For the part 1, click here.

Day 4: Tour A

 

Breakfast was at Maa's Grill where they serve usual Filipino breakfast.
This time, we already have our things with us and will not be picked up for today. We went to the same spot for the passenger's list and waited for our boat. Most of the passengers where Filipinos and four male Dutch students, which the female passengers swoon over, and us. This time, we sat all the way at the back to keep us dry.

Apparently the clouds where not that good, it was cloudy and the wind was cold as if informing us that there is an upcoming Rain.

First stop was at the Secret Lagoon.

People are lining up for the entrance.

After the secret lagoon, as we were not allowed to stay for a long time since it couldn't accommodate a lot of people, we went out and had a stroll.

 

On our way back to the boat, I spotted this guy selling coconuts. So I asked to take a photo of him.

When we were in the big lagoon, we kayaked and noticed the small rain shower. 

 


After kayaking all over big lagoon, we went back to the boat.

We didn't know that snorkels are useful above water too. HAHA

Just when the boat was about to leave, mist showed up, the rain was strong, the wind was cold and it was hard to see. But the captain of the boat seemed unfazed with the situation. He was in control of the wheel and we were on our way to our next island.

And during our lunch, it rained again really heavily. We couldn't take a photo of the food as we had to find a place to keep our food from getting rain water.

All the tourists lining up and hiding under the rock formation to keep from getting wet as it was really cold.

 While me and Calvin were in the sea because the sea was so warm. We only got up when we had to eat.

We were snorkeling while they were preparing our food.

When we were in the small lagoon, Calvin and I decided to swim to the lagoon as paying for the kayak is too costly and we already spent money for it for the big lagoon.

Unfortunately we were not informed that it was the nesting season of fishes and the fishes there are more aggressive than the others. Calvin was the one who got attacked more often by the fishes, got bitten and we ended up not going to the small lagoon as we were afraid of getting bitten by more fishes. 

We just enjoyed diving near the boat and looking at the fishes.

We arrived back to El Nido at around 4 to 5PM this time. Went back to the hotel, took a shower, and went back to the streets to find dinner. We went to a pizza place we found the first night we arrived.

But it was disgusting. We did not like the taste of the pizza. The dough was not crisp and we were disappointed by it.
If you look at the photo beside the mango shake, the pizza dough doesn't even looked like it was cooked. Due to its thinness it became transparent and we thought it was good so we ordered one whole pizza for each of us.
It was so sad and we just went back to the hotel to rest.

It rained early in the morning and we were planned to go to the Taraw Ridge. Hesitatingly, we prepared ourselves to go there. The rain has stopped. It was my birthday too!

We went to the office, listed our names got our harness and helmet and we were off to go.

It was a bit of a difficult climb because we had to be careful not to slip and not to touch the sharp rocks.

When we were finally on the top we witnessed the beauty of El Nido. We saw the whole center and how it is composed with restaurants and houses and how big the school yard was.

When I and Calvin were alone as the guide watched the view by himself, Calvin suddenly proposed marrying me. However he couldn't kneel as the height scared him. And of course I said "Yes"!

Before the proposal. I thought he was just scared. But he was actually thinking.

After saying "YES"!

After we got down from the ridge, we had our breakfast at Art Cafe. The rain started to pour down when we were eating in the second floor. The restaurant was almost full and so we sat at the bar table and took our orders.

Chicken Masala. Because I just love their recipe for this. My new favorite food.

Calvin's normal breakfast with butter and jam.

Then we went the first floor to check out their kayaking rates but they do not rent it on the day since the weather seemed bad.

It was our kayaking day but we could not find another place to rent kayaks as others are still closed. So we just kind of walked around the shoreline in El Nido and just talked. It was not raining anymore.

Suddenly, we found kayaks, I immediately asked them if they rent out the kayaks and yes they do. It was cheaper for just half day use, 300 Php. We bought water nearby while the person was preparing the kayak. We paid him and took the kayak away. HAHA.

The local kids in the area helped us pushed the kayak without us asking them. It was fun to kind of play with them for a bit too. Off we went to our first island, the paradise island that looked like a sleeping woman. Snorkeled, relaxed, and swam.

Paradise Island

 

The hardest part was when the tours where going back as well since the wave were really strong.

Because it was my birthday, we had our dinner in ArtCafe once more and had prawns for dinner.
Dinner was lovely and yummy.

We were the first customers in this area.

 

Kinilaw

Salad

Seafood Basket

Prawns for me because I love seafood!

 

Walked around the area once more, bought souvenirs for family and friends and went back to the hotel.

Packed up our stuffs as we will get picked up by Lexxus early morning the next day.

Slept early and informed the caretaker about it so she told us to just leave the door unlock and the keys inside the room.

Our stay in El Nido was so good, though a lot of things are pricey which is bad for the locals, it was still a good place we wish to live forever if we can.
It was one of my dream destination that was why we went here for my birthday and the proposal it seems.
I totally recommend El Nido and as what the saying says "Once tasted, always wanted". El Nido has that kind of virus. I wish to go back to show it to my family and let them experience the beauty of nature that could not be justified by photos and videos we see on social media and on TV.

Summary of our Palawan Experience