Palawan- Sabang and El Nido

The morning following the pool party we caught a plane out of Manila to the bustling town of Puerto Princessa on the southern edge of Palawan island. From Puerto we were able to easily catch a jeepney headed north to the sleepy town of Sabang. The ride was supposed to take three hours, but multiple stops (including one to load four huge blocks of ice on the roof) made the trip much longer. Gaelen and I rode the whole way on the roof of the bus, jumbled together with luggage, boxes of fish, tires and other sharp and awkward items. Apparently the bus was packed inside, and while we may have gotten a little sunburn, at least we were breathing fresh air. Gaelen nearly lost his head a few times, ducking at the last minute to avoid overhanging branches.

The town of Sabang is known only for its close proximity to the Underground River, a subterranean stream that stretches over 8 kilometers of navigable tunnel. We took a short boat ride to the mouth of the cave, and proceded to take the 45 minute tour. A guide paddled us around a kilometer inside, rattling off inane commentary that focused mostly on the various rock formations, and how some of them look like onions. None of the photos of the cave turned out well, so instead here is one of an improvised tree spirit that came together quite nicely.


The following day we caught an early morning boat to the island paradise of El Nido, some 8 hours north of Sabang. It is difficult to describe the dramatic beauty of El Nido. The island chain is made up of enormous sheer limestone cliffs that plunge into colorful coral reefs. A short island hopping ride showed us some of the numerous secret coves and lagoons that each contain perfect white sand beaches. One morning we hiked up the jagged, razor-sharp cliffs to the peak overlooking the town...






and were rewarded with a spectacular view.















Our stay in El Nido was only three nights, but it left a huge impression on us. We both made promises to return to this place in the future.

On midnight of our third day, we boarded the 9 hour ferry further north of town of Coron on Busuanga island. Coron is famous for its wreck diving - American attacks in 1944 sunk around 15 Japanese vessels in the area, all of which are in various stages of disintegration and 20-30 meters deep.

While Gaelen already had his PADI card and certification, I was easily able to find a dive shop that would train me in open water diving in three days time. Coron Divers, as they are called, takes the casual approach to diving. In the first half our of walking in their shop I was 20 meters underwater, hastily trying to figure out how to inflate and deflate my air vest, flailing wildly and bouncing along the coral. Eventually I figured out the basics, but trial by fire shouldn't really be applied to SCUBA. Our final exam involved drinking a San Miguel Lite through a snorkel.

The wrecks themselves were unreal. The giant rusting walls and beams loomed out of the murky darkness, recalling the opening scene of Titanic (and by association, Bill Paxton). Our dive masters led us inside the wrecks to navigate twists and turns around rotting boilers and rusted rivets. Apparently inner wreck diving is usually reserved for dive masters and those with special "enclosed environment" training. This petty safety requirement didn't phase Coron Divers, however, and they cheerfully took us deep into the recesses of the ships.
Coron Town doesn't have much to do outside of the water, but it was an amazing place to get certified. I will be using my new skills later on the trip, I'm sure.