Island Hopping in the Philippines – Day 5: El Nido
Today started with breakfast at the Nacpan Beach Resort, just north of El Nido. Or rather, it did for Anna — I wasn’t feeling great, so I managed only half a piece of toast. We did at least take a look at the early morning beach from the restaurant before getting ready for another day out on the water. After all, this was an island-hopping holiday.
Kayaking the Lagoons
After a short drive into the busy streets and dockside area of El Nido, we boarded a new bangka boat and set off towards the Big Lagoon on Miniloc Island. On arrival, we transferred to sit-on-top kayaks and paddled our way into the lagoon.
There were plenty of other people out on the water, lots of kayaks, and no shortage of people posing for selfies, which added to the general mayhem near the entrance. Once through, though, Anna and I were able to find some peace and quiet further into the lagoon, paddling beneath towering limestone cliffs.
It’s an impressive place, with trees clinging improbably to near-vertical rock faces and clear blue water below. We kept an eye out for monkeys but didn’t spot any. We then headed into the smaller lagoon, paddling into and through a cave a couple of times before making our way back out. Rey was flying his drone so got some good overhead shots.
We regrouped with the others near the entrance and lazed about in the water for a while before returning to the boat. Despite the crowds, it was still an enjoyable excursion and one of those bucket-list places to visit in this part of the world. I can only imagine how magical it would be to have it to yourselves.
Snorkelling
Next, we headed off for a snorkel on a reef between Shimizu Island and Inatula Island. It was noticeably quieter here, although a little choppier, with a gentle current running through the area. One of our group became unsettled by the conditions and started to panic, so I helped her back to the boat before heading back into the water myself.
After that, we stopped at a busy beach on Entalula Island for lunch. By this point I was feeling pretty unwell — I’d had a headache all day, felt nauseous, and had no appetite at all — so I didn’t eat anything. Anna, on the other hand, seemed to be making up for my lack of enthusiasm and was enjoying the food for both of us.
We finished the day with another snorkel at Seven Commandos Beach – However ill I felt, I wasn’t going to miss out on time in the water! We then headed back to the hotel to wind down for the evening. I did eventually manage a fairly plain chicken pasta for dinner, which felt like a small victory.
Today had felt very much like we were on the tourist trail, doing a standard ‘off-the-shelf’ tourist itinerary that everyone who visits El Nido does. The scenery was however impressive as always, so it’s well worth doing.
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Shame you were feeling so ill.
What was the” Christmas tree ” in the photo ?
Most of their ‘Xmas Trees’ were made from Bamboo or other bits and pieces. 🙂
I think it looked really good