IT WAS RAINING CATS AND DOGS when we arrived at Sabang on the other side of Palawan from Puerto Princessa. The pool was dappled with raindrops and the ocean looked surly. It didn’t bode well for a weekend at the Sheridan Beach Resort. The weather eventually cleared but it remained hot and humid — like Jersey in August.
Sabang is much less developed than Puerto, despite upscale resorts like the Sheridan. Water bulls pull plows, rice is dried on the roadway and the houses are made from woven mats and thatch. Most folks come here for the nearby underground river but we are (surprise!) looking for birds. We have done underground rivers before and weren’t much interested.
Boyz will be boyz Sugar and spice
We didn’t mind being charged for entry into the national park. Nor for the community access fee. But we refused to pay for the required local guide. We just didn’t want another person with us talking, especially one who didn’t know anything about the local birds. So we settled for exploring the mangroves, the rice paddies and palm groves.
Old school Old man
As it turned out, it really didn’t much matter. Romy, a birding guide I ran into, told me he and his group were disappointed with the lack of birds. Maybe it was the weather. Or the season. Whatever.
Our big sighting was the endemic Palawan hornbill, a big tick on Connie’s list.
