Puerto Princesa, Palawan 2012: Of retirees, carabaos by the beach and speleothems (Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park)

Thanks to the.ego.tripper I had recently been introduced to the word “ego-tourist“. As defined by Urban Dictionary:

Ego-Tourist

Where globetrotters head for increasingly obscure locales, not for the experience but for the bragging rights of having been somewhere exotic and difficult while looking down on any adventures that don’t involve an amusing incident with a nasty local disease / local militia / extreme weather event. Ego-tourists have way too much attachment to words like ‘authentic’ and ‘unspoilt’

Bob is boring me stiff with his stories from the Congo. He’s such an ego-tourist.

A tad extreme, yes, but I totally get whoever coined this term. I admittedly smirk a bit when people do the cliché tourist-y things. (Haha! Sorry na. Does that make me bad?). However, I can’t fully claim to be one since at times (ok, fine, many times), especially depending on who I am with, I do the same cliche’ tourist-y things as well.

Case in point: Puerto Princesa’s Underground River.

Muuuuuuuch has been said about this place, and I doubt any of you would find a shortage of info about the Underground River. UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the (controversial) New 7 Wonders of Nature. And did you know it’s known by four names? Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Puerto Princesa Underground River, St. Paul’s Subterranean River National Park, and St. Paul Underground River. O ha. Now you know. This was one of the places Kite was thrilled to go to so we booked it even before we landed at PPP. I wasn’t as excited so the question for me really was this: is it worth all the hype?

Royal Oberoi’s tourist transport service of choice was Topstar Travel and Tours. The packaged tour these guys offer costs PHP 1,500.00 (~USD 35.40) inclusive of all transportation to and from the hotel, boat rides, park fees and lunch. (Checked just now and rate’s up to PHP 1,650.00. FYI.) Led by Kuya Kim (no kidding), a van full of hyper-active retirees on vacation picked us up around nine in the morning and whisked us away to our destination.

One of the landmarks we passed by. I can’t recall the story though. #seniormoment

@ Half Way Rest Area. True enough, half-way nga. I would’ve bought one of these souvenirs if they hadn’t been so bulky.

A karst formation common in Palawan. Kuya Kim’s pitch for this was something related to the movie Avatar.

Did you know Puerto Princesa is a Carbon Neutral City? It’s easy to see why.

After a two-hour ride, interrupted only by a stop-over at a place called Half Way Rest Area, we arrived at a half-sunny, half-cloudy Sabang Beach. Weird, I know. Clouds were looming over one side, the one where the St. Paul Mountain Range can be seen, while the sun was up and about on the other, the one where the boats were docked.

Breaking waves as seen on the dock. Hindi halata pero mainit nito.

Kite and I skipped this because we’ve both tried the one at Bukidnon already. We saw the actual one on the way to the Underground River and I think it’s worth a try if you want the feeling of seeing the sea below you when ziplining.

While our tour guide arranged all the formalities for us to get to the underground river, our group was instructed to proceed to where we had lunch. Kite and I went ahead, together with our van’s driver. The hyper-active seniors, meanwhile, learned that there was a zipline facility nearby and had themselves registered. Kumusta naman di ba?

This reminded me of Alona beach in Bohol. I don’t know why.

Surprise! I never expected to see something like this here.

We walked a considerable stretch of powder-fine sand, passed by Sheridan Beach Resort (Waaaah! We really wanted to stay here…), until we reached Taraw Vista Lodge and Restaurant. I suppose it was a popular place because other tour groups were flocking the area  as well. Kite and I picked a table and settled in. A few moments later, the young-at-hearts arrived and we all shared lunch.

Sikat.

Pinoy na Pinoy. Love it.

The buffet spread  – rice, cucumbers in vinegar, adobong kangkong, inihaw na liempo, chicken adobo and grilled fish (tuna? marlin? omaygulay, foodie fail.) –  was simple and no frills, but it was heavyyyyyyy. Believe it or not, I only had one plate. I loved the fish the most, thick but not dry at all, while Kite, as usual, was all raves about the perfectly grilled pork dish.

If I remember correctly, I ate these by hand. Sarap!

We finished eating just before one in the afternoon and we headed directly to the pier where we were earlier dropped off. By this time it was already evident how well-oiled Puerto Princesa’s tourism machine is. We hopped on a boat that accommodated six each, breezed through the beauty that is the blue Palawan sea, passed by several geological features that are so characteristic of the area and ten minutes later, we got to the beach fronting the entry to the park.

Classic Palawan rock formation. #geogasm

I didn’t even know I already captured Tuturinguen Point with this photo. Cool.

Once again, Kuya Kim fixed everything for us and all we had to do was sign a tourist logbook. While waiting, we noticed there were clean lavatories with running water so we took the opportunity to freshen up and have a quick bio-break. We were also welcomed by a family of playful monkeys in the same area. The group then walked a short distance through a wooden walkway that was surrounded by trees. Very refreshing sight, I tell you.

They were so playful, i was only able to capture a photo of one.

This is the only type of green I will never tire of seeing.

At the end of the walkway is the lagoon revealing the entrance to the Underground River Cave. The lagoon itself was beautiful and had that mystic quality to it. It was one of those “you have to be there to experience it” kind of places.  Fortunately, we observed that the visitors respected the place and most, if not all, kept their quiet. That being said, the place was kept serene and peaceful.

We had to wait some time before our turn because of the volume of tourists that day. It was a Saturday, after all. The good thing was that it was very organized, with all the coordination done by the park’s administrators and each tour group’s guides. Also, you wouldn’t mind waiting because of the many things you can do to kill time.  (And no, I’m not just talking about taking vanity shots though obviously I have them. ). The limestone cliff, the small schools of fish that’s clearly visible from the surface of the water, the river delta, a swimming bayawak, even! All lovely, looking out for these will keep you happily busy.

I don’t care if I’m chubby here. This was a great shot by Kite.

Why am I even posting this picture? Hahaha!

If Kuya Kim had not pointed it out, I wouldn’t even realize that was a monitor lizard.

When it was our turn, we giddily geared up with the mandatory orange and white life vests and helmets. Kite and I volunteered to sit in front of the boat that fit eight. When we sat in front we realized we will be in control of the light source our boat will have inside. Sweet! A few group photos later, off we went. Sa wakas.

I found this a bit intimidating and scary at the start, that with all the jagged edges. Parang ngipin lang ng bibig ng monster.

First things first. It’s pitch dark inside. Zero visibility. It took some time to get adjusting to especially since it was so bright outside. The cave, like most others, smelled peculiar too. Word of warning if you easily get irked by these things.

The ride inside the one and a half kilometer stretch was made really interesting by the very well-trained boatmen. Their English was spot on! I suppose it was a memorized script of all the trivia about the Underground River, but I didn’t mind. I was really impressed. Of course there were a lot of jokes thrown in for good measure. Watch out for the “holy water, holy shit” one. These guys know how to crack up a crowd.

Lucky snap by Nick. Time space warp! Ngayon din!

The obvious highlight of the ride was the various speleothems (aka cave formations) that one will find aplenty inside. Flowstones. Columns. Stalactites. Stalagmites. Name it, most probably, you can find it in the Underground River Cave. The natural formations take on some fascinating shapes that led the locals to give them names. Some of them are huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge.

Other points of interest? The uber clear river water, lots (and I mean lots!) of bats and some cave walls painted with white crosses. Since I don’t want to spoil your experience, I won’t elaborate any further. I’ll leave it to your able boatmen to share more with their stories. Pupunta ka naman di ba?

See how clear the water is? And by the way, don’t hesitate to wave hello when another boat passes by. You’d be surprised how people friendly are.

Guess what they call this speleothem?

Forty five minutes and unknown drippings later, we were out and was back to the lagoon we entered earlier. Everyone was in agreement that it didn’t seem like we spent just that amount of time inside; it felt like we were there for the entire afternoon. Dare I say… bitin.

You know what they say about seeing that light at the end of the tunnel?

We returned our gear, walked back to the beach, took the same boat we used earlier and returned to the pier. The retirees proceeded to their zipline adventure while Kite and I snacked on macapuno-laced turon while we waited for them. It was half past the hour of four.

Sweet ending to a very tourist-y day.

Dun dun dun dun… So, how did I find it? Let’s just say that the Underground River Cave is definitely no Sumaguing (which, I now realize is an unfair comparison really), but the park as a whole – flora, fauna, lagoon, delta, subterranean system, and all  – definitely made me appreciate the fact that I live in this naturally-blessed tropical country even more. And Kite? Think very happy camper. Yun na.