Our Palawan escapade started last Tuesday. We left Manila on the first flight to Puerto Princesa at around 8:00 a.m. This meant being at the airport at 6:00 a.m., which meant getting up at 4:00 a.m. and leaving the house at 5:15 a.m.
We managed to grab a light breakfast at the airport but ended up still hungry by the time we boarded the plane.
We arrived at Puerto Princesa at a little past 9:00 a.m. Our "
sundo" was already waiting by the baggage area. We were to be whisked off to San Vicente around 3 hours or 190 kilometers from the city. Its a good thing that the driver had to drop some things off somewhere so that left us a good hour and a half to rest. We asked to be dropped of at the
Asturias Hotel so we could freshen up, eat, and confirm our reservation for the rest of the trip after our San Vicente sojourn.
Being really hungry, I ordered what any hungry Pinoy would love for breakfast. Daing. I love the daing from Palawan. Its not too salty. And there is no fishy taste. Those were 2 eggs, btw. I was that hungry.
After our quick meal, our "sundo" was back to take us to San Vicente. The first leg of our journey.
The northernmost part of Palawan that I've ever visited is Puerto Princesa. We were always going south back in the day so this trip was truly an adventure for me.
The ride was mostly bumpy. For those who are "maselan" this is not for you. More than half the way was dirt road. There were also several kilometers of mountain road..zigzagging like crazy. And yes..they were dirt roads too. Add to that a driver who thinks he's competing in the Dakar rally and who doesn't know the meaning of the word "menor" made for an impossibly horrific ride.
However, the scene that would meet us was more than enough to make up for the horrendous ride.
Our host was the mayor of San Vicente, Antonio Gonzalez, and he booked us at the uber exclusive Caparii resort. It is situated in a private cove and the owners made sure that they maintained the natural beauty of the place. The resort used to be a dive camp. After its run as a dive camp, it was transformed into a private retreat by the owners. From what I heard, you had to be invited to be able to spend a night there. Lately, though, they have been taking in a few walk-in patrons at 4000 bucks a night per person. Pretty steep but once you're there, you'll understand why.
San Vicente is at the cusp of being hailed as the newest and freshest alternative to Boracay. They have a 14 kilometer beach with sands as fine and as white as Boracay. This beach is called "Long Beach" and is reputedly the longest stretch of beach in the Philippines. Several big investors have already started buying up property and an international airport is now being built just 10 minutes away from the beach.
Personally, I would prefer that it remain rustic. Maybe a few inns, small hotels, and restaurants will do. But nothing as fancy and as chi-chi as those in Boracay. The charm and the beauty of San Vicente is its untouched ambience. To ruin it with commercialism is just wrong. I really hope our tourism officials can do something to prevent the destruction of this paradise.
On our 2nd and last day, we were toured by our hosts around the baranggay. We visited a quaint fishing village where humoungous 5-kg. fishes were selling for Php 80 only!! And they were already supposed to be expensive at that price. They say that on good days, you can get those fishes for 20 bucks each. Can you believe that?!?
We also saw the future marina that will be built by the owner of
Big Foot Productions. He had his 3 yachts docked there. This fellow is a big fan of San Vicente and already owns several islands and huge tracts of land there.
Just before heading back to the resort for lunch, our host brought us to what is known as "Overlooking" or the highest point in San Vicente. From here you can see the entire "Long Beach" and its neighboring islands. This is also the future site of a lighthouse to be built by the owner of Big Foot, again.
After a delicious seafood lunch, we were back on the road for another 3 hour harrowing ride back to Puerto Princesa. When we arrived back at the hotel, all we wanted to do was sleep.
Evil Sisters concocting "poison" 
