Friday, July 5, 2013

Underworld: Exploring El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

Last June, I went to El Nido, Palawan together with eleven other friends hence the name "Cheaper by the Dozen Gang Adventure". I was really giddy and excited days before our much awaited barkada (friends) trip. But a day before our scheduled travel date, it was reported on the news that the weather will be rainy due to an upcoming storm. I felt worried that we won't enjoy the beach and the island tours because of continuous heavy rainfall. I am a beach lover; I love the Sun, Sand and Sea but how are we gonna enjoy every bit of it when weather doesn't cooperate? Then I sadly said to myself, well I guess this is one of those not so lucky trip and just see what things we can do in the island. 

But contrary to my expectation, it was one AWE-INSPIRING travel. We explored some of El Nido's islands during the two-day tour (TOUR A and C) and had a wonderful experience UNDERwater eventhough it was raining hard. 

No BAD weather can stop us from exploring the beauty of nature. Philippines really has a lot of amazing places and surprises. I just felt so lucky to be a local in a place with 7,107 islands. Below are some of the shots I took during our snorkeling adventure and I was just so speechless with every snorkeling spot we visited. In my opinion, the lime formations in El Nido were like those in Halong Bay, Vietnam but the world under is incomparable. I just hope the local government can support and maintain the beauty of the marine life. 
The whole UNDERWORLD experience reminded me of my scuba diving certification (PADI) dream once again,maybe someday soon. 

Oh, Hello there! Mr. Patrick trying to play HIDE and SEEK.
This is my favorite starfish color. 
Look out! Sea urchins on the loose. 



They also have a flower underwater. Corals everywhere. 
Corals looking like mushrooms.
Can you spot the star? 
Very tricky to touch them, they swim so fast. 
School of Fish.
Had a hard time following this rainbow colored fish, glad I was able to have a shot even far away. =)
Oh look, another one. The closest shot I can get. haha. If only I am a good swimmer. 
Oh, NEON! It's Definitely a colorful world down there.
Because I just can't get enough, more shots of these beautiful creatures. 
Ooooh they look so different Under and Out of water.
More of them swarming under our boat, can they sense food? haha. 
One happy lady enjoying her underworld experience. Once again, i felt one with nature. It was one overwhelming and HAPPY heart experience. And yes, once again I am not a good swimmer. Thank you to the person who invented life vests because of you I was able to conquer the underworld once again. Yes, we just need a little bit of courage to do what we want.

How to get there:

You can ride a plane from Clark or Manila bound to Puerto Princessa, Palawan. From PP City, you can ride a bus or van going to El Nido which will take 5-6 hours land travel. There are also chartered planes from Clark or Manila direct to El Nido (around 1.5hrs travel) but are costly. 



Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Where in the Map am I?

I was so busy during the first quarter of this year and wasn't able to write much blog about the great places I've been the past months. Upon browsing them, I just felt so guilty not to share even some sneak peek of the places I've seen.

I hope I can find time soon to write all the extraordinary experiences I had. For now, let me give you some teaser of where my happy feet brought me. 

Can you guess where these amazing places are? 

Can you also spot the similarities in all of the photos?