Gone from a Zest Air Flight
“Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan (Please click for the official site of the Province) stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres (280 mi) long, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide.” (Source: Wikipedia)
Me, Mona and Chiqui (She never gave that window seat..Huhu )
Palawan is a one long-stretched Island surrounded by bodies of water & some smaller isles ( The Calamianes Group of Islands, to the northeast consists of Busuanga Island, Culion Island, and Coron Island) located on the southwestern region of the country. Its just one of the many wonderful places I’ve been.
on the highway: Walkathon and some phototakes on Souvenir shops
Together with my friendly office colleagues (Mona, Chiqui, Ms. Susan, Jeanette, etc), we visited the island on a cold (and drizzly) monsoon. That season was a bit too rainy so I think it is just necessary for us to bring waterproofs, thick jackets and towelettes to keep us warm, a lot of sunshine in our pockets, and a tight camaraderie to keep us bounded all-together.
taking a good rest @ Moana Hotel
The first night in Moana Hotel is all good. Our room is clean, tidy and screened from the outside; maybe because of the mosquitoes which gave the impression of a malaria scare to tourists some time ago (you never have to worry if you bought loads of insect repellants). They didn’t serve the food, but all I can say is that it is worth the money that we paid for~ the service, the ambiance of the hotel and the complimentary pool use which we all enjoyed on the very first night of our Barkada excursion.
Inside Moana Hotel
Waiting for our tour to start: Inside the Moana Hotel
Hitting on some delicious food before taking our sea adventure.. *IKR*
wet wet wet: Been hit by the rain prior our Honday bay & Underground River tour
…and off we go!
1st day in Palawan: we go fixing ourselves early that morning to explore and visit the infamous “Underground River” (which is included to the New 7 wonders of the world by a swiss-based foundation under the same name), hitting the Honda Bay boat tour & snorkeling around snake island (named after the elongated curvy formation 
of the island when low tide, disappearing during high tide) which gave us a unique and a splendid time hanging out on the sea, feeding the colorful fishes, having a sumptuous lunch under a hut near the shore and an hour or 2 of beach-bumming.
Excited to see the stalagmites and stalactites of the Underground Cave
Group shot. The very beautiful Underground Cave!
Nearly going through the cave, HiGH TIDE!!!
Approaching the magnificence of the Underground Cave
Wild bats inside the Underground Cave
that long-hauled trail: an alternative way to go back to the other side of the Island
Should we go chasing that Monkey trail?
Ms. Susan, Jeanette, Me, Mona, Glaiza, our Tour guide, Bham and Denesse
Snorkeling along Snake Island, Honda Bay
Coconut and the Starfish: Photo courtesy of Denesse Lopez
a version of their mini bahay-kubo (Leaf-hut) restroom: in the Snake Island
Lunch Break after our Honday Bay Boat trip ***somewhere near Snake Island***
Greyish cloud & our motorboat
who wants to go inside a Crocodile farm? Me!
We also paid a visit to the Crocodile farm & Nature Park governed by Palawan’s Wildlife & conservation center that houses hundreds of crocodiles, big crocodylus porosus fossils, feral turtles, other wild animals and a big venue, CROC HATCHERY!!!
Thats how they keep themselves warm
They dont want to hold it, their connivance worked! **though this was less creepy than the big ones**
Scary teeth of a Monster Croc
Logo of the Croc Restaurant
To add, we are also fortunate to witness and be a part of their Baragatan Festival (one of the grandest celebrations of place commemorating the founding of the Civil Government of Palawan. From the Cuyuno word (a predominant local tongue of Puerto Princesa City ) “bagat”, which means convergence of people coming together from various municipalities bringing their songs, dances and music and present all these aspects of life through cultural presentation, trade shows, exhibitions, float parade and street dancing. We also had our evening biking activity at one close-circuited boulevard of city.
Baragatan Festival
Evening Cycling Activity in a Boulevard *10.00php each*
2nd day of Palawan: We kicked start our trip by dropping-by at Iwahig penal and prison farm ( A big open prison camp that gave a free place for recreational activities such as souvenir-making like key chains, woodworks, mugs and other novelty items for its prisoners and their respective families having a visit and some stay-ins).
Group Shot inside the Ihawig Penal and Prison Farm
Banig Makeover with Glaiza, Mona, Ms. Susan and Mona
Shopping; Inside Ihawig’s Souvenir Shop
Baker’s hill delights: photostops & for some local delicacies
I just wondered how in the world they’ll call a place like this~ where it is so tranquil, where the people are so light-hearted, peaceful and quite, and very welcoming. After a quick break and hours of souvenir shopping, we quickly head our way to Baker’s Hill to have some great local delicacies and as well as pasalubongs, which are too many to choose from. There we stopped to have some photos beside life-sized Disney Characters, pirates and mermaids 
as well as to enjoy the scenery. After an exhausting time inside the van, we pulled a time at Itoy’s coffee shop to take some pleasure on their macchiato and frappes. A better finale on capping our day ~ dinner at a “dampa”!!! With their selection of seafood, local noodle dishes, pork sisig and other delightful dishes lining up on our table.
Disney-ed photostop: Inside the Baker’s Hill
The Pasalubong Venue: Inside the Baker’s Hill
Wootwoot!!! Jumping and rolling on beside a Manor. Nonstop Jumpshot photos…
Coffee run @ Itoy’s Coffee house
Seafood dinner treat!!! YeY!
fun time with the Barkada while having our dinner
Seafood dinner @ a dampa
3rd& last final day: We are completely overwhelmed by our almost 3day-trip in the island of Palawan and like every vacation we’ve had, we must bid our good bye to this island and to its people who have been so friendly and hospitable.
Its a rainy season indeed. A view from a mountain Deck.
It is just to strange to have that bright yellow sun drowning in the sky. Nevertheless our barkada trip ended so well. The smutty weather didn’t stop us from enjoying the place and reasonably giving ourselves such a great time. Thank you to our dear Palawenos! You are all so nice to us. Puerto Princesa city gave us a wonderful vacation, a truly memorable outing that gave us some memories that are so amazing. Hopefully, we can do it again, and we are looking forward to go somewhere in El Nido, discover every inch of Palawan too and as well as to have another splendid time hanging by the beach, having a closer look of its nature, dipping in its crystal blue waters and ultimately having our breathtaking experience and appreciation for the archipelagos’ Last frontier. #goodLIFE
Waiting for our flight going back to Manila. *boring*
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