El Nido Adventure

It was my first time to go to Palawan. Honestly, Palawan is not even on my bucket list of to go-to places in the Philippines. If ever man, siguro nasa huli ko na sya. Until last summer, Sally asked me if I want to go to Palawan. May seat sale kase. I said yes na rin, naisip ko pwede ko na to pa-birthday sa sarili ko. So she booked us to Puerto Prinsesa.

Original plan talaga was Puerto Prinsesa lang and a night or two in El Nido. Kase nga maganda raw talaga in El Nido. Wala ako idea, all I know is that, nasa Palawan ang El Nido, Coron and Puerto Prinsesa. Wala ako alam kung asan man yang mga lagoons na yan. And since I’ve been to Caramoan, feeling ko nakapunta na rin ako ng Palawan.

Muntik pa hindi matuloy ang trip kase dapat pupunta ng NY si Sally. Week before the trip, sabi nya na-move na to January 2014 ang trip so tutuloy pa rin kame. Madaliang plano. And we decided to stay in El Nido for 3 nights (pero ending, we stayed in El Nido buong trip). Tuesday before the trip, saka lang nagkaron ng IT. Wednesday, nag-start na kame mag-deposit for our accommodation, called the Van company, printed our e-ticket. We also planned to stay in Apulit Island Resort. Patok na kame patulan ang 18K a night nila. But when I called to book, the girl told me na minimum of 2 nights sila. No way! That’s 36 thousand pesos!

Anyway, here’s my kwento.

Day 1 (Dec. 12):
Manila Domestic Terminal 4
Puerto Prinsesa Airport
San Jose Terminal (had lunch at carinderia here)

Wala ako plan matulog. Pero syempre nakatulog pa rin ako. Buti at nagising pa rin ako on time. Woke up ng 3ish am, left home mga 4ish. Dumating kame ng airport around 5. Checked in and waited for boarding. Bought coffee at Coffee Experience, and corned beef pandesal at Seattle’s Best.

Waiting for boarding

Left Manila few mins earlier. Ang saya lang kase ang aga. Kaya maaga rin kame nakalapag ng Puerto Prinsesa.

Puerto Prinsesa International Airport

Paglabas ng airport, we rode on a trike and asked san pwede kumain. Since 9am pa lang yon, gusto pa namin mag-breakfast ng maayos dahil 11am ang byahe namin to El Nido. Lahat ng pinagdalahan samin ni manong ay mga sarado pa. 10am pa raw ang open, and ayaw naman namin maghintay ng ganon pa katagal. Ending, umabot na rin kame sa San Jose Terminal. May mga carinderia, kaya don na kame kumain. Mura pa.

Left Puerto Prinsesa ng 11am.

Arrived El Nido around 4:30. Checked ourselves in at Marina garden Beach Resort. At naghanap na ng kakainan.

Marina Garden Beach Resort

Dinner at Seaslugs. I had grilled porkchop (3pcs of porkchop, 1 rice, fresh fruits) and mango shake, Sally ordered garlic shrimp and watermelon shake.. FYI, pag sinabi nila sa inyo na good for 1, wag kayo maniwala. Kase good for 2-3 persons ang food nila. Hahahaha. Both ended our dinner with Frozen Mango Margarita. Its yummy!

Grilled Porkchop at Seaslugs

Frozen Mango Margarita

Pagbalik ng room, freshen up, online and ka-text ko pa si Ser Chief. Tapos, nakatulog na ako.

Day 2 (Dec. 13):
Tour A:
7 Commando’s Beach
Secret Lagoon
Small and Big Lagoon

The next morning, woke up early para sa aming tour. Had breakfast sa cafe. Ugh sarap ng bacon! Prepared for our tour after kumain. I forgot ate’s name na sumundo samin. Hahahaha she asked if we want to rent kayak para daw kung sakali eh makapasok kame sa mga lagoons. Also nag offer sya ng scuba shoes na nung una hesitant kame. Pero sige (good thing coz laking tulong pala sya).

Breakfast at Marina Garden

Seven Commandos Beach

Me at Seven Commandos Beach

Secret Lagoon

Delicious lunch at Payong Payong Beach

Corals

BFF’s at the Big Lagoon

Kayaking in Big Lagoon

Sally at Small Lagoon

I loved Seven Commandos, wish we could stay longer. Binaliktad ni kuya Lito (our tour guide) yun mga pinunahan namin. Nakakatuwa sya, kase bigla na lang nag-english when he introduced himself. 6 kame sa tour, 3 kame pinoy, 3 foreigner. He’s funny and naging photographer ni Sally (actually, ginagawang personal photographer ni Sally mga naging tour guide namin hahaha).

BTW, merong nangangagat na fish sa Payong Payong Beach, nakakaloka sya. Nanunugod eh. Haha

After ng tour, ginutom kame syempre. Decided mag early dinner. Lakad lakad, dapat sa The Alternative kame, kaso merong party. Dinner at Seaslugs again. Had Pizza and Spaghetti na napakarami again. Mango shake and Frozen Mango Margarita!

Spaghetti and Pizza

Maaga inantok, so maaga bumalik sa room.

Day 3 (Dec. 14):
Tour C:
Helicopter Island
Matinloc Shrine
Talisay Island
Secret Beach
Hidden Beach

Breakfast at Marina Garden. After breakfast, syempre nag-ready na ulet kame for our tour. Went sa beachfront, naghintay ng sundo.

Omelet for breakfast

Intay ng sundo

Helicopter Island

Matinloc Shrine

Buwis buhay at Matinloc Shrine

Talisay Beach

Lunch

Sal & I at Secret Beach

Secret Beach

Entering the Hidden Beach

Hidden Beach

Super scared ako papunta and papasok ng Hidden Beach, kase ang alon na. Di naman ako marunong mag-swim no. Pero inalalayan naman kame nung kasama ni kuya. Sayang, we didnt stay long here.

Pagbalik namin, gusto namin umabot sa sunset. Kaya we went to Corong Corong for sunset viewing. Tapos nagtanong ng matutuluyan.

Corong Corong Beach

Di gaano successful ang sunset kase maulap. But its ok.

We went back to Marina Garden. Nakipagkwentuhan muna kame sa staff. Hanggang ginutom kame. Kaya lumabas kame para humanap ng kakainan. We’re looking for isaw sana, kaso wala. Puro seafood lang talaga. Ending, sa carinderia in front of Marina Garden kame kumain. Then, lakad para bumili ng ice and water. And went back sa room.

Day 4 (Dec. 15):
Pag gising namin, breakfast. Shower and packed our things na. We had lunch at The Alternative. Nakakatuwa yun place. Kinda pricey, but hey ang sarap naman ng food. Worth it! We want to sit sana sa hanging lounge kaya lang, tanghaling tapat ang inet eh.

Hanging Lounge at The Alternative

My yummy lunch at Alternative

Sally’s food

After eating, we went back sa Marina to get our things. Went to Corong Corong and checked in at Orange Pearl Resort. Ok naman yun room. Mali ko, di muna ako bumili ng water before pumunta. Ang mahal ng food and drinks in Corong Corong. Medyo malayo kase sila sa bayan. Sad lang talaga. But, na-keri ko naman. Waited for sunset. Sal and I had tanduay ice and fries while lying sa beach bench.