This little town in the province of Palawan and its majestic limestone cliffs, rising straight up from the roiling sea, had captured my imagination for as long as I can remember. This had always been my dream destination in my homeland. Finally, I was here to see it for myself.
For once in my life, I treated myself and booked a water cottage at the posh El Nido Lagen resort. The unforgettable experience started back at a private airport in Manila where we got on a chartered flight, and continued as we rode the resort’s customized jeepney through town. Along a winding dirt road we passed farms watched over by scrawny cows, delicate huts that were homes to families, and sari-sari stores with ropes of cracker nuts dangling in their windows. It made me terribly aware of the contrast in lives between these farmers and fishermen and the more affluent visitors just around the corner.At the edge of town, I had my first look at El Nido’s limestone cliffs -- a sheer face towered a hundred feet right behind a nearby row of houses and fishing boats! Mouth still agape, I was handed my life vest, and my luggage taken on another vessel. I would see them again in my room, I was told, and I didn’t doubt it. We boarded what our local friends called a “small boat” which took us farther out to sea where we transferred -- via balancing act and a lot of helping hands -- to a “big boat,” which could probably take 20 people. On the “big boat,” we cruised for about half an hour through Bacuit Bay towards our resort on Lagen Island.
Sticky salt water splashed on my face, and my hair was plastered to my head by the wind as we sped across the water. I sat and gawked as the landscape turned truly astonishing. Dozens of islands seemed to have randomly sprung from the water, all of different shapes and sizes. Some beckoned me with white sand beaches lined with countless coconut trees; others were made of bare rock at which the pounding waves continued to eat away. But what was truly jaw-dropping were the vertical cliff faces jutting out of the water straight up into the sky for a hundred feet or more.Soon we were approaching El Nido Lagen, a resort built within a huge island cove, with its main lodge guarded by thick rain forest covering a three-hundred-foot-high hill. Again, we were helped into a “small boat” to enter the cove, and we glided on clear, shallow water into the property. For a second time, I was welcomed by cheerful, singing faces, was offered drinks as I checked in, and then given the key to my fantastic cottage over the water. And yes, I was reunited with my luggage.
The rest of my stay was even more impressive than my first day. The resort’s seemingly costly rates turn out a bit more reasonable when you consider what’s included: three buffet meals daily and personally assigned snorkeling equipment are just the beginning. Take your pick from a plethora of outdoor pursuits: kayaking, guided hiking, rock climbing, beach volleyball, island hopping, cave exploration, and more – all included in their daily rate. Other activities such as scuba diving and use of motorized equipment such as a hobby cat are also available for an additional fee. And if you don’t quite know what to do, guest coordinators are always on hand to tell you about any and all activities and their schedules.
Being a lover of the outdoors, I filled my four-day visit with as many adventures as I could. I first took a guided hike on Lagen Island on the Monkey Trail, which goes up a steep hillside through the humid rain forest, and emerged on the other side of the island on an isolated cove draped in the lightest sand. And what better way to return to the resort than by kayaking around the isle’s splendid cliffs right back to my water cottage?I had heard of the famed Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon and eagerly got on a boat to explore them. Indeed, they did not disappoint: gliding through these waters was one of the most intimately breathtaking encounters with nature that I have ever experienced. Our boat sailed along some of the shallowest water in the bay, with towering walls mere dozens of feet from us. At the small lagoon, I got on a kayak and bumpily maneuvered the craft through a skinny keyhole made of rock. There were rumors of an old shark in these waters, but I did not see it. I paddled around the weirdly-shaped lagoon, surrounded on all sides by what else but walls of limestone with the most tenacious of plant life sticking out. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
The next day, I joined an island hopping tour where I explored a cave, hiked to the top of an island, had a buffet lunch at another island, took a 30-minute siesta by the beach, and sailed out to walk on a sandbar in the middle of the sea. Finally, my last hurrah was an hour of snorkeling through El Nido’s warm, clear waters that is home to eye-popping corals and colorful fish that stunned me with their beauty and drew my first underwater gasp of awe.
On my last day, my guide Dennis (whom I had grown quite fond of) yelled at me “Ma’am Cy!” and waved goodbye from the pier. I waved back, overflowing with joy and gratitude. Our welcome party became our farewell crew as they, too, waved goodbye from the cove, and we sped away, returning the gesture until they disappeared from view. I took a good hard look at the towering limestone cliffs of my dreams, burning their images into my brain as we flew between islands.
We approached the pier and for the first time in three days, I heard the roar of a car engine.
The dream was over.
