El Nido Tour A : Finding Out What the Fuss is All About

Blame it on the scenic El Nido Bay, we we're surprisingly up early, all geared up for our island hopping activity on our second day in Palawan.

El Nido @ 7am 

Hours before the usual 9 am trip to the islands surrounding El Nido, we strolled the streets downtown and busied ourselves with watching the tour guides load their boats with stuff they'd probably be needing for the island hopping tour. People watching at its best :)

Servant Tours was our chosen tour operator. The registration was a breeze , not to mention the very accommodating staff they had that briefed us about EDCF and also patiently answered our questions. A few minutes before 9 am, we boarded our boat and shared it with a solo Korean traveler and a French couple.

Helicopter Island 

First stop was the Small Lagoon. Lance briefed us with what to expect and informed us about the guidelines that should be strictly followed during the tour.

Almost there!

Though it was a Monday, there were already several boats in the docking area near the lagoon. We were instructed to swim towards the lagoon, which was approximately less than 50 meters. Lance called it "buwis buhay na paglalangoy."
                                        

I took my time swimming since I wanted to enjoy the experience. The lagoon was indeed small and what I liked about it was the sunlight passing through the jagged limestone formations. It was perfectly crafted. The underwater rock formations was also beautiful.

Small Lagoon

We headed to Big Lagoon where some of the scenes in Bourne Legacy was shot. Though boats were no longer allowed to dock, the clear blue green waters surrounded by limestone cliffs was picturesque. Now I understand why shooting a film here as big as Bourne Legacy was a no brainier.

Big Lagoon

Named after a Japanese diver, lunch was served in Shimizu Island. Lance and his crew cooked a festive meal for all of us. I had a grand time snorkeling, amazed with the marine life that thrived a few feet from the shore.

Shimizu Island

Dig in!

Abundant marine life in Shimizu Island :)

                                                                                  
Next was the Secret Beach. One has to carefully maneuver through a small hole to go inside. If waves are rough or the tide is high, boat operators would usually skip this part, but we were blessed and had the chance to see it. Water was shallow perfect for kids and non swimmers.

Teeny weeny hole.Our boat seen from inside the Secret Beach

They didn't speak as much English but one can truly feel
that they were really enjoying the tour.

Rain clouds started to form enroute the Seven Commandos Beach like it was brewing a storm.The island was named after the seven commandos that had their names etched on the rocks in the island. It started to drizzle and our other companions started to run to the nearest hut/store to seek shelter. We chose to stay beside our boat and play with the waves. It was crazy. I was still thankful though because even if there was a storm in Puerto Princesa, we were still blessed with sunshine the whole day.

I didn't have pictures taken in Seven Commandos because of the weather but was able to shoot this video. :)

With Lance signaling the others that it was already safe to head back to camp, we boarded our small boat, enthralled and full of pride to have finally been able to experience and also understand what the fuss is all about behind the  El Nido island hopping tour.

After dinner, we had the chance to watch local kids play soccer

You may also want to check out these articles about El Nido:

> Taking it Slow in El Nido

>  The Twin Beaches of Nacpan and Calintang

>Chasing the Golden Hour in El Nido

>Travel Guide : El Nido

>El Nido Budget