It's been a week since we arrived here in Manila coming from the Paradise, El Nido, Palawan. The place is so magical; where there may be somethings magical happen in a blink of an eye. From its ageless towering marble cliffs to its white sandy beaches with crystal clear water, many refer to it as paradise. There are many beaches to discover, so many in fact that sometimes you feel as if you are on your own secluded private beach. You can also find enchanting lagoons with tranquil turquoise-green water perfect for snorkeling, diving and kayaking, caves that can take you to hidden beaches, a perfect scenic view of the Limestone Mountains, islands, beaches, and a very diverse variety of wildlife.

At first, we planned for a five days vacation on El Nido, Palawan. We knew that a five days vacation is enough to take a rest and unwind from a very busy and fast faced life here in manila. But our planning takes a little bit of failure, in short it was "BITIN". We had under-estimated the travel time taking from one place to another due to lack of research and planning immediately. On our side, we do great job in budgeting our money and maximizing our expenditure on the island.

We arrived in Puerto Princesa, Palawan at around 5:45Pm, an hour delayed in the scheduled arrival of Cebu Pacific. Then a guide from Hadefe's Cottages, Honey, fetched us on airport along with 2 foreigners from Italy. Then as we passed the national road going to the Inn where we can stay for the night, one by one he introduced where to go if you'll love food tripping and to chill out on the city by night. He also told us that it is safe to walk even in night because the City of Puerto Princesa has a record of "0 - ZERO" crime. Then we arrive at Lola Itang's Inn and Restaurant, where we spend our night. The Inn is affordable and clean, has a good facilities and very accommodating staff.

As early as 4:30AM in the morning, we are excited already and starting to prepare for our journey to El Nido. We know that the ride will be as long as 6-7 hours as the articles on the other sites tells. It was 6:30AM when the van arrived to fetch us from the Inn and by then it will also drop by other tourist from other Inn's. The van started to travel going to El Nido at the time 7:30, a 30 mins delayed from our schedule. We've seated at the front beside the driver, at first were traveling a very long and cemented road of Puerto Princesa up to Roxas then from Roxas to El Nido, the road is already mixed of cemented and rough on. I can still remember the types of music played by the driver, it was a mix of 70's up to 90's, Beegies is the first and Christina Aquilera is the finale.

When we arrived at the El Nido it was already 2:00PM and one of the caretaker of the Cottage's is already there fetching us. The cottages are 10 mins walk from the town. It was a little far from main beach but when you get there, you will surely love the scenery and the ambiance where the cottages locates coz it will give you the perfect view of the sunset and even the Cadlao Helicopter Island. As we arrived on the cottages, the owner shows us the rooms and we take the smallest and cheapest cottages that they had. The cottages are also on the beach front.

Then we never let any opportunity passed by, we ask the bankero which is also the owner of the cottages if they are offering a half day tour for island hopping. And yet, they agreed to take us to the some island to hop, swim, and snorkel and take pictures. That afternoon, our day is completed and we've enjoy our first half day of island hopping experience. The stress that we got from the travel was wiped out by the fascination of the beauty of each beach and islands. At night, we decided to dine out by going to the town and we got ourselves an Garlic Shrimps and Tuna Pasta, as for the shrimp, it was highly recommended coz the shrimp that they cooked is still fresh and you can taste the freshness of the dish and for the pasta, it's like a typical pasta and the only difference is that they use tuna instead of meat. Overall, were satisfied of the food that they offer.

On the next day, we went out again for another boat ride, and this time it a whole day adventure of island hopping. The mission is to complete 6 destinations on 5 different islands. First stop was on Small Lagoon and then Big Lagoon on Miniloc Island, then the secret beach but the bankero did not push through coz the tide is getting low and the boat will be damaged by the coral reef if the tides get low. Then we take lunch to another island where we after the lunch, we take a little nap before going to another island. Then lastly, we stop at the 7 commando's island where the sand is so white and fine.

When we arrived at the cottages, we sit at the sea wall and wait for the sunset. Then take a shower before getting our dinner. Then the dinner arrived courtesy of "Ate" the owner of the cottages and she brought us Sinigang na Tuna and Crab. It was a fantastic dinner indeed.

Early in the morning, we get up early and went hunt for pasalubong coz its our last day in the town. Then afterwards, we take our last dip on the El Nido waters before going to the van terminal. The van took only 5 hours compare to the first trip we had. Then at Puerto Princesa, we dine at Balinsasayaw and taste the Bird Nest Soup, Balinsasayaw rice and Garlic Squid and Beef Ampalaya. The food was great. Then monday morning, we went to the Puerto Princesa public market to buy local delicacies and pasalubong before going to airport.