Adventures in Lagen

As I spread my wings from my nest in the limestone mountains, I see a boat approaching my island, with interns who have come from far away. These three are from Madrid, the capital of Spain, a culturally different country compared to the Philippines. They were shocked at the humid climate upon their arrival since they are used to a very dry climate, and they didn’t expect summer to look so rainy because back home it is always sunny.

Each of the interns specializes in their own fields of study, so their expectations for their stay at the resorts varied. One is taking up Communications & Digital Media, which is a program that develops critical thinking as well as strategic thinking to communicate and engage people about brands. She studies how audiences’ minds might think and work. 

The second studies Multimedia & Graphic Design, which focuses on communicating visually a material through guides and a unique narrative. The last intern is a soon-to-be doctor. From a young age, she knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to help other people and now she is gathering experiences in different fields to make the best decision on her speciality. 

My job as a swiftlet is to guide them around Lagen Island, one of the largest islands of Palawan. As soon as they set foot here, they were greeted with the Palawan March, the regional anthem learned by the locals since kindergarten. After hearing the catchy melody they made a promise to themselves to try to learn the words even though they weren’t familiar with the Cuyonin language. 

The staff welcomed them with open arms and large smiles on their faces. One of them thought “I feel like they are my family, I like how caring they are and how they always make sure everyone is comfortable.” During their whole stay, they never felt homesick since the Filipinos easily navigated past the cultural barrier between them. They realized that both cultures share the importance of family as well as food and good company. 

Apart from this, they were so captivated by the staff’s lifestyle and experiences in the resorts, that they talked to a few members. One of them was the nurse, who answered the pre-med student’s questions regarding how it is to be a health professional on an island. She discovered that the most common conditions are heart attacks which is why she decided to create a bulletin to raise awareness of this health issue.

What really caught the girls’ eyes was Palawan’s biodiversity. They had the opportunity to go on forest walks, hikes, and birding activities, which amplified their knowledge on plant and animal species. They first found my friend, the Palawan Hornbill, on top of a palm tree. He is a very handsome bird with a majestic white beak. I heard them commenting that they had never seen one and were curious that it had an acoustic horn called a casque that amplified its bird calls. 

The native Pagoda flowers also caught their attention due to their brightful red colors. Each of the units of this plant are assembled to form the shape of a temple, thus the name. Since one of the girls is interested in design, she thought that the Pagoda flower could be used as a symbol for the resorts since they are going through a rebranding. The redness of the plant could be part of the corporate colors. They were fascinated with this flower and they wanted to deepen their knowledge of the native and endemic flora and fauna in the archipelago.

To do so, I saw them grabbing goggles and fins to explore the marine life next. Their first stop was the Sand Bar, a massive accessible sand area in the middle of the sea. Along the shore line, they found sand dollars, cousins of sea urchins and starfish. Its broken down skeleton is shaped like a ring, the perfect size to propose to your lover (as they did).

In the second part of the trip, the young girls went by boat through a mangrove forest. They were careful to look up just in case there were snakes coiled up in the branches. Suddenly, looking at them, was a striped black and yellow snake.  One of the girls thought to herself, “I just want to hide under this towel and never come out. I HATE SNAKES!” They found out afterwards that mangrove snakes tend to drop from its perch in the tree when disturbed. This means that if you are ever under one DO NOT disturb it unless you want to be its lunch.

After this was snorkeling at Cove 2. I saw them struggling to find well-fitted fins, but in the end they were all set to swim. To my surprise, they weren’t afraid of the jellyfish they encountered but were shocked since it was as big as a basketball. While swimming, they were also able to see a sea turtle hovering over the reef and Boring clams opening and closing as they passed it.  

During their activities they visited a few caves. One of them was Cathedral cave. I have to say it is one of their favorites. As you might imagine it looks exactly like a cathedral, with big arches and plenty of echoes. They then went to  Cudugnon, a cave where the Japanese would hide out in the Second World War. They actually found some bones in there, so I guess it’s not a good hiding spot. 

To finalize their stay at Lagen Island, they visited a place named after an animal. Have you ever heard about Snake Island? The girls were very curious to understand why it was called that way. I don’t want to spoil why but all I can say is that the 5 minute hike to the peak of the island is worth it. When they arrived at the top of the mountain they commented: “Oh, there is the snake!” Now, it is your turn to find out the reason why it is known this way.

Their travels had just started, since they still have other islands to explore, but I am thrilled to see how their journey develops. I can already tell that they will enjoy my home as much as I do. I  can’t wait to see what animal they bump into next.