Sunday, March 28

This morning we left for Sabang on the other side of Palawan.  The trip was over the large mountain range that is the spine of Palawan.  Once on the other side we arrive at the shore and again our Rotarian friends procured a boat to take us to the Underground River.  We had to cross the bay where there were at least 3 foot swells moving in off the South China Sea.  Again our little boat was a double outrigger.  Once at the area of the Underground River, the boat was beached and we got out.  A short walk through jungle vegetation took us to the start of the underground river trip.  This river is said to be the longest underground river and runs for about 8 kilometers.  They are trying have this site listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and were encouraging all visitors to cast their vote at www.puerto-undergroundriver.com .  We entered the river on a small boat with a guide who paddled the boat.  Ben was at the front of the boat with the light, shining the way so we could see where we were going and also see the different formations.  This was a pretty amazing river with birds that use sonar and of course bats.  The formations were interesting, but not as plentiful as in other caves I have visited.  After our visit we returned to Sabang for a picnic lunch on the beach.

On the way back to Puerto Princesa, we stopped at St. Ezekiel Moreno Parish Church and school.  Here  RC President Eric and Commodore Nick and the Nun explained how Rotary has set up some BioSand water filtration/purification stations.  The water supply for the school is contaminated with E. coli bacteria and these devices each are capable of providing 20 liters of clean water a day.  We next stopped in a small neighborhood where Rotary and Habitat for Humanity had built nice homes for the needy.

Back into Puerto Princesa, we were able to some souvenir shopping. Then after freshening up, we went to a combined Rotary Fellowship meeting with RC Puerto Princesa and RC Peurto Princesa Central.  The meeting was at Commodore Nick’s house.  The team from Austria/Croatia made their presentation and then we followed.  I thought our presentation was the best of all the ones we have done so far.  Back at the hostel, we opened a new bottle of rum and enjoyed some interesting conversation with Bernhard and Johannes, two of the members on the team from Austria.