El Nido is quite well known for its pearls. There are vendors everywhere, mostly with pearl jewellery. Some even have natural and cultured individual pearls. To prove they are not synthetic, they apply the flame of a lighter to the pearls. If they don't react to the flame they are considered to be genuine. I did not have the heart to spend money on something I didn't know anything about. However, I was told that pearls from El Nido are a favourite with guests.
There are a few ways of getting to Puerto Princesa from EL Nido. The cheapest is to take a bus, which is also the slowest way to get there. The fastest is to take a rental car, which could traverse the distance in about 5 hours. Van and Private Van transit takes about 6 hours. I opted to travel by a Van paying 650 PHP and had booked the journey from my Lodge a couple of days back. Most of the hotels and accommodation have arrangements for such logistics.
I was told that the van pickup would be any time after 7 am, for which I had an early breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham, toasts and yellow watermelon. While waiting for the pickup I got a message from Cebu Pacific airline to complete my online check-in. It did take me a while to do that because of some procedural issue. Boarding time was given as 4.45 pm for the rescheduled 5.30 pm flight. I kept waiting in the Lodge reception for the pickup which turned up close to 8 am! It was an eight seater van with another passenger already in it. Fortunately, I got a set with enough legroom, behind the driver. At the next pickup point we had to wait for a considerable point of time as the guests had not arrived. It was around 8.45 am when we left El Nido after completing all the pickup.
Google Maps showed the distance to Puerto Princesa airport (PPS) to be 270 km from El Nido city. At the time of pickup I was told that it would take about 6 hours to PPS. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the road and the driving skill of the driver. In about two hours he had covered half the distance and stopped in Roxas at the Halfway Coffee Shop And Restaurant for lunch, which was farthest from my mind after the filling breakfast.
The restaurant was full with passengers either headed to El Nido or like me doing the reverse trip. There were two food counters, one for Filipino food and the other for stuff like sandwich, soft drinks, cocktails, shakes and the like. When I placed my order for an egg sandwich and a Buka shake I was told that it would take 10 minutes. But, even after 30 minutes nothing was in sight. I cancelled the sandwich order and hurriedly downed the shake as it was time for the van to leave. A separate dining area was arranged in the cafe for drivers, who get gratis meals, I presumed.
All along the route the similarity with Kerala could not but be made. Banana plantations, zillions of coconut palm trees, thick green vegetation, narrow roads, humidity, frequent rains, rice as a staple, bewitching coastline, many water bodies, etc. Of course, the kind of prosperity, consumerism, political awareness and density of population one experiences in Kerala are totally absent here.
Thanks to the van driver we arrived just past 1 pm at PPS. After a peremptory security check I advanced to the Cebu Pacific check-in counter only to be told that the counters would open only after 2.30 pm. I had over an hour to kill, which I did with some snacks and a Cappuccino. This morning, when I did the online check-in boarding time was shown as 4.45 pm. On the information board, however, the flight to Cebu was shown as 6.20 pm, the pre-revised time. I was totally confused and somewhat angry because the flight rescheduling had forced me to cancel the Underground River Tour in Puerto Princesa.
I approached the check-in counter only to be told that the flight to Cebu is at 6.20 pm. I stood my ground and told the perplexed counter staffer that I would not budge from there unless I spoke to a senior manager about the un-intimated change in schedule. Almost 20 minutes of back and forth later another staffer came to the counter and issued my boarding pass that showed 4.45 as the boarding time! When I told them to change the information on the digital board they just shrugged their shoulders. I was surprised about the wrong information given to me by the counter staff.
The airport was lashed by heavy rains when the flight that was to board to Cebu arrived. Every deplaning passenger was given an umbrella so that they wouldn't get wet. The rain held back when it was time for me to board. The flight took off about 20 minutes early too. The views while taking off from PPS were superb. Despite the mild turbulence the flight was smooth and we landed in Cebu 30 minutes before time. The baggage retrieval was quick. I decided to have dinner at the Jollibee outlet at the airport. The spicy crispy fried chicken was awesome. Jollibee is supposed to be the Filipino response to KFC. My vote certainly goes to Jollibee.
My nephew, Alex, and his father own a condominium in the Marco Polo Residences in Cebu. I was offered the accommodation for the duration of my stay in Cebu. The airport security told me to hire a white taxi for the cheapest fare. Within a short time I got one and met up with Jay R who kept chatting and pointing out the landmarks along the way. There was a brief while when I thought he was taking me via a longer distance. I spoke with the lady who managed the condo and confirmed that the route I was on is the faster one. Before paying off the fare Jay R told me that he would be available for day hire at 4000 PHP. Later I evaluated the proposition and contracted him to take me around tomorrow to see the places I had intended to visit on the following two days. Thus, I could possibly save a day to walk around a bit of Cebu City.
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