Glimpse of Palawan | El nido

I don't have any idea on where to go in Palawan and i did not even bother to do a research about the beautiful spots here since my aunt and uncle already took care of everything so i just go with the flow. I was very lucky because this is an all expense paid by my aunt and uncle (Thanks to them) and because of that I won't be able to provide any expenses summary of our trip but what i can offer is just the places that we visited Puerto princesa and El nido.

El nido
4:00 AM - off to Puerto Princesa City Palawan

Puerto Princesa City is just like a regular city. There are bars and fast food chains everywhere and there's also a Robinson's mall so the city proper is more like manila already.
When we arrived to Puerto Princesa City, a tricycle driver took us to the VAN terminal going to El Nido

Their tricycles were cool and huge!

6:00 AM - off to El Nido
The moment i saw the trees and mountains it feels like all my bags of worries flew away. It was so refreshing and life here is very simple. The road going to El Nido is almost the same with the roads going to baler (Or maybe i'm just missing my home break). Those sexy curves that gives me butterflies on every turn. The warmth of the sun's rays that touches my skin and the cold early morning breeze. We had 2 stop overs, 1 in Roxas city and 1 in Taytay. Some part of the road are still being develop from Taytay going to El Nido. The road is rough and dusty to the point that we had zero visibility of our way. There's a lot of dead spots along the way too so you won't be able to fully utilize your cellphone. While we are almost there I had a goosebumps as i turned on my right because i had a glimpse of the sea, it was light blue and the sand was white. Damn it's been a while since the last time i felt this too much excitement.
11:46 AM - We finally arrived to El Nido. My aunt made a reservations with Lally and Abet Beach Cottages and Restaurant. The front desk clerk told us that the electricity in El nido will start at 2:00 pm and will be out by 6:00 AM. My aunt took 2 rooms.

My bed was big and it does have a cute mosquito net. There's no reliable internet connection on the place but i think that helps me realized that the more i look for WIFI the more i will miss how beautiful is this place and seriously i need a break from social networking.

Our room

Sleeping like a princess :)

Our view for 3 days.. Refreshing

By the way, My Aunt and Uncle chose Package tour A (Already included on our accommodation)

Here's Lally and Abet's prices.

What's inside my bag?

Since we don't have something to do in the afternoon we decided to go to a beach nearby named Las Cabanas. It's just 10 minutes tricycle ride away from our hotel. Fare is 150 per tricycle. Each tricycle can accommodate 4 people since Palawan has big tricycles.

from the Tricycle drop off point, We took a short walk going to the beach

The beach was very pretty and the sand was fine like a milk. We are just sitting on the sand while waiting for the sundown. I think this was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. They also got zipline on the beach which I'd love to try it but we no longer have enough time.

Chillin' out.

My Pal likes his view

Las Cabanas after sunset

When we were on our way back, We ask the driver to bring us to a restaurant that do have grills, so he brought us to Doy's grill and restaurant. We ordered grilled squid and chicken. The restaurant is a little pricey but it's good since it is located on the beach front and i think it will be better if you'll dine there during sunset so you could enjoy the view.

I've got a confession to make, this was the first time i ate that much of squid because i'm not really a fan of it since most of the time it's hard to chew so i just pretended that i liked it but good thing my cousin's grilled chicken saved me lol. After dinner we returned at the hotel, freshen up and charged all the gadgets that i will be needing for the next day's island hopping trip and went to sleep.

NEXT DAY
Since i slept early last night i woke up early. At 7:00 AM we had our free breakfast.

Lally and Abet's Restaurant

OOOOPPPSSS! Slippers OFF! :)

Group shot while waiting for our free breakfast

I don't have a dry bag so i bought one recyclable bag for our trip for only PHP 120. 

I intentionally chose this design because monkeys reminds me of my boyfriend lol!

We started our tour around 9:00 AM. We shared the boat with another group. When we all boarded the boat,Our tour guide started to tell us what we shouldn't do while we are on our trip.
1. No collecting of shells

Take nothing but pictures

Leave nothing but footprints

Kill nothing but time

2. No littering - Let's be responsible a responsible traveller.

Another group trip before we started our Island hopping

Our first stop was Big Lagoon, according to our guide if it's low tide big boats like our boat can't enter but we were lucky enough because it was a bit high tide so we were able to go inside. It was beautiful, the rock formations was so perfect, the water is crystal clear. I honestly envy the locals because they get to wake up each day with this view. How I wish i could live here. By the way this place is 20-30 minutes boat ride from El Nido beach.

Talikodgenic pose

Snorkeling.. With My cousin on the background.

Trivia: this place was the deepest lagoon in Palawan (according to our guide)
Second was Small lagoon, well, technically this is just the same with big lagoon only just smaller version of it but what makes this place so special? This place has a cave, I did not try to enter the cave since i was a little bit scared lol. By the way the lagoon have shallow and deep parts so if you're not wearing any life jacket like me and my cousin be more extra careful.

Our boat will have to stop from this point and we just have to swim all the way inside the small hole on the rocks for us to enter the Small lagoon

At the end of the Lagoon, you'll see this small cave.

Small Lagoon, It was so beautiful

On our way back, we just ride the kayak. lol

Like a boss.. lol

Trivia: Do you know that it was my first time i went snorkeling alone without a life jacket, it was a bit scary but it was fun!
Third was Payong-Payong,  this is the place where we had our mouthwatering lunch. They call it Payong-Payong because the rock formations do actually looks like umbrellas, by the way Payong is a Filipino term for umbrella.

The umbrella-shaped rock formations

While waiting for our food, we just took photos and feed our eyes with the beautiful view

THE CAPTAIN/CHEF :)

End product (We had Grilled Fish, Chicken, and Veggies pairs with Banana and Watermelon)

Fourth was Secret lagoon, it was not included on our package but the guides were kind enough to let us visit the said lagoon. The water was shallow so we have to walk on waist high water. It was a little challenging since the beach is rocky. We entered a small opening and when we entered my jaw almost dropped. Its like a small pool covered by rock formations. Too bad my gopro died so i hadn't got a chance to take more photos especially selfies.

We have to stop on this spot and walk on a rocky seabottom to reach the Secret Lagoon

We entered a small hole and... (Credits to my cousin)

JAW DROPPED.. It was like a small pool, the water is warm and the place is so peaceful

Fifth and last destination was Seven Comando, where we had fruit shakes. It was a little crowded so we did not take a dip on the water. When we finished our drinks we head back to the boat and went back to the hotel again.

Actually this place made me appreciate the sand more, I was very fine and soft. It feels good.

Note: drinks are ranging from 200 and above. It was expensive actually. They also serve alcoholic drinks like mojitos and margaritas.

Around 4:30 PM our tour ended, as expected. (We skipped 2 spots since the water isn't clear on our visit)
We took a short rest then around 7:00 PM we took a walk at the beach to find a place to eat. We chose the OG's restaurant and bar. I ordered pork barbecue, the sauce was delicious however the meat is a little bit under cooked, it will be perfect for me if they overcooked it a little bit. I wasn't able to take pictures of our food because it was dark. The light was only coming from a small candle on the center of the table. After we ate, we went to the market and i bought some souvenirs for my boyfriend and parents.

                             

Next day, last day,
Puerto princesa Bound
Woke up around 6:00 AM and by 7:30 AM we went to the restaurant to eat breakfast. After we ate we packed our things and the van picked us up around 8:30 AM. We left the El Nido at exactly 9:30 AM, we are already behind our schedule because they waited for the van to be full.
This place really got a lot to offer but we no longer have time. If i will be given a chance to go back to this such majestic place i will grab that chance.
NOTE: All photos are mine - unless i put credits to it

Watch our Palawan trip here