Going Through Hell...

...to get to Paradise

The rigors of travel can be really taxing, and going to El Nido is no different especially with this kind of morning:

5:30 wake up
6:15 leave for Manila International Airport
7:30 arrive and check in
8:30 leave for Puerto Princessa
9:30 land and take a tricycle (motorcycle with car attached) to Fort Wally Van Terminal

So cramped

Once we got to the Van Terminal the hardest part of the trip so far was ahead of us. The cheapest way to get to El Nido from Puerto Princessa is via bus or van. ~280km of unfinished dirt road snakes through the mountains of the island. Narrow bridges, construction delays, pot holes, and jarring terrain combined with a 10 person van packed with 15 people makes you feel every meter of the journey in your ass. Needless to say, the trip got old very fast and I was telling myself "this better be worth it" after the first 20km when the concrete road ran out.

We lost a lot of good men in there

It was totally worth it:











This picture doesn't do justice to how it actually looks here. This is what we wake up to every day. Each morning we are greeted with gentle waves splashing. Each morning beach tables welcome us with a hot Filipino breakfast. Each morning the boats beckon us to charter them to unknown adventures.

Og's Pensionne is one of the places that you only hear of by word of mouth. Carla, who can't be older than 18, seems to be the manager of the joint as she's the only one who can speak english. Talking to her, she was surprised that we were only staying for 3 nights. Many guests take advantage of the P1000/night ($20) rates and stay for months. It's sounding pretty tempting with the view, but that wouldn't be fair to all of you at home.

Our room is sparse with little more than two beds, a fan, and an airconditioning unit, but provides plenty of space for respite from the humidity. The bathroom doesn't have a shower so we just use the bucket and pail for washing and laundry:

Laundry day

Under the rooms on the beach, the attached bar/restaurant serves up beer, cocktails, and glass bottled sodas along with their food. FYI, they have some of the best mango shakes I've ever tasted.

Next door is home to Sea Slug's bar and restaurant. Pretty much the same deal as Og's but with two differences: Sisig and live music.

First the Sisig. Chopped ginger, chilis, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper are mixed with chopped chicken, topped with an egg and served on a rocket hot cast iron plate. The flair of the presentation is matched by the taste. Fresh calamansi (Filipino Lemon) finishes the dish and gives a clean acidic contrast to the rich and fragrant chicken. I'm pretty sure the word Sisig is onomatopoeic and the dish is a perfect accompaniment to the Red Horse beers and live music.

SOOOOO GOOD

And about the live music. Ask any Filipino, and they'll tell you they know at least one person who has real talent in terms of performing arts. Sea Slug's next door showcased some of the local talent Monday night. On a makeshift stage, the local band sound really professional. Funny thing though, this is probably just a hobby and they couldn't be older than 21. Acoustic guitar renditions of Michele Branch, SWV, Alicia Keys and others are a great complement to the night.

The video is pretty dark and the audio is soft, but trust me, they sounded amazing:



Today has been a day to relax, drink, and talk with other foreign nationals. Tomorrow we'll probably take a boat ride and do some snorkeling. Whatever comes, the attitude of the trip can be summed up with something Jules said: "Yeah, I can get used to this."