okay. it’s been two weeks since i got back from my palawan trip [feb. 16-21, 2008]. i still haven’t blogged about it. it’s not because i don’t want to,  i just don’t have much time in my hands.  anyhow, i’ll just do this little preview thing – hehe, this way my college friends won’t kill me for not posting the pix as promised… you guys holler if you chance upon this [p.s. - ivz, i brought you some sand as promised, but darn i misplaced it. i still have to look for my little pouch. you see, i rushed from the airport to work, my mother did the unpacking of my bags and she couldn't remember where she placed the little bag containing the sand, darn!]

mayor hagedorn welcomes new arrivals

rizal avenue – puerto princesa’s main road [from the airport]

souvenir shop along rizal avenue [there are around 5 or so souvenir shops in along this road]

palawan provincial capitol

feb. 16 – 1st stop: palawan butterfly garden

this butterfy loves me

2nd stop: crocodile farm and nature park

3rd stop: rancho monica – the view from sen. mitra’s[+] house

4th stop: baker’s hill – one neat cr they have at baker’s hill

ahh, stomach upset

back in puerto princesa; the provincial capitol at night

feb. 17; beach by the gas station @ roxas – end of the 3-hour smooth road… a gruelling 3-hour travel follows

roxas stop: our rented van.. behind the van is the beach above

ahhhh spectacular sight - beachfront – view from our resort – this more than compensate the 3-hour bumpy ride [or the 6-hour trip]

hut 10; greenviews resort – corong-corong, el nido palawan

view of el nido beach

famed rock of el nido beach [5-7 minutes away by van from our resort]

el nido town

after lunch; view from the resort’s restaurant

another view from the restaurant

el nido town hall at night

dinner at balay tubay; cheap good food – loved their mashed potato [ a little place with the now defunct "kahayag" feel to it

balay tubay interior

feb 18; low tide in its truest sense [two of the motorized bancas in the pix were the ones we used for our whole day island hopping]

crystal clear water; vetlongwalks goes island hopping

1st stop: cudugnon cave

the beach outside the cave

moi and al – on to our next stop

2nd stop: snake island [el nido's version; there's a bigger one in puerto princesa at honda bay if i'm not mistaken] [view from the mountain]

3rd stop: pangalusian island

corals – view from the banca, hehe, don’t know how to snorkel

amazing boulders… you’ll see lots of this – makes you think there really is a supreme being who created this

lunch stop: south miniloc island.. them foeigners stopped for lunch too

4th stop: the secret lagoon – to get here you’ve to do a 3-5 minute walk in knee-length wavy waters and then climb up to a small whole

5th stop: the big lagoon

last stop; entrance to the small lagoon where i dared not venture [hehe, it's only 4 feet deep, but water past my waistline scares me to death]

feb 19; before going away pix

van stucked in the mud [3 hours of bad road; worst when it's raining as in this case]

lunch stop; roxas - end of the 3-hour rough road

vietville – the last vietnamese village in palawan

feb 20. underground river tour [official name of the underground river; changed to one below in order to meet the requirement of UNESCO - that is, a natural wonder should bear the name of the place where it's located]

boat station in sabang. the bancas will take tourists to the underground river [first come - first serve basis]

on our way to the underground river

mushroom stalactite

hehehe, camwhoring at the underground river [my sister's officemate paying close attention to the boatman as he explained the sights in the cave]

the light; end of the underground river tour

the satisfied crew after the 45-minute tour

lunch at sabang’s tribal restaurant after the tour

buenavista view deck [this dude here is a backpacker extraordinnaire!! - story soon]

dinner at the famed ka lui restaurant [really strict reservation policy; advance warning - not for those who will not take off their slippers and shoes - the resto has squeaky clean - shiny wooden floorings]

moi in one of the souvenir shops at rizal avenue on our last night in puerto princesa – shops are located beside ka lui’s]

feb 21.: packed and ready to be back in cebu [waiting for the apartelle's van to take us to the airport]

leaving puerto princesa. the end of my palawan trip

this last pix says it all – one satisfied vacationer

minus the rough roads, the whole trip is the best i’ve had..

===

[yes, miss deb - i recommend palawan, but i don't think the kids would enjoy the long-hour drive to el nido and other nice places.]

enjoy palawan!!! will find time to write about the details of the trip so you out there who is planning on a trip will have an idea of what to expect. but be warned, i’m no professional.