Woke up super early to catch the 7:00AM bus out of El Nido, Palawan. My next destination was Port Barton, a small village located in the town of San Vicente, Palawan. While waiting at the terminal for the bus to fill up, I noticed some of the passengers were taking a spot ON TOP of the bus. While it’s fairly common in the Philippines to see people toploading jeepneys/tricycles, it was my first time to encounter it being done on a bus. It didn’t take me long get my ass up there and try toploading a bus for the first time. Definitely the best seat on the bus if you’re looking forward to getting a sweeping view of Palawan’s scenic countryside.

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The late afternoon hours are a major part of my day when I’m traveling. I’ve already watched the sunset at Calaan Beach located past the northern end of El Nido town proper. To switch things up, I hopped on a tricycle (P10 fare) headed southwards to Corong-corong Beach. At first glance, Corong-corong seemed very laid back and looked more like a typical fishing village than a resort town. It’s a great place to go to escape the tourist crowd in El Nido.

Laid back Corong-Corong Beach

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Its day two of my El Nido island hopping adventure. I wanted go on “Tour A” this time. At around 9:00AM, Kuya Jason was ringing my phone … I was already running late and the group I was assigned to (for the day) were all waiting for me at the boat  … talk about a shameful entrance :( On the way to our first destination, I inescapably overheard group’s conversation … they mentioned meeting each other in an online forum. I immediately got curious and asked them about it. My suspicions were true, they were indeed fellow Pinoy Exchange (PEX) members… what a coincidence! “Tour A” took our group of 7 (Me, Ana, Fritzie, Jo, Cyril, Cyrus, and Nanay) to the most amazing lagoons and beaches in Miniloc and Shimizu Islands.

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Undoubtedly, the biggest attraction that draws tourists to El Nido are the picturesque islands sprinkled off its coast. I planned on staying in El Nido for at least two full days so I can indulge two different island hopping tours. There are a handful of organized island hopping tours in El Nido codenamed “Tour A,” “Tour B,” … C, and D. Each of these tours go around four to five spots in the islands. Even if you’re traveling alone, the boatmen will just let you join a group for the island hopping tours in El Nido. The tours are a whole day affair (picnic lunch included) with prices ranging from P500 to P900 per person. I read from everywhere that the best tours were A and C, so I booked “Tour C” first with Kuya Jason, my contact. I woke up at around 6:00AM, which was really early for my standards, I must have been very excited to finally go on the island hopping tour :)

On the boat approaching Cadlao Island

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The daylight was already starting to fade when I arrived in El Nido town proper. It took me a few months to prepare and plan my first solo backpacking trip to El Nido. Like most people, I was initially scared at the thought of travelling alone but I knew that I had to overcome this fear if I were to achieve my long term travel masterplans *evil laugh*. Palawan, was the perfect start since, other than being a very beautiful place to visit, it was already an established backpacking destination. After getting off the bus in El Nido, I couldn’t resist to urge to dash to the beach. I felt really good that I’ve survived the long journey … yey! My itinerary worked really well so far :)

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Here’s a little something I wanted to do during my trip to Palawan. I felt during the previous months that I haven’t growing as much as I’d like as a photographer, probably because I’ve shifted my focus on so many distractions. I need to inspire myself again and not succumb to the vacuous feeling I’ve been having lately whenever I get in front of the mirror, click the camera’s shutter, or take that first step out the door before a trip. For my Palawan Photo Series, I’ve stripped down my photos to black and white, back to basics … raw and natural:

Getting there is part of the adventure

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