Seas The Day

Desperate to find a way to experience the beauty of El Nido without hundreds of other tourists in the frame, we did some research on camping on the islands. After fruitless discussions with tour operators that all seem to work together, we came across an Aussie who recommended us to a Frenchman in the neighboring Corong Corong Bay who had set up a sailing company.

Oswell is from the town of Brittania, the home of sailing in France. He was frustrated by the way the country was heading and emigrated to the Philippines. His company, El Nido Sailing, has only been in operation for a couple of months and we had an amazing experience due to his guidance, preparation and expertise.

Jel went on a couple of sailing camps through school when she was 12, Luke helped on a family yacht in his teens and our combined sailing experience was a little unreliable and rusty to say the least. We had a quick 1 hour lesson on the water on our small catamaran then we were on our way. A lack of initial wind and a bit of struggle grasping the ropes of sailing led to a frustrating couple of hours trying to get out of Corong Corong Bay, but once we had it figured out, it was a really fun experience. Our first stop was Inabuyatan Island, with striking limestone cliff faces, a small white sandy beach and apparently good snorkeling. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our snorkeling masks on the first day, but it was nice to get on dry land again, have a bite to eat and refresh.

The afternoon continued on in a similar fashion, with bursts of wind followed by calm (and Luke paddling). We had been warned about landing on the northern beach of Malbacau Island, and as per the warnings, we were met by a naked woman demanding to know why we were on her ‘private property’. We had left our water supply on land 6 hours earlier and luckily through Luke’s ability to keep eye contact and plead, we were able to leave with a bottle to quench our dehydration.

As with any travel overseas, to the ‘safest’ of destinations or otherwise, it is important to check your country’s travel advisories and embassy advice. For New Zealand, that is through SafeTravel, and the embassy advice provided has been really helpful in avoiding certain areas and keeping up to date with changes in security. At the time of our travel, there was no advisory in place for Palawan and we were confident to have avoided the conflict of the south. However, before departing, we received an update from locals on the area – El Nido had just been placed under ‘red terror alert’, with boats unable to be on the water after sunset, although the tourists wouldn’t know that and it was business as usual in the town centre, with just a few more security guards at the expensive resorts. This meant a small change of plans for our sailing itinerary, and instead of camping on an isolated beach for the night, we would be in the safety of a local village in a hut on the waterfront (accompanied by neighboring roosters of course).

Now that we have safely left the Philippines, the embassies have caught up with the warnings and advisories have changed. We loved the Philippines, and while every country has its security concerns, we highly recommend staying up to date with advisories before and during your travels.

We had a fantastic time preparing our BBQ tuna and salad on the beachfront, watching the sun set as we ate and rested. In the morning, our host (a Spaniard who is looking to set up a rock climbing business in the area), taught Luke to climb a coconut tree using the footholds locals cut into the tree as it grows. He made it look so easy without any ropes attached, and when Luke climbed with the belay it was a different experience to say the least.

Day 2 on the boat and we flew through the breeze southwards to a beautiful sand bar, with no other boats to be seen. It was our own piece of paradise, and we felt like experienced sailors at sea!

We made it back to Inabuyatan Island and this time enjoyed a quick snorkel. Part of the fun of sailing is playing with the patterns of the winds and the direction it takes you. The not so fun part is going in the opposite direction of the wind and we learned a great deal about tacking back and forth…sometimes you have to go sail the wrong direction to meet your objective. We were making slow progress back to Corong Corong beach when we were met with a monsoon rainstorm out at sea. Soaking wet and going no where fast, our Frenchman Oswell came to the rescue and towed us the rest of the way in just as the sun was about to set.

Arriving back in Corong Corong, we were exhausted, sick and sunburnt to a crisp! No matter how many times we applied our SPF80+ ‘very water resistant’ sunscreen, there was no way we were escaping the power of the sun from 16 hours on the water. Our one saviour was our super stylish sailing brim hats so our scalps escaped.

We took the shuttle van down to Sabang, which turned out to be a lot worse than our first shuttle van experience. With ‘max 90kmph’ signs all throughout the van, our driver was mental and insisted on driving over 100kph through torrential rain, winding roads and tight corners. It was a terrifying experience and one we would rather not repeat!

Sabang was our favourite town on Palawan (given it was only our second, it wasn’t too hard). Without internet in El Nido, we hadn’t had the opportunity to do a lot of research prior to visiting, but we were wonderfully surprised. Knowing it was the access way to Puerto Princesa’s Subterranean River, we thought it may have the same crowded, bustling tourist town vibe, but in reality it was a calm and relaxing place to rest for 1 night and we wished we had stayed longer! Our beach hut was a steal at just 500 pesos (10USD) for both of us, right by the waterfront and with massage tables just a stones throw away.

Most tourist do the Subterranian River tour as a day trip from Puerto Princesa, which makes for a long day, but staying in Sabang we were able to set off first thing in the morning and beat the crowds. Classified as one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World, the world’s largest navigable underground river is a UNESCO recognized site, and a really well set up tourism experience. It was a 15 minute boat trip from Sabang before we were ushered onto a smaller boat, handed our English commentary audio guides and led into the deep dark cave. With the exception of our guide crashing the boat into the wall of the cave and the fear of tipping out, it was a peaceful experience, with massive cave chambers, a lot of bats (and bat poo called guano), crystal clear water and an enforced ‘silence policy’. We were stoked to have had the opportunity to experience this natural phenomenon and it is definitely worthwhile when visiting the island of Palawan.

The Puerto Princesa airport is scheduled to open its new terminal next month, thank god. For that reason, our experience should be taken with a grain of salt if your are planning your own adventure there, as surely the new terminal will be a lot more efficient and enjoyable. We hadn’t realized ‘terminal development fees’ were still a thing, to pay for use of an inefficient airport and stand in yet another queue with 300 others to pay $4 each, before a third security check and nonexistant crowded departure lounge for a delayed flight. It was another turbulent AirAsia experience, and upon arriving in a massive thunderstorm in Cebu City, we were advised the airport was ‘very busy’ and there may be a ‘short delay’ in disembarking the aircraft. 2 hours later (midnight), we were finally allowed off onto the one bus they had sent for passengers, which evidently wasn’t big enough to cram a planeload of passengers on it. It was well after 130am before we got to bed, and we were stoked to have another week before the next flight.

We’ve actually made it to Singapore now, but will update you on our week on Cebu Island shortly!

Until then,

A Kiwi & A Cali xoxo