7 October 2006

Mt. Pinatubo, Palawan, and Panglao Island

Whew. Finally, internet access again. Seems like ages ago since Angeles but that was just a week ago.

The trek up Mt. Pinatubo was a little different from treks I've done before, mainly because we followed a river all the way up the crater. So my feet were soaked within one minute of starting the trek. I have never hiked with wet feet before. If my feet were just wet, it would have been okay. But the river carries a lot of sand down the mountain so my main concern was my feet and ankles getting abrasions from the sand trapped inside my socks rubbing against my skin. I had to stop and "rinse" out my socks and boots a few times.

When we got to the top, the thing that struck me the most was the silence. Once we left the river behind and the sound of water rushing was gone, we were surrounded by complete silence except for the birds chirping. It was almost deafening. The crater is now a lake. The colour was fascinating, like a pale aqua green. Not really sure how to describe it. Anyway, it was beautiful. Well worth the wet feet and sand-filled hiking boots. And, it didn't rain. So lucky.

We flew to Puerto Princesa, Palawan the next day. It was hot and sunny when we got off the plane but started raining less than an hour later. And it didn't stop raining for a few days! But we forged ahead with our plans. We stayed in Puerto Princesa that day, walking around the city, checking out the market. The following day, we joined a tour to the Underground River in Sabang which is a two hour drive from Puerto. The first hour was fine. The second hour was what they refer to as the Palawan massage. The road was so bumpy that when Ed and I conversed, our voices shook. The cave itself was pretty spectacular. The guide took us along 1.5km of the underground river. The total length of the cave is 8.2km but it's not safe to go any further unless you're an expert, apparently.

The next day was travel day. We had planned to go to Port Barton which was a 4 hour drive from Puerto, again via a bumpy gravel road. When Ed and I got to the bus station at 9am, we found out that the Port Barton bus (there's only one per day) was not going that day because the road was in bad shape due to the rain. So we stood there trying to decide what to do next. We didn't really want to go to El Nido because the trip is 7 hours, according to the Lonely Planet. But the only bus there was the one to El Nido and it was just about to leave. So we hopped on. Next destination is El Nido. It poured all day. This is the ordinary bus, not the tourist bus. We were packed in like sardines, with bags and stuff in every available space. And there were bamboo furniture tied to the roof of the bus! Anyway, it was quite the ride and... it took 10 hours, yes, 10 hours to get to El Nido. The first few hours was fine because I was asleep. But when I woke up and realized that we were going much slower than usual due to the rain, I started getting nervous. So much can go wrong on a muddy dirt road in the middle of the jungle. It was nerve-wracking! It was such a relief when we finally pulled into El Nido at 7pm. Ed and I decided that we were taking the plane back to Puerto Princesa. To hell with our budget! There was no way that we were going to do that again. Plus we absolutely had to make our flight on Friday and there was just too much risk taking the bus with the road in that condition.

We spent two full days in El Nido. The first one was rainy so we decided to just hang out in town and take care of booking our flight back. It was a very lazy, relaxing day. The weather was better than the previous day and we were playing the odds that the trend will continue. We were right! The rain stopped, finally, by the next day so we signed up for the island hopping tour. El Nido is spectacular. We took a boat to Miniloc Island to swim in a lagoon and go snorkelling, Tinalula Island where we had lunch on a deserted beach, and Simizu Island for more snorkelling. The highlight - I spotted a turtle close by while I was snorkelling at Simizu island! It was an amazing sight.

Now, we are in Panglao Island in Bohol. We finally had a full day of sun and laying around on the beach. I'm gladly working on this tan that I am determined to have.

Tomorrow we're renting a motorcycle and going sightseeing. Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier monkey.

So far, this trip has been quite an adventure. Getting around the Philippines is not easy. It takes a long time to get anywhere and it seems that flying is the only reliable option, which makes for quite an expensive trip. It's no wonder that this is not really very popular with backpackers. What I've learned is to just go with the flow and go slow. But it is a beautiful country and I'm glad I have this chance to go around and visit these places.

Next stop, Boracay...

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