Puerto Princesa and El Nido, Palawan

One of the many spectacular views along El Nido Bay

Selina and I had the chance to visit Puerto Princesa and El Nido, Palawan for about a week (Jan 14 to 20, 2014). As luck would have it, there was a low pressure area or LPA percolating in Mindanao during our visit. Hence, the waves at Honda Bay (Puerto Princesa, Day 1) were stronger than it already is during this time of year, thereby limiting our island hopping (shortly after arriving at Puerto Princesa and freshening-up at La Belle Pension--I would recommend this place) to 2 islands; in particular, Luli Island and Cowrie Island. Normally, we would have been able to hop to 3 or 4 islands, including Pandan Island and Snake Island. In addition, the water was turbid, so our snorkeling and fish feeding at Luli Island were visually unsatisfactory. There were plenty of fish though (big and small), which reinforces an established and repeatable phenomenon--enforce a no-take zone (marine sanctuary) and the fish will multiply and grow.

 

Feeding fish at Luli Island

Snorkeling in turbid waters at Luli Island

As an aside, the tour guides are wondering why Snake Island has been off-limits to the public since the visit of upstart Willie Revillame about a year ago. Rumor has it that the island, which is thought to be public property, has been illegally sold to a private entity. Just can't seem to shake-off government corruption, even when you're just having fun in Palawan.

Another potentially interesting spot at Honda Bay is Pambato Reef, which also appears to be off-limits to the public at this time, allegedly to allow the corals and resident fish to recover from the onslaught of snorkeling tourists.

I did not see much snorkeling at Cowrie Island, so we just had lunch here, returned to La Belle Pension and proceeded to El Nido at around 4 p.m. Arrived at El Nido around 10 p.m. and I think that I don't want to make this road trip as a passenger in a van if I can help it. That said, I would take my Vulcan to Puerto Princesa and tour the whole island of Palawan when the opportunity arises. The nearly 300 kilometers of road was mostly concreted with about 40 minutes of "rough road" scattered throughout the trip. Makes you want to execute the government personnel who obstructed the proper completion of the construction project.

I don't care to remember the place we were billeted on our first overnight stay at El Nido. It was a dump but we were too tired to notice.

Day 2, El Nido. After a few exchanges with my tour organizer (including some expletives), we were transferred to Lolo Oyong Pension (I would recommend this place too). Our island hopping "Tour A" was canceled due to a gail warning and we proceeded to plan our scuba diving excursion as soon as the Coast Guard would allow vessels to leave the bay.

Day 3, El Nido. Scuba diving, 3 dives in all. In short, a disappointment due to turbid waters. Appears to be a combination of strong currents at El Nido during this time of year and "plankton season" (Jan to Feb at El Nido and presumably at most other bays throughout the Philippines). Hence, if you are visiting El Nido to scuba dive, don't come here on January or February. Ideal diving conditions are in April and May. It also appears the months from June to November provide decent diving conditions with underwater visibility reaching as much as 30 meters. Bottom line is, I screwed-up by scheduling a scuba diving trip to El Nido this January . . . which gives us an excuse to return.

Ayala-owned resort at Miniloc, El Nido

In the absence of scuba diving, the tropical island scenery around El Nido alone is worth the visit. Relatively small islands with limestone cliffs, thriving rainforests and, incidentally, some pretty high-priced beach resorts tucked in certain lagoons--like the Ayala-owned environmental-award winning resorts in Miniloc, Pangalusia and Lagen. One way of bypassing the unpleasant 5 to 6 hour road trip from Puerto Princesa is to fly directly to the El Nido Airport. It's relatively expensive though at the current rate of P6k per person one-way.

Day 4 at El Nido. Downtime. There were some extreme changes in water temperature during our dives the previous day, which left me a bit feverish. Spent most of the day resting. Signs of aging . . . much to my chagrin.

A note on the electricity situation in El Nido. Electricity service in the town of El Nido starts at around 2 p.m. and is turned-off at around 6 a.m.--a scenario that is as unacceptable (i.e., there should be electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) as it is an "in your face" statement on the failure of Philippine government. Considering El Nido is a major tourist attraction in the Philippines and practically the closest town (approximately 50 kilometers) to the Malampaya natural gas offshore platform, from which the Philippine government derives billions of US dollars of proceeds from the sale of the said natural gas, there is no acceptable reason that there should be any gap in electricity service in the town of El Nido.

Day 5, El Nido to Puerto Princesa. The following day, we left El Nido at around 6 a.m. to return to Puerto Princesa (ETA around 12 noon; really don't like that road trip sitting in a van) and had a delightful seafood degustation lunch at KaLui's Restaurant. I specifically requested that my tuna steak be seared only, which turned out perfectly in light of the fresh catch. Thereafter, we proceeded to tour the City of Puerto Princesa, highlighted by our visit to the crocodile farm.

Day 6, Puerto Princesa. On our last day of touring, we visited the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River Park--a must see about two hours drive from the city center. About a hundred De La Salle University students on tour arrived ahead of us, which kept us waiting longer than usual. But it was worth the wait. Approaching the bay where the subterranean river is located is like entering Jurassic Park--limestone cliffs jutting out of a tropical rainforest by the sea. Upon our arrival, we are met by macaque monkeys and large monitor lizards meandering without much regard for the throngs of human visitors. Folks, it doesn't get any better than this!

Impromptu Recordings on New Year's Day

Recorded impromptu (thanks to Mike Cuneta) during our New Year's Day (January 1, 2014) celebration with the Ongsiaco Clan at Tita Carmencita's home. On the piano is Maestro Ferdie.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning


Other solo recordings in our Noche De Ronda album:

Too Marvelous for Words

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Inamorata

Old Houses and My Slice of Heaven

I've always been drawn to old houses, perhaps because I have fond memories living in one as a young boy (home of my paternal grandparents at Villa Caridad along Broadway Street, New Manila) and visiting another every Saturday until my teenage years (home of my maternal grandparents along Silencio Street, Sta. Mesa). I am especially intrigued by those old houses in the provinces, which are far and few in between and mostly in a state of disrepair--yet provide a glimpse of a more gracious era in our history.

There are three good examples of such old houses in the vicinity of Nampicuan.

One is (I should say was) the house of Dona Marta Martinez near the defunct railroad in Nampicuan. Like the railway tracks that have long since ceased operations and have been stolen for its weight in steel, the home of Dona Marta is a long lost memory from several of my visits in my youth. Each time I visited over the years, the house crumbled one portion at a time until it was gone--yet I cannot forget the grand staircase that led to what appeared to be a vast living room with a ceiling designed to accommodate opulent chandeliers. I was told that my Lola Caridad used to play majhong in this house with Dona Marta, among other landlords in the area.

Another is the house built by my Lolo Ramon, the brother of my Lola Caridad, in Barangay Ambassador Alzate, Nampicuan. Recently, my Tita Carmencita Ongsiaco Reyes (daughter of Lolo Ramon and currently the incumbent Governor of the Province of Marinduque) explained to me that when the Ongsiaco siblings of her father's generation divided the  hacienda of their father (Lucio Ongsiaco), the portion in which the house was built went to Lola Meling (sister of Lolo Ramon and Lola Caridad), who married Alzate. It was inherited by my late Tito Tony Alzate, who donated the same to the Roman Catholic Church. The house still stands today and, upon close scrutiny, reveals bespoked and riveted (welding was not readily available at that time) wrought iron grills depicting local scenes.

The old Morales house along MacArthur Highway, Moncada, Tarlac

 I would drop by Cafe Americana to have a cheeseburger, avocado shake and a cup of brewed coffee (usually followed by a free refill, thanks to the gracious proprietors) . . . and shoot the breeze (gossip really) with Tito Arthur Morales

The last but not the least is the Morales house in Moncada, Tarlac, which brings me to Armand's delightful bistro--a simple affair that serves delicious meals prepared by Armand himself, whose local dishes are borne out of his father's tradition of delicious home cooking and his not-so-secret source of blue marlin from Zamboanga. Apart from a variety of traditional Filipino breakfast viands like tapa, longanisa, danggit and pusit, Armand serves a number of local mutton dishes, including kilawin, pinapaitan, adobado, sinampalukan, kaldereta and, by special order, the best rogan josh this side of town. Yes, Armand prepares a hearty bulalo, sisig that would make your heart stop, flavorful pancit and truly crispy dinakdakan but you will be impressed by his blue marlin renditions, including blue marlin curry, blue marlin in black bean sauce, blue marlin sinigang and, my slice of heaven, blue marlin kilawin--the best I've had hands down.

Armand's vintage VW Beetle in front of his resto

Blue Marlin Kilawin--My Slice of Heaven

Armand is about to complete his griller. So, watch out for some serious delectable barbecues with Armand's special touch of flavoring. All this good food is complemented by Armand's easygoing old-school hospitality that makes you feel at home at the old Morales house in Moncada, Tarlac.

My Milking Carabaos

Maria and her newborn calf (almost 3 weeks old here), Mario

Note the white tip of the tail in contrast with the pitch black hair and complexion--good Murrah genes

With Mang Ben stroking Mario's body to get the animal used to human contact

I don't care to remember exactly when I purchased my three female milking carabaos, also known as Murrah Carabaos, imported from Bulgaria, Brazil, among other places, by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC, a Philippine government entity). I was referred by a trusted friend to an allegedly trusted agent and so I did not bother with any due diligence review (big mistake). I eventually discovered that I paid nearly twice the amount I should have for the animals, which were not exactly in the best of health. Two of the three (Maria and Juana) were, in fact, pregnant, as represented by the seller. Long story short, both offsprings died. The third (Petra) had a defective ovary and was unlikely to conceive. It was a traumatic experience that taught me to be a better livestock purchaser in the future.

Later, I successfully secured a young carabao bull or stud from the PCC, under their bull loan program to impregnate my female carabaos as well as those in the surrounding communities. We named him Juan but he was not yet ready to "go at it" with my three gals. I had Juan for a little over six months and just when I thought he was ready to start humpin', disaster struck. Juan got bitten on the snout by a snake (probably a Philippine cobra, which is endemic in the area) and died in a period of about an hour.

I was now on the shit list of PCC, so I decided to acquire my own carabao bull. We named him Angelo, because of his mild (almost angelic) temperament, in spite of his reported age of 5 years. At this age of maturity, this particular breed of carabao bull, which is related to the African Cape Buffalo, tends to revert to its inherent wild and violent behavior. Not so with Angelo, who remains as gentle as he is an effective stud.

At long last, Maria gave birth to a healthy baby male Murrah Carabao--a future stud we have named Mario, born on Sunday, November 17, 2013. Juana is expected to give birth soon--any day now I hope. Petra, who has not conceived until now, will be traded for a young female Murrah Carabao just short of mating maturity and therefore much lighter (in weight) than Petra, who will eventually be slaughtered for her meat.

Postscript

As expected, Juana gave birth to a healthy baby male Murrah Carabao--another future stud we have named Juan, born on Thursday, December 5, 2013. The following pictures of Juan barely three (3) days old.

 

Angelo, the gentle stud responsible for Mario and Juan

Scuba Diving at Balicasag Island

At a pier in the vicinity of Panglao before crossing to Balicasag Island
Our morning flight from Manila to Tagbilaran, Bohol was almost diverted to Mactan, Cebu

The calm before the storm . . .
Typhoon Zoraida just entered Surigao del Sur and forecasted to be over Balicasag the following morning.

Typhoon Zoraida weakened into a low pressure area (LPA), so all was well at Balicasag Island the following day.

I am relatively new at scuba diving and have dived a number of places in the Philippines, including Anilao (Batangas), Mansalay (Oriental Mindoro), Poctoy Beach (Marinduque), Gato Island (Cebu), Malapasqua (Cebu), Oslob (Cebu) and, most recently, Balicasag Island (Bohol). I must say, Balicasag tops them all in terms of overall condition of the coral reef and marine life.

I dove 6 times over a period of 3 days at various locations around Balicasag Island and I saw mature Pacific green turtles (an endangered species) at least once in 5 out of the 6 dives. I thought that was impressive. There are at least two schools of jackfish around Balicasag, which I saw at two distinct locations during a single dive. In addition, I was fortunate to also see the school of baracuda (each about a meter long), which I understand is not as generous in presenting itself to divers at the Island. Unlike most places that manifest severe devastation or partial recovery from severe devastation (due to unsustainable and irresponsible fishing practices like dynamite fishing, cyanide fishing, compressor fishing and the like), the coral reefs surrounding the Island are visibly in good condition (apparently not having been subjected to the usual human abuse typically experienced by most of the coral reefs throughout the Philippines), except for those at the Black Forest (Balicasag) that were reportedly devastated by Typhoon Pablo last year (November 2012).

Kudos to the Boholanos for preserving this priceless resource! If you want to see coral reefs and marine life in good condition (this is probably as good as it gets anywhere in the world!), visit Balicasag Island, Bohol.

Below are a couple of film clips of my dives and snorkeling at Balicasag:

Highlights of Balicasag Dives
Snorkeling at Balicasag