Puerto Princessa- Meeting Face Book friend for the first time.
Point to Ponder: Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. -Anais Nin
Story Line:
The primary reason for majority of visitors to Puerto Princessa, a coastal city on Palawan islands in the western Philippines, is to take the boat trip through the massive limestone caves and underground river of the biodiverse Puerto Princessa Subterranean River National Park. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/652/ and voted as a New7Wonders of Nature in 2012.
However the primary reason for our trip to Puerto Princessa was to meet for the first time a friend I met on Facebook about two years ago. My wife and I were also accompanied by friends we had made during my expatriate assignment in Manila in early 1980s. Roger, my Facebook Friend welcomed us with an open arm and a hug at the airport.
Our first stop was a school founded by a friend my wife has known since young age. After that we went to a beautifully choreographed/decorated Filipino Restaurant for some delicious delicacies.
On the first day, What followed was the visit to Plaza Cuartel, the site of American Base in World War 2, and a very tragic event. Reminder of consequences of human Power Hunger, EGO and bad Leadership and resulting tragedies and suffering of the man in uniforms ( on both sides) and common people. (In First half of the video)
The second day was visit to Puerto Princessa Subterranean River National Park, 80 km ride through beautiful green forests and mountains leading to the sea. ( captured in the second half of the video)
Reflection:
In FB terminology Roger was A Friend of my Friend. I came across his posts and found them interesting with like minded ideas. So I invited him to be my friend and he gladly accepted. Over last two years we shared many posts and realized that we have many common interests.
So we specially added Puerto Princessa in our itinerary to meet Roger. He was supposed to be in Manila this week but cancelled his trip to spend time with us. And what memorable these two days have been for us, listening to Roger’s stories and also explanations of local history, places and culture.
He spent 20 plus years in a career as a Seaman that took him to over 75 countries and enriched with lot of experiences and knowledge. Roger is highly energetic, enthusiastic, talkative and loves to tell stories, non stop. And they were so captivating that for the first time in my life I kept quiet for so long. And listened without intervention.
Reflecting on last two days I end this reflection with how I began “ Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”