The paradise is calling
me.
Too sweeping statement
unmindful of what lies ahead along the road.
The journey towards the southern part of Palawan is not for the
faint-hearted and the paranoids. An
adventurous individual undoubtedly can make it, but for me, not that
adventurous type, but the yearning to travel and discover overpowers fears,
made it to the best island destination I have been to as of writing.
The interesting culture,
people, cuisine and the islands, sets the municipality of Balabac distinct with
other Philippine destinations.
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| let the journey begin - with Onuk boy Benjie |
The Local Government of the
Municipality of Balabac, Palawan through Mayor Shuaib Astami and family, made
this quest possible. And we are forever
grateful for the hospitality beyond compare.
Upon arrival at the mainland
of Balabac, we were ushered to MLK Lodging were we had our overnight stay. There were no other guests at the said
hostel, it appeared like a home stay and with a minimal fee (400 pesos per room
with double bed) - to experience a grand vacation on a tight budget is indeed
doable. All our meals were served at the
residential house of the town mayor.
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| MLK Lodging's offer to us |
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| the town mayor's humble abode |
After we settled our things
at MLK Lodging, we wasted no time and were lead to the parish church of
Poblacion just before the sun sets. Ma’am Fedelyn was there to assist us to
pay a visit to the ruins of Fort Culina – a Spanish watch tower. The trail commences in front of the old
parish church. It was a rather short yet
“sweat-enhancing” activity for me. But
upon reaching the watch tower, it surely is rewarding. The view of the sea and the islands of
Balabac in an eagles-eye perspective is picture perfect.
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| the town of Balabac as viewed from the Fort Culina |
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| the ruins of Fort Culina |
Culina Tower is a dilapidated hexagonal port made of adobe stones and formerly complete with guns, parapets and towers which served as lookout against intruders.
Afterwards, we met Fr.
Willie Escalante, the town’s parish priest and had a short conversation with
him and Ma’am Fedelyn as we sip a cup
of coffee and share stories of life and travel.
We were positioned with a view of the Balabac strait at the back of the parish church and they pointed
that crocodiles are a common sight near the residential areas aside from the
endemic Philippine mouse deer – only found in Balabac.
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| the simple facade of the parish church spells a simple living in the community |
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| ang pagmumuni muni ni Ma'am Carla |
Balabac, Palawan is situated
about 50 kilometers north from Sabah, Malaysia across the Balabac Strait. With the said proximity, most goods displayed
at sari-sari stores are manufactured
from Malaysia. We even bought some
instant noodles labeled as manufactured in Malaysia and it felt like we went
abroad shopping.
A Muslim ethno-linguistic
group, Molbogs, settles in the island
of Balabac. Their livelihood consists of
farming, fishing and barter trading with the nearby Sulu, Bangsamoro and Sabah
market centers.
Sea foods expectedly
abundant in this part of Palawan, “tirik”
(sea urchin) is a must try as
well. From the shell of the sea urchin,
a rice dish is likewise created. The
cleaned sea urchin shell is stuffed with rice and other spices, which taste can
stand even without viand. It is similar
to the puso we have in the Visayas
region only that puso is wrapped in
banana leaves and that tirik is
tastier with a dominant garlic flavor.
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| dinner served! |
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| rice dish stuffed in tirik |
The second class municipality
of Balabac consists of around 30 islands, thus, traversing the clear turquoise
waters that surround in a form of island hopping is indeed a treat. While the main purpose of this visit is to
stay at Onuk Island and have a glimpse of the Punta Sebaring, a lot of other
equally panoramic beaches awaits every visitor of Balabac.
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| the raw beauty of Onuk Island |
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| the wallpaper worthy landscape of Punta Sebaring |
Time constraints left us
with no choice but to leave Balabac Palawan on a shorter time as set, but this
is an opportunity to declare that we shall be back for more discoveries and
adventures.
LGU-BALABAC
PALAWAN
Contact Person: Lorna A. Gapilangco
Mobile:
+639175532845
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| sunset at Balabac, Palawan |
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| A BIG THANK YOU BALABAC PALAWAN FOR THE MEMORIES! |
4 comments
Ganda talaga sa Palawan! Nice one Sir!
ReplyDeleteYup maganda sya talaga. Hehe thanks!
Deletebenta. ^_^ will try to visit this place when we get to Palawan
ReplyDeleteMy dream island in Palawan! :)
ReplyDelete