Dog Crossing at Exotic Island
The sky was threatening rain and the wind picked up but our tour continues. This time we headed 1.6 nautical miles north for Exotic Island. A small island with a short strip of white sand beach and a rocky shore on one side of the island near the bigger Albaguen Island. A brief squall caught us on the island but it died down soon enough for us to enjoy the brief moment there.
What was memorable for me here were the amusing dogs swimming from island to island. I was just sitting by the beach when a couple of friendly dogs approached and then sat by the shore. Moments later, they went straight to the water and started paddling to the Albaguen Island. It was fun to watch them cross this small channel. At this time, the water is shallow, about hip-high, enough for people to cross. So I decided to cross and see the Kikamaku Beach across and stumbled upon a playful pup. I saw that another dog was planning to cross to the other island and decided to join him. It seems these canine swimmers got used to crossing island because visitors at Exotic Island would give them food or enjoy some of its scraps.
Unnamed Beach
So there was a choice on whether we’ll visit another snorkeling site, the Wide Reef or another beach. Since most of the group wanted to wade on the water, especially the toddler, we went to another beach en route back to San Vicente town. I thought it was another island at first but it was part of the mainland already. A beach I forget the name but it was wide with beautiful white sand as well and the water also clear. My geotag tells me its the beach near Inaring Island. There were some jellyfishes though and the large kind which made me think twice on swimming. Coconut trees fringe the beach and we had the pleasure of having coconut juice and meat. This was our last stop for our island hopping adventure but not the last time I saw the family in Palawan. I was glad I was able to do Port Barton island hopping on my last day of stay in San Vicente. I do hope to be back again in another time. This time stay in Port Barton town.
Essential Info
How to go to Port Barton from Puerto Princesa.
- From San Jose Terminal, there is a jeep that goes to Port Barton once a day usually leaves at 9:00am. Fare is Php 200. Travel time is four hours. Going back to Puerto Princesa, there’s a jeep that leaves Port Barton also at 9:00am. Fare is also Php 200 and travel time is four hours.
- At San Jose Terminal, there’s also a non-airconditioned San Isidro Express Bus that leaves Puerto Princesa at 10:00am. Fare is also Php 200 and travel time is four hours.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
