I've been blabbering about my recent trip on my previous posts right? And maybe your getting sick of it. So now, finally, I will tell you about that trip. Jr and I went to Puerto Princesa City, Palwan. Some says that it was the Philippine's last ecological frontier, some says it's the last ecological biodiversity but for better understanding. Click this link http://wikitravel.org/en/Palawan. Palawan has been popular because of it's breath taking sceneries, beaches, culture, food and people. There was also a lot of campaigns about the place. One is for it to be placed on the New Seven Wonders of Nature which where it's a finalist and second is the campaign for the removal of the mining industry in the said place. I don't wanna sound as a travel expert so I should stop right there.
I know I have told you about Jr and I's second year anniversary and we decided to celebrate it there. We went to the island on the 29th of June and we spent three days and two nights there.
Our flight was around 3:45 in the afternoon. But due to the bad weather on some areas in the country our flight was cancelled for an hour. After waiting and fooling around at the pre-departure area we bored at around 4:45PM. Our flight went alright, smooth take off and landing. (I so, so hate airplanes for I have a slight fear of heights). We arrived at the Puerto Princesa Airport at around 6:00PM, we were fetched by the a van that was included on our hotel package. It only took us 10-15minutes travel to reach the hotel. We stayed at Remari Pension Hotel located at Rizal Avenue just in front of the provincial capitol. The hotel was okay. The staffs are friendly, hospitable and accommodating. The rooms are clean and a convenience store was located just below the hotel. Our stay there didn't gave us any hassle. None at all. :)
 |
| At the pre-departure lounge. We were kinda anxious when we heard that our flight was delayed because we are running for time. We needed to be there before 6:00PM. Why? I'll tell you about it later. :p |
 |
| While waiting for the flight. I read a book, teased Jr and played Pig shot just to shook boredom. |
 |
| The game that am talking about. Jr and I are currently addicted to it. :) |
 |
| Inside the plane. We were seated at the third row, thank God for it assures less turbulence. After the take off and when the seat belt sign is turned off the flight crew did a little entertainment by conducting a game entitled currencies of the world where in they name a country and for you to win you have to name the currency of that country. And to cut the story short, I won and that's my price. :p |
 |
| Our flight just took an hour. We landed swiftly and we arrived past six in the evening at Puerto Princesa Airpot. As I said, we were fetched in the airport for it was included on our hotel package. |
 |
| For a bout 10-15minutes travel from the airport, we were greeted by friendly hotel staffs and a well organized and clean room. :) |
We just checked our room, left our things, freshen up and went back down stairs for we are bound to the first part of our itinerary.
Our first stop. Iwahig Firefly Watching.
Baranggay Iwahig is approximately 30-40minutes from the city proper. Our driver Kuya Kenneth, also served as in instant tour guide. Good thing we rented the van for ourselves. When we arrived just in time, I saw cottages and picnic areas. I haven't seen any firefly before so it's one of the things I've been looking forward to. Included on the package that we arranged is the boat that will take us where the fireflies stays. We had a boatman (that I forgot the name no matter how much I recall) that was in-charge for the rowing (I even asked Jr to row but he doesn't know how to!), the travel consisted of a 1km travel by water that took us 45 minutes. There were a hundred mangroves at the area and that made the air clean. We also did some star gazing for our boat man if very knowledgeable on constellations. I learned a lot of stuff because our boat man was packed with a lot of trivias and (corny) jokes. :p
Let me share to you what I learned:
>Fireflies only exist on clean air. So don't expect to see them on the city.
>It's a beetle, also called as lightning bugs.
>Fireflies are nocturnal. They don't eat other insect for they eat pollens and nectars from plants and flowers
>They glow when they are mating.
>The male's light is brighter compared to the females
>They use chemical reaction inside their bodies to produce light. No infrared. No ultraviolets.
>They had a short life span.
>Their eggs are laid on the ground and not on trees.
Oh my! I can't believe I learned a lot!! lol!
Click this to see other trivias that I forgot. :p
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/firefly.html
On the way to the river I first had mixed emotions, I was hyped with excitement and I was afraid at the same time for it was so freaking dark and I'm frightened of the boat too not that I don't trust our experienced boatman but the boat look so fragile I didn't feel safe at first. We wore life vests because it's mandatory and it's for our safety. Good thing the moon was bright enough that it illuminated the path. When the first firefly came to view all my anxieties melt away. I felt the kid in me, they were so fascinating I almost wanted to jump into the water and catch a few and bring them home. lol
Forgive me for I can't post any photos. No matter how much we tried, we can't take a photo of it. Our boat man said that even professional photographers tried but failed. It was so fascinating and I savored every minute of it. It's very romantic too. Our boatman said that two wedding proposals was made there. And indeed everything on it is spell binding and I couldn't believe what my eyes are seeing. There were like magic. I wish I could find the right words to say hoe captivated I was. I wanted to tell you everything but I guess words aren't enough.
 |
| What we saw is close to this. They were like million of Christmas lights. Very lovely. Photos courtesy of www.google.com |
 |
| Please forgive my constipated look. lol It was really dark and my eyes can't adjust on sudden flashes from the camera. :p As you can see, there's a No Flash policy because the flash may disturb the fireflies. |
 |
| The only picture that Jr and I had. This was taken after the boat ride. |
 |
| Top: The Kinabuch neon sign. Bottom: The rest of the bar. It offers a ton of alcoholic beverages that didn't catch my interest since I don't really drink. |
 |
| We ordered tenderloin steak in Filipino sauce. I know we should've ordered a seafood meal because we're on an island for goodness sake, but I can't ignore the steak and it's mushroom. I'm a sucker on mushrooms. lol :p |
 |
| The slimy wood worms that I've been talking about known as Tamilok or Ship worm. I'ts not a worm actually, it's long mollusk. Some says it tastes like oyster. It's commonly found in the Philippines, particularly at Palawan and Aklan. It's usually found on brackish water. And of course we wanted to try everything so we never let the chance to taste it. |
 |
| And we shouldn't have ordered it! Jr enjoyed every single moment of my agony. lol! I didn't liked it. It's slimy and gristly and you have to swallow everything at once because it;s not chewable. Ugh! I asked Jr if he liked it and he just said, "sakto lang" and we weren't able finish the dish. We literally just tasted it. |
 |
| After dinner at Kinabuch. We were full and happy because we were able to try new things. :) |
I'll see yah on day two! :)
Love lots,
KarenHeartilly
No comments:
Post a Comment