Back to Puerto Princesa

Bus Back to Puerto Princesa

Bus Back to Puerto Princesa

After a couple of days in El Nido. It is time to go home. As usual, it is not easy to get back to the big city from here. Actually, if you can afford it there is a small airport for small aircraft. I prefer to go the budget way. I had to get up early to be able to catch the bus. The “terminal” is further down the road parallel to the beach. There are buses that leave for Puerto Princesa City from El Nido town. There are supposedly three trips back to the city. Unfortunately, that day, there was only one. Seems like there was something wrong with the other buses.

Small Store by the Highway

Small Store by the Highway

Fortunately, I dumped my bag in the bus as soon as I could guaranteeing me a seat. The bus left a little past 9 in the morning. It wasn’t really full. The bus wasn’t air-conditioned either but it didn’t really matter since the bus was traveling quite fast and the breeze was good. The road took us around the coast of northern Palawan giving us one last look at the spectacular scenery. The road back to Puerto Princesa was a dirt road, however it was good enough to allow the bus to travel quickly. As usual, with the transportation in this part of the country, the bus would stop at every little village it passes by and take on or let off passengers. Sometimes, not even people would get on, but stuff that needs to be delivered to the Puerto Princesa City or any village along the way.

Nicely Paved Road

Nicely Paved Road

In one village, the driver was dropping off some supplies and some villagers wanted to have him deliver some stuff to another place. He accepted most of the stuff except that he didn’t want to bring the pig along. Good thing he didn’t. I couldn’t imagine how it would be having a pig along on the bus. That would have been interesting though.

I was seated next to a British lady and she was also on here way out of Palawan. She was going to the north next. Sadly, I learned that her digital camera was stolen in Sabang. The village leaders at Sabang told here that she could file the complaint at the police station in Puerto Princesa (Sabang technically is still part of Puerto Princesa City), but understandably, she wasn’t really hoping anything would come out of it. What a way to ruin someone else’s vacation. I really feel sorry for her. Seems like she stayed at the left side of the pier at Sabang. It was cheaper there, but as mentioned previously, there were reports of theft, so it is recommended to stay at the right side, where all the resorts are.

Bus Schedule for Eulen Joy Liner

Bus Schedule for Eulen Joy Liner

The road is now going through some dense forest. It was still a dirt road and every now and then there would be another vehicle, which would kick up the dust for us to eat. People seem to be very used to this that once they see an oncoming vehicle, everyone would simultaneously start covering their noses. Not wanted to be left behind and eat dirt, I did the same.

Pit Stop at Roxas Town

Pit Stop at Roxas Town

It was mostly green along the way, with some rice fields. It was also sad to see that even in the protected forests of Palawan, forests are still being cleared. To think Palawan is already considered the final frontier in the Philippines. Within a few hours were arrived at our stopover of Taytay. It is a small Spanish fortress, that is now a bustling little town. You can actually still see the stone walls built during the Spanish times. We had a quick lunch at a cafeteria their bus terminal there. Nothing special here either. I wanted to go down to take a picture of the old fortress walls but there was not enough time.

The bus started and left as we continued on our journey. It was a non-eventful journey for another few hours until we got to the town of Roxas which was our last stopover. This was another unremarkable town. I bought a couple of snacks and waited as our crew performed maintenance on the bus. I was surprised to see how dirty our bus had become, small wonder since it was traveling on dirt road all the time. The driver was replacing one of the wheels. I’ve read about this, it is not uncommon for transportation to break down here, the rough roads really take its toll on the suspensions and wheels. Good thing we had experts who know their thing.

Expert Mechanic at Work

Expert Mechanic at Work

A few more minutes and we were on our way. The road has already turned into a beautiful paved road and we were already moving quite fast, it was already 4 in the afternoon. The driver said that we will be in Puerto Princesa before dark. By this time, we were already along the eastern coast of Palawan. The highway gives one a spectacular view of the sea as we sped along. If I had a car I would have stopped and took pictures of the view. By 5 we were already in the city and with a relief, we all got off the bus and paid the fare.

The middle aged British lady I was seated next to told me about this pension house she stayed in a Puerto Princesa and she was going there. I decided to tag along since I didn’t really know where to stay at that time. It was actually quite some distance from where the tricycle dropped us off, so she had to lug here suitcase(!) all the way to the pension house.

In my final post about Palawan, I will show you the pension house and some places in Puerto Princesa city.

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