I’ve pretty much seen all there is to see in Sabang, I’ve seen the Underground River, did the mangrove river cruise and even did the disappointing Sabang falls. Now it was time to leave. The plan is to make my way into El Nido and then make my way back to Puerto Princesa for my flight back to Manila. There are two ways of going to El Nido from Sabang. First is to hire an outrigger for an eight hour journey across the sea to the El Nido via Port Barton. The second way is to take the jeepney the next morning and wait for a passing bus of jeepney at the town of Salvacion for another long journey.
Although I’m not really fond of taking long sea voyages, especially with a flimsy outrigger like the ones they used going to the Underground River, I didn’t really like the idea of retracing my steps. So, that night, I booked a slot on the outrigger going to El Nido, via Port Barton. You can book a slot near where the bus/jeepney leaves you when you get to Sabang. The outrigger leaves 7 in the morning, so you need to wake up early. One thing to note here, although there are scheduled trips, if there are not enough people to make the trip worth it, they’d cancel the trip altogether.
The next day, as usual, I got up very early in the morning, since there isn’t really anything much to do in Sabang at night. When I got to the pier, there were already people waiting for the boatman to load our stuff on the outrigger. The outrigger we’re going to use will be a bigger one, unlike the small ones we used at the Underground river, though it really isn’t any much bigger. These are the heavy duty ones which the local folk use for their open sea voyages.
After grabbing some breakfast, I quickly boarded the outrigger. Again, you will get wet, so you need to be careful when boarding the outrigger. Not to worry though, the helpful boatmen will help you and your stuff get on the boat. There were around nine passengers on the boat, most of them foreigners from places as varied as Belgium, Australia, France, Turkey and Albania. The three man crew made up the rest of us.
So it was time to see how seaworthy our little craft was. As the mountains of Sabang slowly disappear over the horizon, we started to trace the northeastern coast of Palawan. We passed by beautiful beaches seemingly untouched by man. Virgin forests surround the coast making it an ideal tropical paradise. To our left was the South China Sea, the waves we already quite rough for me, but the boatman didn’t seem worried about it.
Three hours into the trip and three hours of continuous rocking by the unceasing waves. We then entered a small bay where the waves ceased. It was as if the waves were switched off. We will be having a stopover at Port Barton. Port Barton is a small town protected by a nice bay. It feels better than Sabang, just a little bit more modern. Around the bay are numerous beaches where one can just waste the entire day just sitting and doing absolutely nothing.
I quickly disembarked, making sure that the boatman knows that I got off. I don’t want them leaving me without my stuff!. There was a small cafe/restaurant called Bamboo House Restaurant where I had brunch. This will be the last stop until we get to El Nido, and that is still several hours away. I managed to walk around the “town center” and found that it really is more pleasant to stay in than Sabang. When I walked back to the pier, the sun was already quite high up, and I was astounded to see the most beautiful beach scene I’ve ever seen so far. The water was a brilliant blue green and it was really very inviting. But alas, in my amazement, I forgot to take a picture of it! The boatman was already motioning me to board the outrigger as it was already time to go.
After a few minutes we were on our way again. The peaceful waters of Port Barton made me wish that maybe I should have stayed over a day or two, like some of my boat mates did. But my schedule will not permit something like that. Some of my other boatmates also wanted to stay over and tried to arrange with the boatman such that he would pick them up a few days later. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to do that. Although Port Barton was a pleasant place. I’m sure El Nido will be much better.
Looking around I can see that the bay was shallow enough and water crystal clear that you can see right through the bottom. It was a really amazing sight. Along the way out of the bay, there was a neat little sandbar in the middle of the bay where you basically have your own island. It was pretty cool, I actually saw some folks enjoying themselves there. Maybe next time, I thought. For now, El Nido beckons!
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