What I loved most about our stay in El Nido Miniloc, was the fact that it wasn’t just the resort; you’ll be taken to so many other places that are just as nice, if not more awesome. Once we got there on day 1, we just took our lunch, fixed up a bit in our cottage and off we went to our first activity: the Small Lagoon.
We took a 15 minute banca ride to the entrance to the Small Lagoon. It’s a cove in itself, and from the banca, we were to ride kayaks, since the entrance to the lagoon is a hole just big enough for a normal-sized person in a kayak to paddle through.
Once you’re inside, you’re transported to another world. It’s a peaceful little pool of paradise inside a crater, accessible only through that tiny hole. I was stressing so much if I should bring my camera on the kayak or not, but I did anyway. No picture could do justice to how awe-inspiring it was inside. Almost no sound, just the plunking sound of the oars hitting the water. Beautiful.
After that, we snorkeled for a bit and swam to a nearby beach, then when it was time, we went back to the banca and towed the kayaks home.
When we got back, it was time for an early dinner, then we turned in early as well for a big day, jampacked with activities, the next morning.
Day 2: The moment I got up, I grabbed a quick breakfast (which is always my favorite meal whenever I’m in a resort since I get to engorge myself on all the sinful stuff like bacon and sausages and eggs and buttered bread…), then took as many infrared shots as I could, since experience has taught me to shoot when the sun is out, because you’ll never know if mr. cloudy will spoil the rest of the day. Here are a couple:
Soon enough we were off on our island-hopping! First stop was The Cathedral, which is a quick peek inside a hole in an island. Not much to see there.
Then, we moved on to Snake Island. Basically, they call it Snake Island not because there are snakes there, but because the island is shaped like one.
It’s pretty nice because you have a beach on each side of the sand bar. We snorkeled for a bit, but it’s more a swimming beach, meaning almost zero corals to see, so it’s just sand dunes underwater.
You could actually hike up the island and see a top view of the place, which on paper is good for me since I bet it would’ve been a nice photo, but I wanted to spend as much time in the water as I could. Nothing like it! But eventually, everyone was coralled back into the boats and ferried off to lunch.
This is the part that I like. During lunchtime, the guests are divided into 2 groups, to be divided between the 2 other islands of the resort for a beach picnic! There are no cottages on the 2 smaller islands, just an eating area, lots of gorgeous white sand beach, and the beach activity of your choice.
First, we dropped off half of the boat on the first beach, Pangalusian Island:
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the place up-close because we were assigned to the other beach, Entalula Island:
Oh, but no one was complaining! The beach was AMAZING! It was white powdery sand that would give Boracay a run for its money.
We bundat-ed ourselves with the lunch, which was typical beach food, which involved a lot of ihaw-ihaw and other grilled stuff. After lunch, we walked around and let the food digest a bit before we went for our chosen activity: HOBIE CAT sailing!
Okay, it’s the one behind the kayak. That was a FUN ride. The manong sailor took us for a spin, and we had to hold on for dear life because there were times that the hobie thingy was practically perpendicular to the water! Okay, so it wasn’t life-threatening or anything, even if I fell, they’d just swing around and pick me up. Anyway, it was sooo much fun. I’d love to learn how to drive one of those hobie-majiggys.
Majority of the guest were honeymooners, so it was basically couples everywhere being all mooshy and stuff. Most were Koreans, with a spattering of Japanese, Aussies, Americans and Europeans. Everyone left each other alone, which was fine by me.
We asked to be brought back early enough to be able to join the sunset cruise at the end of the day. Basically, you just ride a banca, then wait for the sun to set, take photos, then head back. It was nice, watching as the ocean snuffs the light of the sun little by little, ushering in our final night on the island.
It was a beautiful sunset, which only highlighted the melancholy I suddenly felt at the thought that we were going home the next day. But I didn’t let that thought spoil our final evening. I was determined to enjoy what was left of a great vacation, and be grateful that I even got to go in the first place. I got to travel a lot when I was a kid because my dad paid for it. As a grown up, I don’t get to travel as much as I want, due to budget constraints. So I try to feel every twitch of pleasure that I could derive from the few vacations I get to take.
Day 3: Like I blogged the last post, the final day was not just rainy, but stormy. We went to Lagen Island for breakfast, after which the rain really poured in buckets. Instead of cowering for shelter, we decided to swim in the luxuriant pool and it was a heavenly experience. The water was actually warm and it was trippy to look up at the rains, framed by the staggering limestone cliffs that surrounded us. Wow. That was my single most favorite part of this vacation. Even the others decided to swim when they saw how much fun we were having.
By lunchtime we went back to Miniloc, with just enough time to pack, mope by the shore, then a funereal lunch. Our feet were so heavy because we didn’t want to leave the island.
We took one last dip in the house reef, swam with the school of meter-long jacks (talakitok), then called it a day.
Eventually, it was either we leave, or they call the police and drag us by the toenails. So we grudgingly boarded our boat and went back to the mainland. The airport was like a 5-minute walk from the shore. On the way to the airport’s waiting area, I saw a reflection of a tree in a mud puddle. It loved it because it looked like a window to another world. Very, through the looking glass, which is how my vacations seem to me.
But it was back to reality when I saw that plane land to fetch my sorry ass and deposit it back to the city.
Within an hour I was back on EDSA, stuck in traffic, horns angrily honking, like fanfare welcoming back a runaway son. Holidays like this, feed my deep-seated urge to retire on an island far from everything and everyone. It’s fueling my inner hermit, my inner outcast, that I’ve been trying to suppress all these years. So now it’s back to work, hopefully to earn enough money to go on another trip, to suspend, even for a couple of days, the daily grind.
The only thing that’s keeping me afloat is the thought that I have one more vacation before the year ends.
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