Lovely Port Barton

  Port Barton, Philippines
Monday, February 26, 2007

Port Barton

Arriving on Palawan

There was a bit of a mix up with dates from our accommodation so we weren't picked up at the airport as planned.  We negotiated an aircon van with a nice ex-army guy 'Raquet Lampa' (09206 274 879) for 4000 peso which is quite a lot for a 2 1/2 hr drive but as we soon discovered, travel on Palawan is expensive. The road was good for all but the last 20 km where the road winded around the mountain on a dirt track.  Finally the picturesque bay of Port Barton was in front of us and after settling in to our clean and spacious hut at Greenviews Resort we had a snorkel in water that was as warm as a bath - not many fish though.  Later we met a local 'Long' down the beach who chartered his boat so Michael arranged to go fishing the next morning....
Michael didn't have huge success fishing but that night we met a local at the front of our guest house with fresh lobster - straight from the sea - and we negotiated to get two of the delicious delights for less than $10 Aus!  A real treat.  The second day we shared a small banca to Sabang where we went on another boat down the underground river.  It was quite spectacular - probably the best underground river we have seen with large cavens and lots of colour on the walls.  The guide told us at the 1 km point that we could pay more to go further but he put us on the spot and we felt rather ripped off - we figured after that he probably isn't supposed to take people further so he asks for more money to cover his troubles. We probably regretted not taking him up on the offer, although the river was probably much of the same, but after 3 hours on a boat a bit longer down the river would probably have been good. The ride back was really rough and took about 4 hours.  We stopped at Coconut Island for a quick swim - there is a nice looking guest house here on a very small stretch of beach.  Would be good if you really wanted to get away from everything.

We found Port Barton to be a really nice, clean and very friendly town.  Everyone said hello to us and on one walk we were very politely invited by a school kid to go on to the oval to watch the students practice for their school foundation day the following day.  They must have been very eager as they started the drumming at 5 am the next morning! In the evening the locals wander around the town catching up with friends, or trying to catch fish (as the boys in the photo are doing). 

Sunset at Port Barton

One afternoon we walked through the 'jungle' (very overgrown but not anything like Taman Negara in Malaysia) to the waterfall.  There weren't really signs and apparently some tourists get lost so we were glad to find it after about an hour.  It was pretty speccy and beautiful to cool off in.  There was a note advising that a local man was employed as caretaker to keep it clean and the path clear but (sadly) noting they didn't have any money to pay him and donations are therefore welcome.  We felt bad we didn't take any money (we were just expecting to walk to a waterfall) - it would be nice if the guesthouse told people or there was a sign asking people at the start of the walk (or if they charged a small entrance fee that enabled him to be paid).  So, if you go on the walk please take some peso for the caretaker :-)

Waterfall at Port Barton

Accommodation
We were a bit put off by the UK owner of the resort as he seemed to have some rather interesting views about the future of western nations with 'uncontrolled immigration' which he expressed rather loudly to another couple while we were waiting for food and then again to us while we were eating. It is a nice guesthouse overall though and the food was good. As he got our booking dates wrong we were put in the family room (dbl and single bed and 'kitchen') which was normally 1200 peso but they only charged us 900 peso/night. Regular rooms are 800 peso.  Their website is a good source of information on Palawan and you can book via email. 

Food
Meals are either at your guesthouse or there were a few local restaurants that we didn't have a chance to check out.  We had nice grilled fish at the 'Chicago Bar' next to Greenviews but the best meal was the crays. Lip smacking delicious!

Transport
There are local buses that I understand leave Puerto Princesa very early in the morning and go to Sabang, Port Barton and El Nido (different buses).  As flight seem to arrive around midday you may need to stay in PP if you want local transport.  Could be worth spending the $ and going straight to Port Barton or Sabang. 

We left by large banca that we hired from the guest house. It was 8000 peso and comfortably seated 8 - although the front seats got rather drenched.  Kate managed to sleep for most of the trip (we did set off at 5am!).

Websites:
General Palawan Information
Greenviews Resort, Port Barton