Friday, January 17, 2014

Finding my own little patch of paradise

After Loudine's early morning departure it was time for me to do some exploring on my own. I didn't really have any plans for the day but thought I should see what I could do in El Nido, sans money.  Each time we ventured out on a boat I noticed that there was somewhat of a walkway around the coast to the northeast, so I decided to explore.  The path led through some more remote resorts, nestled in amongst the local villages. I got a fair amount of stares, but let's be honest when doesn't that happen in Asia, as I passed by resorts, shops, houses and even a quaint little cemetery. I wanted to keep going along the trail and see how far it would take me, but my stomach thought otherwise.

Random pontoonish boat

 I made my way back to town for a much needed breakfast, and eventually found myself back at Sea Slugs, our spot from a few days before.  This time though, I opted for the American version of breakfast, which was equally as delicious. Before returning to Sea slugs I made a stop at The Alternative and considered hanging out in one of their 'nests', but a combination of the high prices and scorching sun made me think otherwise. After breakfast I stopped by the Art cafe to exchange my book at their awesome book swap, and look into tickets for the boat to Coron, but that's a whole other story.

Elaborate graveyard 

Nice little private beach, i'll be back 

Trying to be artsy? 

Abandoned ship

Version two

The Nest at The Alternative 

Art Cafe book swap - for those of us without E-readers

View from the Art Cafe

I wanted to get back to my beach and explore more of the island so I bought a few snacks, packed up my bag and changed to tennis shoes. I'm sure a few people remembered me from the morning and wondered why I was roaming through their village again but I didn't mind, they were still greeting me with friendly smiles. I got past the secluded beach I saw the first time but decided to keep going, I guess this was as close as I was going to get to hiking for the week.  The scenery was gorgeous. forests to my right and the sea to my left; what made it even better was that there was no one else around. I found a quiet little place nestled in amongst the rocks and sat down to delve into my new book which made for a perfect afternoon. 

My reading nook

Not the best quality, but I had that beach to myself 

Selca, sometimes it just has to happen

Usually when i'm traveling I make it a point not to return to the same place/restaurant twice but Blue Azule was calling my name. I had actually promised the owner and waiter that i'd be back so I kind of had to go.  I almost ordered the same thing but didn't want to go that far so this time I opted for the falafel burger which was equally as delicious.  The waiter seemed to want to talk to me the whole time but our conversation never got very far, eventually I left, made my way back home and called it a day.

The next day I was planning to take the boat to Coron but after reading some colorful reviews I decided to cancel my ticket and spend another day relaxing on the beach. I really wasn't sure if I was going to take the boat on Wednesday or not but didn't want to get aboard the Jezebel that day. If you recall from my last post, boats and I don't have the best track record as it is, so I didn't want to jump aboard one with a poor history, including at least one incident of sinking.  Instead, I devoted some quality time to the beach, my book and my tan.

Back to my spot from the day before, a little yoga action may have happened there

Oh, hello friend

Fresh fruit shake stand, I miss you

Later that afternoon I decided to suck it up and buy my ticket for Coron the next day, worst case scenario our boat goes down and I have to float in the middle of the ocean for a few hours.  I then spent my final evening in El Nido relaxing on the beach.  I caught my last sunset and also observed some really, really smart people as they attempted to board their boat for, what i'm assuming, was a sunset cruise. Honestly, people watching is the best form of free entertainment, you would have thought these people were the wicked witch of the west the way they were trying to avoid the water. You're in El Nido and going on a boat - why are you wearing long pants?!

Last sunset on the beach 

Thanks for the entertainment^^

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