El Nido Accommodation: Hadefe Cottages

Hadefe Cottages became our home in El Nido for three nights. The resort is located in the far end of Calaan Beach, a 10 minutes walk from the town of El Nido, along side with other newly built resorts that offer seclusion and tranquility.

Unlike the typical hotels and resorts found in the town of El Nido, Hadefe Cottages have stand-alone bungalow huts that are well spaced out throughout the resort's property providing privacy to visitors. The seven stylish cottages are made with traditional materials giving them a less contemporary feel and rustic look. Most of the cottages have a private balcony too. And since they are off the town area, expect quietness, laid back and relaxing ambiance.


Caramoan: Cagbalinad Island

Cagbalinad Island was our second stop right after visiting Lahos Island. Travel time from Lahos to Cagbalinad took about 10 minutes. Cagbalinad is actually an islet with small beach that is swallowed by water during high tide. The sand was very fine and white and compact. In fact, we didn't see any footprints on the beach - a sign that no other visitors were here when we arrived. We had the beach to ourselves!

View of lush green mountain of Gota Island

Discovering Palawan's Jewel: The Puerto Princesa Underground River

After spending three nights in El Nido, it's quite sad to accept the fact that we were leaving this paradise very soon. The worst part of a great trip is to leave the place you fell in love with. We bade goodbye to El Nido but the good part was leaving to explore another Palawan's wonder - the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park - which is a natural world heritage site.

The entrance to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

Travel Photo Friday: The Monkey and The Tortoise


Yes, this photo reminds me of the folk tale our kindergarten and elementary Filipino teachers used to read to us in school. The Tortoise and The Monkey (Ang Pagong at ang Matsing) was a creation of Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, which reflects Rizal's affection and compassion for the youth. The story was also published in a London magazine in 1889. For those who haven't heard about or forgot this story already, you can read it here. :-)

Caramoan: Lahos Island

Lahos was the first island that we visited on our first day of Caramoan island hopping tour. Lahos island is part of the short trip since it's located along with other islands and islets in the southern part of Caramoan Peninsula. They are quite close from Paniman beach, which is one of the jump-off points for island hopping.

It was almost 12 noon when we left Paniman. The sun was on its highest and we couldn't wait to get in the small motorized boat. Kuya Ramil and his grandson were our tour guides slash boat men. En route to Lahos island, we enjoyed the scenic view of limestone karst and lush green mountains.


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