It was time to get off the main tourist trail. It is a 350km journey to get from Sabang Beach to the port at Buliuyan. We took a van to Puerto Princessa and overnighted there ready for an early van the following day. The hotel was a bit soulless but the young receptionist was super helpful ringing up van companies to find out how we could get to the south tip of the island. She arranged for one to pick us up at the hotel at 3am - eek.
We took a tricycle into the old town/port area of Puerto Princessa. It is quite a pleasant city without the chaotic feel of Manila. We were craving good coffee and found a modern coffee shop to get our flat white fix . We had a stroll around the streets nearby. We walked into the Plaza Cuartel, a sombre memorial to the 1944 massacre of 150 US soldiers by the Japanese. There was a huge Cunard cruise ship in the port which looked so out of place. We called in at a big modern shopping mall on the way back to the hotel to get provisions for the 6 hour van trip the next day.
We managed a few restless hours sleep before the van turned up just after 3 - there were a few spaces, but these were soon filled by other passengers who we diverted off the route down seemingly deserted back roads - we'd pull up outside a dark house and someone would appear from nowhere. These vans also seem to be used for delivery services. It was pitch dark and it felt like the driver thought he was in a Grand Prix as we hurtled along - thankfully the roads were fairly quiet for the first couple of hours. We only managed to doze a bit, and had a couple of short breaks - one that when we went to get back in the van we'd lost our seats. Colin didn't hesitate to kick the guy out.
We pulled up in Buliyuan around 8.30. It was a much smaller place than we were expecting. We were a bit shocked to see our driver was setting off on the return journey with only a 15 minute break.
We had to register in a port office. There were maybe 4 other tourists there when we arrived. Arni appeared - he'd sailed over from the Balabac main island. He looked excited telling us this was his first multi day trip so we were to be guinea pigs. It suddenly hit us that we had no idea what to expect, but was exciting to think we were being pioneers and will hopefully help Arni shape his business. We went with him while he bought fresh food and provisions and he showed us where his office/stand would be in the new terminal building. He then drove us round to a parking area and the jetty where his boat was moored. This land belonged to an old military colleague of his. It looked like he was starting to construct basic lodgings over the water that Arni's future clients could use.
A small chaser boat took us to the main boat (Queen V). Arni had described this as a liveaboard, not quite what we had in mind but it was a nice traditional old boat. They put us in a covered area where we wondered if this was where we'd be sleeping. We met the boat dog Queeny who immediately let us know she expected petting and tummy rubs at all times while we were on her territory.
There were four other members of crew (excluding Queeny) - the boat skipper, 2 dive masters, and a general assistant. We set off in the direction of a small white sanded island. There are around 31 islands here, largely occupied by Muslim communities. Until 2019 they were flagged as no-go areas due to terrorist insurgency threats, but Arni assured us they had settled down now and were receptive to tourists. Apparently each island had been 'gifted' to local politicians. We could see the start of tourist resort developments on some that we passed - let's hope they do them sympathetically - we suspect that may not be the case.
We moored near a picture perfect little island called Cahimeran Island and they dropped us on the island to walk around it while they prepared lunch. A caretaker asked us not to walk into the private camping areas so we stuck to the shoreline. We were a bit unhappy at the amount of plastic waste on the shore - we understand some may be washed up from the sea, but suspect some must also be generated on the island. Arni's crew arrived with a lunch of fish, scrambled egg, rice and mango.
We were taken back to the main boat to prepare for our first dive. I was feeling a little anxious as our travel insurers appear to not be supporting my diving claim from Coron based on medical grounds, so if anything happens to me diving now I'd definitely not be covered.
The dive equipment was put into the chase boat with us, and we were taken a short distance to the reef where we were diving. It was not an easy boat to get kitted up on, but eventually we were in the water and descending. The water had looked crystal clear from above but the visibility was a little disappointing and the corals not as abundant as we were hoping for, although the patches of coral we saw were very beautiful. Back on the surface I now discovered they had no steps to get back on the boat and I couldn't physically pull myself back on. I was finally pushed from the water and dragged from above by the guys on the boat and landed in a crumpled heap in the boat. Even Colin admitted it was a struggle for him as it was so slippery.
Back on board the main boat we told Arni we didn't need a second five today - we were both feeling weary from the early start and long journey.
It was a short ride to the next island where we were told we'd be stopping tonight - the beautiful Tangkahan island. There was a small village here, but the place was much better cared for than the first island with no litter and the sand swept clear of fallen tree debris. A tent had been brought onto the island so we guessed that was for us. There was no bedding, but thankfully we had sleeping bag liners with us. It really was an idyllic spot and we thought we are set for a special few days.
Arni had bought some freshly caught fish from the villagers for dinner. They gave us some tasty grilled bananas to snack on too. There were even rigged up showers so we could wash off the sand and seawater of the day.
The delicious food was cooked in the tiny galley on the boat and was brought over to the beach where we ate in one of the shelters. The crew went back to sleep on the boat. We had a nice chat with Arni learning more about him and his aspirations for his new venture in Balabac. He is the only dive operator here right now, so we really hope he can take advantage of this and build up his business and reputation. Arni slept on one of the benches while we baked in the tent. With no mattress or mat to sleep on it wasn't the most comfortable nights sleep, but I hadn't realised Colin had unzipped the tent door and I awoke at one point looking straight up at the incredible stars - just awesome.
After breakfast the following morning, Arni said they were going to dive the island house reef - it had never been done before. I said I'd sit this one out, so while Colin and one of the divemasters headed off, I headed to a hammock to read my book. Queeny joined me so my book was soon put to one side while I rubbed her tummy.
When Colin returned he said there'd not been much to see. We all continued on to Patawan Reef for the second dive. It was a nice gentle dive. I had the same issues getting back on the boat.
After lunch on the boat we sailed on to Candaraman Island. Arni had warned us we wouldn't have this island to ourselves, and there were a lot of tents set up. Arni said we could sleep in one of the wooden huts there, but they looked like they'd be hot and stuffy so we said we'd sleep on the benches in the shelter. We picked a shelter that had a plug socket so we could charge our phones when the generator was switched on in the evening. Colin went off for a swim and I had a dip closer to shore. When I returned to our shelter there were at least 10 other people sat in it, having ignored our bags. The plug socket had about 50 devices plugged into it too.
When I showed up they asked if that was was my stuff and when I said 'yes, there's a group of us using the table this evening', they didn't take the hint and more of them joined us. To be fair, they were lovely people - a young group of friends from Manila who were doing an island tour in Balabac and El Nido for a week. I was introduced to a French girl and a young Danish couple who were on their tour. Colin raised his eyebrows when he returned as to why I'd let them take over - all I could go was shrug!
The bathroom facilities were basic to say the least, particularly for a large number of people. We ended up having a refreshing shower under the overflowing water tank.
The other guys did eventually move to have their dinner, and Arni joined us for dinner - tonight it was chicken adobo - chicken marinated in soy, vinegar and garlic which is a Filipino national dish. It was very tasty. Arni said he wanted us up ready to leave at dawn for a dive before breakfast. The Manila group told us they were having a party for the last night of their Balabac trip, so as the dreadful music was already cranking up we decided to sleep on the beach around the corner away from the tents where we thought it would be quieter.
Just as we were drifting off to sleep we heard the music getting closer to us. Before we knew what was happening, a large group marched past us and got a raging fire going only metres from us. Thankfully the ash was not blowing our way, but we were not impressed - mainly due to the offensive music in my case. Someone walking past asked if Colin was OK and he told them exactly what he thought. It didn't stop them though, so it was time to cut our losses and move again.
It was a lot cooler and breezier on the beach we ended up on and this time I didn't sleep well due to the cold rather than the heat. It was a lovely starry night again, although the generator that was on all night detracted from the location. I was awake at sunrise when Arni came over to get us moving.
I was delighted when he said we were diving from the main boat as there were steps to get back on board. We dived at a site called Sting Ray point next to the island. It was a sandy dive which is why the rays hang out here, and we did see at least ten rays, but as they aren't used to divers they skit off pretty quickly.
I was disappointed when we surfaced to find we had to get back on the dreaded chase boat. We had breakfast while the crew got ready to move onto an island called Onok, that is supposed to be the jewel of the Balabac islands with a superb dive site that Arni was itching to show us.
We could hear they were having trouble starting the engine. Colin said it definitely didn't sound right and it kept spluttering until it ground to a complete halt. The battery was also flat.
Oh well - there are worse places to be stuck. The crew went off to the island presumably to see if they could get a replacement battery. After about an hour, Arni told us to pack up our gear - they had called the local speedboat taxi to take us to Balabac Island. We left our dive gear on board as we assumed we'd be going out for a dive later when they'd sorted the problem. It was a short trip in the speed boat - I'm glad Colin didn't tell me the young lady behind me was crying and praying throughout the journey.
We were bundled onto a tricycle at the jetty and whisked to a guesthouse in the town. The girl running place couldn't have looked more unimpressed to see us. We were shown to the room - not quite the Ritz but we were delighted to see a cold shower, flushing loo and air con.
We had no idea what was going on, but still remained hopeful that we may get to Onok. As time moved on we realised that wasn't looking likely. Colin went for a walk around the small town and reported back that it wasn't a wild party town (phew). Even if they got the boat fixed we sadly couldn't extend our time here as we had a flight booked the following evening from Puerto Princessa to Cebu which meant we needed to catch the 6am speedboat back to the mainland.
Arni eventually arrived mid afternoon. He looked totally deflated - the boat was still where we'd left it. We thought we might be having dinner with him that evening, but he returned the final gear we'd left in the boat and wished us good luck. Oh - not the ending we'd anticipated. We asked about catching the boat in the morning and where to eat that evening. He took us for a walk around town, showed us the boat jetty which wasn't where we'd arrived today and pointed out a few eating places, but said we must eat before 6pm as they'd close after this. We returned to the guest house feeling rather deflated and at a bit of a loss.
Arni did message us later apologising and saying he felt very embarrassed which we totally understood. We apologised to him for jinxing the trip as this was our 2nd boat break down. Colin promised to send him some feedback on what other tourists may expect on his trips. Colin was shocked that Arni said he is a very nice man - he's wondering where it all went wrong? .......He prides himself on the fact no one has said that to him before!
We went out around 5pm to get food. Nowhere looked particularly exciting and definitely no sundowner beers in the Muslim town. We ended up in what Arni had described as a snack bar called Maria's largely as it had a menu with pictures. The young lady who served us had perfect English and was quite a character. She asked how we'd found the islands and when we mentioned the litter she said she'd feed it back to the higher powers of the town. The food was really tasty - fish longganisa (fish sausages) and calamari. She asked if we wanted dessert. I'd been eyeing up cold chocolate in the fridge, but she mentioned her very own mango sorbet dessert. It was absolutely delicious - made of layers of condensed milk, crumbled Graham crackers and mangos. We've seen it since called Mango Float.
Still only 6pm we had a stroll around town. The liveliest place was a sports hall where a girls volleyball tournament was taking place. There was a nice sunset, the locals were all very friendly and we both agreed the place was growing on us.
We were up at 5.30 the next morning and were surprised to see a tricycle outside ready to take us to the jetty. The lady running the guesthouse nearly cracked a smile as we left.
The jetty was out of town where we'd arrived yesterday and we were quickly bundled onto the boat (having to wade through litter strewn water first) and were whisked back to the mainland after a stop to pick up tourists at Candaraman island.
We were straight onto a van that took us on the 6 hour journey back to Puerto Princessa. It was a more sedate driver this time, but the legroom was very tight and the seat next to me had a woman and child squeezed on . We have to say the child and the chicken on the guys knee behind us were impeccably behaved. The journey was a close second to my hyperbolic chamber experience for being hot and uncomfortable though.
We wish a big thank you to Arni and his team for providing us with a very special tour. We are sorry we weren't able to finish the planned tour, but it means we need to return one day.
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