My First Palawan Trip (Part 3)

April 25, 2007

Some friends have been asking for the continuation of my Palawan posts. Pasensya na kung delayed ang mga posts ko. Busy ang beauty ng lola ninyo heheh. I'm working double time so I can finish some more projects before I go islang-hopping again in Visayas this weekend.

HONDA BAY

Palawan is blessed with fabulous beaches. Some of these beaches can be found in Honda Bay which is just several minutes land trip from Puerto Princesa. A guided tour to several pristine, sandy islets which consist the bay costs PhP1000 per person. It includes the van from Puerto Princesa and the boat to be used in island-hopping.

I thought we wouldn't be able to enjoy island-hopping anymore because when we reached the port at Honda Bay at 7:30AM, it was raining hard and the wind was a little rowdy. We learned that a boat capsized on its way to one of the islets, prompting the coastguard to ban boats from going into the sea unless a change in weather occur. We stayed at the port hoping for the sun to come out and the gutsy wind to calm down. After an hour, the rain stopped and the sun started to smile. Brother Sun wouldn't want to spoil our trip after all, I thought. As if to cooperate with Brother Sun, Sister Wind stopped blowing hard.

We Found Nemo!

After an hour of boat ride, we arrived at Snake Island, named such for its resemblance to the shape of a snake.

There I had my most unforgettable experience in Palawan, snorkelling. So how did the nonswimmer me manage to snorkel? I was so lucky to have met a very patient old boatman. He told me to wear a life jacket and hold on to a makeshift salbabida which he tugged in the water. I had so much fun. I couldn't explain how I felt while swimming…erm…floating with so many species of fish. I was surprised to see beautiful coral reefs, clams and schools of fish kasi shallow ang water, about 13 or 15 feet lang. LANG! hahaha. Kunwari na lang marunong akong mag-swim .
After a few minutes, the kind boatman pointed to something and I noticed it was a sea anemone. Then I saw Nemo! Yes, we found Nemo just a few inches from his host anemone. I was so happy to see Nemo, and I was sure he was happy to see me, too, nyahahaha. The boatman brought with him a piece of bread and he gave some to Nemo. I thought I saw Nemo smiled upon seeing the bread hehehehe.

The underwater world in Snake Island is so rich. Ang daming coral reefs. Ang daming fish. If you are going there, don't forget to bring this.

And, please, don't forget to say hi to Nemo for me

Starfish Island

Next stop was Starfish Island. You can find lots of starfish here, hence the name.

The island is also a good place to swim and snorkel. It has more coral reefs than Snake Island.

If you get tired swimming, you can just loiter around and pick up some seashells.

I think the most interesting thing about Starfish island is it's long sandbar. The coral reefs in the area break the crystal clear water onto the sandbar. Waters from both sides of the sandbar meet, creating wonderful, little ripples.

I enjoyed very much the walk to the end of the sandbar. Never mind the scorching heat of the sun, basta happy talaga ako hehehe.

We weren't able to go to Lu-li Island (Its name is derived from the term "lulubog-lilitaw." It is visible only during low tide.) because we were told it was off-limit for the holiday. I guess may holiday ang mga fish doon at bawal kaming mang-istorbo hehehe.