Ooo Noice-Tripping to Palawan

I'm rewinding this post as part of the Weekend Rewind at the Pink Fibro, because travelling is one of my favourite things to do. I've left the text just as I wrote it in 2008 (?!), but I've added in the photos because I've been meaning to do that for months... oh, and altered my appalling spelling a wee bit, but left the grammar just for fun (I know more about commas and semi-colons now!)

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Hello everyone!

Back in Puerto and the land of 24 hour power, it rocks. We've been on the north of Palawan in a weeny tourist village, El Nido (once it was a normal fishing village, then divers and snorkellers found it, it's bamboo huts, bars, restaurants, tour operators and souvenir gigs all along the shore line, they're building a paved road all the way and it'll all be downhill here from now on)
What's to tell? The snorkelling was fabulous, I went in water over my head and I didn't freak out or get eaten by a rampaging turtle!

It rained, our tour got cancelled once cause it got a bit hairy out there so we went out the next day after another intrepid Aussie was willing to brave the rain ('What?! Rain in the tropics? What kind of beach holiday is this?' Or so all the cancelling sods about the place seemed to think. Seriously, are you not out there to go swimming? Is not most of what you want to see underwater anyway? Think about it, people....)

So anyway, once we got out onto the water it was totally worth it. We spent two days island hopping, I'm buggered if I can remember which places were what but yesterday's lunch stop was the best. Awesome reef, not rough, loads of fish and even more beautiful corals. On the second day it cleared up a little bit so we weren't soaked before we were even in the water. Day one's boat was barely seaworthy, sort of a glorified surfboard made into an outrigger with bamboo and held together with bits of fishing line. Day two's boat was similar, but larger (although less comfortable, no cushions!) and used rope instead of fishing line to hold everything together, good thing too because the swell was quite a lot larger (like, freaking huge) and in a tiny boat would have been pretty scary.

So the good parts were: the gorgeous corals, the python we saw braving the sea (don't think it was sea snake). lots of clown fish (IE the Nemos everyone is so enraptured with), the turtle which poked it's head out of the water, the monkey's on the beach, warm turquoise water, flying fish etc etc.

Bad bits: broken corals, poxy cancelling Europeans, bad smells in El Nido, poor lonely abandoned pet monkey on one of the little islands :-(, sand all over the floor and feet constantly, world's crappiest water supply in the guesthouse (IE, absolutely none at times and had to wait to wash hands, fill toilets etc).

Oh and we are somewhat beaten, battered, bruised and generally in pain. This is due to:

• Mosquito bites (me)
• Ant bites (me)
• Sea lice (both of us)
• Jelly fish sting (me of course, rather dramatic all over my right leg but I think it will fade by tomorrow)
• Bruises (The chairs on boat 2 weren't attached, so Dylan had his foot on the seat, I leaned on the back, D moved foot, whole seat swung away like seesaw and I crashed into it. We also landed the dreaded back seats on the bus on the way back to Puerto today. The road was bad, the suspension worse, there was only half an inadequate cushion available for our seat and Dylan got it, you get the idea. The road is written all over my arse... and knees...and elbows)
• Sunburn (both of us, I started by accidentally burning my left arm on the way to El Nido on the bus. Added to it on day 1 snorkelling by neglecting to reapply sunscreen to my back. I don't recommend N!vea, even on a very overcast and rainy day it is shit. Dylan burnt his knees because, 'my legs never get sunburnt so I won't put suncreen on them'. Day 2 out on the water we did apply and reapply all day but as I said, N!vea is shit and our backs are testimony to this. Today on the way back down to Puerto on the bus I burnt my right arm even though I was more careful and covered up most of the way. Not enough I guess, what can I say? At least I'm even!).

It's worth it of course, but the bad parts are more fun to tell :P

Tomorrow we fly to Cebu where there is a festival on (didn't know about that until the other day), it may make us want to stay there or escape, who knows?! After Cebu, Bohol to see a tarsier, hopefully!

That's all for now, love to all, Katie

PS Icecream sandwiches are good, especially when they are three different types of icecream in a hamburger bun. Accidentally eating liver because it was a bit dark and you though it was beef is not so cool. Moral of the story is: try out everything, but only when there is good lighting.

[PPS Photos added on 17-06-2011, and a trip down Palawan's dusty memory lanes coming shortly{All done, look here}]

Boats

Midnight palm trees

Sleeping babe (look closely)

Sea turtle (actually snapped in Malaysia, because I could not find any kind of turtle emblem for love nor money in the Philippines themselves)

Salty sea beads and calamansi lime

Palawan roads. No more explanation needed.


We did see a tarsier on Bohol, after all.