24 August 2023
The idea of a short but sweet road trip to San Vicente to see the Philippines longest white-sand beach (aptly named “Long Beach”) - in one of the country’s shortest cars, a Toyota Wigo - was too irresistible to pass up on and so it was that Mylene, Sam and myself (plus baggage) crammed ourselves into the plucky little vehicle that would (hopefully) take us to this idyllic, secluded paradise.
The last time the ladies had travelled to San Vicente was around 10-12 years ago when the road was basically just a dirt track and it took most of the day to get there, if the car did not disappear down a pothole on the way. Now there was a (mostly) sleek highway and even a cement road from Roxas to San Vicente when before it had been more like a safari ride across a rough, mountainous terrain. The Wigo made in just over three hours, despite a notable absence of signposts and a few U-turns along the way.
It was only later that we realized that the Wigo had suffered a flat tire on the way but it was soon changed with the help of the hotel staff in typical, friendly and practical Filipino fashion.
We had booked a few nights at the Club Agutaya Resort, complete with direct access to the Long Beach and an outdoor pool. We were given an upgrade to a room on the top floor of a spacious and comfortable beach villa. Unfortunately, the restaurant food was tasteless in the extreme and as for the green-tiled swimming pool, the water in it was so warm is was like taking a hot bath inside a sauna….
So we headed off in the fading light to Bato ni Ningning (this time on a dirt track) to take in its famed views of the Long Beach and surroundings from its elevation. It was truly awesome, well worth the trouble to get there. We had originally wanted to stay for the sunset but in view of the condition of the road to get back, with night quickly approaching, we decided to head off back to San Vicente.
We had dinner in the Mango Bar & Restaurant, along Baywalk in Poblacion, which served great garlic buttered pitik, crabs, and prawns, and grilled seafood. It was a cosy and relaxing place with excellent customer service and we can highly recommend it.
The next day, we had planned to go island-hopping, the most popular activity in San Vicente and maybe, be lucky enough to go swimming with some sea-turtles. Unfortunately, the excursion was cancelled that day, perhaps due to an impending storm out at sea. Reluctantly we decided to pack up our stuff and head back to Puerto.
What would normally have been a rather boring return ride was transformed by our novice driver, Ray, who was unleashed at the steering wheel of a car on Palawan’s roads for the very first time (and maybe, the last, if Mylene gets her way..)
We did however make it back safely, having survived dirt roads, storms, nicnics, technical issues… and Ray’s driving.
Sometimes you don’t really need to go very far to have a real adventure 😊.
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