From Manila, I flew to Puerto Princesa with AirAsia at 5:50 in the morning. It was just a short flight.
Before I made way to El Nido, I grabbed the chance to visit one of the seven wonders of the world; Puerto Princesa Underground River. I booked my Underground River tour with Palawan Holidays by emailing them at palawanholidays@yahoo.com. The rate was affordable. I paid for 1,540 peso for the tour. They were kind enough to pick me at the airport. The journey took about two hours to Sabang Port.
When we reached Sabang, our tour guide went to Underground River Authorities Office to get our permit and time slot for our group. In order to maintain the outstanding universal value of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, only 1,200 guests are allowed to tour the Underground River Cave per day. A "No Permit, No Entry" policy is strictly enforced. We waited for 2 hours for our slot to be called. There are lots of souvenir and refreshment stalls to enjoy while waiting.
We were taken to a motorised banka to go to the Entrance Beach. It is a beautiful forest area home to a number of endemic species. The canoe tour in the cave itself lasts approximately 45 minutes and took us into the first 1.5 kilometers of the Underground River Cave. I had a chance to experience the beauty of Stalagmites and Stalactites, which took thousands of years to form and the Swift and Bat populations that inhabit the cave.
06/03/2016
I woke up early and had my breakfast at the common area. Later, I went down to check which tour I could join for the day. I was recommended to do Tour C. Without hesitation, I joined Tour C with OMP Hostel. The tour was double the price with the one that in Coron. I spent 1,400 peso for the tour.
Helicopter Island was the first destination of the day. The island is called Helicopter because its limestone cliffs resemble the helicopter when it is viewed from a considerable distance. It has a beautiful white sand beach stretching to 300 meters. I was given approximately 45 minutes to swim and snorkel.
Second stop was at Secret Beach. Matinloc Island is the longets slim island in El Nido that has a secret beach. It is a pocket of white sand beach at the corner of a sinkhole. To reach it, tourist must swim under the water through a narrow crevice in a rock wall.
Third destination was at Hidden Beach. This was where I lost my GoPro for 10 minutes. It was horrible experience for me to lose my one and only waterproof camera. Lucky there was one tour guide from another operator came to help and find my go pro.
The final leg was visiting the Matinloc Shrine. The hidden among the lush forested island is the Matinloc Shrine a sacred monument built in 1982 to honor the blessed virgin mary. Matinloc is the local term for beautiful.
The tour finished quite early. When I was on the banka, I met diver who was keen to try the fluorescent diving as well. Thus, both of us went looking for the dive shop. The first dive shop got no available divemaster. We went further the street and managed to find Aquanaut Dive Centre which was available for fluorescent diving. So, I signed up for 3 dives a day and fluorescent diving with them.
07/03/2016
I dove with Eugen as my divemaster. I had one to one experience since they acknowledged the level of divers. I went to Nat-Nat for my first dive site. I managed to see big eye barracuda, raggy scorpionfish, trumpetfish, golden sweeper, shortnose pipefish, banded shrimp and bluespotted stingray. I dove for about 56 minutes and went as deep as 23.8 meters. However, the visibility was not that good. Overall, I did enjoy my first dive in El Nido.
The third divesite was at Twin Rocks. I saw ribbon eel, giant moray, anemone shrimp, gardiner's headshield slug and blue spotted stingray. The dive lasted for 44 minutes and went deep as 15.9 meters only.
The final dive of the day was fluorescent diving at Helicopter Island. It was my first experience to do a night dive in the middle of the ocean. Previously, I only did shore night diving. The experience was incredible. I had to admit I was afraid to jump off the banka. But boy, it was worth every fear. I no longer frightened the moment I saw the astonishing shiny coral and luminescent plankton. I would recommend every diver to experience the fluorescent diving at least once in their life-time.
08/03/2016
I woke up late to maximise my check out time as I would be leaving El Nido at 2PM. OMP Hostel really caters the backpackers. They provide tour, transfer and laundry. The counter was available almost every hour. I made use of their service by booking my transfer to Puerto Princesa with them. The fare was the same as I got from Puerto Princesa to El Nido which was 500 peso. It was tiring journey but I was glad to be back at the city. The van driver dropped me at the Treehouse Inn Hostel instead of city centre. I was grateful to receive the kindness. I checked in around 7:10PM and this stay was merely a transit since I had early morning flight the next day. I went out to fulfil my tummy. I was blessed to find halal restaurant in the city; Palmalaysian Halal Restaurant.
09/03/2016
I took taxi to the airport at 6 o'clock in the morning and flew to Manila leaving the Palawan Island at approximately 07:55AM. I'm looking forward for my second visit in El Nido. I believe there are much more for me to explore.
No comments:
Post a Comment