Edi and I needed to get away from the city, so we planned a trip to El Nido, Palawan. To start with we flew Island Transvoyager, Inc. instead of taking a major airline. This is a charter airline that does nothing but fly back and forth from Manila to El Nido. That made all the difference in the world. We went to their hanger not the airport, and when we got there, we entered this really nice lounge with a Polynesian flare. There was coffee and a nice spread of food, and we had reserved seating which was nice as we didn't have to worry about losing our places if we got up to get more coffee or just to wander. The other unique thing was our boarding passes were made of wood!
When we got to the El Nido Airport, we deplaned and boarded a jeepney which took us to the main area. The actual airport consists of two open air buildings, one housing the arrivals and one housing the departures. There was another spread of food for us to enjoy while they separated everyone according to the island he/she was going to. We boarded another jeepney which took us to the boat that would take us to the Pangulasian Island Resort.
We arrived at the resort and were warmly greeted by the staff. We had a brief informational presentation, a tour of the property, then we were taken to our villa. The resort is absolutely beautiful. Our beach villa was luxurious and so comfortable. The deck had a lounging bed and benches to enjoy the view. The beach which was right outside our door was beautiful, white sandy beach with crystal, blue water. Of course two lounges and an umbrella beckoned us to come enjoy.
Every meal whether it was the complimentary breakfast, lunch at the pool bar restaurant, or dinner at the beach bar restaurant, was delicious. The food was good, the service was excellent, and the view was incredible! One evening a cultural dance group came and performed and we were able to catch the show after dinner. The dancers were in costume and performed beautifully. They even tinikled! After they performed, they asked for volunteers to tinikle with them. Edi and I got volunteered! We each got a partner and got the opportunity to learn to tinikle.
The activities were awesome. One evening we hiked up to the top of this mountain (about 30 minutes) and were rewarded with one of the most amazing sunsets we have ever seen. Another evening we adventured out in a sea kayak and enjoyed yet again another beautiful sunset.
We took two of the complimentary tours, and these were legit tours. We went island hopping where our first stop was Snake Island. It really is a sand bar shaped like a snake where two sides of the sea meet. We actually got out of the boat and who should greet us? Two dogs of course! :-) We hiked up to the viewing deck for a beautiful sight. Back on the boat we headed to Cudugnon Cave which means 'shivering.' Again our welcome came from a cute little dog. We got out of the boat and actually climbed up and crawled through this little opening to enter the cave; it was incredible. In one crevice there literally hundreds of little bats. Our last stop was the Cathedral, a huge rock foundation with a not so deep cave at the bottom. The boat eased into the opening for a good look.
Our next tour was the lagoon tour. The small lagoon was our first stop. Once at our destination, we transferred from the banca to a tandem kayak. Edi and I got to kayak all through the small lagoon on the crystal clear water. Once the kayaking was done, we got to swim next to the banca until everyone in our group had returned. Not only was it refreshing, but our tour guide entertained us by doing back flips off of the front of the banca!
Next was the big lagoon. This lagoon was big enough for the banca to cruise through. There were several tour groups there; at one point we had ourselves a little banca traffic jam. Once we had ridden through the lagoon, we anchored and got the chance to snorkel. It was great fun!
Of course one day we had to scuba dive. I've got to say it was probably some of the best diving we have ever done. The water was warm and visibility was exceptional. The Philippines truly is the dream destination of the scuba diver! And talk about personalized...Edi and I were the only two divers on the boat along with the driver and two dive masters. I think one was training the other.
From our welcome to our farewell, this trip was amazing. When it was time to go to the airport, we walked down the beach to the boat with the resort staff singing farewell to us. We were armed with our sombrero, flip flops, and water bottles to take with us. When the boat got to the dock at the airport, we were each given a sandwich and bottled water for our trip. What great service!
