Birdwatching in Sabang Beach-Gateway to Underground River

The chirp of the birds and the ebb and flow of the ocean woke me up. I checked the time and it said 6 AM. Jumped out of bed, did a quick morning ritual then grab my binoculars and a guidebook for birds. It was a cold and beautiful morning. The sun was not out yet but the horizon looked pretty okay. Must be a good day in the offing. I was heading to the secluded area behind the jagged rocks at the end of an unnamed beach. The beach was located at the beginning of the Jungle Trail. This was the trail tourists take if opting to walk all the way to the famous Underground River instead of taking a boat. This was the place I saw an eagle some five weeks ago hovering while I and a friend spent a day there bathing in the sun and enjoying the waters and where I saw three people came out of the woods near the jungle trail head with bins around their necks. I was thinking this must be the place to see lots of birds.

As I trod on the sand, stamping my footprints and mixing up with those of the dogs running up and down the the stretch of the beach I couldn't help but still get amazed with the beauty of the place. I lost track of how many times Iv'e been here but never lost interest and appreciation. It gets better every time and didn't seem to diminish even a bit. I wonder if it's still in the running for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, an initiative started in 2007 by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. The resort's dog that slept at my cottage's doorstep last night was now walking with me as if he knew me for a long time. No barks, no commands, he was just cruising it with me along this beautiful cove.

I reached the end of the beach and passing through the last of the cottages when I tried to direct my lens on top of a coconut tree. I've been hearing birds' calls but can't figure out how to spot them, I need more experience, though. It was a zebra dove. It took me a few minutes before I was able to identify her. Lots of swallows were diving above me and two Cattle Egrets seemed having a great time with a water buffalo on a hole. As I got to the mouth of the mangrove river, the boundary between the main beach and the secluded one, I heard lots of noise coming from the trees on the other bank. Tried to get closer to the edge of the estuary river so I can get a better spot to where I believed the sound were coming from. Took the small path leading to the main office of the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour trying to zero in the chirps, the songs of the cicadas, all different but sounded like an orchestra to my novice ear. This was really beautiful. I asked myself if these sounds  entertaining my soul right at the edge of this Protected Area was fascinating enough, what more deep inside the wilderness of the Park itself. With this amazement I decided not to pursue my original plan of bird watching at that secluded beach behind those jagged rocks. The place I was standing right at that very moment was best spot I thought.

The sound was getting louder and coming from different directions. Standing from the side of the river which was some 10 meters wide, I lifted my bins, scanned through the leaves, tried to point to the direction of the moving branches and leaves on the other bank, and guess what I found? The noisemakers to my surprise were not winged-animals. They were monkeys. Hahaha. I just can laugh at my inexperience in determining sounds. It was a family of macaque, at least to me, feeding on the fruits of the trees I wasn't able to identify. I can hear my favorite to imitate plaintive cuckoo but didn't know how to find her. I can hear other chirps but didn't know where to spot them. Patience must be the key. As I pan my 8x42 Hahn scope one more time to get a glimpse of these elusive flying creatures, three birds went flapping above my head leaping from the tall and old mangrove tree in my back trying to get to the other side of the river. Poor boy! They must have been there for a while right above me in that same tree I was taking refuge and I didn't even know. It's a shame. And as if they knew I was trying my luck to see some birds, they split into two different directions right after getting into the other bank. One of the birds flew to the left and vanished behind the trees, the other one to the right and faded away while the third one landed on a branch of a mangrove tree. Adjusting the distance of my lens, I tried to take note of the size, color and distinguishing marks for better identification. She was much bigger than the usual Munias or Eurasian Tree Sparrows. She had a long tail, black head, blue wings and black underparts. She moved from side to side giving me a better view of her entirety. Hopped to another branch and there she flew away. As I flipped through the pages of my guidebook, the closest bird to her colors and looks was the Asian Fairy Bluebird. I hope I did get it right. Too bad my point and shoot camera can't capture her image. It was too far for my camera to get a frozen image of her. I can't really recall if this bird is a rare one, a hard to find. If she is then I must be lucky to have spotted her.

In any case, I was happy to be able to see at least one good bird, a lifer for me. Alice Villa-Real of Wildbird Club of the Philippines told me a lifer is your first bird. The bird you see the first time as a birdwatcher is called a lifer. Just as I was about to pack up, I tried to scan one last time. There you go. A yellow bird was suspending itself in the air like an F-16 fighter picking up on the fruits high above a tree. I believe it was a Flowerpecker. Much to my delight, the dog was still there beside me, in the sand, watching and guarding me. He didn't leave even for a second to do his thing. He stayed with me for the whole hour. As I walked back to my cottage happy and smiling, the dog was leading my way by some 10 meters ahead, would stop from time to time to glance at me, checking on me if I was still on the track. What a good day for me indeed.

Three Great Weeks

I had another chance to see beautiful places in Palawan. It was five months ago when I last flew there. It was never tiring to witness time and again the grandeur of the country's Last Ecological Frontier. This time, I and a friend, started the journey in Puerto Princesa, the capital city and went up North to Coron and Culion, skipping El Nido this time. Last June, we kicked off our vacation in Coron, then to Culion, El Nido and Puerto Princesa. This time we did it the other way around.

Let me do a travel tip/review of places, hotels, and food this time. This will help you guys if planning to go there too.

First, airfare. Cebu Pacific ranges from Php 1,400 ($30) to Php 7,000 ($152) depending on the availability of seats, season, and the time you purchased the ticket. The plane is divided into price categories so basically all seats have different prices. You are lucky if you can avail the lowest rates since there are no difference in the accommodation once on board (e.g food, no free snacks by the way, tv, pillows, etc.) Flight takes approximately one hour.

Hotels. We first booked ourselves to Turissimo Garden Hotel formerly Airport Hotel. Not too bad for Php 1,300 ($28) with AC and TV and free breakfast but we decided to upgrade to a better room, Php 1,800 ($39) We love windows and porches, by the way and never fans of free breakfasts. One big disappointment was there were no brewed coffee there. They have a small swimming pool but never got our interest. Must be the space factor, the pool is located on the way to the rooms in the back building in a so narrow walkway, not too much of a privacy. After two days we decided to check in at Microtel. Heard so much fuzz bout this new chain of hotels so it was time to check it out. Located in a secluded beach in the outskirts of the city, they will pick you up either from the airport or any hotel you are transferring from once you make a reservation. For Php 4,200 ($92) you can get a room facing the sea, double bed, AC, flat screen TV, telephone, fridge, and free breakfast.Quite expensive, though but it's worth it.  One disapointment, though is the WI-FI which is only available at the lobby. Nice view and cool breeze specially at this time of the year when winds coming from Siberia and Northern China are blown to the country by Northeast Monsoon (Amihan). The beach is fine but the waters isn't really for swimming. Tidal line is so far during low tides exposing mangrove roots and lots of starfish. At night when the tide is high, it is very enticing to swim but the waves are strong. We opt not to dip though for fear of scraping ourselves against the rocks and roots. Good alternative for swimming is the pool but the flooring is plain concrete and not tiles that makes it a little bit slippery and yucky underneath. Their Kilawin Tanigue (Mackerel in vinegar) is great too. The place is quiet and idyllic for honeymooners. I give Microtel Palawan four stars out of five.

Next destination, Sabang/Underground River. This is one truly magnificent work of nature. I hope it could still make it to the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Since we were planning to stay there for at least a week, we decided to stay on a more modest cottage like Green Verde in the main beach as it is more affordable at Php800 ($17) compared to the lofty rates of Daluyon at Php4,450 ($96) per night. There is no power supply in the village until 530 in the afternoon when generators will start running up to 11 in the evening. However, Daluyon runs their generators 24 hours and WI-FI is available in their restaurant. As wise as we are, we checked in at Green Verde, had breakfast and dinner at Daluyon to check mails and send reports. Entrance to the Puerto Princesa River and Subterranean Park, formerly known as Saint Paul Underground River, wass secured from their office in downtown Puerto Princesa, Php200 ($4) for foreigners and Php150 ($3) for locals. Bus or jeepney rides to Sabang is at 200 pesos and would take some two hours. For a more convenient and faster ride specially for those with extra money you can rent airconditioned vans from Php3,500 ($76) to Php4,500 ($97).

After three days of sand, sun, and fun, we decided to head north to Coron via WGA Superferry. We took the Suite for only Php3,500 (two pax). Much better than getting a tourist accommodation for some Php1,500 per person and sharing spaces with another 100 passengers or so in that AC room with double deckers. Not a good idea if you are travelling with some gadgets like laptop and would always go out for a smoke. Just can't leave important things unattended. The voyage took some 15 hours. Was really bored throughout the whole trip but I was able to get lots of sleep though. As usual the food in the ship sucks big time. No choice but to force it inside. We arrived in Coron just after midnight and checked ourselves in everybody's favorite Seadive. We had a reservation for Deluxe for only Php1,800 ($39). The room was nice, clean, but no TV. I wonder why. Wi-fi is only from the restaurant. Not too bad as long as there's connection for emails.

We planned to spend seven days in Corn for relaxation and a day's visit to Culion once again. We made sure that the Museum will be open as we didn't see it last time. Hired a boat going there for P3,500 and stayed a night at Tabing Dagat Lodge. Room rates are between P500 and P700. We really love this island. It gives me a playful imagination that I am living in the 17th century. The town is rustic, quiet, and has a different appeal. People are shy and would never approach you and talk. I guess it's all about the stigma attached to this island once relegated as the island of despair. However, things changed when we started saying hi to people and smile a bit. They smiled back and nod. We felt sorry for all those who've been confined here. On the brighter side, I met one of the Tourism Information Officers, Pastor Hermz Villanueva and told him about my plans of coming back to do some trail riding and hopefully bring other bikers with some assistance from the Local Government. Will tell you if this thing materializes.

Back in Coron, our fave hang out was Kawayanan Grill. We think that they have the best stuffed squid in town or maybe in the entire country. We just loved it so much. Their kinilaw (mackarel or tuna in vinegar) is also great. We don't get tired of eating the same food everyday with matching lato (seagrapes) and of course red wine.