Excitedly awaiting for our boat to take us to the Underground river.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River was nominated for the “Seven Wonders of the New World.” In fact, it’s a finalist. And it has the right to be so. Its magnificence was awe-inspiring.  After traversing its stretch through paddled boat, one is left with awe and humility.  It truly deserves its place in the finals; and praises to our God who created it.

When we visited the Underground River last August, it wasn’t my first attempt to behold its beauty.  A couple of years ago, my friend Jem and I went to Palawan for a week-long vacation.  Of course, our trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the famous site.  We even went ahead and secured us a couple of permits to enter it.  But alas!  Increment weather got in our way.  We weren’t allowed to enter the cave.  And although we had fun that vacation, our trip wasn’t complete.

On our second trip, we were joined by my sister Joy and brother-in-law Neri.  This time we told ourselves, “We have to make it this time.  We just have to!”  And we did!  And oh!  It was so worth it.

The long wait is over. Our team at the mouth of the cave.

At the entrance of the cave stalactites protrude from the top forming a mouth with fangs.  Beyond it was darkness … utter darkness.  But still, it invoked a welcoming sense.  And so forward we entered into the inviting mouth armed with halogen light.  And the sight that greeted us was jaw-dropping.  As we slowly moved deeper and deeper into the cave our eyes feasted on unique, bizarre, and sometimes humorous shapes and figures of stalactites formed by thousand of years of droppings; a mixture of water sediments and guano.

These figures made me feel like I’m in a wax museum.  So it was kinda like a stalactite museum.  There were what looked like a giant mushroom, an old lady with a long hair, batman and others.  There was a statue which looked like a lady with her bare back and behind.  Our comical boatman called her ‘Sharon Stone.’  Very clever, huh?  But my favorite was a sculpture of a corn and below it a giant corn, which our hilarious boadman calls, ‘Corn and Capricorn’ (or Kapre-corn derived from a Filipino Folklore ‘kapre’ which was a giant.)

Get it?

During my stay in El Nido, Palawan, I have been blessed to meet some very interesting people. They were what I call “the characters that make up my El Nido story.” This post is about some of them.

Every morning I would have my coffee while walking along the beach. I, with my coffee, my friend Jem with her hot choco, would walk the stretch of the front beach, stopping once in a while to talk to locals & foreigners alike. Each & every morning, we would come across this group of kids playing beach soccer. What caught our attention is that everything was improvised. Those kids used an old worn-out volley ball instead of a soccer ball. They wore their rubber slippers instead of proper rubber shoes. They didn’t even have a goal; just invisible designated goals. But they didn’t mind; just enjoyed this sport they love the most.

We call him (the boy in yellow shirt) ‘Keme-Keme’ for that is what he would yell before the start of every game. He’s a goalie, and a good one at it, I should say. I asked him once what ‘keme-keme’ means.

“I don’t know ate,” he answered with a shrug & a shy smile on his face. “I just repeat what I saw on TV.” Good for him, I thought to myself.

One time their ball went so far it landed on the waters. So I went and pick it up. As I was walking towards them with the intention of returning their ball, they started chanting.

“Ate! Ate! Ate!” inviting me to join the game. They all had this hopeful look on their faces. Well … what’s a poor girl to do?

I obliged, of course. With my best effort, I kicked the ball with my toes. Big mistake! It was too painful I cringed in pain. They all rushed to me asking if I was okay. Then ‘Keme-Keme’ gave me a tip. He said I should hit the ball with the curve of my sole & not with my toes. Good tip … in retrospect. So, with a sigh, I kicked it one more time. I was successful (somehow) but it still hurts. I turned to him with accusing eyes.

“Doesn’t it hurt you?”

“It does … still,” he replied with a nod. “I just try not to think about it.” Actually, his words were … “Tinitiis ko lang ate.”

Awww … that’s dedication is you ask me.

I just wish that somehow someday, those kids would get the appropriate training they need to make it into the real league.

On my third visit to Subic Bay, our host took us again to Bat Kingdom to see the creatures of the night in action. But we arrived there late; the large portion of the population already flew to Zambalez for their nocturnal settlement. There were a few who were left behind, I guess sensing that visitors would arrive.

I tried to get some pictures of the bats to no avail. So we took pictures of ourselves instead. Now, please consider that it was already dark. Out watches told us it was almost seven. Plus, light from lamp posts were scarce and it was a cloudy night. No moon was in sight. It wasn’t pitch dark though, still, dark is dark. You feel creepy in the dark. Not to mention we’re in the domain of creatures associated with vampire characters.

Still, we were brave .. or so we thought.

One of us — I forgot who — took a picture of the group and then we left. As simple as that. No harm done. But seeing the picture with our own eyes is another story. Why? You might ask. Because creepiness took its toll.

On our back hanged a moon!

A perfectly arched full moon, with craters and all. And if one of us took the shot then that one should not be in the picture, right? But we were all there; all six of us. Now, if that isn’t spooky, then I don’t know what it is.

          Snorkeling was fun.  It’s engaging.  I’ve been at it for several hours without realizing my skin was already burned by the midday sun.  As soon as it was pointed out to me, I had to swum ashore & rest for a while.  That was when I realized I was already tired.  Pretty soon my friends joined me.

          That was when I noticed Mang Efren slowly making his way a few feet away from us.  His steps deliberate, his head bent down on the waters, his eyes focused on his target.  Then all of a sudden he stood still.  Now his eyes scanned the area as if searching for someone.

          What is he up to now?  I thought to myself.  Turning to my friend Jem, I saw that she was thinking the same thing.

          Then Mang Efren’s eyes locked on us.  Suddenly his eyes brightened.  He smiled, showing his toothless grin.  Apparently, we were the subject of his search.  He waved for us to come over.  With a shrug, we obliged.

          “What do you have there?” asked Jem.

          “Stone fish,” he answered proudly.

          We immediately turned to where he’s pointing at but saw nothing.  When we told him that, Mang Efren threw a small stone at it.  The fish darted away.  Jem & I tumbled backward.  And the fish settled once more on the seabed.

          It really looked like a stone; it was so deceiving.  Though not cute in appearance (like my Nemo), it certainly looked interesting.  But we were warned …

          “That stone fish is dangerous,” Mang Efren lectured.  I think his exact words were:  “If it bite you, it will die you.  Oh believe me!  I was bite before.  But I not die.  Only small stone fish.  But it was painful!  Oh very painful!  I cried!  I called out every member of my family.  Including the dead!”

          You have to understand, Mang Efren was already halfway drunk when it happened.  We brought along an almost full bottle of brandy on this trip.  We poured a glass of it over the pitcher of iced tea we shared during lunch.  When we came back for it in the afternoon the bottle was empty.  (That was why he wasn’t that shy to show us his toothless grin.)

          Mang Efren took a paring knife & aimed it at the fish.  He wanted revenge.  But every time he strike, the stone fish would dodge.  Interestingly — no, I take it back — stupidly, it never swam away.  It just moved around the area, dodging every attack his nemesis waved at it.  Until it couldn’t do it anymore.

          The sad ending to this story was … Mang Efren got his revenge.

          “Don’t worry, I not hit the heart.  Only stomach,” he said apologetically, like it would mean any difference to the poor stone fish.

          The lesson?

          If you were a feisty stone fish, never mess with a vengeful boatman.

Our trip took us to Bat Kingdom.  No, there were no king & queen bats with crowns.  But boy, was it a kingdom!  There were at least a hundred square meters of land with big trees.  I mean huge — gigantic even.  And there were supposed to be bats hanging there.

We climbed on  higher grounds so we can see the canopies of those giant trees.  At first I couldn’t see a single bat, my brother thinks I’m blind of something.

“There!  Up on the trees.  They’re hanging upside down,” he yelled.

“Where?  I’m straining my eyes for nothing,” came my reply.

Suddenly, there they are!  Flying in the air, wings & all.  I waited for them to settle down & when they did, I saw what Jhett was telling me.  They looked like dried leaves or fruits, thus so easy for me to overlook them.

And then they flew again, so many of them, like alien spaceships on the attack.  They’re so big!  Almost a meter long, wings spread, eyes bulged.  They’re so ugly & creepy, but they can surely fly, glide even, like eagles soaring high.

We were told that each & every night all the bats travel to Zambalez at 6:30, then come back here at 6:30 the following morning.  Every single day … on the dot … they never miss.  Now, isn’t that wonderful?

I’d say magical, even.

His excitement wasn’t mirrored in my face.  This was already the third stop on our island hopping trip.  We had snorkled in small lagoon, where I enjoyed a nice encounter with some lovely fishes & experienced a not-so-nice encounter with a fish that bites.  (still another story)  We just shared a sumptuous lunch on the boat.  I only wanted to lie down & sleep.  I was satisfied.

Or so I thought …

Approaching the island, Mang Efren made sure that we were anchored on the seabed, avoiding the corals.  The local government & people of El Nido were serious about eco-tourism.  Since everyone else got off, I did the same.  And I was instantly transformed!

Simezu turned out to be a haven for sea creatures of different species, colors & sizes!  With my goggles on, I saw clown fish, angel fish, dory fish, box fish, blue-colored anemones, starfish, & yes, even baby octopus.  I’m not familiar with the rest of them but they were all graceful & just downright beautiful!

I saw a transparent fish (I don’t know what it’s called but I saw its insides; just the spine, I didn’t see any intestines — that’s odd) slowly swimming to … wherever.  And then there was this shiny black eel quickly gliding away, leaving behind a trail of sand on the seabed.  The entire coral reef looked life a bustling metropolis with all the underwater activities.

But what attracted me most was a particular clown fish which I named Nemo. (Original, huh?)  It wasn’t adult yet, atleast I don’t think so.  It was so small & curious yet cautious.  It stayed inside the safety of its anemone but every once in a while, it would peek outside to see if I was still watching.  And everytime it does I would extend my hands towards it.  But I was careful not to touch & frighten it.  After a few tries, Nemo finally came out!  Then I started to talking to it.  (Yup, that’s how neurotic I am)

“Come baby, come to mama,” I coaxed.

Slowly, it inched its way towards me.  But as soon as it reached a few inches away from my goggles, it darted away (fishes can’t do reverse) & go back to the safety of its home.  This was repeated several times until Nemo finally realized I wasn’t that exciting after all, compared to his superstar status.

With a sigh, I left & head back.  And as I swam to our boat I felt satisfied, (for real) yet craving for more adventures.

I’ll tell you an interesting story I heard when I was in El Nido.

A long time ago, a Japanese couple traveled to El Nido, Palawan for vacation & adventure.  Probably spelunkers, caves enthralled them.  And El Nido swarms w/ caves, making it a paradise for the couple named Simezu.  During their trip they came across a small island a few miles away from the main island.

A rumor reached the couple that a treasure was buried in the cave on that island.  Probably given another incentive, off the couple went to explore.  But they didn’t expect that the crevices would be too narrow nor the floor & walls too sharp.  Ignoring the telltale signs of danger along they way, they went further.  And soon enough they got lost w/ their dwindling supply of food & water.  Until they ran out of both.  They got confused all the more.  Every turn looked like the one they just made.  They kept returning to where they where when they first realized that they were lost.  The Simezu couple was desperately doomed.

Outside, the boatman anxiously waited for his charge to come out.  The couple was only supposed to stay inside for 2 hours or so.  Their allotted time had passed but they were nowhere in sight.  And hour more & it will be dark.  The boatman is now worried.  What if they lost their way back?  So he decided to look for them.  He searched & searched, from before sunset till twilight.  It was already dusk when he came out of the cave.  But still … no sign of the Japanese couple.

With a heavy heart, he went home.  But the following day, early rays of the morning sun found him back at the atoll along w/ rescuers.  They searched the entire day but failed to rescue the couple.  The Simezus were never to be found again.

And that is how the island got its name.  Actually, the locals call it Simezu, Zimezu, Semizu, depending on who you ask.  The name may have tragedy attached to it.  But for me, it’s an awesome reminder of the most beautiful underwater scenery my eyes have ever feasted on.

But that’s another story for another time.    

Vacations … holidays … adventure of a lifetime!   I just need to bring out all the excitements of my vacations & show it to the world.

Check out the beauty of the tropics, sunset scenery on the beach, and some boo boos along the way.  Browse & enjoy!

Backopackgal now signing on!