Finally able to do a post! Singapore was my first destination on these vacations, but I felt like a first proper post about them should be about my main travel motto: nature! So, off to Phillipines!
Puerto Princesa was my first stop in this awesome country, in the Palawan Island, one of the westernmost islands of the archipelago. In itself, the city is not exactly a must-see place, at least for me; an entanglement of busy streets and nature, with a few highlights, being a waterfont promenade one of them.
When I visited the promenade, the nice views were there, but the place seemed deserted; there were some restaurants facing the sea, but that was about it; maybe it gets lively at the nighttime - is was near noon when I visited, and there was scorching heat!
However, Puerto Princesa is probably the easiest access to the island, due to the bigger airport, and it serves as a hub to do a lot of different activities and some island exploration. And that was exactly my objective, since not far from the city lies one of the acclaimed new seven wonders of the world, a place I wanted to see!
Puerto Princesa Underground River National Park
Less than 100 km to the north, one of the biggest underground rivers of the world was waiting to be visited; it's a less than 2h van ride, and the day after arriving to the country, off I went!
The tours normally depart quite early, I left the hotel shortly after 6am. During the ride, the guide gave some explanations about the local fauna and flora (and tries to sell you extra activites such as zip lining and mangroove tours; fortunately ours wasn't too pushy), and after driving through beautiful lush green landscapes, we arrive at Sabang beach, from where the boats to the entrance of the river depart.
The beached looked amazing, but I didn't get a chance to enjoy it. As we arrived, we filled some necessary information, and off the the docks.
There were tons of boats scattered around, which accounts on how popular this place is. Although there's a fixed number of tourists per day, in order to try and keep nature's disruption to a minimum.
I hopped in on othe these little boats, and off we went! The boat ride is short, and the views are great: small cliffs, jungle, beautifull beaches!
After just a few minutes, you arrive to another fantastic beach, surrounded by limestone cliffs! I was already loving the trip and I hadn't even visited the river yet! But honestly... how cool is this?
The base to visit the actual river is just after the beach. From there, we pick up some protective gear, the audioguides, and follow a small jungle path to the river entrance.
The visitable part of the river is just a small part of the river, and for what we're told it's still an ongoing discovery process. One of the things I liked the most, is the apparent focus on conservation and nature respect: instead of falling to the trap and creating a disruptive tourist attraction, the disturbance of the natural park is kept to a minimum. There are no lights inside the river, nor any signs of human presence. The audioguides serve to pass the information about the river, the ecossystem, and the local wildlife, while at the same time permiting to maintain silence during the visit!
Another small boat, a guide with a flashlight and a paddle (no motors inside!)... and off to the adventure! The river entrance lies just ahead.
From here, it was obviously hard to take photos; the only light is the flashlight of the guide, and as the audioguide refers soms structures, the guide is pointing in their direction with the light. I did manage to take some "decentish" photos.
Let's just say that appart from some nice information on the ecology, there were a lot of "baptized" formations, after what they were supposed to resemble. I say supposed because you reaaaaaaaaaaally had to have A LOT of imagination to see the "Sharon Stone", and the "Titanic", and all the other made up stuff. Now, what did I liked the most? Well, the reason why one of the main advices was, if you look up, keep your mouth shut. And no, it wasn't just because of the noise.
Bats. Thousands of them!
The caves were filled with bats flying over our heads, and it was during most of the bat ride, the only sound we heard. And no, no one ended up with a guano present! :)
In some places, the guide turned off the light, for us to experience being in a pitch black environment, with only the bats flying around; it was a beautiful experience!
As with all good things, it felt shorter than it should, and after some more paddling, finally a natural light.
And before we knew it... off to the starting point.
Time to return the protective equipment, chill out at the stunning beach for some more minutes, and admire the monkeys and the varanus roaming around, while we waited for the boat that would return us to Sabang.
If Puerto Princesa wasn't my favourite place in the country, this national park is definitely a must-see! Being able to ride an underground river is not something you can do everyday, and again, it was great to see all the care in creating an eco-sustainable experience - which actually, is one of the things Phillipines seems to be doing right! The preocupation about nature and ecology seems to be very present, or at least it was the impression that stayed in the places I've visited, and one of the reasons why I enjoyed visiting even more!
And since it's almost Christmas Eve (Filipinos are crazy about Christmas, btw!), wishing you all an awesome Christmas, together with your loved ones!
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