Zoobic Safari Adventure

I cannot believe that Alpha had never stepped foot in a zoo before! So since it was her birthday, off we go for a Zoobic Safari adventure!

Awww...look at that wonderful smile on her face! There's nothing like the excitement of spending this very special day with species having unpronounceable names! Yey!

Now I can't remember what this is supposed to be but its a huge white tiger of some sort.  He greeted us (or maybe threatened us..who knows?!?) upon arrival at the zoo. I don't know why the receptionist should be a really huge white tiger and not a rabbit...or parrot...or one of those rare iguanas.  If it absolutely had to be huge...then why not an elephant or a hippo...or any of those friendly leaf eating beasts?  Why did it have to be a carnivorous huge white tiger?!?  Alpha didn't seem to mind.  She was gah-gah over it! 

While I was deep in thought about this bothersome scene, we were greeted by a yelping and super charged guide asking us to line up... and the tour began!

Now if you look closely...you can see that Alpha was really eager to go around and study the animals.  The bird...which I again cannot remember what its name was...but I know its not one of those we put in tinola or adobo...was just absolutely snobbish!  I was quite bored. But if the bird flew in Alpha's head and started scratching here and there...that would have made it for me!

This photo of Alpha is really interesting. She seems to have a smile on her face but deep down, she was really freaking out! Nice birds though.

I'm not sure what Alpha intended to do here. It seems like she wanted to smell the bird!

Sweet....

There's a lot of these in Manila!

Ah-ah! Don't ask me what these are! They're lazy things that don't move unless you put a piece of banana on a stick and feed them.  No....Alpha didn't poke the man's behind with her stick!  But  I'm sure she thought about it.

Alpha started to warm up with the animals and found this camel to be really friendly.  It was trying to tell her something but she had a short attention span and wasn't really listening.

In the end, we learned that Mr. Camel merely wanted us to take a portrait shot of his better side!

Alpha finally noticed that I was bored so she threatened me to interact with the animals...or else!
So I did and chose these babies.  You don't have to zoom in to the photo to notice my twisted smile.  The goats were sucking on my finger!!! 

Aha! The solution was to give them something else to suck on! Cute little things.  I want one in the house.  No kidding.

If Alpha went any nearer...I'm sure this donkey was ready to kick her face!  That would have highlighted the day!

After walking around, the hyperactive guide let us ride in this tram where we went to see....

...this....

...this... and...

...THIS!  It could have been my leg he was chewing on!

Oh, and this as well.

Of all the animals in the zoo, this was Alpha's favorite...

Thanks for dropping by!  Until my next post...See you soon!!!

Zambales, Zambales!

You'll be surprised how much beauty there is just beyond the traffic! As promised...next stop is at Pundaquit, San Antonio Zambales!

This place is about 3 hours from Manila going North and passing through the North Expressway and exiting at the SCTEX going to Subic.  From Subic, you'll reach Pundaquit in San Antonio Zambales in about an hour.

The community is very welcoming of tourists but is yet to be developed and organized for it to work smoothly.

Nevertheless, it is still a beauty.

We stayed at a quaint place with Camara Island in sight.  When the people are not busy with the tourists, they are mainly fisherfolks so you'll see a lot of boats around.

Upon reaching the resort at 10:00 A.M., we immediately rented a banca to take us to 2 wonderful islands, namely: Capones and Anawangin Islands.

Capones Island boasts of an old Lighthouse which we failed to reach due to the strong waves at the time we were there.  Although hiking was an option, we were not too eager to do so due to my leg implants. 

It was fun, nonetheless.  The sand was fine and the water a bit warm.  We had our bag of lunch with us so we sat down on the sand and ate a hearty lunch.

As usual, posting photos of Alpha is without her permission so I can already feel her wrath! Hihihihi!

It was about 1P.M. so we decided to move to our next stop...Anawangin Island!

We were surprised that this island actually had a campsite and plenty happy and excited campers arrived on a Friday afternoon, bringing with them their own tents, cooking utensils while some had brought their own cooked food.  We envied this adventure!

How could you not want to stay overnight in a place like this?!?  In the middle of the Island was a sanctuary! Pine Trees abound and the shallow still water is plain amazing.  The few residents here said that this beautiful sight was created during the Mt. Pinatubo erruption.  Wow...

We just relaxed and enjoyed the view!

We regretted leaving but it was getting late so we packed our things and went back to the boat.

Awwwwwwwww.....(sniff,sniff...)...sunsets are always touching....

Even this dog was awed by the sunset....

(She just kept following us around!) 

We had our dinner and rested.  In the morning when we woke...this is what we saw....

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!  Simply aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing!

This was taken while waiting for our breakfast.  We strolled along the shore for a while. 

Locals were getting ready with their nets for a day of fishing.

After breakfast, we got into the car and left for our next adventure!

Next stop...Zoobic at the Subic Bay Freeport! Thanks for visiting and watch out for the next post!

Amazing Palawan!

Finally! Finally! I almost kissed the ground when we arrived at Puerto Princesa Airport. After a disappointing doctor's order, a regretful cancellation, refund and rebooking...we finally arrived.  You know how it feels when you got your first Nikes? The one you never thought you'd ever, ever have? That's how it felt like!

 

What made it more seemingly impossible to get to Palawan was an impending Typhoon! But the heavens really do answer prayers.

We were picked up at the Airport by a friendly staff of the Puerto Pension, a small but wonderful Inn in the City Proper of Puerto Princessa.  The place was very clean and orderly.  An a/c room for 2 costs around P1,500. Check-in time was 2pm, but since we arrived at 10:30am, they took care of our bags while we got ready for our island hopping trip to starfish and snake island.

 

Since it was too late to join any tour group (who usually meet at 7am), we decided to just take a tricycle going to the wharf, the jump off point going to any island, including Dos Palmas.  For contracting our tricyle driver to bring us to the wharf and back to the hotel, the rate was P600.   Deciding to go at it on our own was a good thing as we didn't have to keep on waiting for a lot of people.  At the wharf, we were instructed to proceed to the office of the coast guard to contract for a boat which costs about P1,400 and can accommodate up to 8 persons.  It was a huge banca so no need to fear.  The sea was also calm.

First stop was at Starfish Island.  Absolutely serene.  There was a small hut selling some nibbles and could also serve you a simple lunch.  When I asked them if they had some crabs, a guy went to the sea, pulled out a net with 3 live crabs. Wonderful! And if they had some squid to go with that...my life would be perfect.  Ofcourse they had squid! They gladly steamed both the poor crabs and squid and served them to us with a heap of newly cooked rice, soy sauce and calamansi with sili! All for P200.  I almost had indigestion!

(Magagalit sakin si Alpha nito dahil puro siya ang nasa photos! Hahaha!)

Moving on... next stop is Snake Island. No... there aren't any snakes in the island.  Its just that the shape of the island is like a snake...so there you go! We did some snorkeling here.  There are so many kinds of fishes.  Schools of them.  One kept bumping me on my leg. I think they call it the Territorial fish, for obvious reasons. Just be careful when snorkeling.  Don't go too far off if your not a swimmer. The water can get instantly deep.

(This can be an Alien...for all I know...)

                                                                      (Yes, Pigs do float!)

After the amazement, the swimming, the too much eating, the snorkeling and the boat rides...you'll surely be exhausted at around 3-4pm.  We went back to the hotel, cleaned, rested and got ready for dinner.  We took another tricycle ride to the City and decided to try the food at Balinsasayaw (which is an indigenous bird of Palawan) Restaurant.  The place was great with good tasting food at affordable prices.

On the second day of our trip, we joined a tour group going to the Underground River.  Before reaching the port, we stopped by Ugong Rock.  Here, we went very HIGH UP a cave (i cannot emphasize it more than that) and went back down via ZIP LINE! It was exhausting, scary, jaw dropping but also exhilarating and exciting!!!

(I never thought I'd fit in this thing!)

(Up, up and up!)

(Uuuuuuuuugh! Everything but my thumb hurts!!! But it was great!)

After Ugong Rock, we proceeded to the port in Sabang, where we rode another banca to the island where the Underground River is located.

(Touch down!)

Welcome to the Underground River!

You'll still have to walk through a forest with a path going to where the river is located.

At last!

(Very beautiful....)

If you think your banca days are over...well...you're wrong! The scenery was really amazing but beware of the smell.  Bat poop abound in the cave and the water smells acidic.  I got dizzy from the smell and the slow rocking motion of the banca.  The inside of the cave was like no other, but photos won't do due to the darkness.  Also, I missed to mention that the road going to Ugong Rock and the Underground River is zigzag all the way! So it would be good for you to be ready with the ever handy bonamine!

The above activities are enough to keep you dizzy for the remaining hours of your day and night.  So off to the third day!

On day 3, we went to Dos Palmas for a day trip.  This costs around P1,200/person.

This is also a wonderful place. Everything is provided for you.  From your welcome drink to snorkeling gear, volleyball, bicyle, and a sumptuous lunch buffet! Sulit na sulit.  

They have a diving site for your snorkeling fantasies.  I met Nemo here!

Be sure that you're armed with an underwater camera.  For Nemo, I merely used a protective underwater case for my camera.

You can also Kayak if you're not too dizzy from another boat trip!  Alpha was going at it alone so I need not explain!

(just like a pro!)

e

(hungry?!?)

And then there's lunch! Yey!

The food was great and the staff was equally warm and friendly!

You'll need to walk around after that filling lunch...

At around 4pm, we headed back to the City after a great day in this Island.

Our last day at Puerto Princesa was spent shopping at the City Tiangge.  You can buy Kasoy, Danggit, Pearls and other Souvenirs here.

We also had lunch at the Badjao Seafood Restaurant.  The food was so-so but the view was stunning!

Thank you for visiting this blog and we hope you'll enjoy your trip to Palawan as much as we did. I'll be also showing you some photos of our Zambales Island Hopping Trip on my next post. See you soon!