different people which way to go until finally landing at the correct spot.
This was the "tricycle" that was the main mode of transportation around Puerto Princesa (the capital of Palawan). It's basically just a small motorcycle they built seats around. Luckily, the hotel we wanted to stay at was close to the airport so we were only on them for about 3 minutes.
This is the DeLoro Inn where we stayed the first and last nights on the island. It was expensive by Philippine standards but incredibly cheap to us. They had a nice staff and not only booked a van for us to take us the 7 hour drive to El Nido the next day, but gave us a deal on touring the island as well. For 250 bucks (divided by 4) we got an air conditioned van ride to El Nido, and stops to Sabang beach (lunch included), the Mangrove Rain Forest tour and the Underground River. We thought it was a pretty good deal and honestly we were still trying to get our heads around the currency conversion so we just said yes.
This was what we could have taken for the 7-hour ride to El Nido. The Jeepney is the style of public buses for the island. We saw several broken on the side of the road or stuck in the mud. We were happy with our air-conditioned van ride.
These pictures were from Ugong Rock. A limestone rock formation created thousands of years ago when the island was underwater. The tour guide assured us that it was easy and the flip flops we all had on were fine. We made it out safely, but it sure would have been easier with real shoes. The journey up the cave was a work out. We had to squeeze through cracks in rocks we never thought we would fit through, climb through holes and up rickety wooden ladders but the view from the top was worth it. You can tell in the picture how hot and sweaty we were. Luckily the climb down was easier. We also learned later that the cave was a hide out from the Japanese during World War II. Very cool!
The Mangrove Rain Forest tour sounded cool. When else would we get to take a boat ride through a rain forest right? But after five minutes of looking at basically the same mangrove tree over and over and only seeing one small snake we were underwhelmed. Luckily it only cost us about $4 so we weren't that bummed. The picture on the river is nice though.
This is basically the picture perfect scene I had been hoping for since we decided to go to the Philippines for vacation. This is in Sabang where we stopped to have lunch. The picture doesn't even do it justice. It was beautiful.
The Underground River tour was amazing. It's the longest navigable underground river in the world. Unfortunately we only got to go a mile into the cave but it was still cool seeing all the formations. The highest part was called the cathedral and I think it was approximately 70 meters high (don't hold me to that). We all agreed that the tour was the highlight of the day.
El Nido, finally! It was a long ride up to El Nido, but after only a couple of literal bumps in the road we made it safely. We arrived late at night, so this was the beautiful sight we woke up to the next day.
This was Big Lagoon, the first place we went snorkeling. It was amazing with crystal blue waters. When we first pulled up in the boat we saw a huge monitor lizard on the shore, but by the time we got there he ran away. We hired the boat so it was nice to be the only people there and have our own little deserted island for the day.
Our first sunset in El Nido. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Day 2 in El Nido. This was what we woke up to, but it didn't stop us from snorkeling...
...Because once we were underwater it didn't matter. Plus, the water was so much warmer than the rain!
This is the cave we had to swim through to get to Hidden Beach...
...Well not really, they just made us cause it was "cooler." Swimming through the cave was the only real highlight of this place. The snorkeling wasn't too impressive but I saw two small Black Tip Reef Sharks so that was cool.
Port Barton! Our final destination on our Palawan journey. Port Barton was small and not as touristy as El Nido. It was more secluded and we only had electricity for about four hours a day, but at least we had somewhat hot water here.
This was the view from our beach bungalows we stayed at. We splurged slightly since we stayed in a horrible place in El Nido. These bungalows were still basic, just a bed and a table, but we had our own porch overlooking the beach and they told us they had hot water so it was a no brainer (for the record it was not hot water).
These cute little girls ran up to us on the beach and said, "Hello, picture." We couldn't understand them at first, then I realized they wanted us to take a picture so they could see it. Apparently, all the kids are used to having their pictures taken by tourists.
The first full day in Port Barton we spent island hoping and snorkeling again. The snorkeling wasn't as good, but the beaches were nicer, with white sand that reminded me of home. I enjoyed laying out on the beach all day. The beach pictured here was called Exotic Beach. It was my favorite in Port Barton.
The second day in Port Barton we hired a boat to the Blue Cove Resort. It was on a secluded island and had a bar/restaurant on the beach and chairs & hammocks on the beach as well. It was nice lounging on the beach all day again, and we all brought books and just enjoyed relaxing on our own little island for the day. We also had a nice lunch of grilled pork and rice.
This was the sunset on our last night in Port Barton. We had some friends from Korea meet us here and we enjoyed the sunset and some nice Pina Coladas on the beach. It was a great way to end our trip in Palawan.The next day we took a van back to Puerto Princesa were we stayed for the night to catch our early flight to Hong Kong. We didn't do much in Puerto, but went to a nice International restaurant and the boys had a nice steak with blue cheese sauce that they kept talking about. We watched National Geographic and chilled the rest of the night to save energy for Hong Kong. Overall it was an amazing experience, and I don't think I can say enough positive things about the trip and Palawan.
Next post...Hong Kong!
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