On our 4th and supposedly last day of our vacation, our group, again, woke up early. It’s actually more accurate to say we stayed up until 3 am in the morning. Since it was our last day, we wanted to make the most out of it – of course, while wide-awake. Mind you, our flight back to Manila was scheduled at around 5 pm. There was no need to hurry. BUT, of course we just had to decide to take a side trip to Sabang and explore the Underground River / Cave. We were already IN Palawan; it would be a shame if we didn’t visit one of the wonders of the world.

We talked this over with Kuya Neil, our trusty driver and pseudo tour guide, and verified the ‘feasibility’ of “the plan”. Note that our scheduled flight was at 5 PM; we had to be in the airport an hour before that. And if you can remember from the Day 1 post, the trip from Puerto Princesa to El Nido was roughly around 6 hours. When the clock struck 4 am that day, our tight schedule began. So here’s how our schedule went…

04:30 AM – 11:00 AM
We departed El Nido town proper at approximately 4:30 AM in the morning. It was hello to rough roads again. I’m amazed that I actually slept through it all.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
We finally arrived at Sabang. This is where we hired a boat to take us to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park (located in another island) where the Underground River/Cave is. Unlike the informal island tour setup we had in El Nido, arranging the Underground River/Cave tour was more systematic. You go to this government office, pay the necessary fees, go the boat rental and hire a boat. [Entrance/Environmental Fee: P150/head, Boat: P700/boat]

Sabang Port

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Boat ride to Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park.

12:00 PM – 12:10 PM
Once we got to the island, we still had to walk our way to the entrance of the Underground River/Cave ‘port’ location (I’m not sure if that’s how it’s called). It’s the place where you get the necessary equipment (hard hat and life vests) and hop on a small bangka. One bangka can fit in around 8 people that includes the tour guide.

Entrance to the Park

During our walk to the ‘port’, a cute golden retriever walked with us. He’ll stop walking when we stop walking. Cute!

Our guard & guide dog during our walk to the underwater river bank

12:15 PM – 01:00 PM
The Underground River Cave tour. If you’re not used to dark enclosed places, I suggest you condition yourself before going in. Once you go deeper into the underground river cave, the only light source you can depend on are the flashlights provided. The tour guide, who was also paddling and navigating the boat, gave an interesting and entertaining spin of the cave’s history. He was also able to engage our imagination as he pointed out rock formations resembling vegetables like carrots, eggplant and cabbage, holy figures like Mother Mary, the holy family, and Jesus’ face and animal figures like a horse and a cow.

getting ready to enter the underwater cave!

Our only source of light

the Holy Family

The seahorse

Rock formations

it's the end of the tour!

obligatory picture!

01:00 PM – 01:15 PM
Boat ride back to Sabang Beach

01:15 PM – 03:00 PM
Another two hours travel time to Puerto Princesa Airport.

03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
At around 3:00 PM we arrived at Puerto Princesa, and with time to spare for ‘pasalubong’ shopping. Good job, Kuya Neil!

04:00 PM
We arrived at Puerto Princesa Airport. And this was where the universe conspired to let us stay in Palawan for another day…

waiting for our plane

someone's hungry!

05:00 PM
Cebu Pacific announced the our flight was delayed. We waited and waited and waited…

06:00 PM
Cebu Pacific announced that our flight was cancelled. Chaos ensued. “Where do we stay?”, “Do we sleep in this airport?”, “I don’t have money left!!” were some of the things that ran through my head.

in line to get our checked-in luggage back

After we got our checked-in luggage back and rebooked our cancelled flight to tomorrow, we called on several hotels near the area if they still have rooms. One of our friends, who were also vacationing in Puerto Princesa, suggested a place to stay, De Loro Inn and Restaurant. De Loro has a barkada room package for 8-10 people. When we called, lucky for us, they still had a room available. We immediately confirmed and waited for their van to transfer us to the hotel.

De Loro Inn

Once we were in De Loro, we immediately checked their barkada room and flopped on the beds. I, for one, didn’t want to think about anything. We were stuck in Puerto Princesa with few cash left. Unfortunately for me, most of the establishments here don’t accept credit card. Good thing though, we didn’t really plan on moving or doing any activities for tonight – aside from eating – and for tomorrow.

After we settled in our rooms, we went out to look for a restaurant that was still open at this time. We found one, which I forget the name. We were their only customers, probably because it was late already. Their food was great. I would definitely recommend this place if only I remember the name. =P When we got back, the owners of De Loro of saw us and invited us for a few drinks. After a few rounds of drinks and chitchatting with the owners, one by one, our sleepy bodies gave up. I believe only 3 of them were left to finish off the drinks. Haha =P

FOOD for hungry stranded people

stranded people

Day 5
We were just literally bumming around. We didn’t have to wake up early this time so most of us slept until around 9 am. We had our breakfast and proceeded to use De Loro’s videoke room. Around 2pm, we checked out and went to the airport.

bumming around

another obligatory group picture

So here we go again. We waited and waited.

picture taking while waiting...

Until finally, we were boarding the plane!

yey! we're finally boarding!

Finally back in Manila!

finally back in Manila! waiting for our bags

And finally I finished this blog series. =P Till the next trip.

It’s our 3rd day in Palawan and our 2nd day in El Nido. Our day started early again. We had to wake up early because electricity goes off at 6 am. Around that time, we ate our breakfast c/o Marina Garden. Afterwards, we prepared for another day of island hopping. This time, we got the Package B tour. Our Package B destinations were Entalula Island, Snake Island, Codugnon Cave/Island, Cathedral Island Cave, Pinagbuyutan Island and Ipil Beach. (Package price is still P1800. Great job to the hagglers. =P)

Entalula Island
The main part of the Entalula Island is owned and maintained by a private resort. If you want to visit the whole island, you will have to ask permission from the resort. Good thing for us, there is a small part of the island that is open to the public. Check out the top-left picture below; that boat in the middle is where the private resort is located. Oh well, the other side – our side –  is also pretty. Nice place to snorkel and lounge around the beach area.

Entalula Island

I was extremely frustrated during our day 2 tour (especially when we were at the Small Lagoon) because I didn’t have an underwater camera with me. So, I came prepared for this day and bought my own underwater camera.

Underwater!

Snake Island
Make sure that you go here when it’s a low tide. The place is really pretty. It’s a great spot to take pictures. Aside from taking photos, you can also do a mini-trekking. Yes, apparently, you could go up the highest peek of the island. The view was breathtaking.

Snake Island El Nido

Photo shoot at Snake Island!

At the top of Snake Island

Codugnon Island
Also part of the deal was the Kuya boatmen would cook our food. We bought the raw fishes, squids, meat and all the ingredients needed. Kuya Boatman (We never really got his name. We just called him Kuya, which is the generic name for an older guy), then, cooked everything during our stop here in Codugnon Island.

Lunch at Codugnon Island

Codugnon Cave
After eating our lunch, we headed over to the Codugnon Cave. It’s just a few meters away from where we ate our lunch. To go in the cave, we had to enter through a small opening. Once inside, you’ll find yourself, well, in a cave. Honestly, if the place had more history it would’ve been more interesting. If you are a photographer, rock climber or a repeller, you will definitely enjoy this place. The light passing through the small openings above makes it a great place for photography, while the rock formations is, well as far as I believe, a great rock-climbing route.

Various ways of entering the Codugnon Cave

Group picture!

Cathedral Island Cave
It would’ve been cool if we were able to get inside the cave. Unfortunately, the opening was just enough for a small boat to fit in. Aside from that, Kuya happily informed us that were sharks in the area.

Cathedral Island Cave

Pinagbuyutan Island
This is probably one of the most memorable islands I’ve visited El Nido. Not because of its unique natural beauty, but because of our ridiculous attempt to snorkel in the so-called beach area. See the top most picture below? Well, that’s the so-called beach. And there’s us, giving up snorkeling.

The "beach". And us - trying to not injure ourselves.

But I have to give the place credit; It IS a nice place to take photos.

Go Emz! (Picture taken by Norman)

BTW, this is where Kuya Boatman borrowed my underwater camera and went crazy taking pictures of “Nemo” the clownfish. Yes, he was the only one who managed to the enjoy swimming and snorkeling in this area.

The Nemos (clownfish)

Ipil-Ipil Beach
By the time we reached Ipil-Ipil beach, we were already tired.  This is where we hang out for a bit, sat on the beach, and snorkeled.

Clare in El Nido '09

And that sums up our day 3 – El Nido tour.

Underwater Peace!

I’ll be posting our Day 4-5 soon! (Yeah, I’m really stretching out this blog series, aren’t I? lol)