Let me write on the spot clairealgarme.multiply.com

I’ve been offline from my travel journal all because I did some travelling…to Puerto Princesa, Palawan! Yup, that took me out from my laptop as I’ve gone on the air to fly to this widely-acclaimed tourist destination in the country. I was supposed to tell you more about Negros but I’ll do it some other time. While I still burn (figuratively and literally…my back is red from sunburn) for Palawan, let me excite you about our journey.

We stayed in Puerto Princesa, a quiet and simple city. But I’ll not bore you on the details of Puerto Princesa. There’s nothing much to say about the resort where we spent our four-day vacation. It was in a secluded area and even the locals didn’t know it existed. The one running the resort treats the place as Puerto Princesa’s classified top secret so I guess I shouldn’t reveal the name of the place. I’ll just call it the “Giant Pot” because of the giant flower pots scattered in the area; or “Solar Light” because of the garden lights that is run by solar energy; or…okay, let’s stick to the first alias before I think of other weird names.

We were a big group–14 in all!–and my companions were just outrageous and funny. The first batch arrived Thursday at 10 a.m. We proceeded to have our brunch in Chicken Inato. With the scorching sun, everyone just decided to take a nap at high noon right after eating.

Picture-frenzy that we are, we went to the beachfront to check out if we can already take a dip but the beach has lots of mangrove that we found it not-so-ideal for swimming. So, we decided to head to our first destination, the Iwahig Penal Colony. With just a single male and the rest of us were ladies, we were assured of a “captive” market for guys in this prison without bars (just kidding there!!!). But hey, I didn’t expect Iwahig to have a picnic ground, a small stream where visitors can swim, a souvenir shop and even a viewing deck! We also stopped at the Butterfly Garden on our way back where butterflies are held captive (there goes that word again!) in a small and simple garden.

The day after, the Aguila family joined us and off we went to Honda Bay for some island hopping, swimming and snorkeling. Ever heard of Loli Island? (that’s how the locals pronounced it) It stood for Lolobog-Lilitaw! We enjoyed the white sand beach at Snake Island and the colorful corals the whole day. The rest of the afternoon was spent on some cold desserts at Bakers Hilll where we met a wonderful couple, Homer and Marge, the famous ostriches at the hill.

Okay, now for the most exciting part. It’s the day for the Underground River exploration! After two-and-a-half hour drive through smooth and rough roads and a few stops for picture-taking, we finally made it to Sabang. We met Michel (French guy) and Michelle (Canadian woman). They weren’t together but both of them were looking for a group which they can join in the Underground River adventure.

The Underground River was both creepy and fascinating. What with all the rock formations, you can sharpen your imagination out of the images you see inside the cave. But don’t let your imagination wander too far or you’ll end up entertaining not-so-beautiful thoughts when inside the Underground River stretch.

Four days seem not enough for Palawan. Before we knew it, the trip was over and I’m back tapping on my keyboards. Okay, so there’s still El Nido…and Coron…and Tubattaha…and the northern and southern ends of the island. Watch out for the photos…they’ll be coming out soon. I’ll post them in multiply or try checking my webshots (writeonthespot) site for new albums. I usually upload most of my photos there. I’m parking my pen to make way for my next online journey adventure.