El Nido: Package Tour A

Waking up in the wee hours of the morning isn't that hard to do in El Nido. For one thing, the town stirs a different kind of excitement inside me. Maybe it's the thought of heading to its awesome limestone formation later that day or just the fact that I'm finally in one of my dream travel destinations.

After finishing some online projects, I took a quick shower just before the lights turned off as a result of the rotational brownout. I was just that thankful to be almost done in dressing up when the brownout occurred. When I'm done with all the bag and stuff transferring from my huge room in the ground floor to my 'real' room accommodation in the second floor, I head out to have a quick breakfast.

Contrary to what others thought, staying in El Nido isn't expensive. You can have it the cheapest way possible. Did you know that you can have a filling breakfast at less than P100 here? Yes, it's possible! You simply just have to find ways to do it.

How I did it?
I stick with the local eatery. I have a cheap yet filling meal comprise of freshly cooked rice and pork adobo at P65.

Since it's too early to head back to the inn, I roamed around the town for a few minutes. In a bakery, I have the chance to engage in conversation with locales and migrants alike. If you've been reading my previous blog posts, you know how much I love talking to people. I may be an introvert but cultural exchange is something I couldn't resist :)

After a quick conversation and purchase of bottled water, I went back to Tay Miloy's to wait for the boatman who will also be one of the guides in the island hopping activity. I was scheduled for Tour A island hopping activity with the Servant Tours. It has been taken care of the owner of Tay Miloy's. As much as I'd like to try all package tours, I couldn't mainly due to time constraints (have to head back to Puerto Princesa the following day).

Package Tour A covers the big and small lagoon, the secret lagoon, the Shimizu island, and the Seven Commandos beach. I paid a total of P900 (P700 for the tour itself and P200 as environmental fee) for it. 

At exactly 9 am, one of the tour guides fetch me from Tay Miloy's. I took the chance to ask him about my companions. He told me that I'll be joining 8 other people from Europe: 5 from Spain, 2 from France, and 1 from Russia. This is my 1st solo travel and I can't exactly describe to you how I felt that moment. It's a mixture of excitement and anxiety for vague reasons. 

Before we head to the boat, we had our stopover in a local outdoor shop where we have to pick our snorkeling gear including the flippers. There's this funny incident before we board the boat. I almost tripped over! You can classify that as excitement blooper! :p

One thing I could commend on our tour guides are being very friendly and accommodating. To make me feel more comfortable with the group, they keep on engaging me in their conversations. And just like my previous encounter with the locales, they popped the million-dollar question: 'why am I traveling alonge?' I couldn't give them a specific reason. I just said, 'because no one wants to tag along' which is partly true.

The weather that day wasn't good. As I've mentioned in my previous posts, it's raining cats and dogs in El Nido for almost a week. It's still raining when we head to our 1st destination, the small lagoon. That time I was worried with my things and secretly wished I bought that dry bag and waterproof camera case before I started this trip. Good thing, the boatmen have a brilliant idea of keeping our things dry - keep them in garbage bags and stow them in the boat's storage area.

one of those awesome views as we go along our tour

There are these moments when I badly wish I have a waterproof/underwater camera with me. This instance is one of those moments. Because it was still raining that time, I couldn't bring my camera along the small and big lagoon. 

This is I think one of the best shots I took during this tour. I took this while we're leaving the big lagoon. (Pictures aren't enough to tell you how surreal the experience is!).

Aside from the only Filipino in the tour group (aside from the guide), I'm the only one who can't swim. So, I have with me the trusty life vest and the tour guide ;) It's really not easy to snorkle/swim with the life vest on so I promised to myself to sign up for a swimming lesson once I arrive in Davao. 

After the small and big lagoon, we then head to the secret lagoon. According to our guide, the visit to the secret lagoon doesn't happen all the time. The weather condition will be the one to decide whether to push thru with this lagoon or not.

That time, the sun's already showing up though the current is still strong. Nevertheless, we push through despite the risk. It was one of those rare moments when I got really scared. We're in the midst of the sea, with the strong current rocking our boat and me with zero knowledge on swimming, not even on floating (who wouldn't get scared with that?). 

The lagoon is named as such because you have to squeeze yourself to get into it. One by one, we try squeezing ourselves into that hole leading to the lagoon. The view, as expected, is beautiful. It's like being in a secluded  place paradise. It's amazing and puzzling at the same time how this place used to be a cave.

We spent a few minutes there, talking, swimming, and floating? Yeah, that's the best thing to do with your life vest on! haha

a random shot taken from the Shimizu Island

Hungry from trying out different water activities from the 1st three destinations, we went to Shimizu Island. According to the locales, the island is named after a Japanese diver who unfortunately, died in the area (such a sad plight). 

Shimizu Island

We were given time to swim and snorkle. You don't have to go further to find Nemo and friends. I snorkle near this area and met a bunch of marine friends here ;)

When it's time to have lunch, we were greeted by a set of sumptuous meal - seafoods, rice, and fruits. I don't know if it's true to all tour package providers but Servant Tours have crew with amazing skill on food presentation. It made the meal more special!

lunch time!

Our last stop for Package Tour A is the Seven Commandos Beach. It's a great place to hangout, swim, and meet both locales and tourists alike. We have actually spent more time here than in other destinations. 

Seven Commandos Beach

I was envious of those people who were cliff diving that time (the downside of lacking the swimming skill). But instead of letting myself get bored, I enjoyed the rest of my time here watching these men playing volleyball. It's amazing how they're able to communicate with each other despite the fact that they come from different countries. 

traveling breaks the boundaries

This is more than just paradise.

Trust me, El Nido is worth that 6-hour bus ride.

You don't have to ask me if I'm going back for definitely, I WILL.