Palawan (Pop 939,594) is the 5th largest island in the Philippines and 21% the size of Tasmania. It is a long island (450km long by 50km wide on average) reaching almost down to Kota Kinabalu on Malay Borneo where I flew from to Manila. Amazing.
From Manila I flew an ATR42 some 420km to El Nido (Pop 50,494) on Palawan, which is a fabulous little town nestled at the base of huge limestone cliffs and overlooking a bay that is clear and green. El Nido has been inhabited by humans since early 2680 BC but the town was founded in the 16th Century and the Spanish did not get here until the early 1800s. The island is dominated by “Tri-Wheelers” like Tuk-Tuks with a 2-4 seater covered single-wheeled cabin connected to a two-wheel motorbike. It did not take me long to cover the town and bay shooting some amazing images and the highlight being Mini’s flight over this piece of paradise – wait to you see it in the film !!!
The following morning was a magnificent day starting with my 10km run along the southern coast with heaps of hills. By 10am I was on a traditional Banca (double outrigger boats) that sailed all day visiting the following islands (and beaches): Matinloc (Big Lagoon, Payong Payong Beach), Shimizu, North Guntao Island (2.1km swim), Mainland (Seven Commandos Beach). My favourite was North Guntao Island where I swam 2.1km through 35C waters full of coral – not a boring moment. The islands around El Nido remind me of Halong Bay and they are way more lush, green and full of odd shapes. I could not get over how clear and green the water was – tons better the Halong. There are many tourist boats charting these waters but nowhere near the numbers of Halong. Lunch was a sumptuous seafood buffet on board the boat – I ate up after my swim as I was famished and drained by the swim and run this morning. Our boat had people from the USA (my traveling companion on this tour Philip), Ireland, Holland and even Nepal and New Zealand. I good group, very chatty and positive. The only thing that was missing was the unlimited beer and wine that I enjoyed on my Croatian cruises !!!
El Nido is definitely worth visiting. It is clean, well serviced with a big supermarket selling beer and wine and caters for families. Best of all is that it is cheap. Simply route through Manila and head straight here – gets my vote !!!
The next day Philip and I joined a van with 6 others for our 5-hour, 267 km drive south to the Capital of Palawan, Puerto Princesa. We stopped at a lovely seaside restaurant at the halfway mark. Puerto Princesa (Pop 307,079) is does not live up to its “capital” title. Philip and I were in total agreement on this. Puerto is messy with nothing worth looking at except the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the City Baywalk which faces the bay and is teeming with families walking and bicycleing their kids. Our final stop was Chinatown which was just a shopping mall on a corner. The Tri-Wheeler brought us back to a big modern shopping mall next to our hotel so we could stock up on the essentials. Not the best cities I have seen but I always make an effort to bring out the best in every place I see…
Wow what a day the following day was… our 73km trip to the “Sabang X Zipline” and the famous “Underground (Subteranean) River. The drive to Sabang took 90min and was terrific – lush green jungle hugging clear green water coastline. Getting to the Zipline is fun. A barge takes you across a riverbank and then you walk along a very long beach to a set of stairs ascending 70m above the shore. The Zipline itself is 800m long taking 75sec and is over water so not that scary. The ride averages 40km/h and is good for kids. Once down you walk back across a waterway since the Zipline end is on a little island.
The 1999 listed UNESCO Underwater (Subterranean) River is not accessible by road so you ride 20min on a Banca Boat to get there. The 8.2-kilometer-long underground river boasts jaw-dropping cave formations, stunning limestone cliffs, and pristine waters, however, only a portion of the river, around 4.3km, is allowed for tourist explorations taking a total of 45min in and out. The variety of species in the caves is endemic to the river system, including fish, crabs, giant spiders, bats, swallows, and snakes. We saw plenty of bats and swallows during our cruise. This subterranean cave system was first formed by rainwater leaching through the limestone mountains above it some 20 million years ago and as a result 11 new minerals were discovered here !!!
The Zipline
and Underground River is definitely worth a visit but I recommend staying in
Sabang Beach rather than Puerto Princesa since it is a pristine beach and lets
you spend more time in this area.
Now it is time to enjoy the sites of Palawan Island in the Philippines – I call it “the new Phuket” only better since it is still unspoilt and not crowded and very family friendly so pack those kids and come on ova !!!
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