As usual, Shore 2 Shore Travel did a great job :) Kaya nga Shore 2 Shore Travel na kami palagi whenever we have our yearly vacation. Hassle-free talaga, although there were some snags towards the end, but it was a small thing and did not detract from the overall experience.
Bong the driver picked us up on time and we were pleased to learn that we were the only passengers to El Nido. Ka Lui was a great choice and we were amazed by the ambience. The delivery of each course was greeted with yays and applause din, haha. Masarap lahat at naubos namin ang pagkain... I think this was when we decided to just pig out whenever food was offered to us kasi ang saya lang talaga! Accommodating din sina Bong, they put up with our requests for ATM runs and waiting while doing last minute shopping at Robinsons Place. Walang reklamo sa amin and they helped when we got to Marina Garden when we arrived at 7.30 pm -- talagang 5 hours pala ang biyahe from Puerto to El Nido. Haba lang pero we all slept in the van.
The next day Emma talked us through the overnight accommodation in Cadlao Island. May misgivings kasi yung iba kasi we thought that we will all be sleeping in tents. Hindi naman pala, may cottage and a bathroom separate. Sorry, we had to call it Creepy Island, though. Ang dilim na kasi tapos ang lakas pa ng hangin kaya namamatay yung gasera. Okay lang, adventure talaga ito, pero we avoided using the bathroom in the evening, baka pagpasok namin may unggoy na sa loob at mag-freak out lang kami. In fairness, ang ganda ng beach ni Cadlao. In the morning, we walked along the shoreline and swam until it was time to leave for Day 2 of the tour. My sister blurted out nga lang, "wildlife, you're so wild!" when we saw a snake (maliit nga lang kaya medyo cute pa) and monkeys hopping from tree to tree.
Of course, ang saya lang ng mga islands ng El Nido. Different siya from the snorkeling experience we had in Coron but the beaches were so beautiful and the scenery so majestic that napapatunganga na lang kami everytime we stopped at the islands. Ang linaw lang ng tubig ha! Props to Jun and his team for taking care of everything. Uupo na lang kami para mag-lunch/dinner/breakfast at bahala na sila afterwards. Ang galing lang talaga.
We really did not want the island tour hopping to end pero we have to go back to Marina and buy pasalubong -- which we also planned to do on our return to Puerto. I forgot nga lang that we have a different driver going back. Okay naman ang pabalik, they fetched us early but we had a bit of road trouble an hour into the ride -- na-flat ang gulong ng sasakyan ni Fort Wally kasi mabato ang daan at mabilis siya magpatakbo. Pero we got to Puerto around 11.45 and we had to drop by the Fort Wally office to unload our bags so we can have lunch and buy more pasalubong. The lady also accommodated our request to have someone bring us around to the shops. Nagpahiram siya ng 2 trikes nila, we only had to give the drivers tips for it.
Ay, medyo naconfuse lang kami kung saang Ka Inato kami pupunta. We thought it was the one near the airport pero the staff there told us that it's at San Miguel (?) pala. Pero okay lang, the grilled chicken was excellent and the soup they served was good. Ang saya ng kare kare and we had additional orders of grilled prawns and desserts.
The trike drivers recommended good places to buy gifts for the people back home. Hindi taga ang presyo at varied ang choices. We had to stop after two places, though, because we had to go the airport na.
All in all, I would like to go back -- if I could and work and budget were not an issue. Promise, when my parents come back next year, I'll bring them to Coron. With your help, of course.
Thank you for the very wonderful trip. Unanimous ang statement ng mga kasama ko -- sulit ang inipon namin, magaling ang nag-arrange at hindi nakakahinayang ang lakad :D
Sa uulitin!
Mayette Bontia
Nov 2012, El Nido Palawan
PS: Malamang magpopost kami sa FB at itatag ka namin. Overdue na ito since last year.
