El
Nido, has the characteristics coalesce of Puerto Princesa (PP) and Coron, all
located in Palawan where you find rocks,
magnificent picturesque limestone cliffs, pristine clear water, rich coral
fauna and powdery-sand beaches. If you ask me which of the three islands is my
favorite, I would say, “It’s hard to tell.” Each island has a lasting
impression of beauty that is worth remembering. I had a wonderful experience
of the three islands. When I was in PP, I thought there could never be
more beautiful than PP. When I was in Coron, apart from its grandeur of
scenery, I was also able to build friendship with a local family in
Busuaga and this family still remains in my heart. Now, El Nido has a
space in my heart and blows my mind because of its incomparable beauty!
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By the shores of El Nido Town.
I had always been mentioning the beauty of the islets of El Nido, but let me also tell you what I regard the downside of El Nido - the drainage of the establishments by the shore go directly to the ocean. Yaaykkks! No wonder nobody dares to swim in this portion of the island when this area should be considered the most auspicious for El Nido Town! |
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| Small Lagoon |
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We enjoyed kayaking in the crystal
clear water while viewing the beautiful scenery of Big Lagoon. Pay attention to the three guys just behind us. Guess what happened next when they were chillaxing and were preoccupied gazing at the scenery. They had to dive for their expensive cameras (Hero 4!) afterwards. What a pity!
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Wish we had stayed longer in
this Big Lagoon islet!
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| Small Lagoon |
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We had a sumptuous lunch
prepared by our boatmen at Payong-payong islet.
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| Payong-Payong islet is next to the posh Miniloc
Resort. |
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Secret Beach Lagoon
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This place is where I have tasted the sweetest
buko in my entire life! Promise! Bukos cost P50.00 each and I was able to
consume 2 of those!
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On
the 2nd day, we had a series of stops included in Tour C and part of
Tour D.
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Hidden Beach
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We climb up the massive cliff
to have a view of the magnificent islets here in Matinloc Shrine.
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| You see beautiful sights when you are up in Matinloc Shrine. |
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| Matinloc Shrine |
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| Talisay Beach |
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| Look how clear the water is in Talisay Beach. |
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Our last stop is in Cadlao islet. As usual, my favorite place is where I can see under water. I was able to snorkel in the deep end. What a beautiful sight! I will definitely visit exactly the same islets again!
Trip-trip lang sa El Nido!
I traveled to El Nido taking
Cebu Pacific’s promo fare, purchased a long time ago. I booked the early flight
to Puerto Princesa (PP) to give time for the 5-hour trip to El Nido. I also booked
an all-in package tour through Balay Paragua on the last minute before leaving the
house because of the thought that our flight might be delayed due to Cebu
Pacific’s back log of cancelled flights from the previous days, and thinking it
will be late when we arrive in El Nido and it will be difficult to find an inn. True enough! I
don’t often book an accommodation and I have always been lucky and easy to find one except this time. When you are physically present in the area, you can already
compare the accommodations from the row of inns/hotels according to your
preference and budget. (You can also rent a tricycle offering the driver P50.00 for your hotel hopping.)
I was accommodated an all-in
package tour in Balay Paragua. Glad that Weng, the person I talked to on the
phone trusted my word telling him that I will just pay the full package
(4,500/pax) once I arrive at their hotel instead of requiring me to pay a 20%
deposit.
Just when I got out from the PP airport, I already saw my name so, I followed Jack to the van that led me go to
another van packed of passengers bound for El Nido. After a 2 and a half-hour trip, we
stopped at a restaurant to go to the restroom and eat lunch. The road was
winding and paved except in some areas where there are currently having
road/bridge repairs.
In El Nido, all the vans stop at a central
terminal station. You take a tricycle ride outside from the terminal which is only
about 20 steps from the area to catch a regular tryke that cost P10.00/pax
instead of P50.00 from the terminal station.
Balay Paragua has a homey
atmosphere and a friendly staff. It has all the basic necessities you need for
a short stay. There is a complimentary breakfast, AC, hot shower and a queen
size bed.
The package includes tours A
and C. They say this is the most popular island hopping tour people take. I was
glad to be included in a group. We covered more island stops than what is
normally indicated in tours A and C. I could not remember them all. Too
bad! So, blogging is a way for me to remember my trips.
How to travel inexpensively to El Nido
More often than not, I take the most inexpensive way to travel. Here are some travel tips I do:
1. Watch for air flight sales and grab them when you find
them even if the travel date will still be quite a distant.
2. Compare prices between a package tour and a self-made itinerary.
Sometimes package tour is less expensive and sometimes not.
3. When disembarking from the airport, walk a bit farther
from the airport vicinity to catch your ride (taxi/tricycle/van). Rides within
the airport/terminal areas usually charge more. Walk out from Puerto Princesa airport, and on the left side is where vans to El Nido are parked. It’s cheaper this
way than having an agent to book the trip for you. I asked our driver and he
said it only costs P400.00 to go to El Nido if you pay direct. Take a ride/tryke
that has just dropped off a passenger to go to the bus station terminal for El
Nido.
4. When taking a taxi FROM Manila airport, go up to the
DEPARTURE AREA. Get out from there and catch the taxi that has just dropped off
a passenger. It is much faster than joining the queue of passengers catching a ride.
It is also a metered taxi.
5. Food is often more expensive in restaurants frequented by tourists.
If you are in a group, and you are on a tight budget, you can market your own
food and have it cooked/broiled in any restaurant. First, canvass an eatery
that can cook for you before you market and ask their cooking fee. Or better
yet ask your landlord if somebody can cook for you with a cooking fee or cook
it yourself in your hostel if kitchen is available in your hostel – some allows
cooking like the new Spin hostel. In this way, you get the inexpensive fresh seafoods and
eat up to ‘sawa’. Then, treat yourself to a recommended restaurant on your last
days of stay. Arte Café is a good restaurant. But I also went to Skyline
Restaurant to try their bird’s nest soup. In fact, I also bought 2 sachets of
that bird’s nest. Class A costs P1,000.00, B-500, C-300. I got B&C of that
very small sachet of bird’s nest. Oh well, all for the experience!
After our trip to Mayon Skyline, we drove
to Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga, Albay. Here, you see the ruins of the church that
was destroyed from the eruption of Mount Mayon in 1814. Many parishioners believed
to have sought refuge in this church but perished from the falling boulders
when it erupted. I was saddened to hear about the tragedy but at the
same time pacified once I looked at the majestic beauty of the near perfect-cone volcano. 
