Our travels in the Philippines took a long time to get going. First we had to fly there from Australia, which understandably took a long time. Then we had to change terminals in Manila airport, which involved talking to four different airport staff members, each of whom told us a different way to do it, and then talking to five different other passengers trying to do the same thing, before accidentally blundering in to the poorly-signposted transfer area while looking for something else. It was free though. Fortunately we had about six hours to kill in Manila, so we had plenty of time to work all this out.
The next step was an internal flight to Puerto Princesa, the largest town on the island of Palawan. From there, now late in the evening, we got a transfer to our little hotel and went gratefully to sleep. The next morning, a minivan arrived to take us on the six hour drive from Puerto Princesa up to El Nido, a small town at the northern end of Palawan, which was where we were actually trying to go. And then, we just had to get from El Nido bus station to our hostel.
So basically it was a long old trip! But we got there. And I think it's safe to say that it was worth it. El Nido's main attraction is as the start point of four different island hopping tours, each of which goes to a diverse bunch of islands, beaches and coral reefs over the course of a day. We had time for the two best rated ones (wanting to spend a day not getting sunburned in between, this being the inevitable side-effect of a day on and in the sea). There is a particular beauty to a shining blue lagoon, just as there is a particular beauty to a craggy mountainside. The inlets of the Philippine islands combine the two in a very pleasing way.
All the islands have a unique style. They look for all the world like glacial valleys: steep-sided, ragged edged, very tall and plunging deep beneath the waterline. But obviously there hasn't been a lot of glacier action in the Philippines, being pretty close to the equator. In fact the islands might more properly be called undersea mountains (that just happen to poke out of the sea a bit). They were once the sea floor, and are made up largely of fossilised coral beds (which I am led to believe is why they are in such steep towers). Geological uplift has pushed the tips out of the water, and naturally-occuring acid rain has picked holes and sharp crevices into the soft rock, giving them the distinctive appearance they currently enjoy.
And a pretty fine appearance it is. Our time in the Philippines was, therefore, spent largely in admiring these rocky outcrops and lazing around on a variety of beaches. But the best moment was undoubtedly on our second boat tour, when we stopped at an otherwise deserted coral reef to go snorkelling. This was easily the most colourful and vibrant reef that I have ever seen, covered in a profusion of interesting, and friendly, life (except for a couple of jellyfish, who I cannot in good conscience describe as friendly). Someone in our group even inexplicably saw a squid. It's hard to describe the magnificence of a coral reef unless one is David Attenborough, and I (sadly) am not. I think it's best summed up by saying that it was one of those times when you think to yourself "man, I wish I had a GoPro." It was something like swimming through an aquarium.
Other cool things included kayaking around an enclosed lagoon into a small cave, climbing to the top of one of the islands (this is the picture at Matinloc Shrine in the earlier picture post) and visiting not just the Secret Beach, but also the Hidden Beach (different place) and the Secret Lagoon. Lot of secrets. We also had a good time away from the sea, exploring El Nido's limited collection of vegetarian-friendly restaurants and extensive survey of beachfront bars, many of which are visited by various people performing various tricks, usually involving something that is on fire.
Then, after a worrying day in which El Nido's only functioning ATM decided not to accept any of our cards (it doesn't like Visas, except sometimes when it does) and we almost ran out of money, we just had to repeat the entire arduous adventure to get back to Manila airport, and thence to Thailand, for yet another leg of our adventure.
But that is a story for another post. Probably one I'll write this evening.
Until then, happy travels friends :)
The next step was an internal flight to Puerto Princesa, the largest town on the island of Palawan. From there, now late in the evening, we got a transfer to our little hotel and went gratefully to sleep. The next morning, a minivan arrived to take us on the six hour drive from Puerto Princesa up to El Nido, a small town at the northern end of Palawan, which was where we were actually trying to go. And then, we just had to get from El Nido bus station to our hostel.
So basically it was a long old trip! But we got there. And I think it's safe to say that it was worth it. El Nido's main attraction is as the start point of four different island hopping tours, each of which goes to a diverse bunch of islands, beaches and coral reefs over the course of a day. We had time for the two best rated ones (wanting to spend a day not getting sunburned in between, this being the inevitable side-effect of a day on and in the sea). There is a particular beauty to a shining blue lagoon, just as there is a particular beauty to a craggy mountainside. The inlets of the Philippine islands combine the two in a very pleasing way.
All the islands have a unique style. They look for all the world like glacial valleys: steep-sided, ragged edged, very tall and plunging deep beneath the waterline. But obviously there hasn't been a lot of glacier action in the Philippines, being pretty close to the equator. In fact the islands might more properly be called undersea mountains (that just happen to poke out of the sea a bit). They were once the sea floor, and are made up largely of fossilised coral beds (which I am led to believe is why they are in such steep towers). Geological uplift has pushed the tips out of the water, and naturally-occuring acid rain has picked holes and sharp crevices into the soft rock, giving them the distinctive appearance they currently enjoy.
And a pretty fine appearance it is. Our time in the Philippines was, therefore, spent largely in admiring these rocky outcrops and lazing around on a variety of beaches. But the best moment was undoubtedly on our second boat tour, when we stopped at an otherwise deserted coral reef to go snorkelling. This was easily the most colourful and vibrant reef that I have ever seen, covered in a profusion of interesting, and friendly, life (except for a couple of jellyfish, who I cannot in good conscience describe as friendly). Someone in our group even inexplicably saw a squid. It's hard to describe the magnificence of a coral reef unless one is David Attenborough, and I (sadly) am not. I think it's best summed up by saying that it was one of those times when you think to yourself "man, I wish I had a GoPro." It was something like swimming through an aquarium.
Other cool things included kayaking around an enclosed lagoon into a small cave, climbing to the top of one of the islands (this is the picture at Matinloc Shrine in the earlier picture post) and visiting not just the Secret Beach, but also the Hidden Beach (different place) and the Secret Lagoon. Lot of secrets. We also had a good time away from the sea, exploring El Nido's limited collection of vegetarian-friendly restaurants and extensive survey of beachfront bars, many of which are visited by various people performing various tricks, usually involving something that is on fire.
Then, after a worrying day in which El Nido's only functioning ATM decided not to accept any of our cards (it doesn't like Visas, except sometimes when it does) and we almost ran out of money, we just had to repeat the entire arduous adventure to get back to Manila airport, and thence to Thailand, for yet another leg of our adventure.
But that is a story for another post. Probably one I'll write this evening.
Until then, happy travels friends :)
No comments:
Post a Comment