Trip Report: Palawan (again)

BETWEEN December 6 and December 10, or a little over a week ago as I write this, I was fortunate enough to find myself in good company once again in my favorite place on the planet, the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Or specifically, the northern town of San Vicente, which lies about two-thirds of the way between the main city of Puerto Princesa and the famed (and in my opinion, positively awful) resort area of El Nido. Or even more specifically, the outlying tiny barangay (village) of San Vicente known as Alimanguan (the word alimango in the local language means “crab”). There, along a long stretch of San Vicente’s moderately famous 15-kilometer beach, you will find the Victoria Beach House, operated by the affable and accommodating Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand and Mylene Victoria and their cheerful staff.

It is hard for me to find enough superlatives to describe how much I love this place. Simple, comfortable, with good home-cooked food, and in a lovely, uncrowded setting on the best beach you could hope for, there is just something about the place that immediately drains the stress from one’s body. There is not much to do there, but that is exactly the point: Rest, recover, and let the slow vibe of the place and its neighboring village set you right. For those who are looking for some activities, the Victorias do offer a number of tours and outings, but most guests – a surprising number of which find their way here after being turned off by the high prices and tourist crush in hectic El Nido – seem content to do what I do, which is to shut down and soak it up. If one does have to get a little work done (which I did while I was there), it is the world’s best office space.

On this particular trip, I had the memorable experience of seeing an Olive Ridley sea turtle pick a spot next to the resort’s common area to make her nest. I wrote about this, and the locals’ unique respect and DIY conservation efforts for the turtles, in my Manila Times column on Thursday, Dec. 11:

“What impressed me, after I got over the little-kid LOOK AT THIS TURTLE reaction, was that the local people here are extraordinarily protective of them. The turtle had picked an inconvenient spot, halfway under the outrigger of a beached banca along a pathway between the beach and the road, where if left alone the nest would either be trodden on by unaware tourists or dug up by the stray dogs. So, after standing guard to make sure that the handful of us gawking visitors gave Mrs. Turtle some space and didn’t spook her, the staff here continued to keep watch until she finished her business and made it safely back to the water, then carefully excavated the nest and relocated it to a spot where it would be safe and could be monitored. Provided all the eggs develop properly, in about two months’ time 96 hatchlings will emerge and make their way to the sea, with the locals again assisting by clearing a safe path for them.

I learned that the municipality of San Vicente does have an ordinance protecting the sea turtles, which is intended to complement national and provincial conservation laws and regulations. In reality, however, the people here do not seem to need a law; the turtles are considered a harbinger of good fortune, and having one’s property ‘chosen’ as a nesting site is an extraordinary blessing.”

Getting There

There are a few different ways to reach San Vicente, but the most efficient and comfortable – and all things considered, probably the most economical – is to arrange for pickup at Puerto Princesa Airport by the Victorias, who have several vehicles fit for the purpose. One-way fare is P4,500, or about $76, but since it’s a private ride, you can make stops and detours along the way as you wish. Our usual routine is to take an early flight from Manila (the Manila airport is pure hell, which will be the subject of a subsequent post, I don’t want to ruin the happy tone of this one), which takes about an hour, and then proceed to my favorite coffee and breakfast spot in Puerto Princesa, Lato, which is located along the Baywalk. This is some of the best coffee in town (although the competition is fierce, as noted below), and features simple, tasty homestyle breakfast. My total tab for breakfast and coffee for three people came to P830, or about $14.

Then it’s on to the road north, which is a pleasant, three-and-a-half hour ride, including a couple of brief stops along the way. The road is quite good by Philippine standards, although there were spots that had been damaged by landslides caused by recent typhoons. Palawan is essentially one long mountain ridge, with most habitation and infrastructure along the narrow space between the mountains and the sea; it makes for a spectacular landscape, but one that can be a little challenging.

For the return trip, it is highly recommended to travel back to Puerto Princesa the day before your return flight to Manila. Going directly to the airport from San Vicente could be a bit risky, and spending the night in Puerto Princesa offers a few pleasant diversions, as the city itself is quite interesting.

Puerto Princesa Finds

This latest trip ended at the Fersal Hotel, a surprisingly well-appointed and affordable hotel located on the opposite side of the airport. It has nice, spacious rooms and offers free breakfast as well as airport transfer, which took all of about 10 minutes.

On a side note, compared to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the Puerto Princesa Airport is a nice, trouble-free facility. That, too, will be a topic for another time.

If you stay at the Fersal Hotel, I would recommend asking for a room toward the rear of the building. It sits directly across the road from a couple of local bars, which are noisy until the wee hours of the morning.

Just a couple of blocks down Rizal Ave. from the Fersal Hotel in the direction of downtown is the Kapì Coffee House, a pleasant little shop offering some very good local coffee. Palawan in general and Puerto Princesa specifically stands out among Philippine coffee hotspots, in spite of the fact that the coffee from the far north and far south of the country is much better known, so it is difficult to say one of the many, many coffee shops in the city is better than another (though Lato is still my favorite). If you come here and end up at Starbucks, you’re an idiot, frankly.

After a quick stop at a familiar spot to find local handicrafts, Asiano Arts & Crafts, it was time to eat. Dinner choices abound in the city, although from the Fersal a short ride toward the downtown area is required. Puerto Princesa is known for Vietnamese food; a great many refugees fleeing Vietnam at the fall of Saigon in 1975 settled in Puerto Princesa, adding a unique (and well-appreciated by the natives) bit of culture to the town. We discovered a different sort of gem near the Baywalk, however, in Fatima Halal Food, a cozy hole-in-the-wall offering first-rate South Asian dishes. I delight in Indian (and Indian-ish) food, so I am a tough critic, but this place felt and tasted like eating at someone’s mom’s house, which is about the highest praise I can offer. The portions appear small at first, but they are precisely just right; two of us left satisfied, and all for the princely sum of P435, or about $7.38.

Finally, a short ten-minute walk (interrupted by a brief downpour) brought us to the city destination I had been targeting since well before leaving for Palawan, the Palaweño Brewery. Craft breweries have begun to catch on in the Philippines in recent years – for example, a very good recently opened alongside the park about two blocks from my apartment – but as far as I know, Palaweño was one of the first, if not the first, and probably the only one whose founders and proprietors are women. The beer is excellent, it goes without saying, and I sampled several varieties before adding considerable bulk to my luggage by buying a six-pack sampler to bring home.

See for yourself

Victoria Beach House: https://www.facebook.com/victoriabeachhouse.palawan/

Lato Puerto Princesa: https://web.facebook.com/LatoSaBaybay/

Fersal Hotel: https://fersalhotel.com/fersal-hotel-puerto-princesa-city-palawan/

Kapì Coffee House: https://web.facebook.com/kapipalawan/

Asiano Arts & Crafts: https://web.facebook.com/AsianoArtsCrafts/

Palaweño Brewery: https://www.palawenobrewery.com/

Photo Gallery

Sunrise from 33,000 feet over the South China Sea.

Along the Puerto Princesa Baywalk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The breakfast of champions at Lato.

 

Home away from home, San Vicente, Palawan.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Some beach scenes. This shallow cave is in the rock seen in the photo farther down, accessible at low tide. 

 

Not a bad workspace. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This absolute unit is from the neighborhood, and his name is Max, because of course it is. He has a female counterpart almost the same size as he is (which is VERY LARGE), as well as a ridiculously out-of-scale Jack Russell housemate. Max is a Kangal, a native Turkish herd and guard dog. He seemed to like me, which is good, because I have no doubt he could have taken my arm off if he wanted to. 

 

I call this the "Hillbilly Mai Tai" -- Maker's Mark bourbon and fresh coconut juice. Hey, I gotta be me. 

 

 

 

 

 

LOOK AT THIS TURTLE. LOOK AT IT. This was a young Olive Ridley female (they are fairly common in this part of the world), the knowledgeable locals thought this might have only been her first or second nesting. We goober tourists were instructed not to put a light on her until she actually started releasing her eggs, so as not to scare her.

 

 

 

The nest was carefully relocated to the dining area of the resort and appropriately protected. The turtle hatchlings will emerge sometime during the second week of February. 
 

A sign in the Fersal Hotel's elevator advertising its Karaoke lounge. When I shared the photo with my daughter back home, she said, "I don't think that's how it's supposed to work." Heh. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accommodations at the Fersal Hotel are quite comfortable.

 

Yes, the name of this shop is literally "Coffee Coffee House." I found it quite good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did not really get a good photo inside the Asiano Arts & Crafts shop, partly because my daughter decided to do some online shopping for little Christmas gifts over my WhatsApp. It is definitely worth a visit. 

 

Don't blink or you'll miss it, and if you do, you will profoundly regret it. I am definitely going back here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting caught in a thundershower was a small price to pay to find this place. 

 

See you again soon, Palawan.