Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
Stuffed and rested, our boatman, Felix signaled us that we should be going. We’re getting too comfortable at the Secret Lagoon Beach and remembered that there are still a couple of stops before the afternoon ends. About 10-15 minutes south of Miniloc Island is an islet they call Shimizu Island (Others spelled Zimizu). It’s supposed to be one of popular snorkeling spots in Tour A.
Exploration of Miniloc Island continues. We passed over the exclusive Miniloc Resort under El Nido Resorts since it’s private, we can’t go down there. And just when we thought we had enough of the Lagoons, we found ourselves on a very scenic beach called the Secret Lagoon Beach. A couple of playful puppies welcomed us at the beach on where would be our lunch stop for the day.
Remember those gorgeous desktop wall papers or those java applets with crystal clear moving waters on WebPages with ridiculously beautiful looking beaches or scenery that led you asking yourself whether this place is real? Well, El Nido Palawan is like stepping straight into that screen and seeing it all for real with your bare naked eyes. Island hopping in Bacuit Bay showed us that Miniloc Island, the first island we’ll visit is just the tip of the iceberg and it keeps getting better.
Bacuit Bay is littered with 45 islands and islets. Some of them are sole limestone islands towering up to three stories high while the larger islands has beautiful stretches of blinding white sands against the deep cobalt blue of the sea. There are also beaches partially hidden by limestone coves and secret ones that can be reached by swimming through small crevices. Other islands have scenic lagoons and caves waiting to be explored. With so many islands it can be daunting for first time traveler to choose which islands to visit first.
This is what I have to go through every day during my stay in El Nido. Staying in Hadefe Cottages meant that I have to walk 10 minutes or so to and fro town on a dusty track going by the shore. On occasions I ask myself, why we don’t move somewhere more convenient like the other half of our group staying at the center of town. My roomie insist that it’s been a while since he has walked around and had a good exercise as well. When we reach that corner after the cemetery I remember why I like this place. I never tire of the views here in Caalan.
I felt the driver crank up the speed as he leaned forward the tricycle looking at him from the back seat. It’s not that the three of us were heavy along with our baggage coming from Lio Airport, it’s just that the road going to El Nido town slopes prominently high. Once past that it was a breezy 10-15minutes ride into town. The group was split into half, Melo and I would be staying in Hadefe Cottages in Caalan Beach.
El Nido Palawan seems so far away. An elusive paradise tucked at the north western side of Palawan. It’s one of my local dream destinations so when I was given the chance to go there I didn’t pass the opportunity. South East Asian Airlines (Seair) is one of the two airlines (the other being Island Transvoyager Inc’s (ITI) using their 19-seater Dornier 228) who operate the Manila to El Nido route. Last week 24th of February, we flew Seair’s 19-seater LET-410 plane en route to El Nido Palawan.
