Sabang, Palawan
Just a ride away from Palawan's capital of Puerto Princessa, Sabang is home to the Underground River, jungle trails and wildlife!
We stayed in traditional Filipino "nipa huts" which use the leaves from the nipa palm for construction. Our hotel was in the perfect location; we had a private beach, only a few hundred meters from the Mangrove Forest and also the start of the jungle trails which lead you to the "Underground River". While walking through the trails we ran into a few monkeys which is a very strange site in the Philippines as most places no longer have any natural habitat left for non-domesticated animals. At the base of the launching point for the underground river there were monitor lizards which are about 1 to 2 meters long!
El Nido, Palawan
The bus ride up to El Nido is long and arduous! Most of the road is just heaps of mud and has been under construction for the past 2 years at least and has little to show for it. But the trip is well worth it for the views that greet you as you approach El Nido. There are tons of deserted islands around El Nido, all accessible by speed boats or bangka row boats. We visited our friend's Kris and Kristen who were assigned to El Nido. Their next door neighbors had two Macaques which were abandoned by the packs. The little one, Lulu, had it's mother killed and was rejected by the pack so they took her in. They already had Moy, who had been an abused pet and then later was reintroduced to the wild and was rejected. He is missing a part of his finger and tail from the fights that happend in the wild. Lulu just loved Bobby, she wouldn't leave his side and just cuddle up to his neck and chatter sweet nothings in his ear.
Camping on Helicopter Island
With all the beautiful islands around, we couldn't resist going out and exploring. We borrowed Kris and Kristen's bangka and head out for a 3 day, 2 night camping trip. The views were just stunning. We rowed for about 2 hours but we would stop on the islands we pass along the way to rest and have snacks. We ended up camping on nearby Helicopter island. It was fantastic, there would be a tour boat once a day on the opposite side of the beach. It was great to basically have the whole island to ourselves.
Without a doubt, Palawan must be the most stunning place in the Philippines. We boarded our boat back to the Negros with a heavy heart. This is definitely a place to go back to visit again.
