Exploring Philippines 143 - Palawan (Post 10 - El Nido)

After one and a half hour of drive from the town of Taytay, we were already approaching El Nido.  It is not hard to tell that the place is already part of El Nido because of the mountain islands and most of them are limestone.  My excitement grew each second as we were nearing the town proper of El Nido.

The view of the place is awesome because the islands are like lining along the open sea.  As we drove further, the limestone wall of a mountain along the highway is simply breathtaking.  To the locals, the everyday sight of the mountain made of limestone is just an ordinary sight.  But for a newbie like me, such sight at the backdrop of your very home is something to be proud of.  And according the person that the family of Eric visited, the limestone wall is actually growing.

While Eric’s mom caught up with the lost time with the person that she visited, Eric and I roam around.  After walking just a couple of meters away, we found the pier.  This place is a gateway towards those beautiful islands and diving sites in El Nido.  This explains why there were so many bancas in the area.  As we gazed around, the nearby islands seem like an adventure in the making.  Unfortunately, we were not there to stay for so long.

If I had my way, I would like to explore the place on foot.  It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon and we need to hurry up because we still need to return to the island in San Vicente.  We roam the town of El Nido by van and there were really cool places, especially those facing the sea, that are worthy to be captured.  The open areas facing the sea could be a beautiful one especially during the sunset.  But that time, the sun was hiding behind the clouds.  And soon enough, it began to rain.

What I appreciate about a certain place, like in Palawan, is its lush green environment.  It seems like the forest in Palawan remains untouched.  May be perhaps on the mountainous parts where tall trees are proudly standing.  And as they used to say, when fog is very much visible during a cold weather, the place is a healthy one.  It is a rare opportunity for me witness a foggy environment and I was happy because I had another experience of that one here in Palawan.

It was past 5 in the afternoon when we reached the port in Taytay.  Since the helpers of the family of Eric were still busy loading the boat for the supply, we started to sail towards the island at around 6.  The rain that we experienced along the way from El Nido to Taytay stopped for some time.  But the moment we were already sailing, we experienced another downpour.

As we sailed towards the island, the darkness was slowly creeping and the fog was building up.  Since we were already going home, I decided to enjoy the rain shower.  It was also my first time to experience travelling by sea being surrounded by fog.  And it is no joke to travel like that because you only have a couple of meters that are constantly visible to you and you are surrounded by a white smoke.

The ones handling the boat are already familiar with the route.  They said that they can sail the boat home even with eyes closed.  They are also used to travel from the island as far as Coron and vice-versa and in worse weather condition.  That time, it was just like a walk in a park to them.  But they admitted that there were a couple of instances where they got lost and ended in other nearby island due to darkness and poor visibility.