Our life in the Philippines: Final Frontier of the Philippines: Palawan

Well our trip to Palawan started off a little bit hectic. We arrived at the airport on time but weren't allowed on the plane because it was already full. So we ended up standing in the airport for an hour with three other people as the airline decided what to do. We were put on the 4pm flight which was six hours later than our initial departure time and given two food vouchers that could only be redeemed at a sad looking little snack shack. I'm glad to say that was the low point of the trip. We landed in Palawan around 5 pm on a little runway and went directly to the open air baggage area to collect our things. The immigration officer was sitting outside, behind a desk with a notebook and hand wrote all our information. Things really are that relaxed there. We met our friends just outside the airport and made our way to their house. The city is unlike anything I have seen in the Philippines. The streets are wide and tree lined, there are garbage cans every couple hundred feet, and there are cafes and restaurants tucked away in corners. Palawan in known in the Philippines for being the final frontier. It has a reputation for pristine beaches, intact forests, and a progressive way of thinking. We first had the chance to witness this when we went to Sabang which is a national park. Sabang has a rugged coast with a beautiful beach and healthy forest. We were able to hike down the beach and into the forest. The forest was full of sounds and we spotted two large monkeys in the trees above us. It was an amazing experience. I spent the night sleeping in a hammock while the girls slept in the tent that we had brought. It was a postcard perfect. On Valentines Day we participated in a mangrove tree planting. The municipality planted 7000 mangrove trees and had a mass wedding as a celebration for nature. There were plenty of people there and a lot of activities. We went to an art showing later on that was part of the celebration. We finished the day with a buffet dinner at KaLui. The restaurant was having a seafood buffet for Valentines Day and we got to eat sashimi, eel, sting ray, crab, shrimp, and I'm not sure if there is any life left in the ocean after that meal. I spent a couple days working with Emma at the municipalities fishery's division on socio-economic data and Rebeka went with Jon to some of the children centers. On Friday afternoon we walked to an organic farm to pick up a box of vegetables and found out that the organic farm also doubles as an orphanage. Rebeka spoke to the owner trying to find loopholes in Pilipino adoption laws, which she did find. We spent our last weekend there hiking along a river to a waterfall and swimming hole. The water was nice and cold and a great reward after a short hike and a long bus ride. Our trip to Palawan was simply amazing. It was refreshing to eat organic vegetables, hike in pristine forests, and walk along undeveloped beaches. I had forgotten about how much I enjoy certain things since I've been without them for a while now. I hope that we have a chance to return. PS WE UPDATED JAPAN PICTURES SO TAKE A PEAK!