Becoming a beach person...

When Steph and I started this trip she mentioned that she was a beach person, and I said I was definitely a mountain person; I may stand corrected!  Our time in El Nido was that fantastic. 

We initially flew into Puerta Princessa and were able to get a good deal on a hot water and AC room as well as a share mini-van with AC up to El Nido.  After checking with literally every place in El Nido we found a decent cheap room.  Our next step was to book a tour; that’s the deal in El Nido (a small tourist town right on the water and up against some limestone cliffs), all the various tour operators, and there are a lot, run more or less the same tours with the same letters.

While we were walking around we happened across a place that offered an overnight trip on a private island; after getting some more details we jumped on it.  With the food, and a combination of all the tours as well as one night accom the deal was about 2x what you could have done on the ultimate budget, but it was worth every cent (~$100/person)!  Not only did we get 5 great meals, a night in a private village on a tropical island, and a combination off all the tours (covering pretty much the entire Bacuit Archipelago) the best part was that we had the boat to ourselves and were able to avoid the ‘crowds’.  Literally the entire time there was only one sight that I even noticed other people; basically we felt like we had the entire archipelago to ourselves!

The first day started off with breakfast on board and a small lagoon all to ourselves; this was one of my favorite moments because it gave us such an intimate introduction to the stunning limestone rock-forms.  I think the limestone would be stunning anywhere, but when you put it in such a dramatic setting and throw in some white sand-beaches the result is truly excellent.  I could go on and on, but just look at pictures once I get them up.

Along with just cruising amongst these gorgeous islands we also spent some time swimming into ‘Secret beach’es, hidden and extra secret (i.e. we just stopped and explored them on our own) caves, as well as 10meter cliff jumps!  The other main activity was increasingly improving snorkeling that cumulated in good coral, a great diversity and number of small reef fish, and crystal-clear, bathtub-warm water.  Other than that this really boring 2 days included a solid spread of fresh fruits and vegetables and delicious seafood as well as spending a night on our own private beach fighting mosquitoes and finding bioluminescent plankton and fish.

By the time we got back into El Nido the evening of the second day, Steph was sunburned, I was in an infinitely better mood (and couldn’t stop smiling) and we were both exhausted from a truly unforgettable trip!

We left El Nido the next morning, but that story and those that follow will have to wait for another posting.