Enjoying the Maldives of the Philippines: El Nido

Dear traveler, 

This isn't a blog post about tours and packages. 

This will be a diary narrating how we enjoyed the entire zone of El Nido. More or less, I will be showcasing some of the photos in my iPhone in both day time and night time. (I have previously mentioned how Samsung phones work BETTER in daylight). 

I took this photo above around 6 in the morning. You can surely read in my previous post about El Nido that we docked at around 10 in the evening and all we ever saw were silhouettes of these mountains surrounding the Poblacion (Spanish word for town). 

Me and my friend luckily took shots at these cliffs knowing how these can support tourism and make mother nature happy; the entire stretch showed how the people of Palawan preserved the ecosystems thriving and made sure they can be both modern and backward. I remembered Los Banos, Laguna in this breezy area where the Mt. Makiling heights covered this mini urban zone. 

There was a pit stop where our van was thoroughly checked for any local mangoes being exported. With how the locals are strictly monitoring these, Palawan as a region is a beautiful desire island to wander and be lost--all at the same time. 

As a traveler, you seek out those breezy places where all you will ever do is breathe in and out. Inhale and exhale the fresh mountain wind that you'll never ever find in modern areas. 

As a present to fellow travelers, this photo near the coast houses the boats used for its main livelihood: island hopping tours. At this very hour, you'll see various locals selling pearls and sadly, some try to lure you to buying the fake ones. (this remains a warning since they carry around IDs to make sure they are valid vendors but some are tricky). They went from a pearl earring worth 1,000 pesos down to 500 and this convinced my colleague (the one in the photo) to buy it. 

This should be good information to everybody that buying pearls in El Nido is a good business. Other travelers make this as their bow and arrow to finance their travels. Pearls in Puerto Prinsesa are more expensive but you'll find a couple few individuals disparaging Pearl sellers in El Nido who sell the fake ones and add colorful descriptions just to lure their buyers. Who are we to judge by which we all know fire melts plastic and all their merchandise tolerate the 2-second flame. Local ordinance in El Nido disallows the selling of fake pearls so you be the judge. 

The early morning stroll marks a good traveler's hunch. The crowd walks at 8 so better be here as early as 5 or 6 to witness the morning by the beach spectacle. These kayaks near me are colorful and vibrant. Some locations like the Small Lagoon offer 300 pesos for 2 people and 500 pesos for 4 people. 

The same goes to the boats queued as the low tide is evidently beautiful in El Nido. It's quite unfortunate for a tropical country to welcome the rain showers but that's just the beauty of it. 

I took another shot hoping you'll see the rest of the island hopping paraphernalia right behind me. This is unlikely in Boracay where you'll see every other tourist walking down the aisle and occupying large spaces. 

PS: Welcome to the Philippines. 

Don't forget to share once again and put in your comments. 

El Nido's 7 Commando Beach

Dear traveler, 

As you can read in my previous posts, we've chosen to pursue Tour Packages A and C. Our overwhelming gratitude to Tay Miloy's Inn for the good rapport and frugal packages for our first ever El Nido Island getaway. 

If you are still clueless on the legwork for this travel, see this link. 

If you feel the seemingly hustle-bustle commuting time difference, you can feel inspired by clicking my previous post. 

Most of the tour packages have their own share of ups and downs. It depends on your genre; some are beach-bummers, some adore caving and the rest of the pack love climbing (most especially Taraw Cliff). In our case, we got a mixed group: I personally love sand castles (YES) and the lovely beaches and my other colleagues planned in climbing up the Taraw Cliff. 

Note: Taraw Cliff is no longer accommodating hikers due to some security issues (by which had been reported in various social media). However, the second highest peak is still a good hiker's den for all of you. 

Moving forward, we decided to capture two birds with one awesome day that we have allocated for this tour. (We had no regrets for choosing A and C) 

I have personally no history about this beach and the tour guide was barely instructional on this part of Tour A. I was imagining this beach to be another isolated island far from land but seeing the map above, I was scammed. 

I know that as you plan to check the photos in google, you will be more amazed by this beach which is the front runner of Tour A package. 

Just a short review, Tour A is all about: 

• Big Lagoon
• Small Lagoon
• Seven Commandos Beach 
• Secret Lagoon

Nearest to the point of origin was the 7 Commandos Beach (the first pitstop). 

Dear traveler, you will be expecting to see this photo below while you're on your way. Everything we saw were magnanimous and glorious in our sight. Tour A is a fun choice and a favorite choice among tourists (both local and international). 

I have a video of this and you can fully check my Instagram (IG) account and try following my adventures @eldeee143. 

Upon arriving to this beach, I personally felt that I needed to attend to my call of nature and it was a good thing that the beach had its own comfort room with another donation box. 

It stood strong to its fame and scent since tourists were fondly taking photos and sandbathing. Near the comfort room was a beach volleyball court and good thing nobody was playing at that very hour. My colleagues were way behind me since I was tending to my own call of nature. 

The photo above was to my left and what was to my right is this photo below: 

It's a haven for beach-bummers and the fine sand is worth dying for. There are also hotels and inns where you can stay for a night (and this would be at an incredible price for sure). 

And I made sure that with or without my friends, I enjoy the beach. Take a look at my crazy photos down below. 

Photo above reflects the crazy shoreline from my point of view. Thanks (once again) to my colleague who lent me her waterproof jacket and this made sure my iPhone was water-free. 

This photo above narrates the three people whom I went with and the other international tourists we came along with. 

Here are other epic photos that we took while we bathed for 30 minutes at this beach. 

Lastly, save the best for last. My selfie shot. 

To sum it all up, I enjoyed every single amenity this beach had to offer. Unfortunately, there were some which didn't reach my sight since other tourists were taking advantage of it like the swing and cartoonified standing wallpaper where you insert your head at either one of the six facial slots for you. 

Thanks for reading my travel journal. :) 

If you have questions, feel free to send me an email or just give me a thoughtful comment below. 

Please share the good news to fellow travelers. 

Traveling to El Nido, Palawan.

Dear travelers,

The airport in PPS or Puerto Prinsesa is not a major airport unlike Manila International Airport (MIA) and Mactan International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu (another MIA).

Arriving at PPS Airport was a shock because there was a heavy downpour considering June as a commencement to the umbrella season in a tropical country. Take note, Summer months start in April and usually end in May. The month started off with countless rains and the photo below narrates the fright of how our El Nido trip will be.

Cebu Pacific (CEBU PAC) provided us otherwise with cute yellow umbrellas to safeguard our belongings from the downpour.

Upon getting in, I got surmised at how little the space was. I've been to Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Manila and Cebu airports and it is to my dismay. Honestly speaking.

The restrooms were neat in a way and were well-maintained. Upon going out, the rain was hardheaded. It didn't stop and we had no choice but to look for the man carrying sheets of paper with our names on it. (Make sure you check this way ahead of time so you don't end up expectant).

Cutting to the chase, we were in the van (Grandia) with three other people. My gut tells me they got the van service on the spot (which is a normal way of living in Palawan).

We knew right from the start. Six (6) hours is a grueling travel time just for one location. My last memory traveling that long was a tracking (literally circumnavigating) trip around Negros Island less than two decades ago.

Getting enough information from friends tells me the normal rate. It is 500 pesos per head not unless you have more colleagues with you then you can try haggling for better rates.

Suggestion: Riding the bus can be an option BUT having limited time to stroll around the place is a primary parameter. It may take you longer than 6 hours with bus stops every other spot in its aisle of travel.

I want you to worry less for this. Just make sure you are not well-rested so you can have ample time to nap while inside the van; contrary to what happened to me since we arrived around 3PM and the night came eloquently with my eyes wide awake the entire trip.

You can: 

• Listen to an e-book. 
• Have the best playlist while on the road. Listen to it of course. 
• Watch a movie. Download movies in your iPAD or iPHONE and it will kill time. (better have your powerbanks charged) 

The road to El Nido is spic and span. No road cracks (unlike other areas) and the roads are far from edges and cliffs (unlike traveling to Baguio or going to Danasan Eco Park).

While you may be sitting inside with your music turned on, three hours would be swift before landing at a midpoint eatery and the rates were pretty elusive. Good business up ahead and just prepare enough bucks. Seafood meals were way expensive in Cebu and the meals were served in a glorious way (cheaper, actually). It was pretty dark outside but undoubtedly, you feel the ambiance beyond those territories.

I forgot the name and we all guessed the owner to be an Islam follower with all tarpaulins about Islam. It was really perfect since they label their meals well for Muslims. A friend of mine doesn't eat pork and it was pretty convenient for her.

The comfort rooms had donation boxes and is not something new for travelers. The rates you pay are not enough to cover for their maintenance costs. Delving to the sublayers of the costs, delivery from A to B can be really hefty. Well, tourism is an edge of Palawan nonetheless.

The rest of the pack waited for us while we gnawed our food. The empty stomach knows no more rules, even wallet considerations. The three hour ride to this midpoint eatery was too hot to handle. Everything was very palatable granting an empty stomach.

The people were in deep slumber while my eyes remained wide awake. Using some camphor or menthol applications, I used it several times in the sojourn. I had weird and random motion sickness issues. I forgot to drink my bonamine tablet (an hour earlier) and good thing the white flower oil was perfect to ease out motion anxieties.

It was totally dark. Really dark that the modern sceneries are too flashy compared to the silence of the natural forests. What I just noticed were other vans transporting other tourists from the airport.

A total of six hours was the length we had to travel. Signals were too shaky to capture data and even to check my MAP. The driver remained focused and forgot to at least label each boundary we got into. Nevertheless, we see on a larger the scale the entire map which has larger areas per municipality.

The over-all experience was satisfactory and highly safe. The van drivers were very hospitable and the night time urged him to deliver us safely to Tay Miloy's inn. We paid 100 pesos for the terminal; he explained how angry the tricycle drivers are if they directly deliver the tourists to each of their inns and hotels.

If you got questions, let me know. I'll be really happy to help.