May 2015: Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour in Sabang, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

We arrived at Sabang for our Underground River Tour a little bit late so we got a queue number that would makenus wait for a significant amount of time. Our guide suggested that instead we bore ourselves to death, we could actually do some sidetrips in Sabang. We targetted the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour and Sabang X Zipline.

We rode again the van then back on the road and turned right to a guarded gate. I already done the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour before (read here) and this is my first time riding a van to get there that’s why the gate is a surprise to me. It says on the gate that we would need to pay a fee for us to pass by (I forgot how much was it.) Our group paid the fee since we will be passing by the private road. We reached the road parallel to the shore of Sabang and the van turned onto another gate which we need to pay another 10 Pesos/person except when your are doing the Sabang X Zipline. Since we were passing by private properties we had to respect the owner’s decision to use their facility for a fee.

Finally we arrived at the starting point for the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour. Some of us decided to do the Sabang X Zipline (550 Pesos/person), while we decided to do the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour.

10:49 AM – We registered, paid the fee of 350 Pesos/person, then given our lifevests and were guided to where we will ride their paddle boat.

When we were on the boat they first fetched umbrellas so that the sunlight would not be too much for us. They did not have this on my first visit to the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour.

Then someone asked us to look at the camera on the shore… smile… thumbs up… Most likely they will sell our photos to us when we finish the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour. I do not mind, as long as it gives work and does not harm anyone or the environment I’m okay with them selling photos of me on it.

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I don’t remember the name of our guide or our boatman but what I do remember is that our guide is famously known as Lady Mangrove and she’s already a senior citizen. I’m amazed that she can still do this. #EmpoweredWomen

During the tour, she was telling stories on the importance of mangroves in the environment. On how they filter wastes and why the ecology in the area was diverse and their role to the environment.

Last time when we were here we did the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour during high tide and they told us that it is best to do the tour during low tide as we would see many other creatures on the ground. On this visit, I was happy that it was low tide and we did see different colored small crabs on the ground that was shown by the low tide.

Let’s not forget the snake.

At some point, we turned back and reached the bamboo platform where we could walk to visit the oldest mangrove in the area. (11:28 AM)

11:33 AM – We reached the end of the bamboo walkway and saw the oldest mangrove. I don’t remember how old this was. O_O

We went back and our guide was waiting for us at the platform where our boat was waiting. She was holding mangrove seeds and encouraged us to drop them on the ground so that they would grow up to be new mangroves.

We rode the boat again and before the tour ended, Lady Mangrove sang to us. The song was about the Mangroves, the relationship of mangroves to humans and the environment, and challenges us to keep the mangroves healthy.

11:51 AM – We were back at the starting point and our boatman invited us to follow him. It turns out that he was bringing a mangrove wood that contains Tamilok or woodworm. He opened the wood with an axe and I saw the biggest Tamilok I have ever seen in my entire Palawan life. This can be eaten but I decided that I was not that adventurous that day. I did it before in Kinabuch Bar & Restaurant in Puerto Princesa. (Read Kinabuch’s here)

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We admired the yuckiness of the Tamilok and decided to take pictures of its head and tail.

We took a look at our photos and bought some. I forgot how much they sell the photos.

Then we said our thanks to everyone who helped us on the tour and rode the van going back to Sabang Wharf.

If you want to see more photos of our Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour during our visit you can visit my Flickr Album here – https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/91A3tq.