The Lord was right. Driving can be addicting. Who knew that I’d actually miss the whole underwater experience once I get back to the city: the way I nervously sank into soft blue waters, air tank snapped to my back, goggles on my eyes, and mouthpiece securely in place to ensure breathing. The way I clung tightly to the dive master, knowing fully that my life depended on it. I can’t after all, swim.

And – and this is the magical part (or so I think) – after coughing copious amounts of seawater, I finally learned the secret to breathing, leading to some of the secrets of el Nido’s waters.

Ok, so I was only able to reach three feet out of the requisite five during the introductory dive lessons, and I want another ahead of myself. Let me begin from the beginning of my El Nido summer adventure.

El Nido – or “the enst” in Spanish – is located northern part of mainland Palawan. The small islands surrounding it, however, are where the best beaches are.

The place you want to be in is El Nido Resorts, which are two islands accessible through motorized boats from the El Nido Airport. Mimiloc, which is 40 minutes away; and Lagen, which is 50 minutes away.

Miniloc: More than a resort

Knowing how boat rides tend to make me sleepy, a friend advised me to stay awake as the boat neared Miniloc. “It’s like Never Never Land,” she said. So I did. I wasn’t sure how Never Never Land was supposed to look like, but seeing a startlingly white stretch of sand dotted with palm trees and wooden cottages at the foot of a rocky mountain excited me.

Our shuttle boat docked at the resort pier a little before noon. The walk to our cottages was scenic and since mine was practically at the end of the resort, it was a good as touring the whole Miniloc.

The theme was thoroughly Filipiniana. All around us were cottages topped with thatched roofs reminiscent of the bahay kubos. Coconut trees and flowery plants carved our path. And the staff, with their dark, sun-kissed skin, greeted us with all too-familiar Filipino smile. You can’t get anymore tropical than that. The interiors of our cottages were also given the Filipino touch. Woven straw served as fancy “wallpaper”. Furniture was made of wood. Philippine-made handicrafts completed the tropical look.

I could feast my eyes on this breathtaking landscape, but alas, it was time for lunch. A visual feast can’t be appreciated fully on an empty stomach.

The dining area was open-air and spacious, providing a panoramic view of Bacuit Bay. Lunch was exactly the way the resorts’ travel brochure described it: “international buffet meals in a variety of unique settings.” The dessert station was lined up with tempting treats like blueberry cheesecake, crème bruleee, and fresh sliced fruits like mangoes, pomelo, and watermelon. On a separate table were bowls of sweet beans, garbanzos, langka, kaong, nata de coco, ube, leche flan, sugar, milk, and shaved ice – all ingredients for our favorite Filipino summer treat halo-halo.

Beside it was the salad station lined with greens, carrots, and other veggies. Next to it was the grill station where you pick and choose from skewered meats to skewered seafood to kebabs. My favorite was the shrimps marinated in curry and everything spicy. Yummy! And there was the Mongolian station, where again, you take your pick. At the center of it all were a variety of dishes ranging from the very Bicolano pork binagoongan, Japanese sushi, and smoked salmon and mackerel, among others.

Can you tell, in the way I’ve memorized the dining area’s basic layout, that this is my favorite part of Miniloc?

What To Do and We Did

Our guest activity coordinator Mima has been pushing us in the direction of intro driving since we arrived. We headed to the Marine Sports Center (MSC), where the diving and snorkeling gears are.

“Diving po Ma’am?” asked the guy manning the place.

“Ehrm (gulp), hindi ako marunong lumangoy,” I replied.

“Tinturuan naman po kayo,” he said with a chuckle. “Iisipin ko po,” I said. I’d rather bury my head in the sand.

The dive instructor was already briefing some guy on diving basics. I decided to hang around to see how this diving thing works. They then went to the dive site near the pier. I watched the guy descend and disappear into the water. I wondered what he could be seeing at the moment. All I saw so far were pink jellyfish floating on the water. I wanted to see more.

I thought the guy manning the MSC would find me fickle once I showed a sudden interest in diving. But no. He was glad for me to try it. He helped me fit fins and goggles. Then off I went to the pier.

The briefing, truth to tell, was mind-boggling. There were just too many things to take note off: What to do when water seeps through your goggles (pinch your nose, blow, then push your forehead gently with your hand while tilting it); how to breathe (Bite the mouthpiece securely and breathe deeply through your mouth); How to prevent water from pressure from messing with your head as you go deeper into the sea (pinch your nose then blow0. I don’t even know if I still remember them correctly. I’m sure of the hand signal when I can’t breathe anymore, though: just wave it around and I’m saved.

Mind-boggling still, was learning these things from the Lord. Yep, that’s my dive instructor’s name: Lord. As in Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Flies. Or, Light in the Lord. You know, lordly stuff. Would you care to take dive lessons with the Lord? If you must know, I saw fat gray fish, some corals, some tourists’ fins, and yet another tourists’ swimsuit wedgy.

It was time for sunset cruise at Pangulasian Island when I got out of the water. I didn’t get to join the cruise though, as I had tp freshen up. Shaira, my photographer, went ahead, though. She said it was beautiful. I wish I were there.

A Morning After

The next morning brought a deliciously cheesy start. We feasted on all the Brie we could eat, pairing it with everything smoked mackerel, grilled seafood, sausages. Yum! And I, to satisfy my sweet tooth, finished the meal off with yogurt. Perfect tummy-fillers for the next activity ahead: a trip to the Big and Small Lagoons.

The boat ride was easy enough. We just had to plop ourselves on the boat and let the sea waves take away us. Until the boat stopped near an island and our guide Patrick announced we had to kayak to the Small Lagoon. And being a small lagoon, the place was inaccessible by our big boat.

The sea was unusually restless, according to our guide, but getting there is well worth it. We let the other guests go first while we gathered our bearings. When they got back, they gushed how pretty the lagoon was. We then knew it was a now-or-never thing. The Big and Small lagoons used to be caves millions of years ago. Or at least that’s what scientists believe. I asked my guide how that came to be. He said the rocks must have turned brittle overtime due to exposure to strong sunlight, causing the cave to eventually collapse, leaving just the two sides of it, like walls.

It was cool and quiet inside the small lagoon, and I liked it. I looked up and was overcome with awe at the jagged edges of the giant stones, clawing at the sky. Before I knew it, our kayak was heading towards a small dark cave. Gulp. I politely asked to be kayaked out of there. I said it was scary. He found me funny and attributed it to being a city girl. I found the cave beautiful despite my fear, though.

Next up was the Big Lagoon. There our big boat was able to enter, and what a relief that was. The trip was generally uneventful but pleasant. We saw more jagged rock formations, a Caucasian couple snorkeling and a floating stage where guests can requests to dine… or get married in. who knew rocks can be potentially romantic?

Lagen: Luxurious and Lush

From the arrival area, we took a scenic stroll going to our rooms. We passed by a cozy beach area, a swimming pool dug just 4 feet deep (so as not to disturb the roots of the island’s centuries old trees), an open-air bar, more rooms, the club house where the dining area, library and souvenir shop are, and a beautifully landscaped garden dotted with coconut trees and other greens.

The island was decidedly different form Miniloc. Lagen spelled quiet class and luxury. Unlike Miniloc’s wooden cottages and thatched roofs, Lagen’s structures were a mix of cement and wood. Although there was still that unmistakable Filipino touch in the hospitality and ease with which the staff treated guests, there was something about Lagen that lent it a modern, sophisticated air. Perhaps it was the pool. Perhaps it was presence of electronic equipment like CD players and video games. Maybe it was the books in the library offered in various languages like English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French and Spanish. Or, maybe it was the reserved way the staff dealt with guests.

In Miniloc, staffs were chattier, asking you how your day was and suggesting activities you might want to try. Whereas Lagen staff had the extraordinary you might want to try. Whereas Lagen staff had the extraordinary ability of organizing our activities efficiently while maintaining a strangely pleasure mix of professionalism and friendliness. You’ll now what I mean once you get there.

At any rate, we were very well-fed, a fact which puts a goofy grin on my face when I think of the place. Beef Wellington. Greek Salad. Kimchi. Sushi. Smoked mackerel. Brie. Aloe Vera. Yogurt. Yum.

But before my food litany becomes a dead giveaway of my gluttony, let me tell you more things I loved about Lagen, I loved soaking up Lagen’s lush beauty at my perfect little spot at the sunbathing chairs at the pool area, overlooking the sea. I loved the sunset. Remember the Pangulasian sunset I missed in Miniloc? Well, I regret it. But here was another sunset, anyway, albeit less strategically located but visually spectacular nonetheless. It was the stuff sunset photos were made of smooth stretch of sand, a glittering sea, coconut trees, a boat cruising leisurely, mountains framing the scene, and a sky subtly changing colors from yellow to orange to red to purple. And finally, darkness. Utterly breathtaking. I loved the library, where I practiced my halting Nihongo. I am still learning, see, but I’m steadily getting too near-fluency – or so I think. During meals, eavesdropping on Lagen’s Japanese guests at the next table was helpful, too. And I loved the forest hike at the back of the resort. Palawan’s indigenous flora and fauna art must-sees. For example, there’s the Palawan hornbill, which can be seen flying around Lagen early in the morning, and the long-tailed macaque monkey, which also loiter Miniloc while looking for some grub.

The Long Hike

My idea of hiking is always horizontal. I keep in forgetting that Lagen is like a mountain with one side sloping upward and another sloping down. I was thus taken by surprise at my own huffing and puffing while ascending. What made the hike a bit bearable was the way the roots of trees were ingeniously shaped into “stairs: and a thick blue rope served as rails. The green scenery also distracted beautifully. A water monitor lizard scurried conspicuously to its hiding place in the woods upon hearing the shuffling of leaves (caused by us, of course). We must have sacred it. But little does it know that it scared us more. Then, a Palawan hornbill circled above us. And then it was gone. Just like that. I didn’t even have a chance to compare it to the drawing in the brochure. All I saw was a black blob flying. I knew it was a hornbill though, because our guide Vox told us so.

The entire trek was generally pleasant. The leaves of century-old trees shielded us from the harsh rays of the sun. Occasionally, Shaira would see little brightly colored insects and sometimes pieces of cracked dead corals.

Corals in the forest? Strange, huh? Vox theorized that maybe the island used to be submerged in water millions of years ago. Thus, the dead corals. We weren’t sure how true that was though. He said he’d check with Lagen’s environmental manger and other specialists.

It seems like El Nido Resorts invest heavily on educating their staff. Virtually every guide we talked to gave decent answers to our questions. They also gave some trivia we never thought of asking.

Our trek ended on unspoiled cove just at the other side of the resort. We rested on a log while taking in the scenery.

We neared the end of our El Nido adventure. But not before we tried coconut hat making. Back at the resort, we met up with resident coconut hat makers 9resort staff, actually) to learn the tricks of the trade.

First, our heads were measured. Then, they explained that the secret is in weaving trees. Just crisscross each, careful not to break the leaves. I tried taking note of it but before I could say “up down up down: my hat was done! Fast and easy in under fifteen minutes! “Matagal pa nga ‘yun eh,” Mr. Hat Maker said. Then not even a minute has passed when he gave me a little women bird to decorate my hat with. Wow. What else could be a better souvenir?

When I got to my room, I carefully placed it in my giant buri bag so it won’t be crushed. I vowed to wait two weeks before coating it with varnish, to make it shiny and sturdy, just like what Mr. Hat Maker advised.

We boarded the boat back to El Nido Airport in the afternoon. The familiar sight of giant jagged rocks and untouched coves accompanied us in our lone boat. As the boat sliced through the sea and the wind mussed up my hair, I thought of the buffet I’ll miss, the friendly staff in Miniloc, my pretty little sanctuary of a room in Lagen, the Nihongo books in the library, and my diving lessons with the Lord. Then I leaned by back leisurely on the boat, pampered and pleased.