ABW Dec 2017

Inside
Undeground
River
and admitted to never seeing so many in her entire
lifetime. It was indeed a fantastic sight, before the
city lights cut out natures beauty and we made it
back to the lodgings.
The next morning was a ride out to Honda Bay in
search of a beach for a swim in pristine waters. We
only found a pier taking visitors out to various islands
and turned back towards the city to find a public
beach on the shores of Puerto City itself.
We were on our final ride back and it was on our final
day in Palawan before we were to board 2GO for our
ferry ride back to Manila. Murphy raised his ugly head
and we wove into a wobble session for the fifth time!
The vulcanizing shop set to work, and our texting
resulted in the rental shop owner turning up, giving
us his bike, allowing us 5 ‘free’ hours more of rental,
and off we went.
all the life jackets that had been assigned to each and
every bunk for safety- - the sign reading “Your safety
is our priority” seemed to be laughing directly at all
of us as passengers, and it felt as though we were
all being held to ransom in a world without logic.
However, Murphy did not visit us as the boat did not sink,
and we all made it to port, life jacket naked but safely.
We had been hounded by Murphy’s Law on 8
occasions, we had been assisted on each occasion by
remarkably friendly locals who helped us to the core
of their humanity and we miraculously covered all the
ground that we had intended to on our exploration and
adventure in the tropical magic that is Palawan Island.
The truth is, Palawan is brimming with natural wonders
and a haven for divers, boaters, cavers, waterfall lovers,
hikers, bikers, natural environmental travellers and has
an endless host of magic places to visit.
The sign reading “Your
safety is our priority”
seemed to be laughing
directly at all of us as
passengers.
38
Alfie saves
The Pristine Beach was a gem as we bathed in the
waters of the Sulu Sea, and laced ourselves with Rum
and cokes.
The biking back was a wobble
of a different nature, and we
returned the bike and Arnold
picked us up for our final road
trip to the ferry pier.
The trip took 36 hours in all,
since the boat diverted to go
east of Mindoro instead of
east, in order to avoid some
building swells that were making some passengers
anxious. Oh yes, Murphy had also played his part
here, because the Depression ‘Mirang’ had caused
our departure to be delayed by one day and we
finally stepped on land again another day behind our
original schedule.
The last 3 hours of the ferry ride was into and up the
30 mile length of Manila Bay.
Something here had me worried that Murphy might
pay us all a visit on board the 2GO ferry, since 3 hours
before we docked the crew went around and collected
On our journeys we met a host of local and foreign
travellers. Everyone with an interesting story to
tell: two were from Sheffield University in England
on their Asian tour; a Scottish commercial seafarer
taking his annual break; a French couple working in
Malaysia; another French University student doing
his qualifying agricultural trip working on a fish
farm in Coron; the Czech Republic couple on their
annual adventures. Life goes on enriched by these
personal encounters and inspired by the warmth and
friendliness of the Filipino people all wrapped up in
the endless tropical magic of Palawan.
My advice to everyone is, don’t focus on Murphy’s
Law, “get on your bike” and visit Palawan, full of a
people friendly beyond compare, and full of evidence
that it is indeed “More Fun in the Philippines”, since
as they say here “Ever Island An Adventure”. Get
steeped in that Asian lucky Number ‘8’, and visit at
least 8 sites on your trip to at least 8 of the 1,780
islands making up the Last Frontier that is the Palawan
Island chain – the only non-volcanic island group in
this country of some 300 volcanoes, of which over
25 are active. Cleopatra’s Needle at 1,593 feet is the
highest point in Palawan and surrounded by thick
luscious green forests running along the mountain
range that covers so much of the main island that
is home to a host of endemic species including the
Palawan Peacock Pheasant (Palawan’s emblem), the
Palawan Bearcat, the one-toed otter, the Calamian
deer, the Palawan Hornbill and hundreds of other
unique species.
Go well, Stay well, and enjoy Life’s Journey
Get real, Go to Delightful and Friendly Palawan now!
*** ** ***
Thanks to Murphy, our trip was 8 Days
*** ** ***
It is definitively More Fun in the Philippines And
Murphy’s Fun in Palawan