Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:08:00 06/16/2009
FAME is good. But fame can also create problems—serious problems.
Caretakers of the wondrous Subterranean River National Park in Puerto Princesa City should start anticipating, rather than start reacting to problems, given the steadily increasing number of local and foreign tourists wanting to see what is currently the front runner in the global voting for the new Seven Wonders of Nature.
Our guide said a dramatic rise in the number of visitors started to be felt in 2007. The setup for park visits is actually efficient. Tours are well-organized (they even bring lunch for visitors) and rates for boat rides are fixed so you do not have to worry about overcharging.
Contingencies
But it seems park authorities are still not well-prepared for contingencies resulting from the capriciousness of Mother Nature.
We tried to visit the National Park on June 9. It had been raining hard, we were told, in Puerto during the weekend and until the day before. Rivers were swollen and currents were swift. Trips to the Subterranean River were cancelled.
But on Tuesday, June 9, word went out that visitors were again allowed to visit, but we had to hurry because there was only a small window of opportunity. Park caretakers might have to cancel trips by afternoon.
So, instead of the original departure time of 10 a.m., we left our hotel at 8 a.m., only to find out when we got to Sabang, where we were to take the boat to the underground river, that the visit was still very much up in the air. There were scores of people waiting for the go-ahead to board their boats when we arrived at a little past 10 a.m.
Park people could not decide if it was all right to explore the underground river, as it remained swollen and difficult to negotiate. So, everybody had to wait and wait and wait.
In the meantime, more tourists were arriving, nerves were getting frayed and children were getting bored. When asked why they were not telling those tourists who had not left the city yet to skip the trip to the river given the situation in Sabang, somebody said those people were issued permits for the visit.
Nothing to do
Huh? We had the necessary permit but they would not allow us to take the trip to the river?
Sabang was not exactly set up to calm frayed nerves. The park outpost in Sabang that coordinated trips to the river is small, able to accommodate comfortably only about half a dozen people. It has no air-conditioning. The area around it consists of a few “turo-turo” and snack bars and some stalls selling tie-dyed garments and souvenirs. You can take in everything in minutes.
It would have been great to go swimming as the water was clean and there was a nice beach nearby, but not knowing if and when we would be told to board the boats made us stay close to the outpost.
Our guide Alex Tribiana, who must have been the dean of tour guides in Puerto, kept suggesting that we just be allowed to go to the park, look at the river from outside, then explore the flora and fauna. After all, the park has monkeys and monitor lizards that are larger than what you would usually see. The indigenous peacock may even make a rare appearance.
The suggestion, seconded by everyone, was finally taken, so at about 12 noon, we boarded the boat for the park.
Some members of our group, a family consisting of a Filipino mother, a Caucasian father and mother-in-law and three children decided to skip the trip. The waiting and the uncertainty had completely dissipated the excitement and anticipation.
The mother-in-law in particular could not understand why we were just standing around and why nobody seemed to be able to make a decision in one way or the other.
I have seen the river and I knew the view from the boat was breathtaking enough to make the trip worthwhile, even if going inside the cave was not possible. We were lucky to be “met” by a three-meter-long lizard as we walked to the river entrance.
Whether or not it is voted into the new Wonders of Nature list, the Subterranean River is a must-see for everyone. The higher profile it is currently getting will no doubt bring in more people.
That is why it is important for park authorities to be better prepared to handle situations arising from nature’s unpredictability. People will understand if you tell them trips are cancelled for their own safety, rather than have them standing around, wondering what is going on.
Plane still late
Still on Puerto, our Philippine Airlines flight was delayed for about 20 minutes as it waited for late passengers. They must have been gods for the airline to delay its flight. It certainly would not do that for an ordinary mortal.
When I asked a stewardess what we were waiting for, she said only the ground crew knew but that it was a “usual occurrence” in Puerto. Well, delaying a flight to allow some local VIPs to board would not sit well with tourists whom the city is trying to attract.
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