CAPTURING A PART OF PALAWAN – Puerto Princesa and the Underground River!

2:08 AM



In mid-July, my high school classmates (PWU, Taft Ave., Manila) invited me to go to Palawan.   I immediately said yes because it is my dream to see this clean and green place.  Our classmate, Dra. Grace, an OB Gyne, who is based there arranged for our hotel and tour.

I travel light.  I travel green with my herbal and herbs.  I brought with me small quantities of my  homemade toiletries such as Gugo Shampoo, Aloe Vera Rinse, Aloe  Sanitizer, Citronella-Mint oil/Mosquito Repellant,  and Citronella-Mint Deodorant.  (Check out How to Make Gugo Shampoo, The Versatile Citronella, Aloe Vera: The Added Value, and Herbal and Herbs in Personal Care: Aloe Vera, Mints & Citronella).  

For food, I prepared a sandwich made of homemade tuna belly with mushroom and carrots in olive oil mixed with Basil, Oregano, Kuchai Leek, and Ashitaba. I also brought fresh Ashitaba leaves since it is good for the immune system, respiratory and digestive systems. And for drink, I brought some dried Tarrragon leaves. I placed these leaves in my water container for calmness and sweet taste.  (Check out Ashitaba & The Other Angelica Herbals All Over The World and Herbal Tea & Juice).

In August 8, 2013,   my classmates Lily Jane (from California), Regie, Rose and I took the plane to Palawan.   Our hostess welcomed us with gifts!



As soon as we reached the hotel, Lily Jane and I decided to contract a tricycle to bring us to the churches.  Boyet, the driver, was like a tourist guide showing to us important spots.  He was also our cameraman, and seemed amused to see two matured women acting like high school girls.  




First, we went to Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral. Right beside it is the American POW Memorial and Garden.  The Americans were imprisoned there and burned to death during the Japanese occupation.  




We also went to the Iglesia ni Kristo Church, and finally, to the San Miguel Arkangel Church located behind our hotel. 

In our short trip, I did not see anyone smoking nor did I see any wrapper, paper, plastic  nor cigarette butts on the streets.

For dinner, we went to a well-known restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine.  The place is just a simple hut.  They served us their version of lumpia (eggroll with vegetables) and another type filled with vegetable and shrimps.  They also served us their own dried rice noodles (I thought these were coconut shreds) with togue (mungbean sprouts), cucumber, Java Mint and Beef.  It did not have soup no sauce, just vinegar with garlic to add more flavor. (Side note: When I got home, I also tried my own version.  Instead of Vietnamese rice noodles, which is not available in my kitchen, I used sotanghon.  My family liked the authentic taste with Java Mint included.  A discovery!)



The next day, we went to one of The Seven Wonders of the World known as the Underground River.  It is located at Cabayungay, Sabang, which is more or less two hours away from the city.   Along the way, the mountains were verdant with tall trees showing how cooperative the Palawenos are with nature.  I can only hope other provinces would do same.








                     
The sand in Sabang pier is fine and colored cream and it felt so good to go barefoot. We rode a motor boat over the South China Sea.  The smooth rhythm of the sea waves together with the gentle wind was like a natural massage.


At the Underground River Park, there is a monkey that enjoyed posing for pictures.  But we were warned not to bring out  any food.  Any smell of food or sound of plastic might attract a troop 20 to 40 monkeys





We walked through a wooden path surrounded with big trees.  Some of these are:

1.       Ipil Tree (Fabacea Intsia Biyuga) -  This has bigger leaves compared to the Ipil-Ipil.
2.       Pahutan (Mereangifera Altissima Blanco) - This is the food of the monkeys.  The fruit of this tree is a mango variant, which is edible but not popular to residents because of its medicine-like taste.
3.       Bitanog/Dangkalam (Catophyllum Inophyllum Guttiferaea) – A huge tree as seen below.



We also saw a small crocodile-like animal.  Actually, it is a Monitor Lizard or Bayawak (Varonus Salvator) which is common at the park.  These are endangered species scavenging for mammals, birds, eggs, fruits, etc.  The largest size Is 2 meters.




It drizzled as we entered the cave of the Underground River.



Water continuously fell from the roof of the cave but all passengers are provided with hard hats and life vests. Our Boat Captain, who calls himself “Joy to the World,” is also our humorous tourist guide. As we entered, we saw stalactites hanging downwards from the roof of the cave.  These lime rock formations grow at  0.2 meters per year.

It was dark inside but we had a male volunteer holding the flashlight focusing on the creative formations.  Inside the enchanting cave, there is what they call The Cathedral, which has a big candle-like stalagmite that stands at the entrance.  There were rocks forming many images like The Holy Family, angels, saints, and church-like structures. They have rock formations that looks like corn, vegetables,   garlic, onions, bread and many more, which they call Supermarket.  There were also formations like a music bar, a sexy woman and more to the imagination.








We noticed there are writings on the wall by American soldiers.  They were the brave soldiers who explored the cave when natives believed there were evil spirits inside. It was only in 1971 when the authorities decided to appreciate its great wonder.

There are also 100,000 bats and swallows that inhabit the underground river. They peacefully co-exist since swallows wake and make their Nido bird’s nests during the day while bats work at night.



Our next destination was the Ugong Rock, where a cave of stalactites and stalagmites can be touched. At the end of this cave is a zip line.  They call it spelunking.  Our tour companions, Liza and her family (from LA) and Faif (from Singapore) did the spelunking while we cheered.

That night, we had a sumptuous dinner at a seafood restaurant called Ugong Rock with Dr. Grace.  Her husband, Ed, just joined us for picture-taking. 








The next day, we went shopping for pearl necklaces and bracelets, toys, kasuy (cashew), and many delicacies!  Palawan is noted for pearls such as expensive South Sea Pearls, Fresh Water pearls and cultured Mikimoto pearls.



On our final day, we went to the Mitra Farm, where there are horses, cows, zip line and an organic vegetable farm.  We also visited Baker’s Hill, which sells crinkles, kasuy, hopia, and delicacies.  There were stores selling pizza, banana cue, fruit juices and a restaurant where we had halo-halo (boiled banana, milk, crushed ice and custard and more) as well. The place has many flower decorations and a  refreshing garden, where visitors take turns to pose for pictures.







We were, indeed, blessed with good weather.  Special thanks to the prayers of the Sisters of the Augustinian Recollect and Scuola Figlie di Maria Immacolata of Paranaque, and churchmates. Even our flight with Philippine Air Lines was wonderful with its famous soft landing!

Finally, I was able to capture a part of the world-renown, Palawan - may this wonder-of-a-place together with its responsible and environment-friendly people, be our inspiration.

*Photos courtesy of Lily Jane Makanas-Pacheco

You Might Also Like

0 comments