El Nido means “the nest”. Its cliffs are the home of the bird whose nests are used in “nido soup” served by some of the most expensive restaurants. The nutrients it contains and the difficulty of getting it makes it very expensive.
Island hopping was made affordable by the operators under the supervision of the Department of Tourism. Islands are grouped into different tours – Tour A, B, C, D and E – from the closest group of islands to the farthest. If you are alone, no need to worry because tour operators can include you in their group so you don’t have to pay for the whole banca alone.
Me, Ron (hubby), Carlos and Christian off for Tour A
And that’s exactly what we did. We joined Carlos and Christian (both from Argentina), who also happened to be staying in La Casa Teresa to have Tour A. We paid Php 650.00 per head for 5 islands, inclusive of lunch. Not bad, right?
Inside the towering cliffs of the hidden lagoon
Our first stop: the hidden lagoon. We had to go thru a small passage to get inside the lagoon covered by the towering cliffs. Seawater gets into the passage during high tide and leaves some of its waters inside during low tide, thus forming the lagoon. Though there’s nothing much to see in the lagoon, the beach outside was very nice – white sand, clean and peaceful.
Exploring Shimizu island while waiting for lunch
After taking some pictures, we then went to the Shimizu island. The long and wide stretch of white sand made it a perfect place to relax and enjoy the breeze of the sea. While we were enjoying the crystal clear waters, our bankero was preparing our lunch – grilled pork chop and fish, and fresh cucumber and tomatoes. Yummy!
The Big Lagoon
Our next destination: the Big and Small Lagoon. The big lagoon was very accessible by motorized banca. The water was very clear. And I mean very clear! I could see the rocks and sea urchins below. Unfortunately for me, I can’t swim so I did not swim to the small lagoon. Therefore, I really couldn't say anything about it. (sad)
7 Commando Beach
The itinerary’s last stop: the 7 Commando beach. According to Kuya Rodgie, our tour guide, it derived its name from the 7 Japanese soldiers who took refuge in the island during World War II. This island also had long and wide stretch of white/creamy sand. There was a local store selling fresh buko juice, cookies and other munchies.
Refreshing buko juice
Minutes away from the sunset, Kuya Rodgie asked us to go back to the banca as he was taking us to a bonus island, which was not originally part of the itinerary. Although the island was not named, he said we would have a perfect view of the sunset. Indeed! Sunset – perfect!
I love sunset!
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