The Bacuit archipelago
near El Nido is a destination simply waiting to be explored. Once I was finally feeling back to normal, Ryan
and I embarked on our first boat tour of the area late last week, despite
threatening clouds. The sun made a quick
appearance and the weather remained warm throughout the day, so we considered
ourselves lucky. The sights were truly
breathtaking. Large lagoons and small
caves, giant cliff faces and private beaches created true natural beauty. As we swam and snorkeled we took the time to
really enjoy where we are. Some people
have compared the archipelago to Vietnam’s Halong Bay.
The following day we headed out for another boat
tour, duped by long awaited and elusive sunny skies. Once we left the beach and rounded the corner
toward the islands, we left the sunshine behind us. The sky turned dark and sideways rain soaked
us all. The downpour let up for a delicious lunch
and we relished a few hours in the sun after visiting an abandoned hotel and
old shrine.
Later Ryan joined the boat crew for a game of frisbee on the beach. Losers do push-ups. (:
The weather hasn’t broken much these last few days,
which forced us to stay in most of yesterday and entertain ourselves with card
games and tropical cocktails. Oh, and
the most exciting tidbit: my life flashed before my eyes last night as I awoke
to a cockroach making its way across our bed via MY NECK.
I think I felt a bug crawling on me! I yelped, jumping upright from bed.
I’m sure it was just the cord from
your iPod, Ryan reasoned, until he
noticed the critter crawling along his own pillow.
I may have spent a good twenty minutes across the
room as Ryan searched for, crushed, and flushed said roach, and another twenty
minutes waiting until I felt safe enough to return to bed, lights on of course.
It’s a bit freeing when one of your worst fears is
realized…
That trauma behind us, we took a long walk along a
nearly deserted beachfront a few miles from town this morning. A handful of resorts and small bungalows are
all that occupy the long stretch of white sand boasting an amazing view of the
archipelago. We’re certain that in a few
years this whole area will be booming with tourism, and feel lucky to have
visited while El Nido is still a lesser known travel destination.
Other than that we’ve been eating delicious fresh
fish and shrimp, imbibing in the local beer, and drinking all the fruit juice
and shakes we can manage (hello calamansi juice!). Oh, and they have berry Skittles here.
Discovering those was like running into an old friend.
We've also been keeping up with our Ducks all the way from Asia. We are #2 in the nation!
Tonight we head back to Puerto Princessa for a
flight tomorrow to mountainous North Luzon and its mystical rice terraces.
We feel so lucky to be on this adventure together
and are excited to see what the next destination holds.
