Capones Island, Camara Island and Anawangin Cove

Capones Island on the left, Camara Island on the right.

Eager to bury my feet in the sand and plunge in the water, we sailed away to the nearby beaches of Capones Island, Camara Island and Anawangin Cove. The two islands are visible from the shores of Pundaquit, about 15 minutes away. Anawangin, on the other hand, is about 30 minutes away.

Our first stop is Capones Island. I was pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful white sand beach and turquoise waters of this island. Definitely better than the Pundaquit beach. Unfortunately, there are no resorts here so most of the people just visit for a few hours coming from Pundaquit. There were few tents in one corner so it might be allowed to camp out in the island.

That French Restaurant in El Nido

That French restaurant in El Nido is called La Salangane. Salangane is pronounced as sa-lang-gan.

This restaurant does not try hard to be a French restaurant. It just is. There is an authenticity to everything, from the menu, the decor, the staff and the food. The one page menu is French on one side and English and Chinese on the other. Soon, I realize that French is the primary language in this place.

Flavored rums sold by shots or by the bottle

When we arrived, the house is full. We ordered drinks and appetizers, while waiting for a table and deciding what to have for dinner. Looking around, the map hanging on the wall is in French. I browsed at the books and magazines and they're also in French.

The (Perfect) Alternative

The Alternative is a beachfront bar and restaurant located at El Nido town. The main attraction of this place is the unique seating available to customers called tubs.


The tubs are like round daybeds that have a low table in the middle. Around the table, the tub has a cushion and a couple of pillows, which makes it perfect for lounging after a day of touring the Bacuit bay.

There are two tubs facing the beachfront. Each can accommodate four. The two other tubs at the back are bigger and can accommodate up to six.

Being at The Alternative feels like being in a tree house. It helps that the restaurant is elevated, but also because everything is made of wood or natural materials and plants are everywhere.

El Nido Island Tour Day 2

Another morning in paradise…

For the second day of our tour, we already know thedrill. We wait for the boatmen to load things we'll need and made sure we rented a kayak for the day. The sky out in Bacuit Bay seems dark and cloudy, but we hope it won't rain on our El Nido parade.

Today’s tour is also known as “Tour B”. The sites we'll go to are farther away from the main island. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the Cathedral Cave, our first stop. We whiled away our time by asking each other what figures we can make out of the different islands and rock formations.

El Nido Island Tour Day 1

the El Nido sunrise

Our second day at El Nido marks the first day of our two island tours. The morning  was bright, sunny and filled with excitement. Countless boats lined the beach, swaying to the waves, ready to whisk away  passengers to paradise. On the shore, tourists kept busy doing what tourists do, as boatmen and guides get ready for another day at the office. I'd love to call this place my office.

Just like in Puerto Princesa, tours are already organized and you'll see similar choices in the different tour organizers. For today, we're going on what they call Tour A (they weren't very creative with the names), which includes Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Simizu Island and 7 Commando. The tours usually start at 9am and ends between 4pm to 5pm. If you avail these tours, it would also include lunch. Rates range from Php700 to Php1200 per person.

Public tours are available for those traveling alone or small groups. It would be better to arrange private tours though so you can control the time spent on each place.

Journey to El Nido

I'd like to say our travel to El Nido is smooth sailing, but it's not. Our long and bumpy journey to El Nido started in Puerto Princesa, which is an hour flight away from Metro Manila. There is 237 kilometers of land separating El Nido from Puerto Princesa. From the capital of Palawan, we traversed highways, snaked through mountains, passed different bodies of water and stopped for check points so many times that I already lost count (our guide says this is normal, just a precautionary measure).

Whenever we'd see a body of water, we hoped we're already close. Sleeping in the van is difficult because most of the roads are not yet cemented(or under construction) or you're swayed (not lightly) to the zigzagging roads up or down a mountain. I haven't ever had motion sickness from any kind of transportation or theme park rides, but this trip, I almost did.

A Day in Davao City

If you have one day to spend in Davao City, here's my suggestion on what to do, places to visit and food to try:

7:30am: Breakfast at your hotel. It's the most convenient way to go. There's a ton of choices for a place to sleep in Davao City, from luxurious to the affordable. Dormitory-type hotels seems to be popular. This will fit the bill for those travelling in big groups on a tight budget. From less than Php1,000 to as much as Php6,000.

8am: Grab a taxi to Crocodile Farm. From the city center, Crocodile Farm is about 45 minutes away. Taxis are abundant in the city and drivers are honest so no need to worry about getting tricked. It will cost about Php150 from the city center to Crocodile Farm.

Turn Back Time at Claude's

When I met with my friend E on a recent visit to Davao City, she brought us to Claude's Le Cafe de Ville for dinner. Of course I've read about this restaurant, having done my usual research before travelling to a new place. E said it's the only nice restaurant in Davao City. She must know, she was born and raised in this Southern city famous for durian fruits.

Claude's is located at the city center in an ancestral house, previously owned by the first mayor of Davao. They actually recently transferred there from their original place across the street. My friend said people were wondering why Claude's would transfer to this haunted house. But after the restoration, the old house was transformed to a charming early 20th century home, as it would look like when it was first constructed.

Pearl Farm Resort Part 2: Beach, Pool, Food and other good things at Pearl Farm

It's been a busy month of April for me, so it's only now that I've made a follow-up on my first post about Pearl Farm Resort. (Read Part 1 here.)

Pearl Farm has two beach areas, the Maranao and Mandaya beach. Maranao beach is short, about 200 meters, but it's the better one of the two. The sand is fine by the cabanas, but will get rocky closer to the sea. It gets better though as you go into the clear turquoise water. The Mandaya beach, on the other hand, does not look suitable for swimming. It's so rocky that we didn't dare try to go in the water.

Pearl Farm Resort Part 1: Pearl of Davao

Pearl Farm is located in the Kaputian District of Samal Island. It is one of, if not the most expensive resorts in Samal Island. The picturesque view from their Maranao Beach is of the emerald green waters of Davao gulf, the white sand beach of Malipano Island, back dropped by Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines.

To get there, Pearl Farm has it's own wharf called Marina, which is just a few minutes from the airport and a good 30 minutes from the city center. Marina in itself is a hotel. There are rooms, a pool and a restaurant.

Return to Nature at Eden Nature Park

One of the perks of working in the corporate world is sometimes you get to go to places for business. Although if it's just a short trip, there's usually only a few hours of personal time. On this trip in particular, most of the personal time we got was just for sleep (and it's not even enough sleep for me!). It's still nice though to be able to get out of the office on what should have been a regular work day.

 Our first two days was spent up in the mountain at Eden Nature Park. Their tagline, "return to nature", is perfect because you'd feel like you're in the middle of a forest inside the resort. Amazingly, they say most of it is actually man-made. It's the owner's private garden and vacation house before it was opened to the public.

Coron Part 3: Coron Island Tour (Nemo Found!)

On our second day in Coron, we were scheduled to have the Coron Island tour. According to our tour guide from Be Cool Travel and Tours, it would normally cost Php1200 per person for the whole day tour (from 9am to 5pm) with lunch. Since it was already included in the package we got, we didn't have to worry about this. Our tour guide and boatman were very nice and helpful throughout our trip, unfortunately, I can't remember their names (I'm so bad with names!).

We were picked up at the resort at around 9:30am. After some introductions, we got on our way to our first stop, the Marine Sanctuary. You can rent snorkeling gear from them for Php150, which you can use for the whole day. It's better to bring one of your own though or just use goggles, if you like snorkeling, just to be on the safe side.

Coron Part 2: Mount Tapyas and Maquinit Hot Spring

On our first day in Coron, we arranged to go to Mount Tapyas and Maquinit Hot Spring. Our resort got tricycles to bring us to these places and where ever else we wanted for around Php100 per person. A maximum of 4 persons can ride in one tricycle. Although more people can actually fit in it, that would make it a difficult climb to the foot of Mount Tapyas.

Our first stop is Mount Tapyas. It takes 700+ steps to climb to the top. What's there? Well, according to our pseudo tour guides (they're really just kids selling bottled water), you can see a good view of the Coron islands and Culion islands, the historical leper colony. I would just have to take their word for it because I wasn't able to climb all the way to the top.

Coron Part 1: Dive Link Resort

Coron is on the northern part of Palawan Island, famous for its rock formations, beaches and for divers, shipwrecks and rich marine life.

Our flight from Manila, although scheduled for an hour, landed in Busuanga airport 30 minutes earlier. Upon exiting the small arrival area, you'd see a number of tables outside, where different resorts have setup to welcome guests. It is highly advisable to make your reservations before arriving in Busuanga because I noticed the area was almost deserted once all the tourists have met up with their resort. Another reason is I don't think there's any public transportation from the airport to Coron town.

We went straight to Dive Link's table, where a friendly staff welcomed us and patiently answered some of our curious tourist's questions. The ride to Coron town, where most of the hotels and inns are, is 30 minutes from the airport. From the port, there's a 10-minute boat ride to get to Dive Link.

Diniwid Beach Part 3: Nami Private Villas and Spider House

As I’ve mentioned on my previous post (found here and here, there’s a good selection of lodging in Diniwid. From high-end, mid-range to the unique, there’s definitely something to suit different travelers. We stayed at Orinda Boracay, but I was able to take a peek at other options.

Diniwid Beach Part 2: Orinda Boracay

There are not a lot of choices for lodging in Diniwid, but I think there’s a good selection that can serve different tastes and budget. We stayed at Orinda Boracay. It’s a simple resort/inn, fronting the beach with courteous and well-trained staff.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were given bottled water, asked to sit and register to check-in. In only a few minutes, we were already given our keys, a piece of paper containing the password for the wifi and the shuttle service schedule to D’Mall with the driver’s cellphone number. We were also told what time breakfast is served and that we can have it in the room, at the dining area or out front by the beach. I thought it very professional, organized and thoughtful of them to already give all these information upfront.

Diniwid Part 1: Alternate Boracay

If you’ve been going to Boracay for at least once a year for the last few years, raise your hand. If you’re raising your hand, you’re probably one of the beach lovers who: A. knows Boracay like the back of your hand. B. Logs Boracay as your hometown in Facebook. C. Dreams of moving there for retirement, or move there. Period.  You’ve definitely stayed in a couple of different hotels, resorts, inns in the island, probably in White Beach.

Sand, sea, sky at Diniwid Beach, Boracay Island.

A close look at Diniwid's sand.

I’m guilty of that. For some reason, on my past trips, I’ve always stayed on White Beach. So for my trip last November, I browsed the web for other options and got interested on Diniwid Beach. It looks just like White Beach with its fine white sand, blue crystal clear water
and wide-open blue sky. The similarity with White Beach ends there though.