After three hours crammed inside a jeepnie, we arrived at Sabang where the magnificence of the scenery was matched only be the relief we felt for being able to stretch our legs. Sabang is the village that is closest to the Underground river and is made up largely of small beach side resorts. The view down the beach is like something from a postcard including tropical mountains framing a white sand beach lined with coconut palms, with waves from the South China Sea crashing on the beach. We stayed in small one room huts in a little yard where the central bamboo building served as the reception and restaurant.
We took a short walk to the nearest river, on which local mangrove tours are given. Our guide was a small, friendly fellow, who rowed us down the river and explained the Philippines efforts to maintain their wild mangrove habitat. This current eco-policy is a complete u-turn from the 1970s policy which rewarded people for cutting down mangroves to make room for farmland. Now it's illegal. Our guide sang us the "Mangrove Song" and we were able to actually plant a mangrove tree in the sand. A legacy for future generations. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and discussing politics, the differences between the US and Canada and my colleagues' respective experiences since arriving in the Philippines.
The following day before heading back to Puerto, we hiked the 2 and half kilometers (a mile and half for the rest of you) over the mountain on the Monkey Trail to the mouth of the Underground River. No monkeys were to be seen on the trail, nor much other wild life, likely due to the rainy weather. We were all feeling how out of shape we were, but the trek was well worth it. We saw one Monitor Lizard at the picnic site near the river (a small Komodo Dragon like creature). The river itself was busy and it was all you could do to line up and get on the boat. It would have been nice to have sandals, as the boats don't come right to shore, but I guess most people come by boat.
The trip into the cave goes for about 45 minutes, and you travel about a kilometer and a half of eight, which would take hours. The chambers inside are massive and the guide pointed out all sorts of water sculpted stalagmites and stalagtites that seemed to take the form of religious icons and animals, much like cloud watching. Thousands of bats screech over head, and the whole trip feels like it takes about five minutes. Quite a remarkable place. After a boat ride back to Sabang and some lunch we were back to the jeepnie for the trip home, an adventure in itself. (see more photos)
We took a short walk to the nearest river, on which local mangrove tours are given. Our guide was a small, friendly fellow, who rowed us down the river and explained the Philippines efforts to maintain their wild mangrove habitat. This current eco-policy is a complete u-turn from the 1970s policy which rewarded people for cutting down mangroves to make room for farmland. Now it's illegal. Our guide sang us the "Mangrove Song" and we were able to actually plant a mangrove tree in the sand. A legacy for future generations. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and discussing politics, the differences between the US and Canada and my colleagues' respective experiences since arriving in the Philippines.
The following day before heading back to Puerto, we hiked the 2 and half kilometers (a mile and half for the rest of you) over the mountain on the Monkey Trail to the mouth of the Underground River. No monkeys were to be seen on the trail, nor much other wild life, likely due to the rainy weather. We were all feeling how out of shape we were, but the trek was well worth it. We saw one Monitor Lizard at the picnic site near the river (a small Komodo Dragon like creature). The river itself was busy and it was all you could do to line up and get on the boat. It would have been nice to have sandals, as the boats don't come right to shore, but I guess most people come by boat.
The trip into the cave goes for about 45 minutes, and you travel about a kilometer and a half of eight, which would take hours. The chambers inside are massive and the guide pointed out all sorts of water sculpted stalagmites and stalagtites that seemed to take the form of religious icons and animals, much like cloud watching. Thousands of bats screech over head, and the whole trip feels like it takes about five minutes. Quite a remarkable place. After a boat ride back to Sabang and some lunch we were back to the jeepnie for the trip home, an adventure in itself. (see more photos)
No comments:
Post a Comment