Firefly Friday

Friday Aug 1

A long weekend in Palawan. Our city Hall contacts are all heading out of town on Friday so we decide to try and see some of the country and fly an hour to the Island of Palawan in to Puerto Princesa on Friday morning.  We arrive at noon to a very decent spot very close to the Airport. This is what 1300 Pesos a night gets you in Palawan if you double up a room. Approx $35pp. James and I are roomies. Good lad to share a room with!

Acacia Lodge

It is not the busy season there....remember the potential rain and storms but it is more then hot enough to be closer to the ocean.  True to form as with the rest of the trip we have packed non stop activities in to the schedule .... think getting the City Pass for New York bit spreading it over 100 Km's. On Friday afternoon it is the Puerto Princesa City tour, Friday night it is to the Firefly Tour. Saturday we will finally get some beach with Honda Bay Island hopping and on Sunday it is a trip to the Underground River (about 100 Km's away ).

City Tour 

Waterfront Puerto Princesa

We meet our guide Vim and he takes us around the city of Puerto Princesa and tells us more about Palawan.  It is an island made of Islands; there are over 1100 of them strung together.  It is mostly fishing with a bit of farming and also famous for their South Sea pearls.  The economy had been pretty stagnant for many years but it has been making progress in business and with an ever growing rise as a tourist destination (to wit, the 5 activities we have in 2 days.) After the downtown tour he tells us about a very unfortunate event from WW2 which I will spare the details here but it was a grim reminder.

Tour Guide Vim at the War monument

Vim drops us off at a pearl/farmers market for an hour. They have the famous South Sea pearls which are expensive but likely the cheapest in the world. There are also fresh water pearls which looks sort of the same but are much lower prices; they are commercially farmed.

Then on to the Crocodile Farm to see the conservation area. 

Brian-o-saurus; the biggest baddest croc in the zoo

These Crocs are real and they are fantastic

What else...team pic

Finally the City Tour ends with a drive up the fanciest road / street in the city which has a great lookout over the city.  Back to the hotel around 6:00 and our next guide is ready for us to take us on the Firefly Tour.

Firefly Tour

The Firefly tour is about 45-50 minutes away but our driver Jerry handles the van with the skill of a Grand Prix driver in Monte Carlo. The van's are different here....they are Toyota's but much bigger cargo vans with Standard transmissions. You can squeeze 12 people in them so they are the vehicle of choice for most large cargo volume. We weave in and out of traffic, honk horns at trikes, bikes and anything else that slows us down. We're making time!

Toyota HiAce

The Firefly tour is short and sweet and delivers what it promises. Like the coconut trees last week. To the right, Fireflies; to the left, Fireflies; straight ahead............more Fireflies.  3 of to a boat on the river with a tour guide who paddles the boat and tells you about what else. The Fireflies! I would love to post a picture but flash photography is not allowed; they may fall in love with the camera ....whooooaaaaaa!

Entrance to the River for FireFly tour

 
3 people to a boat and as you ease off in to the calm river one's mind turns to the 16 ft Croc we saw earlier in the day and the earlier comments that 85 % of the inland water ways have some Croc's! Any Crocodiles in these waters?  "No Crocs sir!"  I will have to take their word for it!

The Fireflies do indeed light up like Christmas trees on a very regular basis.  I can hear Brian in the boat behind asking scientific questions and sure enough they have it all down pat.  Our guide tells us about the chemical mix etc.....  complex creatures those Fireflies!

Time to head back to the city for dinner as it is getting late. I sit in the front with the driver and chat a bit. I was reading somewhere that Filipinos love a good power ballad and Jerry does not disappoint with a Celine Dion, BeeGees and Air Supply run that he sings along to, to himself.  "I'm all out of love..I'm so lost without youuuuuu!"

Jerry asks where we going over the weekend and I tell him Honda Bay tomorrow and on Sunday to Underground River as he races through the country side, passing on solid lines. Oh the Underground River is a long drive! Only 77 Km's but many twists and turns through the mountains so no way to make good time. I am thinking it's good that Jerry won't be driving on Sunday!

IT's off to KaLui for seafood to cap off the night. Great food....fresh seafood.  I get the fresh seafood platter since it is only 350 pesos (approx 43 pesos to a $ US) it must only be for 1 person. Wrong! It is more to share but so good I pretty much finish it except for the rice. I pawn of a prawn so I can say I shared it!  Unbelievable value. Tuna, shrimp, whitefish etc...

The place is full of art. Really like a gallery all through the place. 

Even the Urinals have art!

We decide to head back home and get some rest. The tour starts again tomorrow at 6:30am!



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