It was a beautiful morning when I woke up on our second day at Puerto Princesa. We all needed to get up at 6:00 a.m. to have breakfast since our guide for the world-famous Underground River tour would pick us up at 7:00 a.m. Hotel Centro serves breakfast at 7:00 but they happily began serving food early because of our request.
True to their offer in their Metrodeal voucher, they served buffet breakfast. They always do every day. There were Filipino, American, Korean, French, etc. food. Fresh fruits were also available, even kimchi. This was maybe because there are always so many Koreans checking in the hotel.
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| My plate -- fried rice, omelette, smoked longganisa, chicken adobo, fish teriyaki, and mixed vegetables |
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| Fresh fruits, bread, and butterscotch |
That was the breakfast we exactly wanted and we needed to fill our stomachs in preparation for the long travel to the Underground River. I was able to get live updates and scores on the 2012 Australian Open. Thanks to their free wifi.
Soon enough, our tour guide arrived in a van. We were a group of twelve people. The Underground River tour costs P1,300/pax which includes the roundtrip van ride, lunch, boat fare, and entrance fees to the park. The guide told us that it was going to be a two-hour drive to get to Sabang Beach port where we will ride a motor boat to get to the side of the Underground River under St. Paul Mountain.
After one hour of driving and passing by a lot of mangroves and some forestry, we stopped over the Buenavista Viewing Deck to take a good look of the seas from above. It was so serene.
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| From the Buenavista Viewdeck |
We continued our journey to Sabang Beach and we passed by beautiful rock formations and landscapes. There were mountains of solid marble and some caves too.
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| Side of the Lion's Roar |
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| Rock mountains |
It was almost 11:00 a.m. when we arrived at Sabang Beach to register for the Underground River tour. Our guide arranged for everything. We decided to have lunch after the tour thinking that it won't be long. We were very much wrong.
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| Underground River registration area |
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| Sabang Beach |
It took us at least 30 minutes to get to a boat that would take us to the edge of the Underground River. There were a lot of tourists even in the month of January and the staff told us that they were taking in more than their average number of guests for the tour. No wonder the long wait.
It was a twenty-minute boat ride to the river. The shores of the that edge of St. Paul mountain was really breathtaking, made us think that we were on paradise. The mountain by the way was named after St. Paul since it was shaped like St. Paul sleeping on his back. The curves of the mountain top really resemble human features.
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| St. Paul Mountain shores |
The place was crowded. It was a mistake that we did not eat lunch first. We just amused ourselves with the exotic animals scattered and freely wandering around the park. They were harmless but beware of the monkeys. It was not allowed to feed them nor show them a plastic bag since they would think that it has food in it and would grab it from you.
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| A celebrity monkey |
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| A very large bayawak |
After more than an hour of waiting, to change scenery, we were brought to the entrance of the cave. It was marvelous! The river was a crystal clear aqua blue and was so clean. Being from Manila, you could really admire the river's unspoiled quality.
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| River edge |
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| Entrance to the cave |
With so long a queue, it was already 3:00 p.m. when we were able to get in the cave. We were on a large boat which could seat ten people. Other boats could only seat eight.
It was so dark inside and a bit cold. Only soft spot lights held by people seated at the front end of the boat lights the cave so you would be able to see the stalactite and stalagmites. The Underground River extends to 4 km but only a very small portion of this was being traveled in the tour. The guide told us that to access the other areas, special permits are required. Most of the people who navigate those areas are usually scientists who study the lime stones and the cave.
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| Spotlight |
The formations inside the cave were formed for hundreds of years. The stones were in different shapes and textures. And the guide had stories and jokes while we cruised the river. It took us 45 minutes to get in and out of the cave. Though it was just a short tour, I could say that it was well worth it. Just imagine that you would be able to touch stones hundreds of years old! Also, it would be a pride to say that you were able to see one of the world's best seven wonders of nature.
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| Cross etched by Spanish priests during Spanish regime |
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| A lime stone formation which looked like the face of Christ |
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| Cave entrance/exit |
We had our lunch back at Sabang Beach at 4:00 p.m. and was able to return to the city at 6:00 p.m. We had dinner at Shakey's (yes, there was one there) and had our one-hour aromatic hilot-massage at Hotel Centro which was also included in the Metrodeal voucher. It was very relaxing and soothed our tired body.
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