The last leg of our northern Palawan adventure was in a little village in San Vicente called Port Barton. It is situated just northwest of Roxas. Dubbed “a quieter, smaller, and more laid-back” version of El Nido, Port Barton boasts richer coral formations, and a wide array of sea creatures like sea turtles, stingrays, and starfish… well, that was what I found in Google Search.
I didn’t even hear about Port Barton until our spontaneous trip. I think it was overshadowed by the more popular tourist spots like Puerto Princesa, El Nido, and Coron. Bottomline, I didn’t have much expectations of this place. I have been to El Nido (I loved the limestone formations and the hidden and secret beaches and coves) and Coron (I loved the hot springs and the hikes to the viewdeck) so I expected to find a less-magnificent version of what these places had to offer.
But, boy, I was wrong.
Getting there
We arrived in El Nido from Coron at around half past 3 P.M. and immediately went to the transport terminal to catch a van trip to Roxas. We paid 250 PHP (5 USD) each for the four-hour ride. Due to some delays and stopovers, we were dropped off in San Jose, Roxas where we can ride a tricycle to Port Barton. The tricycle fare is 250 PHP (5 USD) per person.
It was not my first time travelling in a tricycle in complete darkness but it was definitely one of the most memorable. We scared ourselves with what we saw, or we think we saw, like black dogs crossing the street, glowing pair of eyes in bamboo groves, and stories of mangkukulam (witches) during one of the bumpiest rides I ever experienced. The road was not yet fully paved – parts of it were pools of mud from the rains earlier.
After more than an hour, we reached the village. It was really quiet except for what-sounded-like a karaoke bar in the beachfront. We checked-in at Ayette’s Bamboo Cottages. Since it was quite late and we were very tired from the whole day of travel, we managed to doze off after a few minutes. We didn’t even notice the power go off at around midnight, which is the normal power routine in the part of Palawan. (It will later be switched on at around 7 A.M.)
Exploring the islands
We woke up early for our island hopping trip. Before breakfast, we decided to explore the beach. The local beach has fine golden sand perfect to be walked on barefoot. Dogs were scampering in the shore. Early morning paddle boarders were testing the calm of the water. This is the Port Barton that I researched about – simple and quiet.
Our island hopping tour starts at 9 A.M. so we took time eating breakfast and talking to the locals about the island living. They shared awesome stories of their experiences in the city and in the village – all of them preferring to live in the latter.
About half past 8 A.M., we went back to our room to pack the essentials for the whole day trip – sunscreen, light snacks to munch on, towels. We were ready in fifteen minutes and headed to the shore where the boat is docked, waiting for the tourists to board. I’m expecting other groups to join us but when the two of us settled in the boat’s benches, our bangkero (boatman) Kuya Eddie started the engines and off we went exploring Port Barton’s amazing islands!
Our first destination is the turtle sanctuary near the private island resort called Secret Paradise. The waters are not so deep and very clear – you can just sit in the boat and you can see the sandy bottom with patches of sea grass (a perfect habitat for sea turtles). After nearly ten minutes, we heard gentle splashes in the water. The boat’s engines were turned off so we can hear the gentle creatures coming. I was ready to go into the water to meet the turtles! Careful of not splashing too much to distract them, I half-swam, half-floated to them. It was an awesome experience! I even got the chance to take a picture of a sea turtle grazing on the sea grass.
Our next destinations were two of the most life-filled reefs I’ve seen – Twin Reef and Fantastic Reef. Some parts of the reef, though, are nearly up the water surface and sea urchins with thin prickly spines are scattered on the sea floor so we were careful not to step on the them. I just learned to swim and float and be careful in the water so I really enjoyed the snorkeling part. Too bad I did not bring an action camera to snap pictures of these amazing spots.
We had our lunch of grilled fish, roasted eggplants with tomatoes and shallots, and fresh watermelons in Exotic Island. We lounged in a beautiful nipa hut gazing at the magnificent landscape of blue and green. Exotic Island connects to another small island during low tide through a sand bar. The locals told us to be careful in wading through the connected island as sometimes stingrays and baby sharks swim in the shallow waters. The beach was of white sands and limestone rocks in some parts. If I were a beach bum I would have stayed on this island for good.
Our last stop was a sandbank called by the boatmen as Starfish Island because of the many starfishes that lay on the coral-ly sand. When we got there, majority of the sandbank is gone because of the high tide. Nonetheless, we took great photos, especially jump shots, in one of the most serene places I’ve been.
Island life
What I also admired in Port Barton is that it does not have a night scene like El Nido or Coron. I only heard one karaoke bar near the place we stayed in, and that’s about it. Walking around the island is walking in the dark, careful to not step in puddles of mud from the rain from the day. However, you can see the development of the place from the establishments that pop up in the local streets. There is a cafe called Mabuti serving ice cream, milkshakes, nachos, and burgers. I was surprised to see that the servers and the cashiers are foreign people who speak (a little) Tagalog.
There are not really many options to do during the night but to chill at the cafe, talk to the owner of the place you’re staying in and learn of their ways, or sleep early. But don’t get me wrong – I’ll take any of the options!
We had to say goodbye to Palawan the next day as we were picked up by the van for a three-hour ride to Puerto Princesa. The charm of the places in Palawan will forever be in my heart. I will recommend these places to Filipino and foreign travellers alike.
Looking for a boatman and guide to explore Port Barton? You can contact Kuya Eddie, at +63(948) 833-8848.
To book a room in Ayette’s Bamboo Cottages, you may contact Bernadette Uapal at +63(918) 967-6844 / +63(912) 258-2199 / +63(906) 432-8501 or send an email to badette_bamboo@yahoo.com.
Click here to read about the first leg of our Northern Palawan Adventure!
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