Islands in the Sun

I was worried about having a tricycle at the other end of the flight to the island of Palawan. I should have worried about the one to the bus terminal. For the first time in our lives, hubby and I were too tall. The tricycle we took to the bus terminal was so short, hubby got a crick in his neck from keeping it bent for the full 30 minute ride. Who on earth rides in these things comfortably? We had been resigned to tricycles that couldn’t fit our hip width, but this was the first time we couldn’t even sit up straight.

The hour and a half bus trip to Manila was luxury, by comparison. We didn’t even get to see the whole movie, it was so quick.  The flight was full, and it took 3 buses to take us all to the end of the tarmac where our plane sat. It has been at least 40 years since either of us has boarded a plane this way! Two hours later, and we had a van at the other end to take us to our next stay in the main city of Palawan. Hallelujah!

We didn’t stay long In the city, as we had heard good things about El Nido, the town at the very northern tip of Palawan. It wasn’t easy to get to, and that usually means less tourists. To our surprise, the grueling 6 hour bus ride over unfinished roads had as many Europeans as locals taking the trip. The main town site was literally wall to wall with young adventure tourists, coming here to dive, snorkel, and to island or beach hop. But because it is so isolated, El Nido has unique rules. Check out number 5 – the one that dictates the time that electricity will be available. This is for the entire town and all surrounding areas. The debate between the two of us is whether this is due to conservation, or lack of supply. Either way, they don’t hold to exact times. Many days went by with no electrical power at all, except what the resort generator could provide.  Despite the advertisement showing air conditioning and hot showers at our resort, we rarely experienced either because of this.

So, it was a good thing that we didn’t spend much time in our room.  This area has islands that jut suddenly out of the ocean with steep cliff walls of jagged black rock that hide lagoons and secret beaches. Island hopping tours are offered everywhere. They stop at the best powdered sand beaches and gorgeous blue lagoons. We were given time to swim, snorkel, or just beachcomb.  My non-swimmer hubby discovered snorkeling, and I experienced swimming with jelly fish. He was delighted. I was not.

In each cove or bay, you could find bangka boats parked just off shore, like large spiders with legs outstretched. These vessels do not have much depth to them, so they can pull up into knee deep water and drop a ladder over the side for us to clamber up on. Then off they would go, taking us to another island to discover a lagoon or cave.  Some caves have to be entered by climbing through a rough hole in the rock. One had an entrance directly off the deep water, much too narrow for a bangka to enter. This perfectly round island was taller than it was wide, but it must have been mostly hollow.  After swimming through the entrance, the cavern found inside was immense, with a hole in the top to let in light.

The tour guides have lots of competition, and go out of their way to show their group a good time. They escorted us into each cave and lagoon, and served us a better lunch on the beach than we could get at a local restaurant. We have found it well worth our money to book several tours while we are here.

We are not rushing these tours. Since we are blessed with lots of time, we schedule a day off in-between. There are so many islands to experience, each unique in its own way. The local government is trying to protect this special ecosystem, if only to encourage tourism. It seems to be working, judging by the amount of Europeans that we saw and spoke with.

We certainly realized that it was a little bit of island paradise.

W