Puerto Princesa: Honda Bay

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It was rainy the previous two days. So we were really banking on what locals were telling us that because Honda Bay was on the side of Palawan facing Sulu Sea, a much smaller body of water than the South China Sea on the other side, Honda Bay gets little to no rain. Thankfully, local knowledge didn't fail us.


Again, tour operators in Puerto Princesa are sort of centralized. Your hotel reception will know the people to contact to get you into a tour group and the people in charge in the tour group will know the procedures, permits to get, etc. Puerto Princesa is well set up for tourism like that.


The tour group we were on picked us up by van from our hotel and took us to the Honda Bay Port. On the port, our guide registers at the tourism desk and orders us a boat. A few minutes later, we were off.


Honda Bay is a relatively big body of water and the destinations, the islands we were hopping to, were sprawled around a wide area of sea. There were basically three destinations with one or two pit stops. The first, a pit stop, was Luli Island, named so because depending on the tides, it surfaces or it sinks. In Tagalog, lumulubog, lumilitaw. It was high tide when we got to Luli. Basically, we just passed through it.


Now, at this point, I may have already concluded that Puerto Princesa is a very touristy destination, which, I know, does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. It makes for a very easy-to-organize, safe family vacation. You would clearly feel that touristy air in this Honda Bay Island Hopping tour. More so, I think, in our next destination, Starfish Island.


Being Starfish Island, I would have guessed that there would be a lot of starfish on the beach here. I did not find any. The boatmen had some with them and apparently, the popular activity here was the distorted perspective photo-op thing. The photographer holds the starfish close to the camera while you, standing at a distance, pose like you're holding a giant starfish above your head. Something the kids would enjoy, I think.



Starsfish Island makes for a good swim, though. The water is crystal-clear and calm. It does entice you to get in and enjoy. The sand is white and fine, too. And the island had a long, partly submerged sandbar, which I always like.


We left Starfish Island at around 11:30 a.m., just in time for lunch at the next island destination, Snake Island. No, the island was not home to a huge population of snakes. Rather, the shape of it, the beach and the sandbar, snakes through the water.


Our guide told us to do whatever we want (beach bum, swim, snorkel, whatever), while she prepares the lunch. Yes, lunch is included in the tour cost. And what was lunch? Fresh, freshly grilled fish, shrimps and liempo with adobo eggplant on the side. The kind of foods that tastes best when eaten on a beach.


We stayed the longest on Snake Island, I think. Because after lunch, being full and all, nobody wanted to do anything, naturally. So, we walked further from the beach, settled on a sand bar away from the crowd, and had our this-is-the-life moment. It was sweet.


The last island we were to visit on this trip was Pandan Island. Our guide tells us that this is where a lot of colorful fish and coral reefs are located, the best site yet for snorkeling. Local knowledge succeeded again. At this point, I decided to put down my camera and enjoy the beach one last time. It would be a while before I go to another one. I am glad I made the right decision.

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Puerto Princesa: Sabang and the Underground River

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Sabang Town, on the outskirts of Puerto Princesa around two hours drive from the city, looks like the usual small fishing village I have seen a number of times throughout the country. It has one teeny tiny difference, though. It has a UNESCO World Heritage Site under its belt.


The entrance to Palawan's Underground River National Park is located in a cove about 30 minutes by boat from Sabang Beach. The beach is on the side of Palawan facing the South China Sea, definitely a much bigger body of water than the Sulu Sea. Naturally, this is the part of the province that gets the gloomy weather.


We arrived at Sabang Beach around lunch time. Restaurants line the beach, so this is where most, if not all, visitors to the river would have their midday meal. It was around this time, though, when our luck in the weather department run out. It had been cloudy earlier but we were still counting on sunny weather, obviously a little foolish, looking back. It did not stop people from swimming on the wide beautiful beach, though.


Most locals tell us that their rains usually last for just about one to two hours a day. Some part of me did not believe them. But impeccably so, the rains did stop after about an hour, allowing some of us to get out our cameras and try to capture Palawan's rainy day charm.






It started raining again when we arrived at the registration desk of the Underground River National Park, forcing me to keep my non-waterproof camera inside its waterproof bag and then wrapping that with plastic bags. I knew I was pushing it still hoping I was going to take pictures of the site.

No, I did not take the risk. Which is okay really. I doubt I would have been able to capture the enormity of what I was experiencing under that limestone mountain anyway.

In fact, I don't think I have seen a travel show capture the sights in and around that river. The caverns you would be passing through while on the 45-minute boat ride were just too grand to be photographed or filmed by any ordinary equipment. It is a sight to behold. And it is a must-do activity, touristy as it is, not just in Palawan but in the country.

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Quezon: Pahiyas Festival in Lucban

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There was another thing that I thought was missing in my Philippine travels. (Yes, I'm speaking as if I've traversed this country north to south, east to west. Haha.) But yeah, I have never been to a small-town fiesta or pista. Not since I was a kid, at least.


The last pista I remember going to was in a small town in Baras, Rizal. I was still a kid back then. From the very few things I recall, the one thing that stands out is this palpable "pista" air. People were on the streets, decorating their homes, cooking their handa with their big casseroles and woks. It was joyous and somehow, it was all very Pinoy.


Thankfully, I got to breathe that air again last week. A football teammate of mine was from the Quezon province. And around mid-May, a little town in the province, Lucban, explodes into all things bright and colorful into what is now known throughout the country as the Pahiyas Festival.


We left the city really early, around 3 a.m., passing through the eastern route (the Rizal-Laguna-Quezon highway). This proved to be a very wise decision. Had we taken the southern route (the SLEX route), we would have been stuck in traffic and the drive that usually took three hours would have become seven.


We got into town really early and dove right in. We had breakfast at a place called Buddy's. I had Longganisa Lucban in Lucban! Nothing can really compare to that. I enjoyed the food even though the place was packed. Literally. Well, the whole town was already packed. And it was only 7 a.m.


After breakfast, it was time for the walkathon. That was the only way to see all the Pahiyas-decorated houses in town, really. You had to walk through Lucban's small and narrow streets. Might as well really. A van, a car or even a trike would not do you any good. The streets are littered with people.


I like that my teammate knew where to start walking. We started with the big Spanish Lucban church, of course, and wound our way through the town going from very rustically-decorated houses to big, bright and rainbow-colorful three-story buildings.


It was all very festive. Every part of the family, even those from out of town, of course, got into the pista atmosphere. It helped that thousands of tourists, including us, were there celebrating with the locals.


Around midday, we were tired from the walking. We were not really that hungry. We were munching on the street foods while we did the walkathon: from cotton candy, to pancit habhab, to samalamig drinks and even strawberry-flavored scramble.


Since our ride was parked way out of town (since it was impossible to park inside the town), we still had to walk another kilometer or so. From there, we headed to Sariaya, to the coast of Quezon. I will admit. The sea on this part of the country is not that picturesque. Still, it was the first time I met the Pacific Ocean. It was saying hello. It'd be rude if I just walked away, wouldn't it?


~ 0 ~
More photos in my Flckr set:

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Camiguin: Early Morning at White Island

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Travel, Photography, Asia
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There was one more thing we were to do in Camiguin before we make our way back to the airport, and then back to being drones in our mundane worlds. We had to see Camiguin's one and only white-sand beach, White Island.


We had to get up early for this one. Our flights back to Manila/Cebu departs around 2 p.m. that day and the Cagayan de Oro airport was in another island, literally. It would take us at least 4 hours to get there from Bahay Bakasyunan in Camiguin.


Anyway, some of us, myself included, were a little apprehensive about forcing ourselves to get up that early. We were in vacation after all. But knowing we had to make the most out of our short stay, we got up and headed out. Totally worth it. Totally. The hues of the Mindanao sunrise that day was spectacular.


White Island is on the western side of Camiguin. Our hotel was on the eastern coast. The sun was high up by the time we got to the boats that will take us there. The small island can be seen from Camiguin's western coast. The boat ride will take you no more than 30 minutes.


White Island is actually only this strip of white sand, this sandbar, in the middle of the sea. The island has no shade, no trees, no land. Just sand. It still fascinates me how fine and white the sand was compared to how coarse and black the beaches are in Camiguin mainland.


We had a little swim, our photos taken (yes, jump shots included). It was our final relaxed moments before we headed back. Before we even got back to the city, though, stress crept its way up our faces. We ran a little late that five minutes later, we would have missed our flights.


All's good, though. We knew everything was worth it. There were eleven of us in this trip. Successful, I should say. And we never really realized it but we were in fact celebrating the twelve years that we've known each other. Twelve years. Twelve freakin' years! That's a long time. We did not know it back then but what we started in high school was going to stay with us for the rest of our lives. You couldn't get a friendship more real than that.

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Northern Mindanao: From CDO to Camiguin

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This Northern Mindanao trip was only to be done in three days and two nights. At this point, we have covered a lot, what with Cagayan de Oro's white water rafting and Bukidnon's zip lining. But there are roads that are yet to be treaded. So the next day at 5 a.m., we left CDO, and headed towards this region's island paradise, Camiguin.


To get to Camiguin from CDO, we rented out a van that took us from our hostel in the city center to Balingoan Port, Misamis Oriental. Travel from CDO to Balingoan takes around 1 to 1.5 hours. It was really early in the morning, so we got there within 40 minutes.


Balingoan Port is the port on Mindanao mainland closest to Camiguin Island. Ferries to Camiguin leave the port at around 1.5-hour intervals. So plan ahead. The ferry ride takes about 1 hour. You'll find yourself in Benoni Port, Camiguin in no time.


The hotel we stayed in the island was the Bahay Bakasyunan sa Camiguin. Quite a poshy resort, I must say. It set us back 1.3K pesos each to stay here. A bit pricy, yes. But I would say that that's reasonable. For that price, we got pretty decent villas with well-designed interiors and a very nice, clean shower room.



What luxury in accommodation they had in excess, though, they lacked in food quality consistency and service. On the one hand, the pizzas and the eggplant parmagiana were outstanding and worth the money. On the other, you get 150 to 200-peso pasta dishes you can get for 30 pesos back at home. Food quality does not apply across the board is what I'm saying. And let's not get started with the breakfast buffet. Too few dishes and too early they stop serving. But anyway.


Now, Bahay Bakasyunan is on the eastern side of Camiguin island. So don't expect a romantic sunset in the evening. Quite a spectacular sunrise, though. But more on that later. For that night, I contented myself in calming the angry waves through my camera lens.

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Siquijor: Salagdoong Beach

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While we stayed at the Coco Grove beach resort, we never actually bathed in their beach. I guess we found their pools more inviting. And it really was. We, however, were bent on finding a really good beach in the island. Thus, we asked the resort staff what Siquijor's best beach was. Their automatic response was, naturally, Coco Grove. A little more prodding and you'll get them to say Salagdoong Beach.


The day before, we asked our trike driver, the same one that took us from the port to the resort, if he could hook us up with land transport for our inland tour. So he did. We didn't use his trike, though. We boarded the back of some sort of a mini-pick-up truck. The ride in and around the island was great. We got to see the real Siquijorenses. The coastal views were amazing, too. Real amazing.


Our first destination was Salagdoong Beach. It was about a 30 to 40-minute ride from Coco Grove, which was actually on the opposite side of the island. Upon leaving the provincial highway, we got to this narrow tree-lined, zig-zagged road, leading to the beach. It was really pretty.


Upon arriving, we saw this white-sand beach with crystal-clear blue-green water. The rocks there didn't really matter, because after the rocks, you have this wide open space, shallow enough to wade through but deep enough to swim in. The best part is its fine-white sand below. It was as if the rocks were intentionally brushed to the sides to form this natural pool. It was something I have never seen before.


Salagdoong Beach has its own restaurant and, as far as I know, a hotel, too. We were here lunch time so we rented a picnic table and ordered two of their very crunchy home-made pizzas. Very home-made, I should say. But good enough. If you wanted to cook your own food, however, you could. There are these outdoor grills around for guests to use.


Salagdoong Beach is actually two beaches. One side is the rocky part (at least, when we were there). The other side is the one that looked more like a beach. The sand on this side, though, is not as fine. A lot of small rocks. But I presume it's still worth the dip.


A very huge rock boulder divides the two beaches at Salagdoong. They have built a concrete footbridge leading to the top of this rock boulder. I really should stop calling it a rock boulder, because they've turned it into a very high viewing deck. And the views there are nothing short of breathtaking. Crystalline turquoise water as far as the eye can see. Really breathtaking.




To see more Siquijor-related photos, please see:
Siquijor: Coco Grove

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Siquijor: Coco Grove

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WALK FLY PINOY:
Travel, Photography, Asia
www.walkflypinoy.com

Do not let common belief scare you. While Siquijor is surrounded by stories of mangkukulams and arbolarios, it should not stop you from exploring the island. In fact, it should encourage you to visit it. Folklore as rich and as widely believed says a lot about the place.


But we did not come to Siquijor for that. I guess we were too scared to go looking for it. Besides, we figured the little island in the southern part of the Visayan archipelago has something more to offer. And it has.

But first things first, how do you get to Siquijor? Really easy. Take a plane to nearby Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. From there, take a tricycle to the city's port area. Fare is eight pesos a person and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. At the port, get on the next ferry to Siquijor and that's it. If the Oceanjet ferry is available, get on it. If not, the Delta liner will do.


In Siquijor, we stayed at Coco Grove resort. This I maintain, had the place been a little more manicured, I would've declared it to be the poshiest resort I had been in. Notwithstanding, I think it is the poshiest resort I've been in. It's the kind where foreigners (by that, I mean Europeans) go in search of peace in the tropics. In fact, our group (all Pinoys) felt like we were the foreigners there. They're very friendly, though. So no worries.


The beach at Coco Grove is something to be desired. The strip of soft sand under the beach water is quite narrow. After that, it's rocks and coral. Good for snorkeling, yes. But for swimming, not so much. Fortunately, the resort has two great pools. One even has a poolside bar. See? It's very poshy.


But, if you do want to take a dip at the beach, I advice that you bathe early in the morning. The tide is higher, so the strip of water before the rocks and coral is wider. And hey, the water is more inviting in the morning. You'll see.


Something has to be said about the food at the resort. The place has two restaurants. We were only able to eat at one, of which I was not able to take any pictures. But hey, the other restaurant's prettier anyway. In both places, though, I have to say the food's pricy. Not ritzy or poshy pricy. But definitely not-for-budget-travelers pricy. They serve all kinds of food--from Pinoy to American to Continental. Do you get value for money, though? Well, so-so.


Since this post has turned into somewhat a resort review already, let's just go ahead with it. Customer service in the resort is exceptional. The staff members treat you like important guests. And they should, because you are. But it's something to be said anyway. They're friendly, too. They take note of your names and answer your questions with a smile. We even chatted them up about Siquijor's esoteric aspects. They told us that's it's nothing, really. Kuwento ng matatanda. Maybe that's why few Filipinos come to the island. Too bad, really. Siquijor is definitely more than that.


By late afternoon, I was definitely beat. I had been up for about 24 hours by then. (I'm a night shifter. Don't ask.) Good thing, though, the beach faces west. So we had a beautiful sunset to cap off the day.

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