Three of us wandered up and down the main strip looking for accommodation ... pickings were slim and not cheap. I settled on a place that ran me 750 pesos ($18 CAD) a night. Still no hot water, even at that price.
El Nido's beach didn't compare to Port Barton's. After a shower and lunch, the four of us booked a boat tour out the following morning.
As we pulled out of the bay it was hard not to notice the jellyfish swarming the water. They had to be about 30cm, maybe more, in diameter ... no swimming in El Nido for me.
The small lagoon was beautiful ... one has to swim through a hole to enter. I spotted a moray eel. My friends caught a glimpse of a baby shark ... I wasn't so lucky.
The big lagoon was very impressive and huge! I followed the wall of the lagoon around, the middle being this extremely deep dark pit. It was a little scary at times especially with the jellyfish scattered about.
We stopped for a beach BBQ and more snorkeling. After lunch it was off to the secret lagoon. We had to wade out into the surf and climb through a hole in a rock. A pretty cool place but, perhaps, not so secret.
I was scheduled to go diving the following morning. I awoke to gray storm clouds and howling wind. As I was making my way to the shop I stopped to talk to this guy about buying a bus ticket. He kind of laughed at me when I told him I was going diving ... not a good sign.
Diving was canceled. Again, it didn't turn out to be so bad as myself and the other three travelers spent the day walking the streets, climbing hills, looking for things of interest. We found a trail that looped around for ages ... waves crashed into the walls making it quite obvious why the boats weren't going out. This trail reminded me in every way of the Vancouver Sea Wall ... a place I certainly miss.
Soon after, I wished my new friends well in their journeys and hopped a 6am "Charity" bus back to Puerto Princesa ... a nine hour journey ... so I was told ...
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