Our destination for the second day is the Underground River. We are picked up from the inn around 7:30 A.M. (it should be 7:00 A.M.) It is late but still good for us; me and Bernz have enough time to enjoy breakfast and some girly stuff before the trip.
The land travel from Puerto Princesa to Sabang, where the Underground River is located, will take 2 hours. There will be 2 stop over during the trip. Lucky, our guide is talkative thus the trip is not boring. He shares experiences and information with us. He even throws some jokes to lighten the mood.
Our tour guide informed us that our group scheduled to the Underground River is after lunch. So we head out first to the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour. It is located 30 minutes away from Sabang Port. You need to register and pay a fee to join the tour. The boat capacity is 6 persons plus the paddler and a guide that comes along. They also provide life vests for safety purposes.
On the shore, you may spot mudskippers and monitor lizards while snakes can be seen on the branches of the mangroves. The tour offers an educational tour by boat through Sabang’s mangrove forests. The information includes the importance of bakawan in the ecosystem. The mangrove guide also explains the types of mangrove tress and how to determine the type (one is through the shape of the leaves). The guide sang a folk song that is dedicated to the mangroves. The whole trip last for 45 minutes. Once back in land, they offer free taste of tamilok (wood worm and a local delicacy), which they say taste like oyster but I decline to try it.
We head to Sabang beach after the Mangrove Tour for lunch. The lunch last for 1 hour but will need to wait until 4:00 PM for our turn for the ride to the Underground River. From the Sabang port, you need to ride an outrigger boat that runs the length of the coastline to the opening of the cave where the river flows directly to the sea. The ride took around 20 minutes and view is great. There are the forested mountains on one side and the beaches on the other side. We arrive on the shore and a little trek heading to the area. We need to wait for our turn as well as the vest and helmets (been a busy day).
The ride is great and its really different seeing the place with your own eyes compared to the one seen on pictures and videos. I was overwhelmed and I wish I can go near the structures or stay a little longer inside.
The sad part is I got problem on my cam’s flash and I cannot take pictures inside the cave but still lucky that Bernz cam got one. :D
We head back to our guesthouse after trip. This takes shorter compared on going to Sabang. It’s still early thus we decided to refresh first before we head out to dinner. It’s another ride heading back to the main streets and we keep on debating where to eat. Bernz suggested we try this restaurant with the colorful designs (I am too hungry thus I do not argue anymore but say yes). It’s easy to spot the Tiki Bar Restaurant since its along Rizal Avenue. We got another round of yummy dinner. And we stay a little longer there for a few drinks and watch the band before we call it a night.
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