A tour of Puerto Princesa and a Glimpse of what awaits in El Nido

A tour of Puerto Princesa and a Glimpse of what awaits in El Nido

Our flight is scheduled at 5:20AM of Oct. 9, 2015 so by 2:30 AM of the same day, we were already awake and preparing our luggage. We were driven to the airport by my brother along with my 2 officemates. Arrived at NAIA terminal 3 around 3:30AM, checked in at the PAL counter. Since we're a bit early, we decided to have breakfast at McDo at the 2nd floor (left-most side near Wendy's ----- while  Jollibee, Pancake House and Mini Stop is on the right-most side for reference) of the departure area. Ordered the "Chicken Fillet rice meal" for breakfast. 55 pesos lang, busog ka na. Ayos!

breakfast at McDo NAIA3

After a quick breakfast, went straight for the boarding. Had to pass another baggage scanning here, buti wala nakitang kahit ano. (Di pa nauso ang laglag-bala at the time, pagkauwi namin galing Palawan tsaka lang namin nabalitaan na meron palang ganun scam sa NAIA.) Met Jen's family there (5 pax sila), they took their breakfast while waiting for "gate opening" (nagpabili rin sila sa McDo kasi dumiretso na sila sa boarding gate after check in).

At around 5AM, nagpapasok na ang ground crew ng mga pasahero.

Boarding Na!

Some pics before take-off.

with my Mom

Pabebe muna

And... we're up! flight departed on time. 

flying to Puerto Princesa

PAL crew distributed free snacks and drinks while the flight is underway

sandwich and coffee

At Last! Hello Puerto Princesa!

Just Arrived.

Went immediately to the baggage claim area to pick up our luggage while the others went to the washroom to freshen up. Make up ng konti para maganda sa pics di ba? =)

Met Kuya Joseph Ednalino of Palawan Tourist Transport and Tour Services (our tour guide) sa arrivals area. We used a Toyota Hi Ace Van for the City Tour and going to El Nido. SAkto lang siya for the 9pax. Aircon was good, di naman kami pinagpawisan sa loob. Anyway, Kuya promised na Grandia na yun van namin pabalik ng PP for more space. 

For the City Tour, our first Stop is the PLAZA CUARTEL. 

The plaza has a bronze marker that contains the name of eleven prisoners of war (POW) who managed to survive the horrible massacre that happened in the place. The bronze marker is placed above the area where main underground bunkers existed. These bunkers became the cage for the unfortunate prisoners. The words engraved on the bronze marker are:

"Sa pook na ito na dating tanggulang militar noong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig naganap ang pagsunog ng mga sundalong hapon sa humigit kumulang 150 Amerikanong bihag ng digma noong 14 Disyembre 1944. Ilang nakaligtas ay lumangoy sa dagat patungong Iwahig. Ang mga labi ng nasawi ay dinala at inilibing sa St. Louis County sa isang panlahatang libingan sa Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, United States, 1952."

Entrance and enjoying the scenery of the Plaza is free of cost. It now serves as a leisure park.

Adjacent to Plaza Cuartel stands the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Wala pang Mass when we went, siguro kasi maaga pa masyado. Just said a prayer for our group and took some pics.

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Inside the Church

3rd Stop is the BAYWALK. We did not alight the van here as we only did a driving tour of the place. As per Kuya Joseph, the Baywalk is now a popular place to stroll, bike (available for rent), and to try street food while enjoying the view of Puerto Princesa Bay. Sometimes, meron din mga event dito like yun lighting of the City's Xmas Tree and small concerts funded by the city Government. 

**Puwede lakarin ang Baywalk from the Church/Plaza Cuartel, around 3-4 blocks away lang naman siya

We then went to Binuatan Creations. 

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Similar methods are knitting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling.

selfie with mom

try ko rin pero bat may C2 diyan te?

I'm in BAG HEAVEN!

Bought some weaved place mats, souvenirs and organic produce here. Ang sarap mamili dito. Lots of little trinkets na puwedeng pangsalubong.

Next Up, Crocodile Farm.

sige hawak, ito lang ang crocodile na puwede mo mayakap dito  ^__^

remains of the second biggest crocodile caught in PH next to Lolong

picture taking while waiting for our turn with the baby croc

lakad lakad sa zoo part ng croc farm

masakit mauntog dito. ingat ingat hehe (speaking from experience)

emotera

After Croc farm, went to Ken's to rent Snorkle and Mask for our Island Hopping tour. rental is 150 good for the duration of the El Nido trip. Another rented underwater case for their camera worth 250. 

Advise ko lang, if possible bili na kayo sa Manila ng underwater case. Yun kasi ni-rent namin, 500 lang yun sa manila brand new pa. Sayang, if we only knew na ganun kamahal sa Manila na lang kami bumili, magagamit pa namin sa mga susunod na lakad namin.

After getting the gears needed, drove on to El Nido na, passed by a Viewing Deck for CR time. kakaiba ang CR dito kasi, may window and kitang kita mo ang view ng dagat. So while you're doing your business, nakakapagrelax ka dahil ang ganda ng view. 

ang layo ng tingin

Pahinga sandali and biyahe ulit. Dumaan din kami sa pagawaan ng Kasoy. Mas mura daw kasi dun as per Kuya Joseph kesa bibili sa mga souvenir shops sa city. Which is true naman kasi yun nabili naming 130 sa factory, 180 na ang benta pagdating sa City nung nag ikot ikot kami on our last day in PP.

CASHEW PRODUCTS

binabalatan pa lang ang kasoy

End Product

masarap yun kasoy na nabili namin dito. maayos ang pagkakaluto. As per ate na may-ari, umaabot pala ng 6mos - 1 year ang kasoy nang di nasisira, as long as maayos ang pagkakaluto nito. And mabibili na rin daw ito sa Manila, Store is at Eastwood, sa kanila humahango yun nagbebenta sa Manila.

Biyahe ulit. We stopped by "HALF WAY RESTAURANT" for lunch. around 1 and a half hour away from EL NIDO. Food was.... uhmm.. not exactly bad but not good either. Enough lang para mabusog ka. If you have a choice, take your lunch sa resto BEFORE this one. meron isang kainan around 5-10mins away lang, newly built, same style ng "half way" but better ang food. Dun kami kumain nung pabalik na kami ng PP kaya nasabi namin mas OK siya. Wasn't able to get the name though pero "half way" and yun lang naman ang nakita naming kainan dun sa stretch na yun.

haggardness. need mag-sunglass para di halata hehe

After 1 hr of driving, sa wakas, malapit na kami. We stopped by the EL NIDO VIEWING DECK muna for some picture taking. 180 degree view of the EL NIDO islets ang nandito. A glimpse of what we will be enjoying for the next few days...

After reaching El Nido Town Proper, we were dropped off at our Hotel, CASA CECILIA. Paid for the rest of our stay and checked in. Kuya Joseph suggested that we have dinner at his friends' resto BULALO PLAZA. Apparently, bestseller nila ang BULALO (obvious ba?) and Crispy Kare Kare. Agreed and he arranged a trike driver to pick us up at 7pm and then drive us back to CASA CECILIA. Trike is 100 pesos balikan.

Next post. BULALO PLAZA and CASA CECILIA, El Nido