In the Philippines - El Nido

We continued our journey north by minibus. Just as we departed from our accommodation in Port Barton to the "bus station", a beautiful thunderstorm started...

As a result, I got completely soaked, but still got on the minibus. It's a miracle that I didn't catch a cold because in every minibus in the Philippines, the air conditioning is broken and only blows freezing cold air. But the journey had more surprises in store for us. At the beginning of our trip, there were 8 people in the minibus and we had plenty of space. After the first hour of driving (about 3-4 hours in total), the driver stopped, asked us to get off, said something about an emergency, and directed us to another minibus... the only problem was that it was already full of tourists and luggage😬 After 10 minutes of rearranging, there were a total of 16 people in the minibus, the luggage was strapped to the roof, and one person (a local) even rode on the roof for 20 minutes😂

After a few stops and what felt like an eternity, we finally arrived in El Nido. Our accommodation seemed to be in a pretty "cracked" area of El Nido (but it was actually quite okay👍).

El Nido itself is just a small village, but it is more populated with tourists and offers more options for restaurants, etc. The Wi-Fi is just as crappy as in Port Barton😬 But there is a café called "Artcafé" that occasionally provides decent internet. That's where all the tourists hang out with their phones in hand, trying to get some data (just like me right now🤓)

The tourist machinery is in full swing here in El Nido. Someone wants to sell you something on every corner, and the TukTuk mafia is not bound by any cartel prohibition🙈

We also went on an island hopping boat tour. There are 4 different tours, each with its own highlights...you cruise through the South China Sea and visit various islands. It was pretty cool to land on small mini-beaches under huge cliffs in the middle of nowhere... it was quite an experience👍 Food was prepared on a small grill on the boat and we had a meal on one of the islands... overall, it was awesome! But there are not many options other than the 4 slightly different boat tours (okay, maybe a waterfall and a few more beaches).

Unfortunately, the beaches are a bit more crowded than our "home beach" in Port Barton, so I often found myself wanting to go back to Port Barton.

Yesterday, during the island hopping tour, I managed to pinch a nerve in my shoulder while foolishly attempting to climb a rock, and now I'm walking around like I'm wearing a neck brace😏 (but I already bought a miracle ointment!)

I think 2-3 days in El Nido would have been enough, and looking back, our accommodation in Port Barton was unbeatable, so it's hard to lower my expectations here. But the weather is tolerable with temperatures of 28-30 degrees, so I can't complain too much😜

Update:

On our last day in El Nido, we rented a scooter and drove to Napcan Beach, which is about 20 km away!

The last 3 km were again only accessible via a muddy field road, but we managed to make it in the end!

The beach was definitely worth it. White sand, light blue water, good waves, and not overcrowded!👍

After 2 rain showers, we decided to head back to El Nido "city center" after about 5 hours on the beach. Since the road was already extremely muddy and full of puddles, we knew that the ride back through the rain would not be any better.😬 And it wasn't... as soon as we started, it was a slippery ride through the mud😏

Eventually, we made it back to the main road, but the ride was still wobbly...during a pit stop on the side of the road, it became clear that it wasn't just the mud on that stretch, but a flat back tire that was causing the wild ride😀... As an experienced biker, I knew exactly what to do!... which was helplessly wave at a passing local to stop! And what can I say, the first TukTuk stopped, had an air pump, and immediately joined in the pit stop to help!👍

But the inner tube was completely ruined, so Anna got on the TukTuk (with 2 locals and alongside the cargo: fish, eggs, and who knows what else) and I followed the locals at a slow pace. After 10 minutes, we found a repair shop where they patched up a used inner tube (of course it had been repaired before, but it fit) to the scooter for 4€... Absolutely fantastic!💪

The inner tube held up for the remaining 15 km to El Nido. To wrap up our trip, we had pizza once more, and this morning at 7 am, we took a minibus (with only 12 people on board, so it was chill☝️) to Puerto Princesa, where we are now waiting for our flight to Manila, and then I will be flying back to Hanoi, and Anna will be flying back to Hungary...😬