Palawan

So the next destination on the itinerary was to go to Palawan. My Dad flew in from Nepal and joined us for 4 days of beach time. We boarded the plane and made the short 35 min flight to Busuanga airport, then took a 40 min van ride, and then a 40 min boat ride to our resort called Sangat Island Reserve. The pilot came on and told us that the airport had a short runway so it was going to be bumpy and they would use the full stopping power of the airplane. He wasn't kidding! We had about 50 meters of runway left.

Once we arrived we knew we had picked the right place. We were welcomed with coconuts filled with buko juice (coconut juice). YUMMY! It was so hot we all made a beeline for the ocean to cool off. We were staying in native huts on the beach. It was so nice to hear the waves crashing through the night. The only downside was that there was no air conditioning so it was freaking hot. The resort only had electricity from 6pm to 6am. There were only about 35 guests so it wasn't too crowded.

This particular area of Palawan is known for it's wreck diving....specifically Japanese boats bombed in the war. So Bob and I took off for a dive while Ryan, Jenn and my Dad set out to do some snorkeling. The next day we continued to dive some more wrecks. It was the first time we had done wreck diving and it was SO COOL! It was a bit scary because they are so big and you are winding through small crevices and it's pitch black. On one of our dives we saw a whale shark - twice! Bob got a little too close and the shark whipped his tale and missed his head by a few inches. After our diving adventures Ryan and my Dad decided they wanted to try diving, so they took an intro course and then Bob did a dive with Jenn and Ryan and Dad and I did a different dive.

The next day we did an all day island hopping and snorkeling tour. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We even saw a turtle in one place we were snorkeling. The beaches and water in this area are spectacular. We are definitely going back!

The next day we only had a 1/2 day so we went kayaking around the island and saw some indigenous people living on the ledges of the island. They collect birds nests for money, although I am not sure how they scale the steep cliffs! We also kayaked through a mangrove forest where there was a hot spring. It was WAY to hot outside to sit in, but cool none the less. There were also monkeys in the mangrove!

Then it was time to leave. We loaded up our luggage on the van and all the people - max for the van was 12 and we had 15 plus a boat load of luggage but who's counting! When they tried to pull out it was too high for the power line so the guy jumps out and holds up the power line while we drive under. Priceless!

Here are some pictures.