The Palawan Getaway- Day 3: Honda Bay Tour

06 April 2009. Honda Bay is located 12 kilometers from the city proper and consists of several islands with white sand beaches. The water surrounding the bay is rich with corals making it ideal for snorkeling and diving. It can be reached by taking a tricycle or jeepney to the Sta. Lourdes Wharf. From there, you can a hire a boat to take you to the islands.

Jason, the tricycle driver we met on our first day in PPC helped us organize our Honda Bay itinerary. He contacted the boat operator that took us to the islands and took care of the transfers from our accommodation to Sta. Lourdes and back. The good thing about dealing with the friendly neighborhood tricycle drivers in Palawan is that you get to haggle with the price and you can dictate your own terms. So when we got to Sta. Lourdes Wharf, we only had to wait a few minutes for our boat, unlike the other tourists who booked with their hotels who had to wait a little longer and share their boats with other groups. In short, it was our call.

Normally, if you book with your hotel for the tour, you will only get to visit 3 islands (excluding Dos Palmas) and you’ll be charged P1,100 per person inclusive of permit, island entrance fees, cottage, transfer from hotel to Sta. Lourdes, tour guide (for snorkeling) and lunch. And if you’re really unlucky, you’ll end up sharing your boat with another group. For our tour c/o Jason, we only paid P1,500 for the whole boat (with guide) which we didn’t have to share with other groups, entrance fees to 5 islands which amounted to P750, around P200 for our lunch which consists of two whole yellow fin tuna and 2 kilos of rice bought from the market, P50 cooking charge, P300 for 3 masks and snorkels, and P500 for the roundtrip tricycle transfer with stopovers at the public market, groceries, restaurant and the Sta. Lourdes Hot Spring. That would be equivalent to P3,300 for the four of us. A good deal compared to P4,400 plus P300 for the 3 masks and snorkels if we availed of the tour package offered by Duchess Pension.

Most of the islands in Honda Bay, except Snake Island, have entrance fees ranging from P10 up to P50 per person. The most expensive is in Dos Palmas which charges P500 for only 30 minutes of stay in the resort. (It’s that kind of overcharging that makes them Abu Sayaff target). Our trip took us to 5 islands (Luli, Starfish, Snake, Pandan and Cowrie) and the Pambato Reef which was not yet part of the Honda Bay itinerary when we toured last 2005.

Pambato Reef. This was our first stop. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to snorkel here (damn the monthly visitor) as much as I would love to. I don’t want to be shark magnet. But the high tide and the strong current prevented my sisters and uncle to see the full beauty of the reef.



Lu-li Island. Short for “lulubog lilitaw.” Most of the cottages in this island are supported by stilts. I wonder how it would look like here during high tides and storms.



Starfish Island. I don’t know why they also call it Tabuan, but this island lives up to its name. Loads of starfish can be found in the shallow part of the water. We took our lunch here and played with the dogs roaming around the island.



Snake Island. Perhaps because Snake Island is free of charge, most of the boats were docked here and the cottages were packed. You can snorkel here and feed the fishes. I finally decided to put on my snorkel mask here because I can’t stand the thought of just watching. Fortunately, no sharks were around. 



Pandan Island. The first time I went to Pandan Island, I fell in love with the place. Four years later, it doesn’t seem that appealing anymore. The coconut trunk that used to stand on the beach has been removed and perhaps because there is some construction going on that I found it too cluttered.



Cowrie Island. Our last stop and the only island that seemed to belong to us. We were the only tourists around so we enjoyed the peace and quiet. Though less developed compared to other islands, I like its raw beauty and am quite pleased that the owners did not tamper with its natural beauty.



After the Honda Bay Tour, we tried soaking in the hot springs of Sta. Lourdes. Nothing like a hot bath to cap the day.

Thanks to Kuya Dodoy, our very fit guide who pulled us through the stretch of corals and reefs and to Jason (forgot his surname), the tricycle magnate and middleman. You can contact him at +63.908.511.0533 if you plan to have your own Honda Bay Tour. Other pics courtesy of Uncle Buds.

The Palawan Getaway -Day 1: Baywalk, PPC

04 April 2009. After a turbulent flight, we touched down at Puerto Princesa City’s Airport, its arrival lounge still under construction. The last time I set foot in PPC was 4 years ago, on a hot, rainy summer. This time the weather was just plain hot and the state of the airport lounge made me feel like being stuffed in an oven.

Nonetheless, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around their version of Baywalk (incidentally with the same name), which used to be just a port when I saw it last. Our timing was just right for the sunset and another nice surprise… a shot to see space thru a telescope—for free. The event, Tuklasin ang Kalawakan: 100 Hours of Astronomy, was running on its last day. It was the only event of its kind in the country in celebration of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy and we’re lucky to have been part of it. There’s a catch, however, which involves waiting in line for 4 hours. We got the tickets at 6:30 PM and we reached the end of the line at almost 10:00 PM. And before the lecture began, there was another waiting period because one of the kids touched the telescope pointed at Saturn thereby causing it to misalign. And the telescope realignment, though computerized, still took up time.

Oh! but to see the heavens was worth the wait. It was just fascinating to see the moon and its pockmarked surface and its mountains, and Saturn with its ring wrapped around its gaseous body in a 90˚ angle position--the technician said that's how it looks when its setting in the night sky. To see its details through the scope’s small viewfinder makes me appreciate Galileo’s contributions. Who would have known that the minuscule dots lining up the night sky are actually marvels worth the glimpse? So much for our first day, what with the stars' names to memorize like Castor, Pollux, Sirius, Bellatrix (though they remind me of Face Off and Harry Potter)... and terms like asterism and balatik, the latter being a Palaweño word for a pig trap, which is what the ancient Palaweños saw in Orion's constellation and not some hunter as the constellation is now known for.... Whew!

We capped the day with a very late dinner at Kinabuch, one of the few places still open. And yes, we were so hungry we could have built a balatik to catch a pig.