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Thursday, December 13, 2012

El Nido Tour B



"All of a Sudden"

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Entalula Island (One of the Best)

7AM Woke Up. 8AM Breakfast at Skyline Grill. 9AM Assembly time at Servant Tours


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One of the Inland Tours

I booked my Tour C last night at Servant Tours, but due to Northeast Monsoon (Hanging Amihan) ,the water was not calm, and most of the destinations of this tour are located facing the West Philippine Sea ( an Open Sea), and it isn’t  advisable to go there and safety-first priority from the Coast Guard, All of a Sudden, All travel agencies canceled their Tour Cs (One of the Best Seller Tours).

I have no choice but to go with the flow and transferred to Tour B (Pinagbuyutan Island, Snake Island,Cudugnon Cave, Cathedral Cave, Entalula Island instead of Pangulasian Island)
*Composed of 4 Tourists (Irina from Belarus, Me, Dane and Eugene( One of the couples during my Tour A),2 Guides of Servant Tours ( Kuya Rogie and Darwin)




1st Stop: Entalula Island
*Named after Lola Itang
*Indeed the water was not friendly and also the Sun was  hiding during that time. 30 mins stay at the Island


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el mochila mio y roca grande


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Kuya Rogie, Bueno! Ahhh...You Know What!


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Private Owned Resort  of Entalula

 




Then supposed to be our 2nd Stop will be the Snake Island but we changed our route because of the wind and our next destination will be Pinagbuyutan Island.
*One Hell of a Ride. Big Waves. Windy. Scary ala White River Rafting Ride.Calling All Angels and Saints, Please Guide Us!,According to Kuya Rogie "Let's Play with the Waves" in Filipino, "No! Let's Go Back now!" I replied, But it was all reciprocated and well compensated when we reached the Pinagbuyutan Island. Ms. Belarus called it “Paradise”.

2nd Stop: Pinagbuyutan Island 
*One of my Favorites,Survivor Sweden: Tribal Area Only
*Lunch. Photo-Op.Swimming. Chit-chat with  Dane and Irina (Ms. Belarus) (Sharing her stories,her family, her travels in the Philippines for 65 days and etc.)



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It's a Paradise- Ms Belarus



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Other Tourists eating their Lunch


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Go Gene ( Best in Swimming!)

  





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Our Servant Tours Boat


Smooth Boat Ride. Calm Water. Thank God ( according to our guide, the weather is very inevitable here in El Nido,for a minimum of 2 hours it will changed everything)

3rd Stop: Cathedral Cave
*From Pinagbuyutan, we passed Lagen Beach Resort (One of the High End Resorts in El Nido)
* For Sight-Seeing Only
*Not advisable  to swim, the water is so deep and it is an open area (Safety First)


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Owned by Ayala Land


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Cathedral Dome Like Cave


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Sorry for the ROPE!

4th Stop: Cudugnon Cave 
*named after the early settlers : Cudug Tribes
*Used to be a Burial Site
*Entering the cave was a little bit challenging, Of course there was a Demo from Kuya Rogie


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Entrance and Exit of the Cave
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Where is MICKEY MOUSE? This is his Head!


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Natural Light of the Cave



5th Stop: Snake Island
*Why Snake? Because Snakes are abundant in this Island (Kidding Aside), Snake Like Sand Bar Form
*There is a Viewing Deck, Lunch Area for all Tour Bs
*It was already 3 PM, the sand bar was gone but still you can cross safely to the Big Island.
*We crossed the sand bar for 15 mins (One Way Only) due to water resistance
*There are communities at the Big Island (accd’g to our guide)


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Our Boat! There is the Sand Bar!


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from Snake Island's ViewDeck




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Sand Bar Traces


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Starting Point



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Let's meet Half Way - Coconut to Coconut




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Gene, Dane and Doggie


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Brave Doggie





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Dane, Fish Feeding! Not Dog Feeding! (Hehe)
 
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By 4.30 PM, Left the Island and Back to El Nido Town Proper, the Sea back on his Wrath. Resistance, Wind, Big Waves again. Oh Lord! What more if we continue Tour C with this kind of Weather, I might be dead now, Cause of Death:Heart Attack (Hehehe! Knock on Wood! Buyag !Buyag!)



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By 5.35 PM, Thank God for listening my prayers! Arrived at the port Safe and Sound.  Bye and Gave tip to our Guides. Bade Farewell to Dane, Eugene and Irina (See You on Facebook!)
Back to Hotel. Freshen Up. Rest for a While
*Went to Lexus Van Terminal (Along Calle Lisang,near the Basketball Court and Municipal Hall)confirmed my reservation for the earliest trip tomorrow by 5.30AM going back to Puerto Princesa.
*Bought my Souvenirs (Cheap and Discounted Prices/ Besides Servant Tours along Rizal Street)
*Dinner at IBR (24 Hour- Fast Food/ Restaurant).Walked along the Beach Shore. Packed Up.Called it a Day/Night!



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Made by Nitibos (Tagbanua- Original Settlers of Palawan)


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"We Have Beer as Cold as Your Ex-Girlfiend's Heart"- Waterhole Bar
"She got her Mens, Come to us We Don't"- Waterhole Bar


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My last night staying along the Shore!

Expenses for the Day

-Breakfast (Skyline Grill)- P100
-Water/ Snacks – P50
-Dinner (IBR)- P100
-Souvenirs – P400

Day IV: Goodbye El Nido For Now! I Shall Return!


Woke Up by 4AM. Packed Up. Breakfast at IBR. Back to Hotel. Very Early Checked Out. Lexus Pick-up by 5.15 AM

*Lexus Van Passengers ( Me and the Driver are the only Pinoys, the rest are Foreigners. I slept the whole time. Oplan “Iwas Nosebleed” Hahaha)
*Arrived at Puerto Princesa by 11 AM. Dropped me off at City Coliseum and Bought my Baker’s Hill Hopia at Eastville City Walk’s Puregold. Had a Relaxing Massage at Nuat Thai (Near City Coliseum).Lunch.Tricycle to Airport
*My flight was 525PM, Im so early at the airport (No Free WIFI) Boring!, That’s why I took a Nap. Checked In by 3.25PM. Bye Puerto Princesa by 6.50 PM (Wow Delayed Flight! Kala ko bound to PORTUGAL ang flight ko!)



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Expenses for the Day

Breakfast (IBR)- P100
Van (Lexus)- P500
Meal (Fort Wally Stopover)- P80
Lunch (Carinderia)- P65
Massage (Nuat Thai)- P400
Pasalubongs (Baker’ Hill Hopia)- P300
Tricycle (Eastville City Walk – Airport)- P30
Terminal Fee(Puerto Princesa Airport) – P40

I promised to myself that I’m going back to El Nido for the remaining Tours C,D, and Inland Tours. Again, Palawan you didn’t disappoint me! Indeed ,You are the Last Frontier of the Philippines!
Capping my 2012 Travels here in El Nido! See You Again Next Year for more GoMiguelGo Adventures! Watch out! :-)

6 comments:

  1. aaww, ang ganda ng entalula at pinagbuyutan. now i regret skipping tour B.

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    1. yup,chyng.di bale puede naman bumalik next time. thanks for dropping by! :-)

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  2. Finally! I was looking into blog posts re: tipping in the Philippines. We're on our way to Palawan (Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron) and was wondering how much to tip tour guides, boat men, drivers, waiters, etc. Can you tell me the acceptable amount to give to tour guides, let's say for the island hopping tour? Is it per guide/boatmen, or given collectively? Unlike Manhattan, where we're expected to add 15% in tips, it seems that there's no hard and fast rule about tipping in the Philippines. Can you help me? I don't want to unintentionally offend anyone. Thanks!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Tipping in the Philippines is not a big problem. Filipinos are very appreciative whatever amount(tip) you'll give them. For example, during our island hopping tour, We gave P150 for both of our guides and they're very happy and grateful. In Philippines, tipping P50 to P100 is enough or it is up to you how you're satisfied from the service rendered. Enjoy El Nido and the rest of Palawan Alexa!

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    3. Thanks, Miguel! Very helpful. Can't wait for my El Nido trip in a couple of weeks. Heading to Boracay in a few. Saving El Nido for last!

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