Ending Happy with El Nido

Our short vacation in El Nido was coming to an end, and believe me, those days were not even close to enough to truly enjoy and explore this beautiful place.




For our last day, we opted to just have one last activity, snorkeling at one of the most popular underwater sites, Shimizu Island, named after its Japanese discoverer.


The island itself had a nice beach, though a bit on the rocky edge. Corals were abound just by the shore, and one doesn't even have to use a mask to see the beauty underwater. We were a huge group of 15, all armed with a pair of fins, masks and snorkel. We followed our dive master who guided us, especially the kids who were enjoying so much. I felt that it wasn't so spectacular though, I had better snorkeling in Samal, Cebu and Coron.


Nevertheless, it was a fitting end to our 3-day excursion. We went ahead of everyone, and had ourselves be brought back to the resort. In 2 hours, we would be riding our boat back to the airport.


I took a while to explore the rest of the resort while waiting. There were more modern looking bungalows facing the beach at the back of the resort.


Of course, there is a dive shop in Miniloc. I think the coral formations in Miniloc are better than in Lagen. We weren't able to dive, since we had no time.


We were off to the airport, riding back the same way we arrived. We were dropped off though on this rickety wooden jetty perched on a wide sandy beach. I looked back at the limestone rocks that hid behind the rain's mists. I promised myself I will be back.


El Nido Resorts
Ten Knots Development Corporation
Tel. No. : +63 (2) 894 5644


Again, Miniloc Island is the older one, cheaper and more family oriented.
Lagen Island Resort is luxurious, more for corporate clients and thus, more expensive.
El Nido Town also offers several resorts, with a range of accommodations. It is also easy to hire a tour boat from there. Most offer tours similar to other beach destinations in Asia, making it cheaper and easier for travellers to explore El Nido.

Comments

  1. Jona PanesaNovember 12, 2010 at 3:59 PM

    i'm starting to miss El Nido again. 5 days is perfect to visit all the islands. you should have seen the secret cave near matinloc and the hidden beach.

    ReplyDelete
  2. mineDecember 16, 2010 at 2:31 PM

    wow its amazing place,very very beautiful

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Us-Usan Island: Guimaras

Image
After having a pleasant lunch in Nagarao, we decided to hire a boat to explore the surrounding islands of Nagarao. There was this one island that the staff recommended, Us-usan Island. As soon as I saw a strip of sand glistening from a distance, I knew we were in for a treat. Us-usan Island. The water wasn't as clear though as in Nagarao and in most of Guimaras. The sand bar jutting out of the island seemed like a catwalk on the sea. This provided a nice swimming area for the island's visitors as well. We began to explore the island, hoping to circle it in less than an hour. The island has a narrow shoreline, probably because it was high tide. There were also foliage all around, so it was quite a struggle going around. We were treated though with amazing views of the sea. This tree was alone and offshore for around 100 meters. It was quite strange to see a single tree in full bloom in the middle of the sea. After 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at a mangrove area. There were
Explore...

JCO Donuts and Coffee

Image
Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin
Explore...

Legaspi Suites Hotel: Davao

Image
Legaspi Suites is the only boutique hotel in Davao. What makes it boutique is its size and attention to design and ambience. Legaspi Suites is located in a complex that was once an ancestral home. The landmark still remains in tact at the middle of the complex and a 4 story apartment building was built around it to house the hotel. Once you enter the lobby, you would feel that the hotel thought about its design, which is uncommon in Davao. I would think this would be normal in Cebu already, but in Davao, good design is still scarce. I got the cheapest room, a standard room for P1,600 since I was only staying for one night. The room was huge and very bare. I'm assuming this room was made simple because of the class. The rooms have different colors, as seen from their brochures. I passed by a suite room which was open, and I thought it looked charming. My room was located on the second floor beside the spa, so I had a view of the courtyard downstairs. I love this place because it had
Explore...