Philippines: paradise beaches and hammock time

We flew overnight to Puerto Princesa in Palawan. Palawan is a Philippine island. Unfortunately, we couldn't really sleep during the flight because the flights themselves were too short. We had to transfer multiple times, which prevented us from getting any rest. When we arrived at our accommodation in Puerto Princesa at 8 am, we were lucky enough to be able to check into our room right away. Time for some sleep.

Here in Palawan, there are no more tuk-tuks, but rather the so-called tricycles: Take a motorcycle and attach a homemade sidecar to it. The frame that surrounds it also serves as a resonator for the exhaust noise. The drivers must all be half-deaf and the motorcycles are severely underpowered. You can transport up to 6 people (including the driver). Strange contraptions.

From Puerto Princesa, we took the bus to El Nido. The road is very curvy and the drivers seem to be in a great hurry. So we raced north, avoiding school children, animals, and motorcycles, and we were quite exhausted when we finally arrived after 6 hours. Along the way, the bus stopped to pick up school children and other people who then got off a few kilometers later. Every time, it was slam on the brakes, open the door, close the door, full throttle. Traveling can be really tiring!

From El Nido, we wanted to do a multi-day kayak tour. From island to island, just by ourselves with some camping gear and enough food. But that didn't work out because the kayak rental companies no longer rent out boats for several days. It used to be possible in the past, but apparently there were too many accidents, so it has been discontinued. We were really disappointed because a travel report about this kayak tour by two world travelers was what ultimately motivated Marius to embark on this world trip. And now we couldn't "recreate" it. In addition, we were both sick with a cold. So there we were, feeling down and sick on the sandy beach under the palm trees in the hammock at 30°C in the shade, not knowing what to do. That's not fair! Our backup plan now included one or two of the offered island tours and at least one day of kayaking. Done deal.

Our first island tour took us to mega beautiful beaches, two caves, one of which is in the water, and the beautiful island of Pinagbuyutan. We could snorkel at some spots, which is highly recommended there. Finally, an intact coral world. Our mood improved again and the colds started to fade away.

In the second tour two days later, there were also a few beaches, but we didn't like them as much. It was just too crowded. However, our boat also visited a snorkeling area, which was really amazing. There were different depths, plenty of different fish, corals, and all with very good visibility. We also visited the "Big Lagoon", which can only be accessed by kayak. So we switched boats and paddled in. Again, beautiful clear water, steep cliffs, and a narrow tunnel cave that we could maneuver through. Great experience! Ben was also on the excursion boat: German, in his mid-50s, 190 cm tall, one-legged, and always spreading good cheer. If someone couldn't swim, Ben grinned and inflated his swim float with a Toy Story print and put it over his prosthetic leg. This gave the metal the necessary buoyancy and he happily snorkeled away. Back on board (or on land), he held onto us and lifted his thigh and prosthesis high to let the water drain out... he looked like a huge ballerina, a funny guy. We made plans for a shared dinner.

Our last highlight in El Nido was our 1-day kayak tour. From "Vanilla Beach", we paddled along the coast towards the south and then crossed the bay to Pinagbuyutan. We fell in love with the island, it has a great beach, snorkeling spots, and the beach is full of palm trees where you can hang hammocks. Plus, there are coconuts lying around everywhere. The inspiring world travelers stayed overnight here during their tour a few years ago, and a wonderful photo was taken. We set up our hammocks in the same place and enjoyed our island. Sometimes we were all alone there, only occasionally a few tour boats would come and go after 45 minutes. The only problem that day was the wind. When we crossed in the morning, it wasn't particularly strong, and the forecast said it would decrease as the day went on. However, it blew quite strong by noon. Fortunately, it actually became less windy in the afternoon, so we were able to paddle back to Palawan without any problems.