November 2023

After a frustrating start and much confusion, our day in Puerto Princesa turned into a wonderful adventure.

Last time we were here, Lar and I booked a tour with 3 B’s Travel. For a set price, they would pick us up at the ship and take us to a national park where we would float through a cave with an underground river.

It was such a great deal that when we told our friend, Sherry, about it, she asked to join us.

I communicated with our guide via WhatsApp and it seemed straight forward… Even so, I had a niggling feeling in my gut that there were some hidden strings.

Unfortunately, I was right.

No sooner did our guide meet us at the ship than he said we needed to wait until he could gather at least 7 more people for the tour. He told us it might take up to two hours.

Standing around in the heat and humidity on a busy street for two hours was not going to cut it, especially for Sherry, who is 82, and uses walking sticks for stability.

The guide said we could leave right away, just the three of us, but it would cost more. We haggled and finally agreed on a price for a private tour that was supposed to leave immediately.

“OK. Follow me,” he said. He then herded us up a steep hill, before ‘parking’ the three of us at the corner of a lush alley and a busy street. “The van will pick us up in 15 minutes.”

As we stood there, one van after another drove by, which was another concern. The caves limit the amount of daily visitors. If we didn’t get going quickly, we could miss our chance.

Fifteen minutes turned into 25, so we bailed and started walking back to the ship. (Poor Sherry! It was steep and uneven. But what a trooper. She did not complain, except to be irritated by the run around we were getting.)

Our guide chased us the whole way, begging us to wait and apologizing like crazy. At the bottom of the hill, tour guides and taxi drivers bombarded us from all sides.

We finally wound up joining a group of seven other folks from the ship. I think our original dude still got a cut of the money, but it was now with a different tour agency.

After piling into the van, our relief was short lived because this guy drove us to a tour agency where it took half an hour for all of us to pay. We then boarded another van with a new driver, Martin, who spoke little English.

The first thing Martin did was stop to gas up. Not sure why they didn’t do this in advance, but there you go.

All in all, we departed two hours later than originally planned. It was a pretty drive through the countryside, and I enjoyed seeing all the bamboo huts.

I’ve also included a photo of a guy selling ice cream on foot. He walked around ringing a bell and digging out cold treats from the ice chest over his shoulder.

As we entered the national park, Martin made several phone calls. I don’t understand Tagalog, but his voice sounded terse, and the way he kept scowling at a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it every few minutes did not inspire much confidence.

Finally, Martin pulled over and chatted with a man selling bananas by the roadside. From the man’s tone of voice and gestures, it seemed like he was giving Martin directions.

“What’s going on?”asked the woman behind me. “Are we lost?”

“I think he’s trying to sell us for medical experiments,” I joked.

Eventually, Martin made a u turn. When I asked where we were going, all he would say was, “Buena Vista View.”

Other passengers began shouting questions up to us in the front.

“Can we stop for a toilet?”

“Yes, yes. Buena Vista View,” replied Martin.

“Are we going to lunch?”

“Yes, yes. Buena Vista View.”

“Are we too late for the caves?”

“Yes, yes. Buena Vista View! Buena Vista View!”

“Where are we going?”

“Yes, yes. Buena Vista View. Only 3 kilometer. Buena Vista View!”

Buena Vista View turned out to be a pretty white building with a platform overlooking the jungle that did indeed offer us a Buena Vista. The air smelled of freshly blooming Frangipani, and there were toilets, which were also fragrant, but not pleasantly so.

Best of all, we picked up our English speaking guide, ER, who explained the day’s itinerary, and took the confusion out of the situation.

Apparently, Martin accidentally drove by the prearranged pickup point, which was why he was so frantic.

After Buena Vista View, we squeezed ER into the van with us and headed back to the national park, where we enjoyed an outdoor buffet of Filipino food. I especially enjoyed the fried spinach and mini bananas.Read more