Our week stay in PP was very interesting and as usual we "hunter gathered" for supplies, enjoyed the trike rides to town, visited the main tourist attractions and wandered around the town soaking up the crazy, chaotic atmosphere.
(Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them)
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| Crazy Puerta Princesa! |
In the Philippines you never know just what you'll see or want may happen. One day we came across this sign outside the Bank "Please Deposit Your Firearms to the Guard on Duty" and thought it would take an interesting photo. So we asked if the guards minded and they didn't so we posed for the photo. However, when Tom took the photo the guards all raced to him smiling and asked to check the photo. One of them wasn't pleased with how he looked, so we all had to pose again!
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| Fran and Friends! |
The beautiful Immaculate Conception Cathedral and Jose Rizal statue and Park are interesting attractions near the waterfront. During the Spanish occupation a small church was built in 1872 and was later developed to become the Cathedral in 1961. It is rather unique as it is very angular and the arches on the inside and outside are pointed . Rizal became a martyr and National hero after his Military Trail and Execution in 1896 for his political activities during the Spanish Colonial Era.
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Note the Pointed Arches |
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| Rizal Park and the Cathedral |
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| Bancas at Salang |
One of the most interesting days spent in this area was a visit to the world renowned St Paul Subterranean National Park. This is where an Underground River empties directly into the sea and can be explored by boat. It is reputed to be the longest Underground River in the world and has been on the World Heritage List since 1999 along with the beautiful jungle in the National Park.
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| Tom and Fran Ready for Action! |
But first one must experience a very uncomfortable bumpy ride from Puerta Princesa to the little beach village of Sabang on the other side of the Island! We did a day trip with a local tour group in a mini van. From Sabang we rode in a colourful local banca, first on the open sea then around to the river mouth.
From there we transferred to a river boat along with the other tourists to enjoy about 2 km of the underground river. It was rather like being in boat in a cave and a tad "touristy" but fun never-the-less.
Once back in PP we began to watch for our weather window for our run down to Sabah East Malaysia. All in all we both loved Puerta Princesa and would certainly go back there as it's a good safe anchorage and a fun place to be!
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