Because I was so dead tired from the previous day's activities, I ended up sleeping earlier than the usual. The following day, I find myself panicking for the undone tasks for my online job. When they say worrying won't do a thing, it's totally true 'cause I regretted having spent some minutes worrying instead of doing something about it.
I originally planned to head to the Roro bus station at around 5:30 am but because I have some unfinished tasks to do, I ended up heading to the station at 8:30 am. Although you can head directly to the bus station through a tricycle, I opted to take the cheaper route through jeepney. A tricycle ride to the Roro bus station will cost P100, too pricey compared to the P12 jeepney fare from Rizal Avenue. And although it pains my back to carry my kilos-worth of backpack from the Duchess Pension House to Rizal Avenue, I still opted to do it.
When I arrived at the Roro bus station, there were already a number of passengers waiting. After checking out the schedule for the bus heading to El Nido and reserving my window seat, I chose a comfortable spot to wait for the 10 am bus. While I was busy looking at their huge Sabang jeepneys and wonder if someone had been in an accident for top loading on it, the boy who was seated beside me asked me of my destination. From there, we had an interesting conversation about him, his reason for visiting Puerto Princesa, where he's heading, etc. I am truly amazed with kids who can manage to travel from one province to another without even that tinge of fear on their faces. Kudos to you kiddos! May you keep that courage as you grow up. :)
The scheduled 10 am bus didn't arrive on time. I'm close to getting impatient but kept still. Someone seated beside me and engage me in a conversation again. This is when I thought of one of the advantages of traveling solo: you get to talk to many locals! What the person asked me caught be by surprise: kasama niyo po mister niyo ma'am? (Are you with your husband ma'am?) For safety purpose, I let him assume that. It was interesting to talk to a local about the current issues that they're currently dealing with, mostly environmental and political issues. It opened my mind about the mining problems Palawan is currently facing. I do hope that the government will be aggressive enough to do something about it. Lives were taken just to pursue a good cause :(
Not to make this post melodramatic, let me move to 11 am when the bus finally arrived. I hurriedly went to my seat, maybe excited with the scenes that I'll be seeing (I'm like a kid when riding a bus especially when seated near the window). After paying the fare, P483, I made myself comfortable. Because of the ample leg room of the Roro bus, it isn't hard to do it.
The road going to El Nido is a combination of smooth and rough roads. We had our stopover lunch in a town (I forgot the name) of which I find myself engaging in a conversation again with locals (one from Cuyo Island and the other one from Taytay). It was a feel-good conversation and again, I'm amazed when I found out that the little girl from Taytay is traveling on her own (girl power it is!).
After 2 more hours, I can sense that we're nearing El Nido because of the limestone formation I can see from afar. These limestone formations, rice fields, and even the simple mountain and river scenes made up for the 6 hours of butt-numbing ride. And yes, those conversations with the locals made my day.
If you're curious with the schedule of the Roro bus from Puerto Princesa to El Nido, here it is:
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