Palawan Trip 3

July 28, a Saturday. The rains continue to pour in almost all parts of the country including here in Puerto Princesa.
I woke up early and eat my "Filipino" breakfast at the Tanglaw Restaurant at the lobby of the Legend Palawan hotel.
This is in great preparation for the trip to the now famous Puerto Princesa Underground River or #PPUR.
From the hotel, the group had to travel some two hours to barangay Sabang passed scenic hills, towering mountains, creeks, green lush countryside in a slightly zig-zag paved roads.
Halfway to Sabang, the van stopped at Taratitat's, a souvenir shop that sells food, wood carvings, all sizes of rainmakers, tshirts, slippers, and all sorts of things for "pasalubong".
We had fun with the cameras--nobody was shy, shooting galore in all possible poses.
We arrived at Sabang and the rains kept pouring and the seas were a bit rough.
We ate our packed good at the car and waited for for almost 2 hours because going to the PPUR is on a first come first serve basis.
Aside from us, There were about 600 foreign and local tourists waiting for our motorboat rides to the PPUR.
We bought colorful plastic raincoats at P15 each to protect us from the rains and from the splashing ocean waves.
While waiting, we amused ourselves with taking photos and sharing stories and laughter.
According to one boat owner, there are only 250 of them in the area that operate those motorized boats from Sabang Port to the PPUR and back at P750 per person for boat fare.
Louie, Mayda, Elvie, Lindy and me were on boat number 24. The seas were still rough but the tour was not cancelled so we braved the waves and wet weather as we rode thru passed huge boulders, craggy hills and white beaches.
"So these are the ones we see on poster photos of Palawan," I said to myself. It's a wonderful world!
My next blog will be the entry to the underground river. See you there...

Palawan Trip 2

On our first night in Palawan, the PIA-7 and MIMAROPA team was included in a dinner with Puerto Princesa mayor Edward Hagedorn hosted by the city to notable visitors that have arranged the visit with the city tourism office.
It was a big event with over 100 foreign and local tourists.
The dinner is a way of welcoming visitors and promoting Palawan.
Audio visual and PowerPoint presentations were so informative and well-thought of. Hagedorn's presentations, we were told are his own. He himself selects the information, photos and prepares the PowerPoint.
Mayor Hagedorn was very spontaneous and candid in all his presentations but one thing was very clear, he was a staunch environmentalist that he has managed and sustained the environmental protection and development of Palawan.
Hagedorn said, at the early stages of his leadership, it was hard to persuade people to care for the environment .
Palawan then reeled with problems on muro-ami, illegal logging, kaingin, waste disposal and poverty.
By sheer determination and wide community involvement, he was able to reverse the situation. He encouraged barangays to clean and keep stock of their surroundings.
He was very strict in enforcing environmental laws, Palawan is the first province in the country to craft its own environmental laws.
Palawan is a hall of famer in the cleanest and greenest contest in the country and it is also adjudged as the only province in the world with zero carbon footprints, safest place to live according to scientists that monitor the environmental health of a place.
Listening to the mayor, I thought if all mayors in the country are like him , the PHL would be a safer, greener, cleaner and more peaceful place to live.
There will be more blogs related to my Palawan trip experiences. Until my next blog.

Palawan Trip 1

The PIA-7 team arrived in Puerto Princesa on July 27 on a Cebu Pacific flight-227 @ 12:10 p.m.
At the Puerto Princesa airport we were like confused but happy children on their very first out-of-town trip.
I didn't realized that Puerto Princesa a airport is very small, too small for a province that caters to over 4T tourists daily.
Puerto Princesa mayor Edward Hagedorn said from 2 flights/day, it now has 22 flights; Zest air, Cebu Pacific & AirPhil.
Hotel transfers are ready to take their guests--Legend Palawan vans rolled us to the hotel where we would be staying until July 31.
The team arrived at Legend Palawan and was met with a welcome drink.
Cheers! The team toasted to wonderful possibilities and beautiful events to come!
The Mid-year Program Review & Joint Staff Dev Training Workshop was to start at 2pm at the Busuanga hall with the MIMAROPA region & Region 7 staff--25 of us.
The first activity was a workshop on "The Future You Choose." Participants were divided according to their plantilla items; Managers, writers, admin, AVTech, others.
Part of the workshop is for them to answer the questions (a) What is your future with PIA based on your item & as you are.
The 2nd activity was for them to create a regional organizational staff complement based on their respective choices, existing manpower & future considerations as well as their choice of a regional director.
The next workshop was goal setting and management based on the "One Minute Manager" concept.
I gave inputs on the "Power of Our Amazing Brain."
According to studies the brain control 5% of the conscious mind while 95% is controlled by the sub-conscious and we have 70T thoughts daily.
We capped the first day in Palawan with good night's sleep and a relaxing massage.

Siquijor, a shimmering Island

I always love to come back to Siquijor Island because there's something eerie, healthy, fresh and healing about the island.
According to stories of old, when the Spaniards came to the island they saw it glowing & so they called it "Isla del Fuego" or Island of Fire.
Some though believed that the island glowed with fireflies that swarmed the place because of its mangrove trees all over the island.
Siquijor is composed of six towns, Siquijor, Larena, San Juan, Enrique Villanueva, Maria & Lazi with Siquijor town as the capital.
It has white sandy beaches in San Juan, Maria & in Enrique Villanueva.
It's flora changes in color as seasons change.
During summer, it's trees turn gold, red, greenest green and golden brown and Its cloudless skies are so blue.
In 1994-1996, I spent my time there as manager of a provincial information center.
I took every opportunity to explore the island. I've done spelunking of about
15 caves. There are over 48 caves in Siquijor.
Spent time swimming, listlessly walking, & scouring the beaches and shorelines of the island looking for seashells and finding myself.
I have captured the sunrise, sunset, seasons, people, and lifestyle of Siquijor in my canvass and through my lenses.
I had stared for hours end the glittering night skies of Larena when the stars came out from dusk to wee hours of morning.
I caught fireflies swirling in my room at the Siquijor State College campus where I used to stay.
Slept through the lulling sound of the ocean and the fishermen's shrill as they caught fish at late dusk.
The underwater world of the Island is equally a wonder!
Colorful fishes, corals, seaweeds and shells abound in Siquijor.
I remember dolphins, baby dolphins swimming with the banca that brought me to Dumaguete early dawn .
My memories of Siquijor were vivid and it was in this Island that I found my peace, my life, my serendipity.
I will always call Siquijor, a shimmering Island!

Salagdoong Beach Resort, Maria Siquijor

I was here in 1995 and the beach was still pristine then. No structures but the natural contour of Salagdoong crags w mangroves on them.
Now, the place is developed into a resort run by the local government of Siquijor.
There are now buildings & cottages atop those craggy hills and on the beach shore itself.
The restaurant is privately owned & managed by a local business, food is available @ 7a.m. until probably 8p.m.
Bring some food & water with you just in case you arrive late in the evening.
With the present facilities, Salagdoong could be a profitable tourism potential if managed well.
Travelers want comfort, good food, & local hospitality at all times of their stay in the place.
What do you get, or what do you do while you are in Salagdoong?
The beach is ok but not spectacular . Maybe in the evening, you can catch fireflies--there were swarms of them 15 years ago! I'm not sure now.
It's quiet here. Nothing much you can do but swim, walk, run/jog, stare at the horizon ruminating.
If you the adventurous kind, this isn't your place!
If you are contemplative & living a complicated life, perhaps you need Salagdoong.
If you just want to spend sometime, say a few hours, okay come & swim relax & hit the road to another destination.
By the way, renting a motorcycle from Siquijor to Salagdoong will cost you P500-- local tourism approved rate.

Cancelled trip

I am earlier than my schedule because the 830am fastcraft for Tagbilaran City was cancelled.
I had to get another ticket from another fastcraft that leaves @ 9am.
Traveling in the PHL is still wanting in comforts & convenience. But we Filipinos are resilient that anything we do we consider it fun notwithstanding the inconvenience.
This is how the Weesam terminal looked @ 734am today!
The only cafe inside the terminal was also lethargic in its service this early...
I have corned beef, egg, rice & coffee for breakfast (even if I don't like corned beef) because I was really hungry. I'm a breakfast person, I become cranky if I can't eat breakfast.
Well, as they say make roses out of anything. (make roses out of corned beef?) LOL!

Apple Pie

My husband's own recipe for apple pie! Made of green apples, eggs, custard...