Our trip to Palawan started with a 24hour boat trip which was tiring but really interesting because we met many locals and exchanged a lot of information. The Filipinos are really open people so don’t be surprised if during the first five minutes of your conversation they start talking about their personal problems and ask your opinion about them.

24 hours later, we reached Puerto Princesa (Puerto as the locals call it) the heart of Palawan. From there we would organize our visit to the underground river in Sabang, the second longest navigational cave in the world with more than 10km into land. Many call it a world wonder.

After getting the proper permits from Puerto, we chose an alternative way and instead of taking a tour we rented motorbikes and hit the road to Sabang. The nature here is magnificent. During our 75km ride we crossed thick jungle and rice fields side by side (proof that man and nature can coexist) as well as unspoiled beaches with light blue waters where locals had built their homes. In Sabang the development is limited to the minimum. There’s just a small dock where you board the local boats that take you to the cave.

When you finally get there after a long waiting line of all kinds of tourists, you’re really amazed. Emerald green waters lead you from a seawater lake into the mouth of the cave. The time allowed for each boat in the cave was 45 minutes. A knowledgeable boatman told us about the morphology of the place. It’s definitely a thing not to be missed.

Our next stop was El Nido, a small village and a gateway to the archipelago full of granite rock islands. Many compare it to Halong Bay in Vietnam but since I’ve visited both, I can tell you that the second one is much more impressive. The big difference is that the waters here are much clearer, with wonderful colours and greater visibility. It was a great diving site so it didn’t take me long to start diving and exploring the beauty of its underwater world.