Intrepid Love: 2019

There is so much to say about El Nido. Yet at the same time I want to just say it was like a dream and leave it at that. But really, it felt like a dream. Everything was beyond beautiful!!

Our first full day in El Nido we went on island hoping tour A. If anyone ends up going to El Nido make sure you book with a touring agency that takes you to the Big Lagoon. A bunch of tours will tell you that you’re going on tour A but instead take you to other places. That’s sadly what happened to us. Despite not seeing the big lagoon the sites we did see were absolutely beautiful. Collin and I were in awe at just how gorgeous one place could be!

Our second day we decided to kayak.... oh man... be advised sea kayaking in a cheap kayak is not for the faint of heart. Looking out across the bay we decided we would easily be able to make it to the first secluded beach we could see in a very reasonable amount of time. All of the travel blogs I had read said how great kayaking was as a way to see a bunch of beaches. About halfway out of the bay the waves started picking up. My anxiety was threw the roof, the water was deep and dark and scary! With the waves and the wind it ended up taking us a longer time to get to the first beach then we would have liked. The beach only had one other couple on it and the water was crystal clear for snorkeling. (Snorkeling was by far my favorite thing to do on this vacation.) After about an hour on this little beach we decided to cross the deep dark sea yet again to kayak to seven commandos beach. This is a beach that you see on tour A. We loved it so much and wanted some rum and coconut so we started the journey. It took forever. Whatever direction we seemed to go the wind was just trying to push us back. Finally at seven commandos we were able to relax and enjoy the views.

I didn’t think we were going to survive the journey back to El Nido! The wind didn’t want us to make it home. We would paddle and paddle and paddle and not move a centimeter. So we stopped a few times along the way. I’m not going to lie I had a tiny melt down on the way back cause like I said I didn’t think we were going to make it. I’m grateful to Collin for being the strong man he is, and getting us back safely.

The third day we spent relaxing. We both had got a bit of sunburn and I had a bunch of homework to do so we just ate food and enjoyed the peace of this beautiful place.

We went on another tour on the 4th day! Tour C is AMAZING!! There were so many wonderful spots for snorkeling. We decided to book with Go Paradise Travel & Tours for this one and it was so much fun! When we go back we will only book with them. Tour C features choppy water, where yet again I thought we’d all go overboard, however, the spots you visit were so cool!! Hidden lagoons, a beautiful snorkeling spot and more crystal clear water. The snorkeling was so amazing. However, IT WAS JELLYFISH SEASON!! Even with the all the jellies, swimming through the water seeing a deep dark endless ocean on one side and a beautiful reef full of fish on the other was one of the coolest experiences. But make sure you have a shirt cause there were jellyfish literally everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

The 5th day we decided to go to Las Canabas beach and do the zip line. The zip line wasn’t the longest, nor fastest, but you got some beautiful views of the ocean.

The last day we went up to Nacpan beach. Nacpan is considered one of the 10 ten beaches in the world. The water was gorgeous and the beach had absolutely no shells or trash to step on and went on for miles.

We had some of the best food and drinks in El Nido. There are so many great cheap restaurants for meat eaters and vegans alike. I’m not going to lie I’m seriously craving some Pancit Bihon and a pina colada just thinking about it!

I know El Nido really made an impression on both of us. We didn’t want to come home. I cried on the plane and in the airport because I didn’t want to leave that paradise. Hopefully one day we will make it back, but until then we’ll be dreaming of those beaches!!

Nacpan beach

View from the zip line

The crew of the ships would be climbing all over these planks.

Tour A hidden lagoon

All of the tours come with a full buffet style lunch.

Nacpan beach

Views from one of the restaurants

The Helicopter island beach on tour C.

Our trip to the Philippines got off to a bit of a rough start. We woke up to the biggest snow storm of the year, my credit card had been stolen, and it took almost 2 hours to get to the airport. Because of the snow we missed our connecting flight in San Francisco. Thankfully Orbitz was able to get us on the next flight out but we had to wait until just a few hours before our flight before we even knew if we would get on or not. Our anxiety and stress was at an all time high. Needless to say it was a very long day. We both were able to sleep for the majority of the 15 hour plane ride. And finally after almost a full 2 days of traveling we made it to Manila!

Our one main day to really explore Manila was the day that we missed! So we didn’t really get to have much time in the city. We did see the “small” mall of Asia. Which was definitely not small. Ate some great food, and got to stay in 3 different parts of the city over the period of our trip.

After sleeping for the night we got on another plane to Puerto Princesa, where we then got on a bus to El Nido. The bus ride took about 5 hours. We left the airport drove around for an hour then came back to the airport because the driver refused to leave until every single seat was full. We were all in the van like a can of sardines and could not wait to get to El Nido! The drive was absolutely gorgeous, on coastal roads, through rice fields, and little villages.

El Nido was an absolute dream. I’m going to do a separate post just for that beautiful paradise! We spent a full week soaking up the sun, drinking coconuts and cocktails, and eating delicious food. I think it’s safe to say that we will be back to El Nido!

After our week in El Nido, we journied to the north of the main island to a little city called Alaminos. Collin had been told by a few people that The Hundred Islands Park was gorgeous so we decided to check it out. It definitely had its own type of beauty and for $20 we had a whole boat and tour to ourselves. There was some amazing snorkeling. We went “cave” jumping with probably 1000 bats, saw a sea snake, and I saw a puffer fish. We stayed at a wonderful AirBnb in Alaminos called Traditional Filipino Home if anyone is heading that direction I’d highly recommend staying there.

At times it was heart breaking and very humbling seeing a majority of these wonderful Filipinos living in third world conditions and terrible poverty. It definitely made both Collin and I very grateful for what we have. It also opened my eyes to being happy regardless of our circumstances. The Filipinos we met were the absolute most friendly people we have ever met, despite their living conditions. It was definitely a humbling experience.

I think it’s safe to say that the Philippines left a wonderful mark on our hearts! We cannot wait to go back and explore more of those 7,000+ islands.