Finding a Starfish on Starfish Island, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philipp...

WATCH: Armored starfish of Starfish Island, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, PH.

In Puerto Princesa, there is an island where starfishes abound. It supposedly has the most starfishes anywhere in the province of Palawan. It's called, not surprisingly, Starfish Island. It sits among other islands, just as colorfully named, in Honda Bay. Despite the name of this body of water, tourists won't find any motorcycles or cars floating in it. It's name likely originated from the Spanish phrase for deep bay, bahia profunda. Other people might have other origin stories for the name. You can choose what you want to believe.

It's a bit of a mystery why there are lots of starfishes on Starfish Island, but you have to bet there are plenty of food there for them to eat. The starfish in the video is a type of armored starfish. They have knobs on top, they feel hard to the touch, and for some tourists, they would appear to be dead, although, if they would just take the time to look at the underside, they will see the tiny tentacles that line the midsection of their arms

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Fruit Shake Refreshment Stand near the Zip Line and Mangrove Paddle Ride in Puerto Princesa Palawan

WATCH a fruit shake being made with a fruit blender at a fruit shake refreshment stand.

If you're going on a trip to visit the Underground River of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, you'd likely be given the choice of a side trip between the 800-meter zip line and mangrove forest paddle boat ride. One can make your heart race in anticipation (not for the faint-hearted) and the other can lull you to dreamland. What's common for both is that these rides can make any tourist thirsty and hot, because after a few hours of being under the sun, well, let's just say you'd be in desperate need of cooling liquid refreshments.

So once you've screamed your heart out zipping over the sea hanging from a cable or tested the limits of your patience while languidly floating through mangroves, the most obvious thing to do is to buy some refreshments and waiting for tourists with parched throats at the beach, are a number of colorful fruit stands, ready to serve you a cold fruitshake or two, like the one in the video. There's no lack of refreshing drinks in Puerto Princesa, because with all the tourist spots that one can visit, they're really a necessity.

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Playing in the Sand with Toys at the Beach - Madz and Cools Resort - Real, Quezon, Philippines

VIDEO: Beach sand play in Real, Quezon, The Philippines (Madz and Cools Resort)

The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands and beach life is a way of life for most Filipinos. Every summer, families from all over the country flock to popular beaches in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Most would have already heard about Boracay Island and El Nido in Palawan, but there are other places, like Real in Quezon province, which offer more humble environs which locals would still find enjoyable.

This video was taken at the Madz and Cools resort along the Famy-Real-Infanta Road. It's a private resort house which can be booked, when available, for special family and other small-scale gatherings. As of this writing, the resort isn't even on Google Maps. The beach sand is grey with an underlying bluish-green clay layer, so it's not really for building sand castles. Also, there are plenty of old coral rock formations which do not contribute to much of a beachfront and can make swimming a tricky business. Still, in spite of the limitations, this beach can still offer perks such as spectacular sunsets, great seafood and a great bonding place for the family.

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Mimosa Shy Plants of The Philippines Are Fascinating for a Child

WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE THE MIMOSA PUDICA "SHY" PLANT IN ACTION.

The Mimosa Pudica plant is common in the Philippines and every young child almost always gets an introduction to them courtesy of their parents or older friend by showing how the leaves fold or shy away from being touched. It's sometimes called the Touch-Me-Not plant and it's ironic that people despite it's name, never tire of touching it's compound leaves to see them fold.

In the video, a child learns how the plants react to touch by folding up (leaves and stems). It's a great way to teach children about plants and nature in general since Mimosa plants can be found almost anywhere there are fields and by the roadside. They can even be planted in a pot of soil so that they can be admired by children at home - sort of a pet plant. Here you can order Mimosa pudica seeds that you can plant in the comfort of your own home.

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Strawberry Farm Market Stalls of La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

WATCH THE VIDEO. SEE WHAT YOU CAN BUY AT THE STRAWBERRY FARM

One of the often-visited tourist spots in the mountain province of La Trinidad, Benguet in The Philippines is the Strawberry Farm. There you can pay to harvest strawberries just like the locals. But if baking under the hot high-altitude sun isn't your cup of tea, then you can check out the market stalls that sell souvenirs and stuff you won't easily find anywhere else, like snake liquor and phallic ashtrays. Of course there are the ever-present strawberries.

If you will be buying raw strawberries, make sure that you get those that are not yet ripe so they can last a few days. They rot quickly and if you do not consume them on time, you'd end up with a lot of moldy lumps you wouldn't even care to look at. If you'll be traveling more after your visit, and would still like to buy souvenir strawberries, then get the jams and preserves.

To have an idea of what you can expect to buy there, watch the video (taken in 2016). Just pause it when you see something interesting so you can get a good look at the item.

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Puerto Princesa Palawan Baywalk Seafood Restaurant Walkthrough

WATCH THE VIDEO AND EXPERIENCE THE PUERTO PRINCESA BAYWALK.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan is a city known for being a city in a forest, but its also famous for its seafood and the Baywalk, near the docks, is where you can get your fill of local seafood fare to your satisfaction.

There are stalls that sell seafood from one end to the next and if you don't know what you're looking for, you might have a hard time choosing what to order. If the vendors see your confusion, though, they might offer you the delicacy that Puerto Princesa is famous for, the tamilok mollusk, also called a woodworm (although it's NOT A WORM) It's found inside decaying wood along the beaches, especially where there are mangrove forests. Locals swear it's tasty like oysters, perhaps even more so. It might not be for everyone, but if you do happen to be on a trip to Puerto Princesa, do check out the Baywalk and order some tamilok. You won't find it as readily available in Metro Manila so don't miss the opportunity.

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Maria Isabel Garcia and Her Science Solitaire Book

Maria Isabel Garcia is unlike other authors because, to her, the best thing about having a published book is not about getting rich from sales or leaving a legacy. For her, being a writer is more about the satisfaction of seeing a finished book get a life of its own. She is a natural explorer who writes about what she sees around her, connecting her observations in life with science. Her inquisitive nature has led to become a science writer of The Philippine Star, a content author for Rappler, and ultimately, the curator of The Mind Museum, an innovative science museum in the Philippines that adds to the reasons why it's more Fun in The Philippines.

Maria Isabel Garcia's first book is Science Solitaire: Essays on science, nature and becoming human. It's all about science, but the kind that is more personal and derived from her own personal experience of the world, which comes to her in a visual manner in her head.

Ideas do not come to her in words but in symbols that take on a visually solid or liquid form in her head. She combines what she sees with what she reads and viola, new ideas emerge to help her llustrate a point. That is what she writes about. "Writer's chase" which she does in order to capture the essence of a thought. It's what she experiences instead of "writer's block." She tries to chase after her own understanding of a topic and do all sorts of things to share it clearly and beautifully to people. Getting the approval of the book review board of the Ateneo De Manila University Press was something that she was very happy about.

Garcia’s wish for Science Solitaire is for it to inspire young people to write about science. Oddly enough, it's not even shelved with the science books but rather under the ‘Filipiniana’ section, which even her own friends, who are also science writers in the US, find very strange.

Here's how Maria Isabel Garcia describes her book on Amazon:

"Science Solitaire is a mind dance with nature's cards, in a style and lens that could help us see that science is alive - as it inhabits not just classrooms and textbooks but also our everyday lives. It consists of pieces of discovery that try to reveal the possible connections between the snippets of understanding we gain from science and our journey toward becoming human. What happens to our brains when we are happy, when we delight in music or food or other pleasurable pursuits? What lurks behind the awesome powers of some creatures with whom we inhabit this planet? What is E=mc2 and why is it the most popular icon for scientific ideas?"

Science Solitaire: Essays on science, nature and becoming human

Maria Isabel Garcia is also the author of Twenty-One Grams of Spirit and Seven Ounces of Desire