Next, please!: August 2011

A week had passed since my friends and I visited Puerto Princesa in Palawan. From the sky, you'd really sea the glittering blue green water. You'd also be amazed that the runway is near sea; edge of Puerto Princesa.

We were all first-timers so we were all excited to tour the place. We booked our flights last year. We had to fly to Manila to get to Palawan. Johan picked me up from the office at 4am; our flight was at 5:50. Waiting for almost five hours at the NAIA Terminal 3 was not a burden some of us were even too comfortable while we waited for check-in. :)

After an hour we landed at the Puerto Princesa Airport.

We met up with our guide, Pepito Donaire. Pepito was recommended by my officemate who went to Puerto Princesa last July. She mentioned to search for Pep's name in Facebook. We dropped our bags in a house with 3 bedrooms and a common bathroom. The place was nice; complete with a sala with tv, a dining area with fridge and all 3 bedrooms with a/c units. Not too shabby, we said. Just good enough for us nine. We didn't intend to stay at the house for the rest of the days anyway. The house was just a minute away from the airport; no fret if you wake up a little late.

We freshened up, went to the nearest turu-turo, Noki Nocs, to have lunch. It was the start of our city tour. We passed by the boulievard where the transient houses were built for the poor people. AS per our driver, the houses in that area were burned. And the city government built these apartments. The people who are staying at these houses were charged with a minimum rate.

Next in the list was the Plaza Cuartel. This was where a number of Americans died. As per our tour guide/ driver, the Japanese bomb the area. Plaza Cuartel faces a the sea. When we stopped by, we even saw Navy ships.

It started to rain. A few steps from Plaza Cuartel was the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The driver even joked to pray that the rain would stop.

Another stop was the Mitra's Ranch. A vast land with a lot of trees. I presumed those were Cashew trees. A lot of horses too.

Next destination was the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center. Our first hand encounter with the crocs...

Baker's Hill was next. I haven't really taken a lot of pictures at this point. Not getting sleep tooked its toll.

The most exciting part of the first day; the Iwahig Firefly tour was second to the last part. This was one of the best scenes I've ever had in my entire life! This was my post in Facebook just after the tour;

"Iwahig firefly tour (boat ride @ night time + knowledgeable boatman + red light * thousands of fireflies) = a night to remember forever!"

I think this says it all!

We capped our night with our dinner at Ka Lui. Great ambiance; food was ok - we were just compairing Bacolod food and what we had; and company, priceless!