Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

This is where we live and enjoy the great fresh air of the countryside. We are doing our best for sustainability like using solar lights at night, charging our electric bikes with solar as well; harvest rain water, grow our veggies in recycled soda pop bottles etc. We even have a few chickens who provide us with fresh eggs.

Actually the little building on the left is a pump house and shower room. It has a little deck out fron with a bamboo table built from our own growes. All the bamboo siding also from our land.

Lotus Garden Restaurant and Suites is a good place to chill out and take in the beautiful water garden and beautiful lotus flowers therein. It's an oasis of tranquility. We happen to really love the Sweet Sour Pork.

They have lovely suite rooms that are clean, airconditioned with TV and hot showers.Right off Rizal Avenue. All the Trike drivers know where it is so just ask. Their menu has Japanese sushi, Chinese food, nouvelle Filipino food and much more.

*Innerdance Kafe is open for advance booking for plated dinner at 300.00 after the Yoga Class.

YOGA Classes in Bahay Kalipay Retreat Center, Hagedorn Rd., Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan every Tue, 5:30pm and Thur at 6pm. Energy exchange is 200.00 with Free energy booster fruit smoothie.

Contact Daniw at 09081391139

The Bahay Kalipay program's is founded on cleansing and purgation. Those who undergo a gentle and egoless approach to lightening of mind and body will invariably heal themselves and learn how to heal others.

Ikaw cag Ako is an unobtrusive cozy native restaurant and gift shop on Rizal Avenue near the airport. The menu has a buffet of toppings which go on top of Lugao, a favorite rice porridge. There is beef, seafood, vegetarian items to go in the porridge. There are other delicious things on the menu as well.

All of the items in the gift shop are handmade in Palawan. They have bracelets, necklaces, rings etc made by local artists. They also carry Lawiswis products, which are my favorite locally made organic creams, herbal lotions, essential oils, soaps etc. I have used some of the oils for first aid purposes and they worked on rashes etc.

My favoite drink there is buko juice (coconut juice) with pandan and ginger slush! Yumm. The owners are very talented artists themselves. I've driven by at night and heard them jamming on their drums!

They are open till Midnight
Photo taken with a GoPro Hero action vid/still cam

Lobster and grilled tuna. Just a couple of the many fresh seafood dishes served at. It's the only restaurant I know of in a mangrove forest. They have a large selection of fresh seafood. The view at sunset is not to be missed, aside from the good food. If you aren't into seafood, don't worry, they have other meat dishes as well as chicken. We like the Cameron Rebosado, or breaded fried shrimp.

We live near the San Jose Public Market and this is where I shop for most of our meat, seafood and fresh vegetables.

There is a covered building next to the bus terminal which is open 7 days a week. There are fresh vegetable vendors at the back of the meat and seafood building all week, but the freshest and best variety of vegetables can be found on Saturday and Sunday in the open market stalls.

One of the local favorite dishes is what they call Lato (seaweed). There are about three kinds, but they all have little grape like nodules that pop like caviar in your mouth and are nice and salty (If you like salty things). If you buy it, don't wash the stems you will eat until just about to serve them, fresh water wilts the nodules pretty fast. They are served sometimes with onions and tomatoes chopped into them, and then the stems are dipped into vinegar and fresh chilies added to this if you like spicy things.

Voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, Puerto Princesa Underground River has pretty much put this place on the global map. Over 260,000 visitors from all over the world come to see the longest karst cavern underground rivers in the world. It was formerly called the St. Paul Underground River, but is now administered by the city goverment. It is a Unesco Herigtage site.

We have been to it 3 times and I always see new things when we go. I highly recommend this tour.

There is much more information on my blog about it, click the highlighted link above to go there.

It's off the National highway going north off a bumpy dirt road. It takes a little over an hour to get there from City Center. It's just a small slice of white sanded beach with nothing much there. But if you like to go where seldom people go, this is a nice quiet spot. Bring your own food and beverages as there is nothing to be bought there.

The way to our farm along the National Highway going south is so beautiful and varigated. You have the open rice fields d tree caponied lanes. So beautiful. This is a common sight along most any road. The uibquitous Carabao (water buffalo) cart bearing rice sprouts to plant in the rice paddies.

The fire trees are so large in spots the tree tops converge over the highway forming a sort of tunnel of tree tops. When they are in bloom, it's spectacular. The fire trees were in full bloom last June. 2009

My hubby, Dave Dewbre, makes the electric tricycles and piloted the new eTrike project this year for Mayor Edward Hagedorn and the City of Puerto Princesa.

This is my eTrike and it's how I get around town. This was taken at the PPC airport with the local gas tricycle drivers drooling over it. The airport drivers are slated to exchange their gas guzzler for all Etrikes by next year 2011, with the first prototype to roll out by mid October 2010.

It goes 65 KPH and reaches up to 100 kilometers before I have to recharge it. It has a 3000 Kilowatt motor which hasn't failed me yet! Dave installed minature DWG water proof 2"bullet speakers in it and they connect to my iPod through a min amplifier so I can listen to my music as I drive. Since the motor has no sound, I can enjoy my music as I drive along the highways and byways.

By the way,should you have to take a gas powered tricycle in Puerto Princesa, don't let them rip you off. Locals pay 10.00 to 20.00 PHP per trip around downtown, or from the airport to downtown. If it's far from town, say to Honda Bay, then 100.00 to 150.00 Pesos per person is fair. If you have the money and want to tip them, then don't go overboard. It ruins it for everyone else!

Palawan contains 43% of the total mangrove forests of the Philippines and Puerto Princesa is a city in the country where the total area of mangrove forests do not decline, but are increasing.

Mangroves play an important role in coastal ecosystems. They form important nurseries for many fish and shrimp species, but also for spiny lobster larvae. Besides, they produce good quality wood, basic ingredients for medicines, fruits and seafood products like oysters and several shells.

Near our favorite beach we discovered this fresh water lagoon to while away the hours. The waves on the beach were too large and scared the kids, so this was a nice tranquil bit of serenity to while away the hours. Dec. 2009

The Palawan bear cat is nocturnal and sleeps on branches. It eats primarily fruit, but also has been known to eat eggs, shoots, leaves, and small animals, such as rodents or birds. Deforestation has greatly reduced its numbers. When cornered, the Binturong can be vicious. The Binturong can make chuckling sounds when it seems to be happy and utter a high-pitched wail if annoyed. The Binturong can live over 20 years in captivity; one has been recorded to have lived almost 26 years. The Binturong is an important animal for seed dispersal, especially those of the Strangler Fig, because of its ability to scarify the seed's tough outer covering.

They now have a bear cat that was born into captivity and is tame. You can have a photo taken with it and it's just a donation of whatever you can afford. I love this bear cat.

You can see the Bear cats on the Puerto Princesa City Tour. Which includes the Butterfly Garden featuring endemic butterfly species and an adorable gardenscape.

This is why it's good to be at the restaurant just before sunset. If there are clouds..the sunsets are spectacular there.

I thought he was unique but there were hundreds of them darting about the beach at the mangroves in San Miguel.

Fireworks and a Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Baywalk on Dec. 1st kick off the beginning of the official holiday season. That is Mayor Hagedorn in the white Barong shirt lower left of the Christmas tree!

Puerto Princesa celebrates its Fiesta on the 8th December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Fiesta activities begin during the first week of December with the series of religious activities. The celebrations extends towards the Christmas season laced with nightly cultural presentation, yuletide activities topped by the lighting of the giant Christmas tree and fireworks, as well as ago-industrial, tourism and food fairs. The combined month-long activity is dubbed as "Pista Na, Pasko Pa".

Fireworks behind Christmas 2010 Christmas tree by Bob Ocampo. Far left, male firgure is Mayor Ed Hagedorn. Just to show you in scale how large this tree is. It seems the whole town turns out for this event.

Find more things to do in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on our other blog at: http://mypuertoprincesa.net

The Dec. 8 Christmas season is kicked off by a grand fireworks display before lighting the biggest man made Christmas tree in the Philippines. Courtesy of Mayor Edward Hagedorn and City Council.

One of the things people like to buy in PPC is cahews. 43% of all cashews sold in the markets in Luzon come from Palawan.