A PHILLIPPINE FAIRYTALE - An Extra Day in El Nido - 10 December 2022

As per the original plan I had drawn up in Chennai, I should have left this day for Puerto Princesa. Even while planning the itinerary I was apprehensive about the program in Puerto Princesa. The only reason I was spending a day there was to go for the Understand River Tour, which is highly recommended. I had varying reports about the time taken for the trip. Pickup would be at about 8 am from the hotel, but drop timings varied from 3 pm to 5 pm. That was tricky for me because my Cebu Pacific flight from Puerto Princesa to Cebu was scheduled for 5.30 pm. Hence, I did not book from India either the van trip from El Nido to Puerto Princesa or the River Tour.

Yesterday, on return from Tour A, I enquired at the Aqua Travel Lodge reception about the River Tour and was told that I would be cutting it too fine with the scheduled flight. It would be safer with a two night stay in Puerto Princesa. Armed with that information I extended my stay in El Nido by another day and booked the 8 am van journey from El Nido to Puerto Princesa for the 11th. Thus, the only uncertain part of the itinerary was finally closed.

With the extra day in El Nido I asked for possible options and was told that the best would be to tour the inland beaches, Lio, Nacpan and Les Cebanas beaches and take a Canopy Walk. For this the Lodge reception said they could get me a tricycle for the whole day for 1500 PHP. That looked good and I confirmed a hotel pickup at 8 am after breakfast. In the morning, while feasting on toasts and egg, I checked the distances to the day's activities and discovered that the Canopy Walk is less than 400 meters from the Lodge. That I could do without a tricycle. Moreover, having been to so many beaches and lagoons in the past two days I was not really looking forward to visiting more of them. To top it all, the weather was none too bright either. So, visiting Les Cabanas beach for a sunset viewing would really not be worth it. Therefore, I cancelled the tricycle booking for the day.

It is said that a trip to El Nido is incomplete without the Taraw Cliff walk. A few unfortunate accidents in the past had put a question mark on the steep limestone cliff walk. However, the situation was turned into an opportunity by a private company who advertised safe walks up the cliff. 'El Nido Taraw Via Ferrata’ issues a helmet and harness and makes available a guide to make the steep walk safe and incident free. The walks begin at 8 am. They offer two walks, the Canopy Walk and the Dreamcatcher Walk.

I opted for the Canopy Walk for 430 PHP as the lady in the company office said that the Dreamcatcher Walk is basically more of a photo op that would cost 730 PHP per person. Leon was the guide assigned to a group of five guests. He put on my harness and handed me a helmet. I had to ask him to hand me another because the helmet was smelling bad. At the Maligaya Barangay office a lady collected 30 PHP for entrance. Young kids were enthusiastically playing basketball.

A short walk from there is a steep 5 meter climb without scaffolding. One has to take care not to graze the feet or hands on sharp rocks or slip. I had a mobile phone and the GoPro to capture the walk. At one of the points the GoPro fell out of my pocket and dropped some distance. I feared the worst. Fortunately, Leon retrieved it for me and there was not even a scratch on it. The best part of the Walk is a 75 metre, wobbly steel suspension bridge that can be forbidding for people who are scared of heights.

With six of us walking across, at times the sway was scary. But the harness, which is clamped on to an overhead steel cable at the start of the bridge walk, is reassuring and makes it cent percent safe. The steep scaffoldings were a challenge for me with unsure steps, a gravity challenging midriff and two poor rotator cuffs. But, without too much hassle I made it to the top of the Taraw Cliff which is the tallest cliff in El Nido at 250 meters.

It is considered by locals to be the best viewing point for the Bacuit Bay in the whole of Palawan. From atop the Taraw Cliff one can enjoy a stunning vista of the coastline all the way of the Bay. There are steel platforms at the viewpoint. It is a pity that it was cloudy; it did rain too for a while. The Bacuit Bay was layered in clouds and the waters were not the blue they should have been. Nevertheless, the panorama was stunning. The Bacuit archipelago is a formation of 45 islands, towering limestone formations, azure waters and lovely beaches. In fact, till 1954 El Nido was known as Bacuit.

The ever helpful Leon was at hand to assist with taking photos. The walk back was trickier than the climb because the scaffolding and leaves on the ground made the path slippery. One had to be extra cautious and Leon took special care of me. Leon told me that his parents were separated and that he lived with his aunt in El Nido. He is a daily wage earner with the Canopy Walk Company, being paid 355 PHP for a day's labour. He told me that he works 26 days a month to ensure that he and his aunt have a decent lifestyle. At the company office I took leave of him and started my walk back to the lodge.

It had been humid and my thighs did not support a steady walk. I happened to pass by one of many tour company offices when a young lady asked me if I would like to go on a tour. When I told her that I had been on two tours already she invited me into her office for a chat. The name of her company is Solidad de Amor. She was Solidad and her sister is Amor. Solidad told me that the name of the company meant 'Loneliness of Love'. She asked about India and marvelled at Indians' expertise with numbers. She offered me local bananas and insisted that I must take three, which would mean 'I love you'!

A short distance away I noticed the Portos Fiesta restaurant which promised superb local fare. I marked that for dinner and partook of a leche flan dessert. The flan was almost exactly like custard pudding, but thicker in consistency, made of milk, eggs and caramelized sugar and steamed.

Despite the unsteady legs I went on a long walk on the El Nido Beach. The number of hotels and accommodation along the beach were astounding. All of them seemed neat and tidy. Of course, at that time of the day, around 11 am, the beach was almost deserted as all the tour groups had left. It was quiet, save the lapping of the waves.

In the evening it rained heavily. I sat in the dining area of the lodge and sipped a drink, enjoying the breeze, the high tide and the beating rain. Romantic, to say the least. When the rain eased a bit, I made my way to the Portos Fiesta fortified by a raincoat. I ordered a San Miguel Light and a portion of Chicken Adobo. The restaurant was full, the food took quite some time coming and that must have cost the restaurant a few customers.

The typical Filipino delicacy, the Adobo served with sticky rice, was extremely tasty Chicken Adobo is a kind of Filipino chicken stew. Chicken pieces are marinated in soy sauce and spices, pan-fried and stewed until tender. The dish gained popularity because of its delicious taste and ease in preparation. Once that was done I took a small portion of coffee jelly as dessert. That rounded up my stay in this beautiful place, truly a paradise on earth.