Nine years ago, my family and I decided to go on a vacation good for three days and two nights in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. I appreciated that place because of its impeccable cleanliness, lush forests, verdant mountains and clear blue waters of the sea. This year, we decided to come back for a vacation in the city. This time, we made our firsts here and seeing the changes in the place nine years ago.
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| The place that I've really missed - Puerto Princesa City. |
We made it at Puerto Princesa International Airport at 6:00 AM in which we decided to take a City Tour for the first day of our stay in the province.
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| Good morning Puerto Princesa City! The sun rises at Puerto Princesa City International Airport. |
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| The icon of our fishes in the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk seems changed its structure. |
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| I <3 Puerto Princesa |
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| The relaxing scenery of the sea with boats from the viewing deck. |
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| The locals maintain the cleanliness of this area as well with the waters. |
We started the city tour with the visit at the Puerto Princesa Baywalk. We enjoyed the view of the sea and the place remains clean as always. I really appreciate the people and their local government for maintaining the cleanliness of the city because of the implementing laws regarding waste management and throwing of trash in the city. It is proven that citizens are giving importance on discipline and cleanliness, as well with saving the nature.
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| The Immaculate Conception Cathedral, simply known as the Puerto Princesa City Cathedral. |
After two minutes, we visited two historical sites in the city which can be found in Rizal Avenue . First, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, which is the episcopal see of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa. It is the place where the first mass in the province happened in 1872 and it is known for its Gothic architecture with its pointed spires.
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| The facade of Plaza Cuartel. |
Adjacent to the church is the Plaza Cuartel. It was a military base during the Second World War where 150 American prisoners were burned to death by the Japanese soldiers on December 14, 1944. In addition, the place reminds of its remarkable history of the province during the Japanese occupation. It is an interesting site to see but we don't have time to check what's inside of it (possibly in my return to Puerto Princesa City soon, I will check this place again).
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| The entrance to Crocodile Farm with a better landscaping. |
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| Kalayaan, a 50 year old Philippine crocodile. |
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| Kagitingan, another old crocodile. |
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| The Palawan bearcat or binturong |
We also visited the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center, also known as the Crocodile Farm. There are many young crocodiles in their hatchling house and it is quite frightening to take photos of baby crocs because my camera phone was almost dropped when one of them was disturbed and made a shocking response. Then, we visited the big crocodiles which are only few of them left and they are so old and enormous. Nine years ago, there are many huge crocodiles in that portion of the park, but only 5 to 7 of them are left and each of them owned a portion. I've also learned that there are two species of crocodiles in our country - the saltwater crocodile and the Philippine crocodile. They can also live for 50 to 70 years old. After seeing the crocodiles, we made a nature trek in the park where we saw other animals such as snakes, native birds like eagles, horn bills, mynahs and parrots, and the Palawan bear cat or binturong. These animals were saved after being caught by illegal poachers.
Watch out for the second part of my post about the afternoon city tour in Puerto Princesa.
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Date: March 9 - 11, 2019
