Hi Everyone! I’m back from my trip to Palawan. The place is amazing! I’ll be posting some of the photos of the place and the animals I’ve seen during the trip in the coming days. Stay and enjoy…

We took the 1-hour plane ride on a 20-seater 2-propeller plane (from seair.com) from Manila to Busuanga, Palawan. Honestly, that’s the smallest plane I’ve ridden on. There was no control on the cabin pressure and I had to keep equalizing my ears.

Nonetheless, I was very thankful that the trip was not bumpy and saw a lot of nice sceneries. Before falling asleep on the flight, I managed to snap a few shots.

Upon arrival at the Busuanga airport, I took a 30-min jeepney ride to the dock. The ride on the single road was very pleasant, with lots of open spaces with and green grass and friendly locals. You can see the green mountains and feel the cleanness of the air. The soil of the road was reddish – like clay.

When I reached the dock, I had to transfer to Club Paradise’s boat and travel through the mangroves and to the open sea. I know that sounds like a lot of transfers, but believe me, I was enjoying the trip and had to remind myself not to worry too much of the time.

The sight of Club Paradise was amazing! It was a little island with soft, clean sand and lots of green! I was welcomed by the Club paradise staff, singing a couple of welcome songs. It was a bad time for my camera battery to run out of power, but I did manage to get a picture of the map of the island and the spa.

I’m excited about a trip I will be taking sometime this month. I will be going south of the Philippines to Palawan to accompany some friends visiting the country. It’s a timely break for me since I haven’t gone on a trip for a while.

Back to nature

Palawan is sometimes dubbed the last frontier of the Philippines since most of the natives and the people residing in the area try to preserve the balance and the eco system as much as they can. Although Palawan is known as a diver’s destination (marine life and wreck dives) I won’t be scuba diving (since my friends are non-divers) I will still have a chance to encounter meeting sea turtles, monitor lizards (not looking forward to that) and dugongs.

Dugong

Dugongs or sea cow is a mammal and is on the endangered species list. Even with a diet of sea grass, they can grow up to 3 meters long (about 9 ft.) and can weigh up to 400 kgs! (Who says veggies can’t make you fat?? Haha!) One may think that their size would make them aggressive, violent and intimidating, but actually, dugongs are sometimes referred to as the gentle giants, with no obvious way of defending themselves from natural predators like sharks and crocodiles (or from boat propellers for that matter).

Busuanga (an area in Palawan) is one of the few places in the world where you can observe these gentle giants in their natural habitat.

Paradise?

We will be staying at Club Paradise. Sweet! Escape from the noisy crowd with just sand and the sea on all sides. What’s more, my airfare is a free treat (by my friend) which makes this whole adventure lighter on the pocket. We will be taking a 2-propeller 19 seater plane (scary) from SEAair.

I hope to update you all when I get back from the trip and hopefully have some great photos with the gentle dugongs.

By MATTHEW VERRINDER, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 17, 3:55 PM ET

UNION, N.J. - Pet owners were worried this weekend that the kibble in their cupboard may be deadly after the recall of millions of containers of dog and cat food sold at major retailers across North America.

Menu Foods, the Ontario-based company that produced the pet food, said Saturday it was recalling dog food sold under 46 brands and cat food sold under 37 brands including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The food was distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway.

(more…)

Interesting facts:

Status: Data insufficient to categorize
Total Remaining: Unknown. Irrawaddies rarely show themselves above water and with many similarities to other whale and dolphin species, they are difficult to identify.

Photo and details from the official WWF website.
——

MANILA, Philippines — Bound by land on two sides and protected by Mt. Capaoas, Malampaya Sound in northern Palawan is the last haven of the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) in the Philippines.

As another dawn breaks, a few of the dolphins can be seen cavorting among themselves.

The Irrawaddy is a light-gray to white marine mammal with a small, triangular dorsal fin.

While Bottlenose Dolphins rule over the outer Sound, the smaller and more delicate Irrawaddies inhabit its inner portions.

(more…)

More animal love…

Tiger and Orangutan Babies Become Playmates at Indonesian Zoo

By NINIEK KARMINI

CISARUA, Indonesia Feb 28, 2007 (AP)— Call them the odd couples. A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans, an unthinkable match in their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia’s tropical rainforests.

The friendship between 5-month-old female baby primates Nia and Irma, and cubs Dema and Manis, has blossomed at the Taman Safari zoo where they share a room in the nursery.

(more…)