A couple years back for our twentieth wedding anniversary I had been planning a vacation to the Philippines for Jack and I. As always, my parents are so happy to come out and watch the kids for us which I feel so grateful for but as things turned out my dad's health wasn't so good and he was going to be needing some medical treatment which of course was our priority. So the kidless vacay would have to wait. Well, fast forward a couple years and we just returned from that much anticipated trip and what a blast it was. So why the Philippines? That's usually the first question people ask me. The same question we got when we went to the Maldives. Well, we love to snorkel and the best places are usually the ones off the beaten path. The Philippines are rated up at the top and thank goodness we went when we did because a few months after we booked our trip Conde Nast named Palawan the best island in the world which is not a good thing as we like to keep these hidden gems to ourselves... :)
Being our travel included almost 24 hours on a plane in one direction I knew Jack wouldn't survive in coach so beds it was. In the past when we've flown first whether paid or upgraded it was never as much a necessity for me as it was for Jack but after flying on the upper deck this trip where there are only about a dozen people, and it's so quiet and roomy, I can see how hard it will be to go back to coach. Even the flight attendants told me that working the upper deck is a whole other world, and one that requires seniority. Sadly, first class in the main cabin doesn't seem so nice anymore...lol. The only uncomfortable thing about this flight was all the food they served. I don't know if it's because of the 12 hour time difference but it felt like they were serving a meal every three hours. And the fact you are basically sitting for 24 hours doesn't help when you have all that food just sitting in your belly. I'm not a fan of food photos but I have to say kudos to Delta as this was probably one of my favorite dishes I ate the whole trip!
In both directions our plane had a stop in Tokyo and even though we would continue on the same plane, we were required to get off and go through security before reboarding. I wish I could have captured a photo of the long line of airport workers with wheelchairs lined up along the ramp as we came off the plane. It was like we were traveling with an AARP club. And sure enough when we came back through Tokyo on our return flight the same was true with wheelchairs and workers lined from where you exit the plane all the way up to the gate entrance and it was a long ramp!
Welcome to Tokyo, where even reading your gate monitors can prove tricky...
This trip was quite a complicated trip to put together. It required three different airlines, five hotel changes, and no room for error. Due to time differences and flight times, we were forced to stay in Manila at the front end and back end of the trip. Going we stayed at a brand new boutique hotel just across from the airport called the Belmont. I booked it in Tokyo as I kept having fears of missed or cancelled flights and wanted to be sure we actually needed it. It ended up being a great place to stay and I think Jack was quite happy with the location of the shower...haha!
So early the next morning we caught a cab to the domestic terminal to catch our flight to El Nido. It was crazy driving through downtown Manila in a beaten down cab alongside all these motorized tricycles. That's another photo I should have captured but I was so in awe watching them I missed my chance. Seriously there were seven people riding on these things at a time which were basically a motorcycle with an attachment. It was crazy and yet even with almost all of Manila riding on these trikes, there was still a horrific traffic problem!!! Luckily our flight on Air Swift to El Nido only had a small delay and our vacation was about to really begin but not before the welcome breakfast from the airline...a wiener on bread with mayo..yum yum...lol!
You know you're in the Philippines when the plane parked next to yours is this one...
As we exited the plane in El Nido we were greeted by a lovely group of singers and a lounge full of beverages and snacks where we waited for our bags and our boat transfer to Miniloc! The scenery was so majestic. Truly different that any other place we had been. As we journeyed on our forty minute boat ride to Miniloc I felt such relief. I had had so many things on my mind worrying me the weeks leading up to this trip, everything from what if my parents got sick last minute and couldn't make it out to watch the kids, to what if we missed our connection or our flight to El Nido got cancelled (as I had read does happen). Any one of these things could have twisted our trip into a big mess but thankfully the stars aligned and it was all playing out as I had planned.
So here is beautiful Miniloc and Jack being cautious with his life jacket on!!! lol! Actually they have strict guidelines about wearing life jackets within certain areas which makes complete sense since we learned that most Filipino guests don't know how to swim (as evident from all the orange life jackets that you would find swarming particular locations!).
We spent the next three nights here. Although the rooms were not quite as glamorous as the next two resorts would be we were in the deluxe sea view room which was the most recently renovated and largest. We were on the top floor with a nice vaulted ceiling and this view looking out to the sea and resort. The people were so kind, especially our tour guides and the location was fabulous because it was close to all the amazing lagoons and sites we'd spend our days exploring!
We were fascinated with this tree on the beach and how cute and rustic these beach bungalows are, although I was thankful for our beautiful water view room.
After having lunch and getting settled in our room, it was off to explore. We kayaked over to the Big Lagoon first which is actually just located around the corner from our resort. It was low tide so no big boats could enter the lagoon which made is safer for snorkeling around. On the way back we snorkeled the house reef which was spectacular, and a pleasant surprise as I had read that snorkeling in El Nido wouldn't compare to Coron but I believe it's because most of the reviews come from people who stay in El Nido Proper and don't have access to the reefs of the private resorts. I was thrilled to find Nemo (clown fish) as the Maldives has been the only other place we've seen them and we also saw our first blue starfish here! In fact aside from one baby orange starfish we saw on our last day in El Nido, we only saw blue starfish! The other thing we saw regularly that we weren't as excited to see were jellyfish. Unfortunately on the first day I became a magnet to plankton and returned from our first day covered in small itchy bites. Thankfully they lasted as long as a typical mosquito bite. Jack remained untouched. Luckily, I had brought a long sleeved rash guard which helped prevent me from getting more bites. Apparently the waters were warmer than normal which draws the jellyfish out. Here are photos from our various trips both on our own and on the resort tour during high tide when the outrigger boats could go all the way back into the lagoons!
Around the corner from the Big Lagoon is the Small Lagoon. It was just far enough though that we took the resort boat. Once you arrive at the entrance to the small lagoon you can either kayak through it or you can just swim into the lagoon area. After you maneuver through the entry point there are all sorts of areas to explore. We did this twice and on the second trip we explored a cave that we hadn't seen the first time!
How ironic to walk into the lounge one afternoon and find all the tvs on with a live showing of the Manny fight taking place in Vegas!!! Jack was quite happy about that!
Another one of our days we spent at Entalula Island where we were served a Filipino lunch and enjoyed a lovely private beach for El Nido Resort guests only. From there we had our guide pick us up and take us to see Cathedral Cave where he tried to get the boat as close in to the cave as possible and Cudugnon Cave where we anchored and then hiked into the cave. Afterwords we continued on to Snake Island where we walked on the strip of sand that connects the islands at low tide. Each day was unique and just so fun!!!
After a busy day we still managed to get in a sunset sail!
The next day we were off to all sorts of hidden/secret beaches and lagoons. I've had to google to figure out which place went with which name but it was so fun seeing all these not so secret lagoons...haha!
Secret Lagoon: As we pulled up here you would hardly be able to find this small opening on the left that we crawled through to find this beautiful lagoon...
Next stop was Hidden Beach. Here we exited the boat and walked up a stretch of knee deep water until we reached the hidden beach. Our guide told us it was one of his favorite places to camp. I think I'd enjoy camping a lot more if I could camp on beaches like these...lol!
Then we went to Matinloc. While Jack snorkeled, I made the 5 minute walk to the to the viewing point where the view was spectacular. Most islands we visited had a shrine of some sort but this was the nicest of all the ones we saw. What a beautiful place...
Our final stop was the Secret Beach at Matinloc Island. If it weren't for all the boats anchored right outside the small entry point hidden in the stone you would never know there was this beautiful hidden lagoon beyond the limestone walls. Ironically enough, I didn't manage to get a photo of the actual "Secret Beach" as it was quite small and there were many people just standing on it looking out into the lagoon. This was definitely what we call a tourist spot. The dead giveaway? Orange life vests everywhere...haha!
After a great day island hopping we returned back to the resort and decided to kayak in the opposite direction we had before. Everywhere you look there are these tiny beaches so we thought it would be fun to explore some of them. Jack snorkeled alongside me as I kayaked. As we pulled up onto a beach there were a couple boats there. One was playing this loud crazy kiddie sounding music. I thought how strange as I didn't see any kids. As I got a closer look I realized it was the Ice Cream Man! Why wouldn't there be an ice cream man in El Nido?!?
Another highlight of our stay at Miniloc was swimming with the jackfish that would show up in front of the resort every morning! Clearly they had been trained over time to come here for a feeding. Wow, they are huge, there are tons of them and what an experience to be in the water with them as they are getting fed...that is until a piece of fish accidentally gets thrown right on my head as I'm snorkeling and suddenly I had a dozen jackfish all attacking the piece of food that landed on my head!!! lol! It was also fun to swim amongst the huge school of smaller fish that would circle us as we swam with the jackfish!
On our last day at Miniloc our activity coordinator knew we had seen all the main tours they offered so she suggested we do a snorkel trip to Simizu Island. It was just us and our boat crew! It was so peaceful and the water so clear and like glass. Perfect morning!
After a fabulous time at Miniloc it was time to transfer to our next resort, Pangulasian. We enjoyed a lunch stop at Lagen on the way (all three of these resorts are owned by El Nido Resorts) and what a fabulous lunch it was! This resort was just reopened after a renovation and it is very nice. But we were on our way to an even nicer place so I was excited about that...
And off to Pangulasian we go. There is a reason this hotel is part of the "Small Luxury Hotels of the World" collection as it's really remarkable. The service, people, accommodations, etc. were all top notch. Not only did we leave with our typical flip flop collection but also a hat and bag collection. They had three complimentary hats waiting for us in our room. We had to laugh though when Jack's didn't even fit his small head. Clearly they cater to the Filipinos because I don't know anyone besides them that have a smaller head than Jack!!!
Miniloc had been our action packed adventure resort and Pangulasian was meant to be more about relaxation but we managed to still get in a lot of fun stuff! We swam with sharks during morning snorkels on the house reef, kayaked around the island (like literally the whole island), paddle boarded, hiked 1600 steps to the top of Pangulasian to watch the sunset, and returned to the big and small lagoon for a last visit...
Time to say goodbye to El Nido...One of my favorite memories will be remembering the staff singing goodbye to us as we left each resort. You could be three minutes into your boat departure and turn around to still see them singing and waving. It was so sweet!
A few weeks before our trip I started to second guess all the time I had us staying in El Nido and was worried I'd regret not seeing Coron since I had read Coron had better snorkeling according to some. So after some quick maneuvering and a little stress, I was able to successfully make some changes that allowed us to fly over to Coron for five days. The only bummer is we had to fly all the way back to Manila and take another carrier back down to Coron but luckily we didn't experience a cancellation like I had read can happen with many of the domestic flights heading out to the small islands. The extra travel turned out to really be worth it! Now this is what I call taking "green" to the next level! Gotta love these boarding passes...
Welcome to Coron! Our resort had staff on hand to gather our bags and shuttle us across the island to catch our water taxi. Along the way we passed a LDS church which I was able to snag a photo of! After the 45 minute water taxi ride, we arrived at Two Seasons Resort, not to be confused with the Four Seasons but equally as impressive!
I knew we were just about there as we passed by the island tip and I could see all the bungalows! I was so excited to see which one would be ours! Although I don't consider myself a big spender, when it comes to accommodations I tend to splurge, especially after traveling half way around the world. The island tip bungalows had water views out the front and back which as I was researching beforehand I found very cool. The resort is only a couple years old too so everything was new, nice and contemporary. If we needed a lift to the gym or dining room, we could call and within a couple minutes they were at our door with the golf cart.
At this resort none of the activities were included so you had to book a boat and crew in advance if you wanted to go on tours which of course we had planned to do. We definitely also wanted the speed boat over the outrigger boat as it was much faster but it was also much more expensive. As it turned out we had met a fun couple when we first arrived (Jeremy and Ji, he was French and she was Filipino) that were interested in a couple of the same tours we were so we split it with them and had a great time! In fact, our first day in Coron was probably one of my top days of the whole trip. Our tour included, Skeleton Wreck where we were swarmed by fish as you can see from the photo with Jack, Twin Lagoon, Barracuda Lake where Arnold, our fabulous tour guide taught us how to get the shrimp to come out by feeding them, Balete Beach (also referred to as Vivian Beach) where we took a break for lunch, Siete Pecados for amazing snorkeling, and the highlight, Kayangan Lake where we took the iconic photo. At both lakes it was really cool to see how the limestone continued down deep into the water.
One of the things we saw in Coron that we hadn't seen in El Nido were the indigenous people that live on some of the islands surrounding Coron. You will find their small huts alongside the water and at a few of the places we went to they collected a fee for use of their island. Here are just a couple of many that we saw...
The next day Jack and I hired our own boat to take us to a few other sites. It was interesting to see all the pearl farms as we sped through the waters. Apparently the Philippines are known for the excellent quality of pearls that come from their waters. We snorkeled a couple shipwrecks including the Sangat Gunboat and Lusong Shipwreck. From the Lusong Shipwreck we were able to drift snorkel for a long time along the amazing Lusong Coral Garden. And we ended our day at the beautiful, postcard worthy Pass Island where we took a lunch break and then snorkeled amongst all the huge clams that exist along that island's shores. It was another good day!
One of the things I really enjoyed doing each day at the resort was at low tide, either first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon after we'd return from our tour, walking across the sand bar that connected our island to the uninhabited island of Bulog Dos. It was just so peaceful walking across the ocean from one island to another. Bulog Dos is actually a stop on one of the main tours so we'd usually go over before all the tourists arrived.
So it was our last tour day and wow it didn't disappoint! Arnold, once again took great care of us. He said it was rare to have tourists hire them for so many tours but we felt it was really worth it and by the end of our three days touring with him he felt like a a member of our family. Jeremy and Ji joined us on this tour too which was fun. We started our day at Malcapuya Island where we spent a couple hours. Jack found a large bamboo walking stick on the beach that he was determined to bring back home with us. This would be his souvenir from the trip... I can say, this stick is proudly being displayed in one of our large vases here at the house. I loved that in Manila our ticket agent didn't even blink an eye over us trying to bring it back to the states. She put a "fragile" sticker on it and away it went! I can say Jack was sweating a bit when the Customs guy in Minneapolis was contemplating if he could allow it in the states. Apparently had there been any sign of green in in, meaning it was possibly still alive, it would have been confiscated. I sure did love the colorful outrigger boats! As happy as I was to be zipping around the waters of Coron in our speedboat, I sure enjoyed photographing these lovely boats...
Next Arnold asked us if we'd like to see a beautiful uninhabited island that no one ever gets to see because it's privately owned by a man who happens to be best friends with the owner of the resort we were staying at. Of course we were eager to see it and WOW! He mentioned there is talk Shangri La will build on it at some point. You can see why. The only ugly thing about this whole island was this creepy thing Jack pointed out to me that was staring up at us as we were snorkeling. A sea snake? I don't know but thankfully a short distance away were these beautiful colorful clams...
Our final stop was Banana Island. Interestingly enough I don't think there is one banana tree on the island... haha! Jack and Jeremy got in and did a bit of snorkeling while Ji and I relaxed in this two story shack!
We sure had a lovely time in Coron! I'd say it was definitely worth the half day of travel to get here. Not only did we see so much beauty but we got to meet some really nice people including Arnold and our boat crew who took such great care of us on our three days of tours! I thought it was so sweet when Arnold asked if we could be Facebook friends!
Well, after an amazing time exploring Palawan, it was time to work our way back home. This meant returning back to Manila for one night before our long flight back to the US. There is a reason we only met one American our whole trip and she was a travel blogger... haha. It's definitely not an easy place to get to. Ironically the one thing I was dreading and hoping never happened on this trip was the one thing that ended up paying off and that was a delayed flight from Coron back to Manila. As it turned out the boat used to transport guests to and from the resort to the mainland in Coron was experiencing engine problems. We ended up leaving the resort almost two hours later than we were supposed to which clearly would have meant we would have missed our flight. The resort kept assuring us that they were in contact with the airport and that they would hold the plane. These are full planes so I hard a hard time believing it. Well sure enough we arrived and the flight was there. I have a hard time believing it was due to us but thankfully we made it back to Manila. After unsuccessfully trying to book the same hotel we stayed in at the beginning of our trip we ended up at the Hyatt. It was actually a beautiful hotel attached to a huge high end shopping mall and casino. It was a little disturbing driving through a third world country and yet finding yourself at this upscale resort area in the middle of it all but it was also a relief to feel safe even if that safety came at the price of having our taxi searched as we entered the grounds and then our bags and ourselves as we went through hotel security...
Being our primary activity was snorkeling for journaling sake I have to post some of our underwater photos. Believe it or not this is just a sampling...lol...and I'm sure the video footage is much better as photos never do justice but at least these are nice reminders to me of all the amazing things in this world God has created and we were lucky enough to enjoy. Our takeaway from this trip was that although the fish count wasn't as high as places like the Maldives or Bonaire, and on average they were smaller fish,the variety probably the largest. We saw so many different types of fish and many we had never seen before. We also saw beautiful coral, sharks, rays, turtles and of course my favorite, clown fish! We saw areas of the sea floor that looked like a carpet of clams and countless islands with beautiful white sandy beaches. Without doubt though, the Filipino people were by far the nicest people we had ever met. Sir Jack and Madame Laurie will definitely return! :)
Aside from dreadful jet lag, this was indeed a trip to remember. Two weeks of sun and sand! A special shout out to my amazing parents who this year have already spent five weeks out in Ohio, much of that time watching our kids! Don't know what I'd do without them!
I can't say I'm going to miss this pod...as peaceful as it was... :)
