i have been in this tropical paradise for the past 10 days. and i have been captivated by the island's beauty and the islanders' friendliness and hospitality. i only planned on staying for 7 days and moving on to puerto galera in the island of mindoro, another favorite dive site according to tourists i've met here in puerto princesa, palawan. an acquaintance, i met in el nido, palawan, warned me that the island is enchanted. according to this englishman, who introduced himself to me and my friends as morton, have been residing in palawan since 1986. he was one of the people from u.k. who came to help establish a biodiversity research laboratory in the western pacific region. after the project was set up six months later he and his european team went back home to their repective countries. but morton was never the same again, he said he felt like a stranger in manchester, the city where he was born and raised. he missed the smiling faces and cheerful character of the palawenos. he noted how his neighbors in manchester doesn't even smile nor greet each other when they meet each other. he long for the endless sunshine, the vast blue skies and blue green ocean of palawan. so he applied for a positon again in the research lab. when his application was rejected he paid for his own way back to paradise. he spent two months in palawan until he finally decided to change residence. today , 18 years later, he is one of about a hundred english expats who calls palawan-------home sweet home.
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