Beaching it in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

With shades of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, El Nido is a beach town sought out by water-loving visitors from around the world.  Everyone walks around in shorts, flip-flops, and tans, dodging the many motorcycles and tricycles or tuk-tuks (motorcycles with metal cabs for two passengers). These noisy contraptions are the primary mode of transportation here; they are cheap and plentiful and can occasionally fit more than two people for the ride.  The town is a busy place in the morning and late afternoon hours as boats with great outriggers load and unload people taking part in all-day sightseeing, island-hopping, swimming, and snorkeling adventures.   Between those loading times, the town is a lazy village, too hot for much activity.  People find shady places to snooze; even the dogs sleep all day.

The water of Bacuit Bay, surrounding this part of the island,  is spectacularly beautiful, colorful, and irresistibly inviting.  Colored a deep indigo at its depths, the dark blue morphs into royal blue and finally into shades of clear turquoise near the white sandy beaches.  What makes it even more spectacular are the iconic islands dotting the sea.  These towering stone formations made of 250-million-year-old rock now display as dramatic cliffs, hidden lagoons, and jagged peaks.

Snorkeling is at its best here.  After we donned our mandatory life jackets for the launch, the captain on each of our boat tours– we took four of them in just seven days – motored out to sea until the special place for snorkeling, kayaking, swimming, or picnicking was found.  We usually visited five spots every day.  When other tourists heard we’d been on four of these trips, some asked, “aren’t you tired of the water?”   We’d reply, “No, each place is a little different, and besides that, what else is there to do?”

We thoroughly loved these trips.  One of the best parts was, naturally, meeting the other passengers, some of whom became our friends for the day,  like Josh from Taiwan, the young man from Korea, the family from Caron, the two young women from the Netherlands, or the family from France.  We especially connected with Emily, the Filipino grandmother who brought three of her four grandchildren to the Philippines from their home in Colorado.  Though the two boys and two girls are her grandchildren by birth, they are now her children by adoption.  The youngest, now fifteen, was only 18 months old when she adopted them.  They seem to have a ball together.  Emily is ever so lucky to have the kids as they keep her young, and the youngsters, now 15 to 22, are indeed lucky to have their clever, loving, and lively Grandma.   Whether it was meeting fellow passengers, kayaking to find a hidden lagoon, snorkeling, or having lunch on a deserted sandy beach, we loved it.  Some snorkeling and swimming spots thrilled us with zillions of colorful fish in perfectly clear water; other stops had wide varieties of bigger fish, and one spot had the most varied and colorful coral beds we have ever seen.  In the calm water, it was tempting to simply float along and, like watching TV, simply watch the action in the world below. 

We are moving again; our time in El Nido is done.  Tomorrow presents a grueling 5 to 7-hour van ride to Puerto Princesa. I think the name is probably more enticing than the city will be, but we shall see.   I’d like to say there are other transportation options, but sadly, there aren’t.  So, it’s like I always think when someone whines, oh that plane ride or, as in this case, that van ride, is much too long . . . I say,  “Ok, you either do it or you stay home.”