El Nido Sunset

"A sloop of amber slips away
Upon an ether sea,
And wrecks in peace a purple tar,
The son of ecstasy."
--Sunset by Emily Dickinson

The Palawan Getaway- Day 5: El Nido Islands Tour

08 April 2009. The moment we’ve been waiting for, to see the other islands of El Nido. The day before, Ate Lee met with our tour guide, Kuya Delon, who has previously accompanied her during their El Nido tour last year. The tour has been set. There are actually 4 tours available, each having different islands to visit. To complete all tour packages, you need to stay in El Nido for at least 4 days. We picked Tour Package A, which is the most basic, no scuba diving involved. Apparently, it is best to start with Package A before proceeding to the other tour packages. We were to visit 3 islands and 2 lagoons, but Kuya Delon threw in an offer to visit another island and agreed on a sunset cruise, for a lower price compared to what Og’s is offering… And he also prepared our lunch.

Small Lagoon. I actually expected normal island hopping. You dock on an island, snorkel, take pictures, the usual. All my expectations were shattered when we went to small lagoon. First off, there wasn’t an island to speak of. There’s just the entrance to a big limestone cliff. The boat anchored on shallow water in front of the entrance. We alighted with our snorkels and life vests and I wrapped my digicam in this disposable plastic camera bag so I can take photos of the place. You have to swim to the entrance. Upon entering, we were faced with a magnificent view. The lagoon is surrounded by high limestone cliffs, their jagged edges meeting the blue sky. It is like being inside a giant crater… and they say it’s a “small” lagoon. The water is a clear aquamarine that gets deeper as you move along. On the other end of the lagoon is the entrance to a small cave. It was a long swim to the cave and Kuya Delon was swimming back and forth to help us get to the cave because we were such slow swimmers. In the middle of the lagoon is a stopover where you can stand on a coral formation just beneath the surface. Getting inside the cave is tricky as it is flanked with sharp rocks on both sides and the entrance only fits one person. You’re not even allowed to touch the rocks for balancing as it will cut your hands. Inside the cave, we were able to rest on rock formations protruding from the bottom of the lagoon. Kuya Delon, with his rock climbing skills, even showed us a hollow on the rocks up in the cave where a balinsasayaw, the bird responsible for making the nest used to make Nido soup, is nesting. Yup, he found a really small portion of the nest which he eagerly gave to us as souvenir. We left when the other tourists started pouring in. At least the lagoon was ours even for just half an hour. My only regret on this trip was not having an underwater/ all-weather camera. My digicam didn’t work using the plastic camera bag and I didn’t have any photos inside the lagoon.

Big Lagoon. After seeing the enormity of the Small Lagoon, I can’t help but think how long we’ll be swimming in the Big Lagoon. Turns out, this lagoon is for scuba diving. It is that big. We docked on a makeshift wharf in the middle of the lagoon for taking photos. Big limestone cliffs, with edges forming familiar shapes like the Virgin Mary, surround the lagoon.

We made a quick stopover at Miniloc island but did not dock as it is not allowed if you don’t have reservations.

Simizu Island. According to Kuya Delon, this island’s original name is not Simizu, I forgot what it is but it starts with P. Simizu came from the names of the two Japanese divers who died in 1982 due to oxygen loss while swimming the surrounding waters. We didn’t dock on the island and proceeded to snorkel in the surrounding reef. The water is clear and teeming with different kinds of fish and corals. I was the first one to jump, too excited that I didn’t wait for the boatman to lower the boat’s ladder. We stayed in the water feeding the fishes, I don’t know for how long, that even when it started to rain, we were still snorkeling.

Secret Lagoon. This is where we stopped to have our lunch. The weather became rainy all of a sudden that we had to retreat to our boat for a few minutes for shelter. When the rain stopped, we played with dead jellyfishes littering the beach. It was a sumptuous lunch—crabs, yellow fin tuna, itlog na maalat—everything malansa. It is at this point where we found ourselves really lucky to have Kuya Delon as our guide. Pinagbalat pa kami ng alimango. Service deluxe talaga.

After lunch and a short break taking photos, we proceeded to the Secret Lagoon. Why secret you ask? You go further down the beach, treading on dead jellyfishes, to find a really small entrance (fitting half a man) in a limestone formation. Inside that entrance is a teeny weeny lagoon, perhaps 1/16th the size of the small lagoon. You can swim if you want but because of the crowd of tourists on our heels, Kuya Delon just took us on a boat docked inside the lagoon to see the lobsters at the end of the lagoon. We could have had one of them for lunch but they were so expensive. Outside the lagoon, on the way back to our boat, I got stung by a jellyfish, which is barely alive perhaps because first aid was not necessary, though the sting was very painful that I still felt it up until the end of the tour.

Entalula Island. This is the extra island inserted in Tour Package A. This is not included in the regular package but Kuya Delon nonetheless took us here, despite the island being out of the way. It’s a private island that has a really beautiful view. We didn’t swim here, just took photos then headed off to the last island on the tour.

Seven Commandos. There’s a story why it was called Seven Commandos but I forgot the details. All I remember is that it involves American soldiers running away from the enemy and finding the island. They scrawled messages on the limestone faces which, thankfully, have been removed by the owners of the island. The owners actually are simple folk who make a living on the island by selling their coconuts and some snacks to tourists. Perhaps they have other means of livelihood other than that but they are very pretty hands on in managing the island. One of the owner’s sons even climbs the tree for coconuts. Asked if they ever consider selling the island, our guide said that the owners are not interested. When I asked the island’s value on the market, Kuya Delon said that it used to be 120 million pesos, but that was years and years ago.

We waited for the sun to set here as it has a breathtaking view of the sunset. We were the first to arrive here, and we were the last to go. It turns out that on the regular tour package, boats are supposed to leave the last island, (Seven Commandos is always the last island as it is the closest to the main island), before 5:00PM. We weren’t able to snorkel because the water was thick with jellyfish, mostly dead of course, but the other batch of tourists who tried came back in no time because they started feeling itchy. Even the scuba divers weren’t so lucky.

After a breathtaking view of the sunset, we headed back to the main island, all of us already in agreement that next year we’ll go back to El Nido. I can’t wait…

Going to El Nido? I highly recommend you contact Kuya Delon Garcia to be your guide. He’s so accommodating you’ll feel like you have your own personal assistant. He'll also volunteer to be the photographer. Here’s his contact number: 0909-642-3117.

Other photos courtesy of Uncle Buds. Other photographers: Ate Lee, Iris and Kuya Delon.

The Palawan Getaway- Day 4: From Puerto Princesa to El Nido

07 April 2009. El Nido is 238 kilometers from Puerto Princesa, a 6-hour ride that is generally winding and dusty on dry season. The good part of the road abruptly stops in Taytay, and the rest of the way is good old-fashioned rough road. Imagine travelling on a rainy day or riding in a bus (there are no airconditioned buses going to El Nido).

We left PPC at 7:30AM and arrived at El Nido at around 1:30PM, just in time for lunch. We stayed at Og’s Beach Pension which has a breathtaking view of the islands of El Nido from its balcony. Really awesome view... From the alley going to Og’s entrance, one can glimpse the pristine beach and the rocky mountains rising from some of the nearby islands, while within the poblacion of Barangay Buena Suerte, jagged limestone cliffs surround houses blocking the sun from view. The town is surrounded by ranges of limestone cliffs, hiding the greater part of the picturesque El Nido scenery. And seeing that scenery for the first time made me think that I was in paradise… I think I found Shangri-La.

The Palawan Getaway- Day 3: Honda Bay Tour

06 April 2009. Honda Bay is located 12 kilometers from the city proper and consists of several islands with white sand beaches. The water surrounding the bay is rich with corals making it ideal for snorkeling and diving. It can be reached by taking a tricycle or jeepney to the Sta. Lourdes Wharf. From there, you can a hire a boat to take you to the islands.

Jason, the tricycle driver we met on our first day in PPC helped us organize our Honda Bay itinerary. He contacted the boat operator that took us to the islands and took care of the transfers from our accommodation to Sta. Lourdes and back. The good thing about dealing with the friendly neighborhood tricycle drivers in Palawan is that you get to haggle with the price and you can dictate your own terms. So when we got to Sta. Lourdes Wharf, we only had to wait a few minutes for our boat, unlike the other tourists who booked with their hotels who had to wait a little longer and share their boats with other groups. In short, it was our call.

Normally, if you book with your hotel for the tour, you will only get to visit 3 islands (excluding Dos Palmas) and you’ll be charged P1,100 per person inclusive of permit, island entrance fees, cottage, transfer from hotel to Sta. Lourdes, tour guide (for snorkeling) and lunch. And if you’re really unlucky, you’ll end up sharing your boat with another group. For our tour c/o Jason, we only paid P1,500 for the whole boat (with guide) which we didn’t have to share with other groups, entrance fees to 5 islands which amounted to P750, around P200 for our lunch which consists of two whole yellow fin tuna and 2 kilos of rice bought from the market, P50 cooking charge, P300 for 3 masks and snorkels, and P500 for the roundtrip tricycle transfer with stopovers at the public market, groceries, restaurant and the Sta. Lourdes Hot Spring. That would be equivalent to P3,300 for the four of us. A good deal compared to P4,400 plus P300 for the 3 masks and snorkels if we availed of the tour package offered by Duchess Pension.

Most of the islands in Honda Bay, except Snake Island, have entrance fees ranging from P10 up to P50 per person. The most expensive is in Dos Palmas which charges P500 for only 30 minutes of stay in the resort. (It’s that kind of overcharging that makes them Abu Sayaff target). Our trip took us to 5 islands (Luli, Starfish, Snake, Pandan and Cowrie) and the Pambato Reef which was not yet part of the Honda Bay itinerary when we toured last 2005.

Pambato Reef. This was our first stop. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to snorkel here (damn the monthly visitor) as much as I would love to. I don’t want to be shark magnet. But the high tide and the strong current prevented my sisters and uncle to see the full beauty of the reef.



Lu-li Island. Short for “lulubog lilitaw.” Most of the cottages in this island are supported by stilts. I wonder how it would look like here during high tides and storms.



Starfish Island. I don’t know why they also call it Tabuan, but this island lives up to its name. Loads of starfish can be found in the shallow part of the water. We took our lunch here and played with the dogs roaming around the island.



Snake Island. Perhaps because Snake Island is free of charge, most of the boats were docked here and the cottages were packed. You can snorkel here and feed the fishes. I finally decided to put on my snorkel mask here because I can’t stand the thought of just watching. Fortunately, no sharks were around. 



Pandan Island. The first time I went to Pandan Island, I fell in love with the place. Four years later, it doesn’t seem that appealing anymore. The coconut trunk that used to stand on the beach has been removed and perhaps because there is some construction going on that I found it too cluttered.



Cowrie Island. Our last stop and the only island that seemed to belong to us. We were the only tourists around so we enjoyed the peace and quiet. Though less developed compared to other islands, I like its raw beauty and am quite pleased that the owners did not tamper with its natural beauty.



After the Honda Bay Tour, we tried soaking in the hot springs of Sta. Lourdes. Nothing like a hot bath to cap the day.

Thanks to Kuya Dodoy, our very fit guide who pulled us through the stretch of corals and reefs and to Jason (forgot his surname), the tricycle magnate and middleman. You can contact him at +63.908.511.0533 if you plan to have your own Honda Bay Tour. Other pics courtesy of Uncle Buds.

The Palawan Getaway -Day 1: Baywalk, PPC

04 April 2009. After a turbulent flight, we touched down at Puerto Princesa City’s Airport, its arrival lounge still under construction. The last time I set foot in PPC was 4 years ago, on a hot, rainy summer. This time the weather was just plain hot and the state of the airport lounge made me feel like being stuffed in an oven.

Nonetheless, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around their version of Baywalk (incidentally with the same name), which used to be just a port when I saw it last. Our timing was just right for the sunset and another nice surprise… a shot to see space thru a telescope—for free. The event, Tuklasin ang Kalawakan: 100 Hours of Astronomy, was running on its last day. It was the only event of its kind in the country in celebration of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy and we’re lucky to have been part of it. There’s a catch, however, which involves waiting in line for 4 hours. We got the tickets at 6:30 PM and we reached the end of the line at almost 10:00 PM. And before the lecture began, there was another waiting period because one of the kids touched the telescope pointed at Saturn thereby causing it to misalign. And the telescope realignment, though computerized, still took up time.

Oh! but to see the heavens was worth the wait. It was just fascinating to see the moon and its pockmarked surface and its mountains, and Saturn with its ring wrapped around its gaseous body in a 90˚ angle position--the technician said that's how it looks when its setting in the night sky. To see its details through the scope’s small viewfinder makes me appreciate Galileo’s contributions. Who would have known that the minuscule dots lining up the night sky are actually marvels worth the glimpse? So much for our first day, what with the stars' names to memorize like Castor, Pollux, Sirius, Bellatrix (though they remind me of Face Off and Harry Potter)... and terms like asterism and balatik, the latter being a Palaweño word for a pig trap, which is what the ancient Palaweños saw in Orion's constellation and not some hunter as the constellation is now known for.... Whew!

We capped the day with a very late dinner at Kinabuch, one of the few places still open. And yes, we were so hungry we could have built a balatik to catch a pig.