Hello again, I'm quite exhausted today, first day back at work and I "enjoyed" my first working day in the school of Bukas Palad (in November and December I was joining all the other programs of Bukas Palad), or better to say Kindergarden because the kids are between 2-6 years old. So I pay every possible respect to every Kindergarden teacher! You really need nerves out of pure steel!! Well, it was still very funny and interesting, but quite hard also because my Tagalog is very very bad. I really have to study a lot more. ) =

So here the continued story about Palawan...
Well, the trip was just really adventourus and exciting. Before we took our flight from Manila to Puerto Princessa there were the first warnings - the whole December it rained a lot in Palawan and they told us it might not be possible to up north to El Nido. Well, we were a little worried but still excited about our big holiday.
We took the plane early in the morning on the 29, in Puerto Princessa Elisa (a Gen from Manila) picked us up at the airport and brought us to our guesthouse... After that we visited Elisas Family (Elisa is working in Bukas Palad in Manila but she visited her family in Puerto in the Christmas Holidays) they really live deep in the countryside! Was still great, a bamboo house in the middle of nowhere, just fields and jungle around and some Wasserbueffel. We had a great lunch there, with fresh fish (when I say FRESH - that means in Palawan that the fish was killed a few hours ago ( =.... ), Buko (sweet rice with coconut milk, yummi), Papayas, Mangos etc...
Brilliant! We stayed until the 31 in Puerto and visited some beaches, the market, a crocodile farm, the Fishing Village (People live there in a village built over the water - everything out of Bamboo, it's amazing, but still dangerous for them if the sea gets rough) and enjoyed dinner in a beautiful bamboo restaurant over the sea where I tried my first squids and shrimps. Yummy, seafood is GREAT in Palawan.
Anyway, on the 31 we took a small bus heading North to Port Barton, a really small bus, normally for 15 people. But come on, we are in the Philippines so there where around 40 people in and on (the roof) of the bus plus the bus was double high because they packed all the luggage on the roof, including some poor chickens. Yeah! This was pure Sardinendosenfeeling... ( =
But the landscape was beautiful, we saw our first rice fields, palm trees, very small villages in the middle of nowhere and again a lot of Wasserbueffels (they work with them on the rice fields).
After 3 hours drive we arrived at the broken bridge - the flood about 1 week before destroyed an important bridge. So we got all off the bus, crossed the bridge over a few wooden sticks (adventour calls!) and then my greatest trip ever started!! MOTORBIKES! Ok, imagine two motorbikes with each one Filipino Driver... Our backpacks were fixed on the back of the bike, and then Teresa and me behind our cool drivers and GO. Oh my god, without any protection, no helmet or something with shorts ..(we are in the Philippines, never forget!) we prayed our prayers on that drive, but it was amazing. 2 hours we raced through beautiful Palawan, passed rice fields, waving children, and then into the Jungle. The reason why we had to take Motorbikes was because the streets where so muddy and wet (there are nearly no Beton - streets in Palawan!!) so we slided through the mud, had to get off and walk several times but i was great!
After 2 hours we finally arrived in Port Barton and forgot immediately about our hurting a.. and saw our first dream beach! yupi!
We stayed in a beautiful guesthouse directly at the beach and payed about 3 Euros per night. That's Palawan... still very quiet and just a few tourists around.
We went Island Hopping, snorkelling, for jungle walks to great waterfalls...
You really have to see the photos, but I will try to load them up tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm sorry but I'm too tired to write more, maybe tomorrow again. We were so lucky with the weather in Palawan, we had 2 weeks sunshine! ( =
That was a real Christmas Present...
Ok, hope you are all fine, I try to answer all your emails as soon as I can!
Take care everybody, I send you gladly my 32C heat of Manila... I want to go skiing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) =
Keep smiling, Stephanie

PS nach Bayern> bitte noch etwas Geduld, ich bemueh mich um baldige Photos, ok Andy?! ( =
Uebrigens liebe Gruesse an all meine neuen Fans aus Bayern (Andy, Andy's Mama, Sabine... etc) Freut mich sehr dass euch meine Homepage gefaellt und ich schick euch eure Teresa bald heil und unversehrt wieder zurueck ins schoene Bayern, versprochen... ( =
Machts gut!!