Landing on an island at 1 am where everything shuts down at 9 pm is no mean feat. If someone had not booked an airport pickup from the hotel, they were spending the night at the airport. Fortunately, I had booked a cab despite it costing more than a bomb. It was probably a 20-minute ride and I paid an amount that could have taken me on a 5-hour drive in most places. However, soon I realized how much I would have been screwed without it. Even the hotel check-in desk was closed and they had asked me to leave the passports with the guard, in return of him giving me the room key.

Karuna El Nido Villas was a true nature resort, and it made you feel one with the surroundings – maybe a little more than you’d expect. Even at 2 am, insect life in the area made the place feel alive. The design was unique, the bathroom was out in the open, outside the room and one could walk into the bathroom from outside without encountering any door or obstacle. Good luck enjoying your privacy. There was a huge lizard just outside our room, but the inside was pristine. There was a beautiful bed with a mosquitoe net as the centerpiece of the room. We delayed our morning pickup as it was past 2 am when we slept. Typical pickup for the tours was at 8 am but we had a private one, so we moved it to 10.

Palawan is a long island with a city in the middle called Puerto Princesa and a small town up North – El Nido. El Nido is surrounded by some incredible natural beauty – beaches, lagoons, coves, and snorkeling destinations. There are so many of these that they had to be split into 4 tours, thoughtfully named A, B, C, and D. Most people believe that the best of the attractions are covered by tours A and C including hidden and ‘secret’ beaches that need to be snorkeled or swam to. Since we had just a day, we chose the Tour C. The day after we would be on a long drive to Puerto Princesa with a stop at the famous Underground River on the way. The river is a UNESCO world heritage site and probably the primary motivation for me to get to Palawan.

We woke up late to a stunning view of the sea from the room’s balcony. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel. It was simple and sweet – some local delicacies served at the pool-side restaurant. No buffet, just some made-to-order food with fresh juice and coffee. We were picked up in a tuk-tuk for the tour and taken to the travel agent’s office in main El Nido. The beach was right behind the office and our boat awaited – a wooden longboat with an added diesel engine and two wooden stabilizers. It was a stable and comfortable ride, but the boat was tough to get on and off, especially at a beach.

The first stop was an incredibly beautiful beach with not a single soul on it. We could change the order of attractions on our tour to avoid the crowds at most places. The stay on the island wasn’t very long, but it was a brilliant preview of what the Philippines had to offer in watery natural beauty. It was a little hard to get there with the boat not being able to get too close to the beach and there being no dock. The water was pristine!

The second stop was a hidden beach, one hidden behind a rock and entirely not visible from the sea. The rock doesn’t just block it from sight, it also makes it hard to get to. You need to swim in some rough waters to get there. The water is calmer most of the year except for December through March and we were there in January. I had to put on a snorkeling mask and seek some help from the boat crew to swim to the beach. It was stunning once I got there. This one did have some people and also some fish to snorkel and watch. There are no pictures as I didn’t take my phone through the rough waters.

The third stop was one of the prettiest beaches and a large one at that. Beautiful soft sand and amazing waters. This was also where we would be served a delicious packed lunch on a table that was set up under a tree. No better place in the world for some sticky rice, pork, and grilled fish.

There were two more stops, a snorkeling stop and a kayaking stop. We did have to pay additional for the kayak but it was calm waters and some beautiful cliffs and waters to see. There was also a restaurant/ cafe up a wooden staircase accessible only via a kayak. I didn’t go up, but it looked awesome. The snorkeling was a little more choppy waters but still saw some good fish and floated around for a bit. We did skip one secret beach as it required snorkeling under a rock to get there and the water was a little too rough for that – supposedly a beautiful place.

We were dropped back to the main market and apparently, the tour included a hotel pickup but not a drop. Luckily, there were tuk-tuks around and we got back by late afternoon. While there was a lunch included, we were quite hungry by now. The next two hours were spent at the beautiful hotel restaurant enjoying some drinks, food and a fabulous sunset.

It was after 6:30 pm when we got back to the room and there was still the showering and cleanup to be done. There was no real hunger for dinner and it began to pour cats and dogs outside. Then were was a little matter of all the insect and reptile life outside. We stayed in for the evening and planned for our next trip. Next morning was another early start, so there was a reason to catch up on sleep.