First Two Days in El Nido

Leaving Boracay

We have our last breakfast at Jony’s Beach Resort…once again they are out of bacon and eggs. But the staff are friendly and the view is gorgeous.

We head to the Caticlan airport by van, boat and minibus. Our Swift Air flight to El Nido is under an hour. John gets some great pictures of Boracay Island from the air.

Arrival in El Nido

Upon landing in El Nido, we take what they call a tricycle to our accomodation on Caalan Beach. The tricycle is basically a motorcycle with a covered side car. John and I crush into the side car with our luggage somehow stuffed in back and we are off. Kind of wild. Click here for a short video.

It is overcast but not raining. Caalan Beach is a ten minute walk from the main beach town of El Nido. El Nido is where all the action and nightlife is so we get the best of both worlds in Caalan.

Arrival to Angel Nido Resort

Our hotel is only accessible by tricycle as the road is partly along the beach and then narrow paths not wide enough for a car. We are in jungle. It is humid with lots of lush vegetation and bright flowers. We are staying in a small family resort with no more than ten rooms. We walk down a small, hibiscus lined path towards the bay to our little cottage. We have a table and two chairs on a deck and a couple steps away is a relax area with hammocks , lounge beds and chairs. The view is spectacular.

John realizes that he left his iPad at the resort in Boracay. They email to let him know they found it. Now to figure out how to get it back.

Graveyard

After unpacking we walk into town. We pass a graveyard which has huge above ground graves. Many of them have professional posters over the tombs. Some are in disrepair or have garbage to the side. It all looks quite jumbled and chaotic. There is a sign on the gate offering free embalming.

Afternoon Drinks in El Nido

The tide is coming in. We stop in a bar on the shore for afternoon drinks. I have not been drinking much alcohol on this trip however we have been warned that tap water here is not safe to drink so best to buy things bottled. For health reasons, I order a beer.

We next head to a restaurant called Big Bad Thai for supper. It had good reviews. We get seats on bar stools overlooking the water. The view is gorgeous, the seats are uncomfortable. I order shrimp Pad Thai and boiled vegetables. The veggies are boiled with no seasoning. That is fine but the pad thai with its four measly shrimps is dripping in oil. I only eat half. Thank goodness, I packed both Pepto Bismol and Tums.

We listen to the waves as we drift to sleep.

Morning on Caalan Beach

Next morning our bacon and eggs breakfast is served on our front deck. It is overcast. The forecast is for clouds, thunder & lightning and 100% chance of rain so we decide to just have a chill day around the resort. I have it all planned out; eye mask, face mask, reading books…then the sun brightly breaks through the cloud and John says, “Change of plans.” It stays sunny the whole day with not a drop of rain. We decide to ignore weather forecasts for the rest of our stay in the Philippines.

In and Around El Nido Town

We head into town, passing a number of the same strange signs about a piece of property. Don’t know why it is so important that the world know this. Check out the picture.

The sun continues to shine. We walk around the busy town, checking out shops and restaurant menus, deciding on a waterfront Greek restaurant for lunch.

Canopy Walk with Spiderman

John wants to do the canopy walk. They say it is only 150 steps. Yep, I can do that.

A rather out of shape man wearing a full Spiderman suit joins the group. Hey, Spiderman needs some vacation now and then just like everyone else… It’s a tough job fighting crime.

I follow the guide. We pass a school yard and kids are yelling “It’s Spiderman!”

We stop at an area where they start fitting us all with harnesses. “Wait a second. What’s going on? What don’t I know about this walk”?

John feigns innocence.

The group continues walking till we get to a steep rocky incline reminiscent of the steep hikes in Vang Vieng.

“I’m outta here.” I state.

I turn around and head back to wait for John at the entrance.

I will let John take it from here: After a steep but short climb up the rocks we come to metal stairs and walkways that lead to a swinging bridge. We attach our harnesses to a rope to cross the swaying bridge and continue up more stairs and walkways to the viewpoint with a wonderful view overlooking El Nido. Spiderman is excited to be at the top but I noticed he was huffing and puffing on the climb up. As I return to the bottom and pass the school again there is now a long row of excited kids with cellphones in hand waiting for Spiderman to walk by on his way back.

Resort Lounging

Upon John’s return we head back to our resort and plant ourselves in lounge chairs, enjoying the view and reading.

After a walk along the beach we pop into the nearby OIA Hostel for some pizza and drinks. We meet up with a nice guy from Australia and chat while the watching a beautiful sunset.