Our
time here consisted of lots of walks to and from the small township, watching
snippets of the local basketball league and a couple of island hopping
tours. The resort was wonderful, and we
had sea and pool views from our lovely stand alone cottage.
El
Nido is not unlike Koh Tao but maybe not quite as well oiled as Thailand.
The walk to junction corner was about 800 metres and to the end of the beach
front (Bacuit Bay) 1.5km in total from the resort. There were lots of options for food and drinks
and we had some wonderful meals during our time in here.
Island Hopping – Tour C
Our
9am departure, which ironically left at 10am, cruised out through the limestone
islands and their vertical cliff faces whilst we were admiring the clarity of
the sea, first stopping at Cadlao lagoon. We anchored here for 45 minutes for
kayaking and swimming. The water is super clear, tepid, and has beautiful
patches of turquoise, of course lined by limestone making the colours pop.
Our
boat decided to give up and we sat between islands in the middle of the ocean
waiting to be rescued (to be fair not the worst place to be stranded). After drifting for 25 minutes another boat
arrived and towed us to Hidden Beach, where we had lunch and checked out the
Clown Fish, before heading to the next stop at Secret Beach. This stop proved
to be really nice with a small opening in
the rock through to a cove and beach, and an underwater funnel that was
swimmable with the guides keeping watch of course.
Our
last two stops were Helicopter Island, which was a pleasant sandy beach, some
nice coral and the best fish we had seen on the tour, with amazing water
clarity, and a final stop for a bit of snorkelling. The first and last stops were additional to
make up for the two we missed that were even further afield (due to our late
departure and the engine failure).
Anniversary Day
Happy Anniversary to us, as we hoped for a relaxed day of massage, wine and food.Finding a genuine delicatessen, we had a wonderful lunch of crackers, Camembert and double smoked ham along with a couple of beers. What a treat!
After
a 90 minute massage and feeling pretty good and relaxed, we had a bottle of
'cheap' bubbles listening to the thunder and watching a lightning show before
going for our anniversary dinner at 6.30pm at the in house restaurant, Jinjer. We had a lovely dinner and bottle of wine just
soaking up the atmosphere and surroundings that have become very familiar in
our time here to date.
Island Hopping - Tour A
This time, leaving on time, we made our way to our first stop at the Big Lagoon. A picturesque lagoon where we hired a kayak to take full advantage of the spot. The initial wow moment was the clarity of the water, deeper than what we had seen but clear to the bottom and beautiful.
Then we saw one, maybe two Green Turtles (same one twice?),
which was amazing as well as a few fish. The guides had kayaked out to
take photos (on our own devices) of those that wanted them, then we made our
way back to the boat.
The
next site was the secret lagoon; a small opening in the rock that allows you
entrance to the lagoon behind it. It's a small space that is surrounded
by cliffs so quite different, however the water wasn't as clear inside, so we
ventured back out for a bit of snorkelling and a walk on the small beach.
A
further 5 minutes around the island we stopped at a nice snorkelling spot and
then on to our lunch spot on Shimizu Island. Another nice, but busy, spot
with the usual guys kayaking around selling coconuts, beer and ice cream as well as a
little makeshift shop on the island. The usual rock formations surrounded
us, so it was quite a pretty bay.
Our
last stop was Seven Commandos Beach and the trip in was quite dramatic.
By now we could see Cadlao Island completely covered in torrential rain and
with very dark skies to the left and a bright sunny beach to the right; it was
certainly a view of contrasts.
As if the water couldn't get any clearer! It was crystal and the white,
white fluffy sand made it 'that' beach that everyone would love to visit.
We were there for 90 minutes enjoying the sunshine and people watching but also
keeping an eye on the weather front. We did get light drizzle for a short
time but escaped the worst of it. We were back at the resort at 4.30
after a wonderful day out.
El Nido was a great stop and the people (in general) in the
Philippines are super friendly. We
enjoyed a mix of the sunshine, moody skies and torrential rains as well as
regular pit stops on our deck with a beer overlooking the sea. Certainly, no complaints here, and oh, those
sunsets!.
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Our transfer to holiday stop two on Palawan was pretty
straight forward although not that comfortable.
Loaded into the van early (in super hot weather), back seat and winding roads
with a crazy driver all made for a nauseating drive. We did arrive safely though to Sunset Beach Resort
in San Vincente.
We got
a tour of the property from Roberto (proprietor) and the super friendly staff
before settling in. We were starting to
think we may be the only ones here but ironically two more Kiwis turned up on
their honeymoon (Bec’s and Tom from Wellington), and there were another three
guests in house so effectively four out of the five rooms were full. The
place is literally right on the beach and is immaculately put together with a pool, lots of sun loungers and a
restaurant, as well as two friendly dogs, Sam and Kikai. Sam, who is the black dog is a Cane Corso, and only 9 months old!
We
had a room buzzer so we could call the staff from anywhere (although with the
exception of one test run, we didn’t use it), a gym at our disposal and lots of
time to relax. The food was fantastic, the
pool was great, and the place had a real family feeling. We spent time doing the usual exercise,
walking into town for a look and runs alongside the airport runway, as well as
trying to complete our holiday admin before we head home.
The
small township of Saint Vicente 2km away, was mostly very simple, especially
the housing, although we did come across a small wet market as well as fruit
and vege stalls. The walk was over several headlands and in the 30° heat was quite exhausting.
We
did have some free entertainment whilst there as they were removing a large
coconut palm (provision for the airport to open) and then replacing it with a smaller
one. Lots of supervisors but the process was surprisingly smooth. Gary and Tom were also called on to help with
the relocation of an additional, rather heavy, although small (4-5m) coconut
tree. A bit of huff and puff, and lighthearted fun which was rewarded
with a beer for us all. We enjoyed it out at the water’s edge in the warm
onshore wind, watching the moody cloud scape, now receiving the tail end/edge
of a Typhoon.
The weather eventually turned more angry and kept everyone
indoors, the winds strong and the rain heavy.
Not an issue for us as we felt we’d had our share of sunshine this trip.
Our departure from San Vincente and route home included private transport to Puerto Princesa, then a flight to Manila which was interesting to say the least. After an initial delay it was fine, until the first attempt to land was aborted on final approach due to the weather, so back up we went to have another shot at it. A couple of minutes out the exit areas are lit and the signs illuminated which did nothing for the nerves as the plane bumped and rocked towards the runway. Landing safely in Manila there were more than a few people thanking a higher power and clapping for the pilots.
We had one night in Manila before our flight to Singapore, also with one night there. The extra nights were really to cater for any cancellations in flights and although we came close getting out of Palawan, ultimately it wasn’t required, although the delays in departing continued. After spending many hours in the airport lounge in Singapore, we eventually boarded and had an easy and pleasant flight home in Premium Economy. An UBER from the airport and we were home in no time, and very happy to be back.
Trip complete 🍻🥂🍻
What we will remember about Palawan, Philippines:
Crystal clear turquoise waterTorrential downpours
Lightning storms
Beautiful sunsets
Moody skies
Bangka (native watercraft of the Philippines)
Friendly locals
Limestone cliffs
Basic agriculture
Rice, corn, bananas and coconuts
Simple living
Natural rain forest
Bad roads
Strange tides
Thank you = Salamat (Sar la mart)
