Port Barton

I had, thankfully, reserved a place as accommodation was somewhat limited in Port Barton. I had chosen Summer Homes only because they had a website and an email address. I spent three days wandering up and down the beach and I'd say it was one of the nicest places on the strip. I was paying 450 pesos ($11 CAD) for a room with my own bathroom, definitely a step up from the night before.


One of the first things I did upon arrival was wander down to the far end of the beach in search of the dive shop. A bit unfortunate for me, visibility was very poor so they weren't going out. Although disappointed, I was grateful as most other places would've taken your money with not much to see.

During a late lunch, we met a couple looking to go on a boat tour the following day. A four passenger boat willing to take five made out for a cheap tour ... so, back on the same boat we went. Dang took us to a few different spots for some (not so great) snorkeling. I could quickly see why there wasn't any diving.

Albaguen Island was a cool place. We had lunch and hiked 15+ minutes up to a small lookout tower. It allowed one a spectacular view.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday morning I found myself up with the sun. I always have trouble sleeping late when I know there's a whole beach outside my door. The tide seemed to come back in by 9am ... the hours prior allows one much more freedom of exploring around the bends.

One of the highlights of Port Barton was the food. Summer homes pumped out one amazing dish after another. Shame to say it wasn't local food ... most of it was Thai which didn't hurt my feelings any. Fantastic! The pizza from El Dorado is also worth a mention.

I had made the decision early Wednesday that I'd be leaving the following morning. My thought being that if I do return to the Philippines, there is a good possibility I won't make it to Palawan as there are so many islands of interest. I wanted to see El Nido and was still looking to do some diving.

Murray and Jasmine wanted to stay and relax in this beautiful piece of paradise. I started inquiring about options for reaching my next destination and it wasn't an easy task. Land travel seemed like the cheapest option for a solo traveler.


The three we'd met back in Sabang were also planning to leave Thursday. The four of us agreed to share a boat on the 4 hour journey to El Nido.

My last swim in the bay ended abruptly by a little boy beside me screaming ... he was stung quite badly by a jellyfish. He screamed for a good hour or two ... poor kid. I was a little intimidated by the water after that.

The boat was scheduled to leave at 6am. Electricity is only available from 530pm - midnight. Last minute packing with my headlamp made for an interesting way to end my time. At least I was leaving two friends behind had I missed something in all that darkness.