Stop 39 - El Nido

Ten of us...
all arrived into El Nido without a hitch. Bigger group? No problem. We got into El Nido after a 5 hour minivan journey, and got ourselves into Frendz El Nido, a newly opened/renovated hostel - where we booked out a couple of dorm rooms for us. Tis no villa, but the hostel was up there - a new open air design, free drink every day, rooftop pool which overlooked the coast for sunset, and right bang in the middle of everything.

Getting the lot of us together on time was no easy feat, but we managed to pull it off a few times, with our first big day out being a trip to Lio beach, which luckily turned out to be probably the nicest beach we've ever been on. It's like a new luxury resort that hasn't quite taken off yet, meaning the beach is quiet/secluded, but also has some really nice cafes/restaurants too.

When we say "nice cafes", we basically mean Shaka, which we had previously mentioned visited in Moalboal, but we made sure to get to the one in El Nido too. Suibhne and Kim definitely approved ^. We had an unbelievable day finally taking in some sunshine on a pristine white sandy beach with crystal clear water, that I think we were all happy El Nido could offer us given it was what Puerto Princesa was lacking. The cherry on top was that we had the space for Dani to host her first discounted rate yoga class for family & friends, which went down a treat. The yoga teacher training course is paying off!

Next on the cards was another day out at the seaside, though this time we were all getting on our own private boat to go island hopping - kayaking, cliff jumping (that we weren't supposed to do and nearly got our crew in trouble with - oops), snorkelling, all in a days work.

Not shabby at all, all ten of us had a ball. We even made it back in time to catch another incredible Filipino sunset at the rooftop bar, before heading for a night out on the town...

We'd hardly made it out the door before we ran into the cutest puppies in El Nido too, the makings of a good night out before it even really began.

We'd one more day out on the coast to have, so set out for Nacpan beach to round everything off. Again, beautiful, and a lovely chilled out day to bring our time together in the Philippines to an end. The sunsets here are (we think) unbeatable.

One last shout out to the unreal food we all had, this waffle being one of the highlights among various trips to an Indian place, or Italian place, or a Thai place, or a...you get the picture. An absolutely incredible two weeks were had with such a great crew. Crazy for a plan made so long ago to piece together so well, but everyone managed to pull it off, and a great time was had. To the great food, nights out, massages, shisha, everything: El Nido has it all. Thank you to everyone that made the effort to meet us here as it was absolutely amazing.

We went back to the villa for one night in Puerto Princesa - had to say a proper goodbye - before myself & Dani left the group for one last stop in the Philippines, while the rest set off for Manila, and home. Thanks so much and looking forward to the Philippines reunion when we're home!

Big love,

Dani & Stu.

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Stop 38 - Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Nearly five months...
have passed since we set off on this trip in January, and finally reaching Puerto Princesa was a big milestone on the trip that seemed so far away back then. We had already made plans to meet Dani's family here before we left, and it was finally happening! Our group of just the two of us will now be growing massively for the next two weeks, as Daphna, Niamh, Lorna, Donagh, Kim, Alex, Suibhne, and Sean are all joining us here, and to be able to house us all, our accommodation searches changed massively too. No more dorm beds for now, as we decided to go with our own villa that could house the ten of us! Swimming pool, jacuzzi, basketball court, outdoor dining table, balconies, you name it - it probably had it. The two of us checked in a few hours before everyone else arrived, so we got dibs on the first room (obviously), and waited it out for the others to arrive. Christy, one of the helpers living next door had laid out fresh coconuts for us to have while we waited. Her & her husband Mar were absolute lifesavers, helping us out with anything we needed.

And arrive they did - first night we were a bit unprepared, calling in pizza delivery thanks to the help of Christy and Mar. The next few nights of pool parties, and morning breakfasts, was fuelled by a supermarket visit on our second day - €200 on food, €200 on drink. A healthy mix.

Dani & mama Daph reunited! Everyone was beyond delighted to see each other after five months, so good vibes all round.

The crew of us set off on a few adventures for the week, first up we went around the corner to Baker's Hill - a bakery/Disneyland-on-acid hybrid that none of us really comprehended. Pictures seem to have eluded us, but as mentioned in the last post - Google has them.

The next day the entire crew was finally together, as mama Daph was reunited with her Seany-weany for the first time in god knows how long! Special memories.

The rest of the Cuddy Clan had their moment in Artisan's, home of an unreal Chimichanga (among everything else - we got the chef & owner out after our meal to thank them).

With us all now on the same page, on we went to go 'sploring round Puerto, getting in a few of the activities it has to offer, though unfortunately we only got the camera out for one of them (point finger at Dani!) - The underground river in Palawan is a UNESCO heritage site, and one of the "New 7 wonders of the world", so easy decision made for us to go and check it out:

Unfortunately we managed to go on a day that it absolutely poured out of the high heavens, so Stu & Kimmie joined everyone sheltering from the rain waiting for our life jackets ^.

Ponchos for €1 were a good shout, the clever ones of the group kept themselves a bit drier than us, who budget-consciously decided getting absolutely soaked to the bone was worth €2 savings. Wrong.

Still, we made it, and after our fair share of waiting around we finally set off into the cave. Helmets and life-vests on, and clear instructions to keep your mouth closed lest a bat shit in your mouth - we were all set.

And we made it back, the caves themselves are very impressive - a Junior Cert geography teacher's dream, with enough stalagmites and stalactites to shake a stick at. Pareidolia galore too (thanks Wikipedia), you've to use your imagination to see some of the things the guide points out - but the face of Jesus in one of the rocks is unmistakable. A good day out, despite the weather.

Palawan butterfly

 Palawan child

Palawan bearcat

We noticed at this point we were being pretty bad bloggers, spending too much time with family and friends, and not spending time taking photos. For shame. So unfortunately, we only managed to capture a few photos of some of the moments we had - including none of the inflatable water park in scorching heat (...Google has them), a firefly watching trip along the Iwahig river with phytoplankton to boot. The butterfly gardens. The countless Filipino buffets we no longer want to see ever again. Oh, and the memorable trip to Palaweno, a craft brewery in Puerto that Stuart has to apologise for profusely. It was awful - never again.

But the memories in the villa were pretty magical and we loved every minute of it. With that said, when it came to the time where the ten of us were boarding our minivan to our next stop, I think we were all looking forward to a bit of seaside, and being in the midst of the hustle and bustle of somewhere a bit more...touristy.

El Nido awaits.

Big love,

Dani & Stu.

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