That
night, Eric told me that we had to get up early the following day for we were
about to visit the famed Puerto Princesa Underground River. He admitted though that he has not yet
visited the place and he was likewise excited.
The
next day, we woke up late. It was
already past 6am and we had to hurry because the jeepney bound to the
Underground River would leave soon. We
hurriedly finished our breakfast and rode towards the jeepney station.
It
was nearly 7am when we arrived to the jeepney station. We learned that there are two daily trips to
Sabang (where the Underground River is located) and we were just on time for
the first trip. I was amused how their
jeepney looked like. It is not your
common type of jeepney. It is oversized
and a bit like close to a mini-bus. The
jeepney is custom built in order to withstand the rough road.
When
we got to the station, we waited for a friend of Eric who would like to tag
along. The family of Eric's friend is
maintaining a commercial place for tourists in Sabang. If ever we will be stranded there, at least,
we need not worry about our place of stay.
Since it were quite late when we arrived at the jeepney station, there
was no room inside the vehicle. But
there are plenty of spaces available at the roof of the jeepney. Haha.
This would be my first top ride ever and it would be fun.
It
was quarter to 8 when we left the station and the sun was in high spirit. The three of us, together with other
passengers, were conveniently seated on the roof of the jeepney. We had the full view of the entire stretch of
the trip. Though the sun was shining
brightly and sunburn cannot be avoided, on my end, it was one hell of an
experience and I did not mind at all getting burned. The cool wind all throughout the trip provided
a good remedy from the heat of the sun but not to shield us from getting
burned.
The
experience of the ride was superb. My
eyes feasted on anything and everything I could see. Lagoon, sea, mountains, trees, people,
plants, road, sky - there were so many of them which make the whole trip an
enjoyable and exciting one. There's this
portion where big and high trees cover the road. It was both refreshing and delightful. Since it was summer, the songs of cicadas
were everywhere. Actually, it was the
mating season of the cicadas. And right
after those abundant tall trees lining the side of the road, mountains of
limestone begin to appear. That is the
cue that we were nearing the underground river.
I do not know if my analogy is right but I guess those mountains of
limestone are part of the whole stretch of the underground river where some
parts of this river are still to be explored.
After
more than two hours of exciting top ride, we arrived at Sabang port. We dropped by first at the place of Eric's
friend before we secured our permit. The
friend of Eric told us that the underground river is actually accessible
through a terrain but is somewhat a bit difficult. Since we had a limited time, taking a boat
ride will get us to the underground river faster.
Upon
registration, we rented a boat for 800 pesos for the three of us plus the two
boatmen. A tour guide approached us and
asked us if it is possible for his group of tourists could join in our boat. The boat can actually accommodate 15 people
but we politely declined because we might stay longer or we might leave earlier
and we don't want to have some issues with other people regarding our own
itinerary.
The
weather was perfect and the sea was calm that particular day. We had a smooth sailing experience towards
the underground river. While nearing the
site of the underground river, we saw that there were so many boats lining the
whole stretch of the shoreline. It was
almost 11am when we got there and the sight of the boats means only one thing,
there were already so many tourists who came early that day and the whole place
could be busy one. Actually, while we
were still sailing, we happened to see two boats already leaving the place.
I
got more excited upon touched down on the shoreline of the site of the
underground river. I was wondering what
the underground river looked like since I was not seeing a mouth of the river
connecting to the sea. The area where we
landed is already near a limestone wall.
I found out later on that the one I was looking for is located somewhere
far on the opposite end of the shoreline.
And after some photo ops with the signage of the place, we followed the
trail towards the underground river.
We
were just several steps after passing the signage when a woman suddenly
screamed. The sandwich she was holding
was snatched away from her. The culprit
was the long-tailed macaque with a baby firmly holding unto her belly. Seconds after that, we all laughed at the
situation we had witnessed. The ranger
on duty explained that monkeys freely roam the place and they usually snatch
anything that pleases them, especially food and drinks. Though I took a couple of hurried shots of
the monkeys thinking all along that they are just there to stay, upon our
return they were already gone. The
ranger told us that the monkeys are usually around during the morning and they
would return to the trees by afternoon.
Anyway,
we followed other tourists who were also heading towards the underground
river. There's a wooden platform that
serves as a trail so that visitors will easily find their way. The whole place is a lush green environment
and nature is protected and untouched.
And give or take 3 minutes, we already had our glimpsed of the mouth of
the underground river and approaching the holding area for visitors.
top ride to Sabang
Sabang, Puerto Princesa
ride to Underground River
towards the Underground River
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