Island of Palawan circa 1967-68 - Part 1

Thinking about the island of Palawan, it is almost 40 years now since we were there. Well, what I have to say here is how it was before because I have not been there since. It was there where I went through my second year in high school and half of my third year. Among a brood of 10, two of our youngest sisters and I were taken along there with our mom. Our father was then the superintendent of the Palawan Quicksilver Mines located some 14 kilometers from the islands capital of Puerto Princesa, now also a city. It didn't mean anything to me then. All I cared for was sports and as long as they had basketball there it was alright with me. The relocation of 884.56 km to 961.47 km south of our hometown didn't matter. It was our parents' decision and there was nothing we could do about it. It was like a dream. In an instant, we were there! No talk, no orientation - no nothing about anything that I could recall! When we got there, we never realized that we were going to live a life of a highly respected family (almost royal lol)! It was funny and at the same time weird living there during those times. It was as if the people there then were informed of our coming into town. The mining company even sent a car there from Manila just for our use going to and coming from school! We were the only students in the best school there that were being brought to and from school chauffered! We were treated very well and highly respected in that school run by nuns.


Actually, it was only in recent past about 5 or 6 years ago, that I came to realize all these. There are a lot of stories I could blog about here during our almost 2-year stay in Palawan. But as my usual self, I would not want to make this a boring article to read as I know most of you should be doing more important things online. Part 2 of this series will be my personal adventures, what I did on my own there that my siblings and parents wouldn't have known about. I hope I could write it very soon as I am excited myself to tell the stories about them too. Some of them were scary or weird growing-up scenarios.

As of this writing the Palawan Quicksilver Mines has mined-out itself for many years now. I have not been in contact with any of my former classmates or friends since we left. Having been online frequently for the past 4 years now, I have not come across any of them yet, inspite of some searches I have made.

Map Photo & Other PhotosCourtesy of:

http://www.haribon.org.ph/images and http://www.butterflytravel.ph/puerto_princesa.html