Chasing Summer –

October 1st-2nd

We had two days in Puerto Princesa. On the first day, Paul, Dave, and I went for a walk to explore the town.

Leaving the port area, we were bombarded by eager drivers hoping that we would take a taxi or tricycle ride somewhere. Several followed us down the street, trying to change our minds. They were persistent, but I guess during the off-season, and only three cruise ships a year, they were eager to try and make some money.

Most of the tourist sites are within 2km of the port and can be completed in a single loop. Is this what we did? Absolutely not.

We started off by walking along the boardwalk or promenade. There is quite a bit of road work going on, and certain sections are more of a dirt path than a sidewalk.

Along the boardwalk, you can see many of the local fishing boats and a statue of a woman.

We got to the just-being-built port building and decided to walk to a more traditional market.

To get there, we needed to go down a couple of dirt roads with which the wet weather were mud pits. Needless to say, my feet and shoes were filthy by the time we hit pavement again.

I walked to the market and looked through the different shops. There were a lot of souvenirs, and it was pretty cheap. Paul bought a shell necklace for 42 cents US, and there were some pearl necklaces ranging from $1 to $10.

When we were done, we decided to walk to a mall. It was my fault, I chose it, and it was a bad decision. It was about another 30-minute walk down the main street, and that isn’t the bad part, but most of the road was under construction, including the sidewalk. So we spent a great deal of time on uneven terrain next to many vehicles.

The mall itself ended up being just like the stores in Subic Bay. So there really wasn’t much for us to see. We’d decided to walk back towards the port, and it took a little better than an hour. By this point, I was hangry, hot, and my feet hurt. We walked to the cafe where I had a dragon fruit smoothie, which was delicious, and then continued on to the cathedral.

After a couple of hours’ rest and recuperation, we headed out to the only female-owned brewery in the Philippines. It opened up four, and we were there shortly thereafter. After trying several of their beers, we went back to the boat for dinner.

Probably the biggest tourist draw to Puerto Princesa is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is an underground river or subterranean river that travels through a cave. To get there requires an almost two-hour drive, a 30-minute boat ride across the bay, and then 30 to 45 minutes in the caves themselves.

Deciding to do this on day two, I booked a tour through Get Your Guide. The tour operator was Corazon Travel and Tours, and they did a great job organizing the day. It was about 64 Canadian dollars, and we were picked up at the port at 6:30 AM.

With the early start, my tour group (which was entirely ship people) arrived at the first boat dock in the national park by 8:30 AM. Because we were early, we did not have to wait that long for our guide to organize our boats across the Bay. There were plenty of vendors selling souvenirs, waterproof bags, and snacks to keep everyone occupied for 20 minutes.

Once we split into two smaller groups, we each boarded motorboats and which comfortably fit about six people per boat. They were pretty loud, and I know the motor irritated some of the people. It’s mandatory to wear a life vest, and you wear the same one on this boat and the next. The boats are run through the National Park Service, and the only difference between the boats was the number. I was in boat 16.

Once we arrived at the beach leading to the underground caves, there was a monitor lizard to greet us, as well as a toilet and a small hut.

I walked up and received a hard hat to be worn during the cave journey, and it was about a 5-minute walk to the cove where we would get into a pole-propelled boat. On the walk, there are monkeys that hang out but are not encouraged. As a matter of fact, plastic bags are discouraged because the monkeys associate them with food and will try to take them from you.

The river goes for about 8.2km, but most tours only go for the first 1 1/2km. There are specialty tours that will go to 4 km in, but that’s not the one that I chose.

Inside the cave, many bats are making their home, so if you look up, keep your mouth closed. There was also a commentary given to each person through a headset in order to keep the noise level down. I couldn’t really hear because I have hearing aids, so I didn’t wear them, but the people who did said the commentary was very good.

As we went along, the driver or pole pusher of our boat had a strong light and would illuminate certain sections of the cave for us to see. This worked out great, but I could tell that if there were a lot of boats going through and passing each other, it could be a bit blinding. This is another good reason why I’m glad we left so early, because we were only sharing the cave with two or three other boats, but when we left, it was a steady stream of incoming boats.

After the riverboat excursion, our group needed to return the same way we came. Backed boat 16 across the harbor for lunch and then a car journey home. We had lunch at a local buffet restaurant that specialized in Filipino and Korean dishes.

There was also another option of adding on either a Mangrove tour or a zip Line experience. Both of these activities ranged from an extra $10 to $20 and would require driving to another location. The group I was with decided that they would prefer not to do either of those activities, so we just returned to the Odyssey.

Right before our departure that evening, a local elementary school band came to play some music for us. They did a great job. And we were on our way for two sea days before reaching Cebu.