Palawan
Day 11 of 24Cue: Ocean Floors by Headphone Activists
That song perfectly played as I got off the plane.
The plane trip from Cebu to Palawan was fast AF! Plane rides are so much better than boat travel. Then when you have to walk down stairs from the airplane and walk to the gate, it always makes you feel like you're important. The air was fresh and the place is very clean.
We were warmly greeted by Father Art who is our gracious host in this beautiful place! He got us a van with a driver and a tour guide. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Jolibee and we met up at his Cathedral where he introduced us to the Bishop.
Then we were off.... from the airport to the Underwater Cave, it's about a 2 hour drive, but our driver made it an hour and a half trip. After waking up at 2 in the morning to make a 4 AM flight, you would think I would sleep in the van.Nope.Our driver was so intense and the road to our destination is not easy to navigate. The ride literally felt like a children's rollercoaster ride. You know... the kind that doesn't have loops or spins, just a lot of fast curves that whip you around and you feel like you're going to have whip lash at the end of the ride. That's how it was for an hour and a half.... one hour and thirty minutes we were sloshing around in the van. I sat in the first row - right in the middle - so if we crashed, I would have been the first one to fly out. But like the rest of my near death experiences here so far, I survived. He really was a good driver though, he just drove fast af (taking curves at 40-50 mph) and he didn't GAF about how his passengers would fair out. I noticed that Filipinos honk their horns not because their pissed at drivers, they honk their horns at people on the road to let them know they are blazing down the street, so you better get the F out of the way!! Our driver honked a lot.We got to Puerto Princesa. Another beautiful beach but with a mountainous view. The back drop reminded me of that one scene in Moana were Te Fiti is laying down and I was just waiting for her to awaken from her nap.Our driver dropped us off at the pumboat docking station, it was a pretty touristy area. The streets were lined with souvenir shops and little huts trying to entice you with their fresh fruit shakes. The pumboat took us across the Listerine green/blue water to another beach that was home to the 7th Natural Wonder of the World, an underwater cave.
After the that excursion, Sistine, Miyake and I went down the zip line. Just getting there felt like an adventure on its own. We road a Jeep, similar to what you would take on a tour at Jurrasic Park. The road was bumpy and the scenery looked like Jurrasic Park. Then we walked across the beach to the small mountain that the zip line started from. Once we got there, it was over 600 steps to the top. Yes, all that trouble was worth it. The views were breathtaking.
We got back to the city and had dinner at Baywalk Palawan, which is basically their version of a boardwalk. We ate at this restaurant that had the freshest seafood that you can pick from and they cook it on the spot. It was so fresh, all the items had been fished that morning and the crustaceans were still alive. Man, best meal I've had so far.
One of my career goals is to be able to run my businesses from any beach around the world. I need to hurry up and make that happen already.
First of all, Happy Mother's Day to my Momma! Mother Joy is basically everyone's Mom and she will always treat you as if you're her child. Love you Mom!So today was another lazy day. I really shouldn't get use to this because I have no one to cook, clean or do my laundry for me when I get back home... but might as well enjoy it while I can right?We went to the mall today for last minute stuff for our next destination. We'll be leaving for Palawan in the morning. I can't wait to be surrounded by nothing but water, blue skies and palm trees... again.SM (one of the malls close by) really is a special place.. haha. Seriously, that place has EVERYTHING. Of course it was super packed because it was Mother's Day. They had special entertainment on 2 sides of the mall. One side had some sort of Bratz show going on for the kids and the other side had a live band, entertainment for the adults I guess. I didn't get a pic of the kid's entertainment.
We had dinner at Majestic, that place never fails especially when you're hungry affff. Then halo-halo at Gerry's Grill... was not a fan.
Happy Mother's Day to all the loving mothers I know!
Election is on Monday, so Saturday was the last ditch effort for candidates to campaign and promote themselves. There was a parade going on with a loud marching band and a truck driving around screaming who knows what. It was an active day yesterday.
Later that night, my dad arranged plans for us to have dinner at his cousin's restaurant in Lapu-Lapu. It was a cute restaurant / bar that has live music every night. The performer they have is really talented. He played everything in acoustic. I always find it amusing how Filipino accents disappear once they start singing a song in English. Of course, my musically inclined family got in on the action too (really just BJ and Dad). It was a fun evening of food, drinks, music and of course family.
