Text and Photos by Armando A. Mortejo
Recently, I joined a group of environmental journalists from Baguio , Cavite , Legazpi, Manila , and North Cotabato in visiting the country’s last frontier. No, we didn’t get a chance of seeing the whole Palawan but only the island’s capital. Yes, Puerto Princesa – “the city in a forest.”
We stayed in the city for three days and two nights only. Our schedule was frenzied and arduous but no one ever griped. After all, we were there to learn something new and different from what others had already seen or reported.
The group left Manila early in the morning. After more than an hour of flying on the air, we landed at the Puerto Princesa Airport . Just a tip: The airport is practically in the city proper so you can ignore the overpriced tricycles waiting in front of the arrival and catch a tricycle on the main road for a fare of 7-8 pesos per passenger.
We didn’t have that kind of hassle though. A shuttle van was waiting to bring us to the Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, where we were billeted for the night. The place is located in Sitio Sabang, some 47 kilometers away from the city.
Forty-seven kilometers may not be far – as there was no traffic at all – but it took us an hour and a half to get to the resort. It was smooth ride for about an hour. However, the last 30 minutes was another story. Some areas of the road were not fixed so there were some bumpy rides here and there. “It’s as if we are having an instant massage,” someone quipped.
Ruben “Butch” F. Tan, Jr., the resort’s chairman and chief executive officer, welcomed us. “Daluyon offers the best of both worlds – the mountains and the sea. Our resort’s location makes it possible for our guests to enjoy their stay no matter what activities they have in mind and what time of the year they visit,” he says during a brief meeting with the group.
The resort was opened to the public in 2007. Two years later, it became a frontier member of the Zero Carbon Resorts (ZCR) organization, a European Union-funded project by Switch Asia and being run by the Center for Appropriate Technology.
Daluyon has been cited as one if not the leading resort that brings environment consciousness to the forefront. For one, the resort adopted the solar hot water supply system. Louver ventilations were also installed at the generator power house and staff house to help cool the generators and let natural air to circulate. The roof ventilation also allows natural light to come in so there’s no need to turn on electric light during daytime.
Perhaps the favorite among guests is the electric blue swimming pool constructed using Quartzon. The material keeps temperature tepid – even during cooler months. The pool makes use of salt chlorinator as pool filter which has less ammonia and other harmful chemicals. Because of this, it is actually safe to swim even during cleaning time.
One good thing about Daluyon is that is it very close to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park – just about four kilometers away. It used to be the world’s longest underground river (with a length of 8.2 kilometers) – until the discovery of an underground river in Mexico ’s Yucatan Peninsula in 2007. With its crystalline waters and spectacular cave formations, the underground river is possibly the city’s most popular tourist attraction. The site was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.
During our tour inside the cave, we learned that it is home to the 20-million year fossilized dugong. In fact, the underground river is now a finalist to the New Seven Wonders of Nature. If you want to vote, text PPUR and send it to 2861. The winners will be announced in November.
The following day, we traveled back to the city proper and stayed at Puerto Pension, which is located at 35 Malvar Street. The four-storey building has nice rooms. Tribu Restaurant, located in the rooftop with a nice view of the Puerto Princesa Bay , serves mouth-savoring foods, including the free continental breakfast. Mr. Tan is also the owner of the place so zero carbon is also implemented.
After laying our things in our respective rooms, we immediately left the pension house and took our lunch at Ka Lui Restaurant at 369 Rizal Avenue . Actually, it is not a restaurant but sort of a tropical beach house without the sea-blue background. Guests enter the open sala on bare feet to complete the resort experience. Real vegetables (squash, cabbage, garlic) and fruits (mango, banana, avocado, melon) are utilized as decorations. Seafood is the specialty.
After our hearty lunch, we traveled south for thirty minutes to go to the landfill, which is managed by the local government. Puerto Princesa, under the leadership of Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, has been acclaimed several times as the cleanest and greenest city in the country.
There was so much to learn about the city. Then, when we returned to the city, we went to the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk. The stroll would have been more ideal if it was done early in the morning or just before sunset. We went there while the sun is high up. It would also be interesting to see it at night because of these beautifully designed lamp posts. But anyway, we saw the image of the official seal of the city – the peacock. Perhaps, the symbol was chosen because of the Palawan peacock pheasant, an endangered species and endemic to Palawan .
As the sun was going to set, we went immediately to the public market at Valencia Street to buy some pasalubongs. Here, you can buy handicrafts made by the native tribes like manunggul (wooden jar), bulol or tisot, good harvest and carved animals. Others are tingkop (rice baskets), fish baskets, bags made from bark of a tree, native accessories, weave curtains and table mat, rattan floor mat and other assorted cashew nut delicacies.
We were already tired and wanted to take a rest. But the group still had one itinerary left. By the time the clock struck seven, we were already riding a tricycle going to the A&A Plaza Hotel at the National Highway corner Wescom Road . Our objective: to attend a program prepared by Mayor Hagedorn for our group and other guests who happened to come on the said week.
We were glad we attended. We were treated with very sumptuous seafoods and entertained by two homegrown cultural groups – the Sinika and Pangkat Kalinangan. At the end of the program, guests were given the so-called “rainmaker,” which is made of bamboo with something inside that produces a sound of rain when you turn it upside down.
Puerto Princesa is the largest city in the country in terms of land area. It has a total land area of 253,982 hectares stretched over 106 kilometers long. In comparison, Davao City has a total land area of 244,361 hectres.
Some locals attributed the name “Puerto Princesa” to a princess-like maiden who in the early days is said to have roamed around the place on certain nights of the year. Actually, the city was named after Princess Asunción, born in 1864 to Queen Isabella II and her consort, Francisco de Cadiz. When the princess suffered an untimely death, the Queen changed the name to Puerto de la Princesa. Eventually, the name was reduced to Puerto Princesa as it is known today.
By the way, Puerto Princesa is one of the world’s “Top 20 New Destinations” of 2011 by the National Geographic.
