Subject: Group 3 of Miss Earth 2008 delegates had their swimsuit pictorials at the "Underground River” in Sabang, Puerto Princesa City, also known as the Saint Paul Subterranean River National Park
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] Date Posted:23:47:48 10/25/08 Sat
“Underground River” in Sabang, Puerto Princesa City, also known as the Saint Paul Subterranean River National Park, which was declared by UNESCO as “World Heritage Site”.
By Ruth T. Rodriguez
Times Columns
WEEKEND WAS again busy with Miss Earth 2008 delegates visiting the “City in a Forest” for their swimsuit competition, which was held at Sitio Sabang, Barangay Cabayugan. Guess what, their pictorial was done inside the world famous underground river cave.
Before they proceeded to Sabang, they first visited Puerto Princesa and had a motorcade in the main street.
Thirty delegates of GROUP 3 from around the earth arrived in this beautiful place for the swimsuit competition. They also visited Cabayugan Elementary School for the Adopt-a-School program.
Miss Earth is a beauty pageant for a cause that has a big concern for the environment. The coronation night will be held at Clark Expo Amphitheater in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines on November 9 and it will be aired over ABS-CBN.
At the conclusion of the final night of the competition, outgoing titleholder Miss Earth 2007, Jessica Nicole Trisko of Canada will crown her successor.
The underground River
by Ivan Henares of Click The City
On the boat on the way to the river entrance, we were afforded stunning views of the limestone karst landscape that characterizes the park. The boat passed by a beach which I remember from my trip in 1997. Swimming is not allowed in the river entrance area which is why you have to hike up and down the Monkey Trail to get to that beach to swim.
At the river entrance, you have to sign their register, wear life jackets and protective helmets, and wait in line to board small boats with outriggers that would take you into the cave. Each boat has a battery-powered lamp in front, which I would later find out while exploring the area were charged with solar energy. Our boat guide was Toting, the most popular of the guides because of his humor. In fact, he is much sought after by visitors and is the go-to guy for television features.
It was a different world we entered, one covered in complete darkness, pierced by the solitary spotlight we had on board. Looking up, you would see different species of bats hanging from the ceiling, fast asleep. Their presence was obvious due to the pungent odor of guano, or bat dung, close to the mouth of the cave.
Flying around were cave swiflets (not bats as others mistake them for) that are most known for the nests they create from their saliva that become the main ingredient of nido soup. The formations inside the cave are spectacular. The speleothems (the cave formations or secondary mineral deposits), which are formed by thousands of years of mineral accumulation, were very interesting.
The Underground River in Puerto Princesa is the longest explored underground river in the world. A total of 8.2 kilometers have been discovered and 4.3 kilometers are navigable; but access to tourists is limited to 1.5 kilometers. You’ll have to get a special permit to explore the rest of the river.
