El Nido, Palawan, The Philippines
It's a rainy January here in Cebu City. But I am pretty sure, its summer somewhere else! With that, I got to reminisce the beach for my 19th DIY Travel PH entry!
I wrote about our DIY trip to Puerto Princesa while riding a trike a few days back. But our foremost destination was actually El Nido. That same day later after the city tour, we went to the bus terminal for the six-hour land trip en route El Nido. I am okay with long rides such as this but my husband isn't, he was grumpy the whole time but he ain't got no option but to endure the trip. He survived it anyway.
I pre-booked our bus tickets online which I regret a bit, I later found out that there are vans taking passengers to El Nido at almost the same rate but in shorter travel time. Anyways, we couldn't do anything about it anymore. That was Cherry Bus by the way. Here are the details:
Cherry Bus Palawan
email: [email protected]
online booking (at least 3-days before) at www.pinoytravel.com.ph
Tiansuy Go Rd. San Jose Public Market, Brgy. San Jose, Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Php 480.00 air-conditioned bus
We reached El Nido at two in the morning, gladly there were still bikes ("sikad") drivers who brought us to our homestay at Tay Milo's Inn which was the cheapest place to stay in El Nido, it is in fact very popular online for backpackers. However, that's around two years ago, I am not sure if things had changed.
Tay Miloy’s Inn
Contact Details
Mobile No.: 0915-967-2720 (Globe); 0939-469-7192(Smart) – Rodigo Caranog
E-mail: [email protected]
Php350 per room per night, good for two
No down payment required!
However their rooms were full, they forgot about our booking, so they referred us to their neighboring inn which was way better but with the same rate! Awesome deal as it has its own bathroom, it has a beautiful view of Taraw and it wasn't hot because we were on the third floor.
DAY 1
That morning, we found ourselves eating at a local cafeteria and we spent only Php 100 for our breakfast! We even roamed around, El Nido is just a small town, one can walk a few minutes and it's already the Bacuit Bay where all the vessels for island hopping dock.
Returning to our room, the caretaker informed us that Tay Milo was looking for us for our free breakfast! Bummer! We didn't realize there's a free breakfast included!
Imagine, php 350 per night for two and then there's free breakfast but we missed it!
Anyways, we shared the boat with some Cebuanos too who sang a romantic song for us after learning we were celebrating our 7th anniversary. They were really sweet.
We opted Island Hopping A and C which cost Php 1500 per person which included a sumptuous lunch! Originally, we settled with tour A but since the group in the boat which we were in selected A and C, we had no option but to comply, we added Php 300 each for the tour!
Small Lagoon
Those monoliths surrounding the clear waters compelled us to dive into the water. Whilst most of the people around rented kayaks, James and I opted to swim and use our skills to go into the small lagoon.
From a clear one, the water started becoming dark green, a sign that the waters here are full of living algae possibly. While swimming, I couldn't help but think what if there are crocodiles in here, I had to just brush it off instead and appreciate the mountain surrounding this spot.
Take a photo or it never happened.
James and I took a lot of images, like as if it was our last destination. But it was just the first one and we still have a lot of islands to visit so we got to save our batteries!
Big Lagoon
If there's small lagoon, there's also a big one of course! This spot here is the face of El Nido. Most El Nido posters have this and it's gorgeous!
Swimming isn't allowed because they have spotted crocodiles and other dangerous creatures lurking and anticipating for a meal!
We didn't spend a lot of time, we just went inside, maneuvered around and exited, perhaps that only took 15 minutes in all.
Secret Lagoon
Oh, we were not yet done with lagoons! Lunch was served at the beach outside the Secret Lagoon which isn't a secret anymore as all tourist get to find it, however, the reason why its called such is because a tourist has to go through the hole between the rock wall to get in.
Lunch was cooked here by the boatmen while we were enjoying the beach and the lagoon. As soon as it was ready, the boatmen called us in!
Shrimp soup, eggplant salad, squid, grilled pork, chicken and fish, fruits and of course rice! It was more than enough for us!
Cadugnon Point and Cave
James jumpshot, I wasn't able to capture it right.
In here was a cave full of bats, the smell speaks it all and just like how we got to the secret lagoon, we again had to go through a small hole between a rock wall to get to the cave. Quiet challenging for those who have bigger body figure.
We didn't spend much time here but we did a few jump shots outside without a single photobomber!
Snake Island
A sandbar looking like a snake connects two islands, thus its name. It owns a viewpoint which offers a fabulous view of the El Nido islands. We hopped into a dead tree, held on it so we could get a good photo of the islands as the background.
The entire time that we were here, we spent only for taking photos and documenting every single spot that we found interesting.
Cathedral and Pinagbuyutan Island
At the Cathedral, swimming was not allowed due to the presence of some venomous sea snakes. The island is called as such because of how the opening looks like that of a cathedral.
However, the "busyadors (bus-ya-dors)" or bird's nest gatherers are regularly here to look for bird's nests, they access the inside through a kayak. Bird's nest soup is very famous in El Nido but it is also very expensive due to the fact that they have to risk their lives gathering those.
At Pinagbuyatan Island, we had snorkeling. It is rich in underwater life, the boatmen gave us some leftover rice so we could attract the fishes! It was cool!
Seven Commando Island
This was our last destination and where James and I enjoyed the most. The island got its name from the legendary story of a fishing vessel named Seven Commando which got stranded on this island.
It has a laid-back, stress-free kind of feel. A beach volleyball court is available for tourists to play at. A bar resort was constructed to cater foreign and even local tourists who would like to stay overnight.
Halo-halo and buko juice are both sold here by the locals. Hammocks and beach chairs were provided by the resort too!
Quarter to five, we were all in the boat ready to go back to Bacuit Bay when the boat's machine wasn't igniting. We waited and the boatmen called for reinforcement because it was already getting dark. But it was a blessing in disguise! We got to watch the sunset while in 7 Commando Island, it was a perfect way to end the day!
Finally, after few more attempts, the machine started and off we went back to Bacuit Bay.
They say there's nightlife in El Nido but since we were so tired of swimming and snorkeling, we went to sleep right after dinner!
DAY 2
James and I were both mesmerized by the beauty of Taraw so we asked around if we could climb and get to the top. The boatman referred us to another person who could guide us through, our meet up time was five but we were 30 minutes late.
Conquering Taraw
Taraw is a Cuyunin word for mountain.
Taraw was calling us since day one!
What I thought was an easy climb turned into the most challenging trek I had ever done in my life. I never thought it to be very hard, it was knee wrecking, energy consuming, heart pumping and all the worst possible thing could happen to us.
Every now and then, I'd be asking the guide if we were almost there, he'd laugh and kid us that we were just 10% of the entire trek! I almost collapsed!
I could still recall how my knees and arms shake as I went pulling myself to get to the next cliff. The spiky rocks didn't help and was even making the trek harder! There was no specific trail, we only have to watch out on which stone the fast guide stepped on and we have to follow or else, we could be dead! Seriously!
For a first-timer, this was no joke, I thought several times if I should just go back.
Normally, the climb would take an hour up and another hour down. Our guide applaud us for reaching the top in just 40 minutes even with no proper attire! I was on my slippers by the way and my loose pants were not able to hold it anymore when we were at the top, it eventually was torn apart while I was trying to reach another steep rock. Thank goodness I brought a sarong with me!
The Bacuit Bay view definitely erased all the sweat, the pain, and the nerve wrecking climb. Both of us in awe as we watch the beauty of El Nido!
I had to make my victory pose! Thanks to our guide for taking shots for us and keeping our camera safe while on our way up as well as on our way down!
Going down was still challenging but were a bit faster this time. However, I almost couldn't feel my knees when we arrived at the mainland.
At our room, we looked at Taraw and reminisce the effort we had to go through but we appreciate the beauty of El Nido plus the awesome one of a kind adventure!
I had to sleep again to regain all that spent energy and when we woke up, it was almost lunchtime!
We spent Php 300 for the guide.
Nacpan - Calitang Twin Beach
For Php 500 (discounted because we were referred by the caretaker), we drove from El Nido town to Nacpan Beach. In thirty minutes time, we relinquished the long stretched white sand beach of Nacpan!
When the sun was not harsh, we incited walking towards the twin beach, it took us approximately 15 minutes to reach there and were both stunned by its beauty! The island looked like a snakehead, the landscape looks transcendent and the awesome view of the horizon was spectacular!
If you plan on coming to El Nido, don't skip Nacpan! There's a great chance of having the beach all by yourself especially if you stay here for a night. Make sure to watch the sunrise and explore the hills in the distance.
We decided to go back to El Nido as soon as we found a storm coming!
That night, we went back to Puerto Princesa, arrived very early in the morning and stayed at the terminal, went to Mitra House and stopped again at the Baker's Hill until it was time to check in at the airport.
El Nido was great! We felt safe and we truly treasure that experience together! Anniversary was well spent!
You might also be interested in my previous travel blog series:
DIY Travel PH#17: Staycation at Mandaue's Europa Mansionette Inn, Cebu
DIY Travel PH#15: Motorcycling to Sagada's Mysterious Hanging Coffins
DIY PH Travel#13: Throwback Thursday's Getaway to Carcar's Ramon Rest House
DIY PH Travel#12: Perfect for the Family - El Salvador Resort, Danao
DIY PH Travel#10: Going South - Swimming with the Gentle Giants
DIY PH Travel#5: Beautiful Bantayan Island and Why I Don't Recommend Budyong Beach Resort
DIY PH Travel#4: Cebu City Tour - Paradise at Terrazas de Flores Botanical Garden Busay Cebu
DIY PH Travel#1: Cebu City Tour Part 1 - Learn Cebu City's History at Casa Gorordo
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