Exploring Philippines 139 - Palawan (Post 6 - Puerto Princesa Underground River)

When we got to the holding area, there were already several visitors who were waiting for their turn to ride the boat towards the underground river.  Given the heavy turnout of visitors that time, I was expecting that we will be waiting for some time before our turn to ride a boat.  Since it was almost noon, we were glad to see that the queue was short and the turnaround time was fast.  And after a couple of boats returning to the holding area, it was now our turn to explore the underground river.

As part of the protocol, each visitor to the underground river is required to wear a life best and a helmet.  A life vest is a must because the water inside and outside the underground river is quite deep and even if its water is still, accidents could happen anytime.  Since the maximum number of passengers per boat is 11 including the guide and not all visitors to the site know how to swim, the life guard/guide may find some trouble rescuing everyone in case the boat will capsize.  And it is always my big dilemma because I use to bring my camera with me and I don’t know how to swim.  Haha.  On the other hand, a helmet is also part of the protection because some stones may fall along the exploration process although according to our guide is a remote possibility.  In most cases, the helmet proves to be useful because there are droplets of water along the way and some droppings of cave bats could not be avoided also.  Lastly, we were advised to stay still while being seated because it will not be a welcome experience to plunge into the water of the underground river and have our cameras damaged.

Just a piece of advice to those who wanted to have good pictures of the underground river.  As much as possible, occupy the front of the boat for you will be trusted with the large flashlight.  Once you control the light, you’ll dictate what part of the cave will be illuminated and the rest of your group will be at your mercy when it comes to taking pictures.

The sun was shining brightly and the fresh water outside the cave was in slumber.  At our end in the docking station, the water that’s about knee high was crystal.  A couple of meters away from our post, the water had this shade of blue from the lightest to vibrant.  It is a clear indication that the area around the cave and most probably inside the cave is several meters deep.

The moment our guide/boatman started to paddle towards the cave, there was this air of excitement for all of us.  As we came nearer the cave, the mouth of the cave was like that of a giant beast with all those hanging sharp limestone acting like its teeth.  The anticipation of what lies inside the cave and the pride that we were actually there to experience something wonderful could not be contained in one’s self.  What seemed to be whispers among the total strangers riding in that boat became a sharing and storytelling process the moment we entered the mouth of the underground river.

After several paddling of our guide/boatman, we were slowly engulfed by darkness.  The light of day was slowly fading as we move towards the inner park of the cave.  The only sources of light within the darkness of the cave came from the flashlights of our groups of tourists and from our own flashlight as well as the occasional flashes from our respective cameras.

When we were already inside the cave, some of our colleagues were alarmed because there were flying creatures around.  Their initial reaction was to name the flying creatures as bats but they were corrected by our guide/boatman.  The guide/boatman educated us that the bats are nocturnal and since it was high noon, the bats were resting and comfortably hanging around the walls of the cave and we happened to see some of them.  The flying creatures were swiftlets and they also nest inside the cave.  The nest of the swiftlets is made from their own saliva which is harvested by the locals and sell them to traders which in turn becomes the nido soup.  Since the underground river is a protected site, no one is allowed to climb its walls and gather the nests of the swiftlets.

As we gazed around, looking from left to right, up and front, there are portions in the cave where droplets of water could be felt.  That’s where the helmet becomes useful.  We were also advised not to open wide our mouth especially if we were looking up because we might swallow not the droplets of water but the guano of bats.  Actually, there’s this distinct smell inside the cave mostly coming from bat droppings.

The moment the cave is illuminated, different stone formations could be seen.  The locals name some of them as the holy family, the naked lady, the cathedral, the inverted cabbage, and the mrt line.  The mrt line moniker is a bit funny and it signals the end of the inner part of the cave where tourists are allowed to explore.  That particular portion of the cave signals the boatman to turn around and head towards the mouth of the cave.

The whole trip inside the cave is 30 minutes more or less.  The moment we were a couple of meters before the mouth of the cave on our way out, there were several large salt water fishes that were enjoying the serenity of the place and it is like a paradise to them because they are not threatened in that area.  I do not know how deep the water at the mouth of the cave but the very sight of its blue color suggests that it could be deeper than you think.

After our trip inside the underground river, we spent some time within the perimeter of the cave taking pictures and spending some idle time.  Later on, we encountered a school of small fish within the shallow part of the river.  I was told that the fresh water of the underground river is actually connected to the sea which is just a stone’s throw away from our location.  Thus, the undisturbed water outside the underground river makes a perfect hatching ground for salt water fishes.

When we had our fill of the cool and lazy atmosphere within the perimeter of the underground river, we then head towards the ranger station.  The ranger station is located several meters away from the boats docking station and within the heart of the protected area of the underground river.  I was actually hoping to see the monkeys that we happened to meet earlier that day.  But according to a ranger, the monkeys are only visiting the area during the morning and they would return to the trees by noontime until the rest of the day. 

Though the monkeys were gone, we had an unexpected encounter with wild monitor lizards.  There were several huge monitor lizards roving around the area and they are also protected.  I only happened to see monitor lizards in the zoo but in the protected grounds of the underground river, they are free to roam around.  There was even one visitor that commented that such huge monitor lizards would be a welcome exotic delicacy in their place especially during their drinking session.

On our way back to Sabang proper, we happened to see a sea turtle swimming into the surface of the sea.  I asked our boatmen if we can slow down or even perhaps stop for some minutes to at least watch the sea turtle but one of them commented that the sea turtle will not stay on the surface for long.  True enough, upon inhaling enough air, the sea turtle dived again.

It was almost 12:30pm when we returned to Sabang proper.  Actually I was hoping for another trip towards the nearby falls which is 1.8km away.  Since it would be a long hike towards the falls and the return trip of jeepneys to the town of Puerto Princesa are scheduled at 1pm and 2pm respectively, we just ate our lunch and waited for the first trip in going home.