Inside Story: The Palawan (mis)Adventures of Michi Arcangel

(also published in http://heiressmichi.multiply.com/journal)

Inside my cellphone bag was a folded piece of intermediate pad where I wrote my day-to-day (mis)adventures in Puerto P, Brooke's Point, and Bataraza.

This is it. My Palawan story.

*Take-off*

July 27, around 1:30 pm
- Ranel and I boarded at Super Ferry "Our Lady of Medjugorje." Our cabin's great. We're in the tourist area.
- Kainis. My charger doesn't work!! Grrrr.

*Stopover*

July 28, around 6 am
- The ship docked at Coron. We woke up early to see the island. We didn't get the chance to explore it though. A couple of hours more before we hit Puerto P! Are we getting sea sick? Hope not. We took pictures in this good spot but sorry for us...it was an unauthorized area. We got kicked out! Harhar.

around 9 pm
- We arrived an hour later than the expected time. While waiting for the final dock, I found out that the girl beside us has bone cancer. Sad. We got out of the ship and VOILA! A band was there to welcome us. ;p We thought we'll actually hit the sack at Seaport Inn but we were surprised to see Sir Greg waiting for us. We're bound for Brooke's Point. Around 5 hours away from Puerto. Talk about travel.

*Welcome to Brooke's Point*

around 2 am
- We didn't know how those 5 hours went by. But we're so ready to sleep. Yawn!!!!

July 29, morning
- I'm sure I puzzled the rest of the girls inside the room. A newbie. Hehe. It's funny that some of the on-call staff call me "ma'm."

after lunch
- We transferred to the staffhouse at Bataraza. Before that, we had a rough riding session. Rivers and big stones. Hands down to our driver and to jelica the delica. Hehe. Palawan has a lot of resources. Wow.

before dinner
- Feeling the blues already. Palawan's pretty but something/s about it keep/s me sad. Malaria? Dengue? Filariasis? Or the fact that the place is damn rich but the people are impoverished? There you have 'em.

*Bye, partner*

July 30, 4:30 am
- I woke up early. Dami pala talagang lamok. I freaked.

before 7 am
- Ranel's team left for Rizal. My last words were "Hanggang Thursday lang ha?" Laughs.
- I accidentally cut myself. Ouchie.

7:06 am
- Brownout. How swell. Generators are common in this place.

before 10:30
- Finally finished my first interview- a KII with Kuya Larry, the project head of McArthur in Bataraza. He provided a lot of info. Goodie.

10:49
- Newsflah!! Two visitors are expected to arrive later. The barangay kagawad and chieftain of Culandanum. I'm praying that they'll allow me to interview them. Think positive, girly!!

afternoon
- There's always a time to camwhore. hehe. We spotted good areas in the municipality and before I knew it, Ate Janina, Ate Anne, and I are strutting our stuffs in Bataraza.

*One fine day*

July 31, morning to afternoon
- We finished three barangays in one day. Haggard. I can't believe we did it. A multicab ride across Sandoval, Culandanum, and Ocayan. Seeing the beauty of Palawan despite its rocky road and unstable weather. Braving the areas despite the freaky stories of some locals. They have a lot of urban legends. Grabe. Wang, our guide whose real name is Farhan, kept telling the locals that I am single and that I'll be giving my number. Gago talaga.

*Graham Cakes for the Ladies*

August 1, morning
- We're bound for Brooke's again. The staff of MMI prepared us a special treat. Graham Cakes with Palawan mangoes. I was stunned to see a huge, Palawan mango. Panis ang mangga natin. Hehe. But it's not allowed outside the province because of the black bug- an endemic pest. Tito Dik kept asking if I belong to the Alano's of Zamboanga. I look a lot like them daw. They didn't want us to leave but we're all set for Brooke's.

August 2
- Anxiously waiting for Ranell to come back. It's already Thursday. Oh, I saw a cutie! I saw a cutie! Yeah! Hello energy. ;p

August 3, afternoon
- We camwhored around Brooke's Point. I saw these two sharks sa market. Scary. I had a bloodsmear. I was shocked when the nurse got the needle in! P.I. was all I could say. Binigla ako eh.

evening
- I was taking a bath when Ate Ja told me that Ranell's team was on their way home. Glad to know that my partner's safe. We were out of touch for a couple of days since Rizal has no signal.
- While waiting for them to come, we raided the boys' room. Two of the boys are my batchmates pala- Abel and Milben. Wag ka, Milben (aka Sgt. Maganto because of his new haircut) is a cum laude. We had fun with the boys during the last night. They're uber kulit but very sensible.

*All our bags are packed, we're ready to go*

August 4, super early in the morning (like, 3 am)
- After our breakfast, it was a sweet exchange of hugs with Ate Ja, Ate Rubie, Ate Kristy, and Ate Rachel. Ate Anne's coming home with us. Kuya Ramil and Kuya Leo will be with us in Puerto.

lunch time
- Puerto P's greeeeaaaaattttttt! After our lunch, we hit the city for our retail therapy. Shirts, pearls, and food are on my list. I'm deeply in love with this part. Hehehe. Walking around Puerto's a nice experience, too. Yey!!

afternoon
- Our kuya's left already. We're back at Seaport Inn where it's comfy and homey. The bed's just right. Can't wait to call it a day.

evening
- Ranell and I wandered around the port area to check out pretty sites. The cams are ready!!! We had dinner outside. Tito Ernie talked about the ups and downs of Palawan. He raised a lot of issues. It's an eye-opening experience.
- We watched NatGeo. They featured the Badger. Galing. Imagine, the animal ate a cobra. The cobra's venom got into him, was recorded to be dead for two hours, came back to life, and ate the rest of the cobra. Tough one.
- We're calling it a night. Tomorrow's going to be another journey. But it's good to know that we're going home. Sweet.
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We got home safe and sound. Palawan taught me a lot of things about myself and what I believe in. It's an altogether different issue and it needs a separate page. I'm happy that despite being subjected into a place that's really not my comfort zone, I found appreciation and fulfillment in random things. Multicab rides (my first time), sunsets, clean air, and lush surroundings. No internet connection, no cable, no credit cards. I was really grateful that I met people like Ate Janina who will remain dear to my heart even after this project.

All's well,

Missy (My Palawan name. Remember Wang? He couldn't pronounce MICHI, laging MISSY)