Day three came – our last day in Puerto Princesa. It started with a sleepy head despite heading back ti the hotel last night. First alarm - snooze. I wake decided to start prepping after a few minutes and 3 more alarm had passed. And since I prepare longer, I need to prep up ahead of her: a quick shower here, then a dab of lotion there and packing the small bag there. After an hour, we are all in to go. The van picks us a bit late. And we are surprised that we are last one to be picked up but happy that it will be the same group as yesterday.
Happy that the ride is not boring, though I opt to take a short nap during the ride. Our guide is making jokes and sharing stories of his life and stay in Palawan. He also explained the activities for the day. This consists of island hopping, visiting some islands in Honda Bay. It’s an hour or more van ride since its 11 kilometers away from town.
We head to Sta. Lourdes port for the boat ride to the island. Before the port, I noticed some huts built near the marshland. I wonder how will they stand the storm or heavy wind knowing it’s not strong compared to a stone house. And I learned that only limited houses are allowed to build there as part of conservation. The limit will help but still the huts is not that safe. :(
Once at the port, we are requested to head first to the booth. As a standard procedure, we are asked to register our names and address while waiting for our boat. Also there are small stores there selling souvenirs, hat, food and drinks. There are also stalls where you can rent cam protection in case cams will be used underwater. And I bought some bread for the fish.
Lucky, the weather is fair – a bit sunny and not to windy. Our first stop is the Pandan Island. The island is quite big with soft powdery sand. There are huts and cottages there people can rent. In February, we are lucky the place is not crowded. There are allotted areas where we can swim and some areas restricted for the boats. We roam around the island mostly taking pictures and some dip in the water.
After 2 hours, lunch is served. Our lunch is yummy and cooked in the island. It consists of pipino with vinegar (cucumber salad), grilled pork, tanigue (Spanish mackerel), crab, and fruits – banana and mango with alamang and of course rice.
After lunch, we head to next Snake Island. It is known for the long sandbar connected to the main beach. There are few huts created for the trippers. Unlucky, there are too many people here having lunch and its crowded. And since we are done with ours, bumming is the plan. Hoping we can reach the end of the island. Some people in the group head to snorkel and some, like me head to the sand. It’s a long walk on the sandbar while the sun is up and hot but it feels good anyway (since I am doing night shift most of the time). I don’t mind the scorching heat against my skin but opt for it to be darker so it looks good on the pictures. But the sad part is, we were not able to reach the end, though we made it more than half way.
Our last stop for the trip is the Pambato Reef. The area is for snorkeling and fish feeding. There are two huts in the middle on the sea connected by bamboo bridges. One hut is for fish feeding and has a small store and the other one is a staging area for those wishing to do some snorkeling. Make sure to a good grip on the bamboo since some part of the bridge is slippery from greens clinging on the bridge.
I got the bumps so I decided to skip joining the snorkeling (which I regret now) and Bernz hates me for that. Though I still enjoy it here as we sat on the bamboo bridge and feed the fish with the bread bought earlier. After some hours here, we head back to the port and then to the hotel.
Sad part is it’s our last day. Means we are heading back to the busy city again. Back to work. And it’s the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment