El Nido – Day 2: Tour A
EL NIDO
Day 2: Tour A
October 14, 2024
Having bonded so much over the previous night, the entire gang – sans Will – decided we’d do Tour A together.
Here in El Nido, the island-hopping tours follow a pretty unoriginal yet extremely convenient naming system, presumably to standardise the routes and make life easier for everyone involved. The classic tours are simply named Tour A, Tour B, Tour C and Tour D, with Tour A and Tour C being the most famous. I’d try and do both, given that I had a few days to kill here on the beach and that both had been recommended to me by everyone who had visited.
And so, picking us right up from our doorstep, i.e. the beach, was yet another bangka. This trip was by far different from the rest, mostly cause I was hungover and nauseous as hell. That is exactly why I tend not to party when I’m on a short holiday.
Beaches and Big Lagoon
Luckily enough, our first stop was Seven Commandos Beach, a pristine white sandy beach lined with coconut trees and the classic foreboding limestone cliffs in the background. Here, we spent some time just chilling and snorkelling – and by we, I mean half the group, since the company forgot to bring snorkelling equipment. Way to go!
The next stop was one of the most famous spots in all of the Philippines: Big Lagoon. Here, Chantelle, Simone and I rented a kayak and set off to explore the aptly named crystalline body of water. With Chantelle being a wilderness expedition guide, you can imagine who sat at the front and did most of the paddling. Meanwhile, I was stationed at the back, paddling at a leisurely pace, with Simone being the passenger princess.
The area is pretty much U-shaped, with one leg of the U being the entrance, the lagoon being found at the bend and a mangrove situated on the other leg. We started off at the entrance, the towering limestone cliffs making for quite an imposing doorway, and coursed over the shallow turquoise waters that led towards Big Lagoon. After circling it, we then made our way towards the mangrove, passing through a hidden cove that served as the perfect shelter from the sun.
Secret Lagoon & Helicopter Island
Then came another buffet lunch on the boat which gave us some time to rest and nurse our hangover before heading to yet another highlight: Secret Lagoon.
This place, much like most other stops, is quite special in that, during high tide, a space between the limestone cliffs gets flooded through a tiny aperture, forming a pool that is left behind when the tide lowers. While the lagoon is given that name for a reason, let’s just say that the people queueing to squeeze through the hole to enter it kinda give away its location. Also, imagine sharing that pool with some fifty other people. In fact, one of the running jokes repeated by the guides is that it’s 60% saltwater, 30% freshwater and 10% human excrement. Don’t know whether the generalised burning sensation we all felt after realising that it wasn’t a joke was the power of suggestion or not.
After a brief snorkelling stop at Shimizu Island during a surprise tropical downpour, we then headed to our final destination: Helicopter Island. Named after the object it resembles, the island boasts one of the best beaches in the archipelago. Luckily, the weather had already cleared up by the time we arrived, and we spent about an hour snorkelling and just chilling. Also playing with the cutest little puppy ever. He was so, so cute.
I gotta admit that, despite the island-hopping tour having the same format as the one I had done in Coron, it didn’t feel repetitive at all. In fact, after doing Tour A, I was more than looking forward to any other such tours. Plus, by that point, I couldn’t quite imagine my life without a daily bangka trip.
Trivia Night
That evening, all spent and looking forward to an early night’s rest, I did my best to partake in one of the many activities listed for the night. And no, I’m not talking about karaoke. Okay, I did sing a couple of songs. Maybe five. Not more. I swear.
I am, however, talking about something else. You see, Mad Monkey Mondays spell one thing: trivia night. All teamed up with Chantelle, we managed to win and, in so doing, we also put Malta on the scoreboard for the first time ever. I’m such an incorrigible patriot, huh? We also got a few shots for winning – meaning I was probably gonna be hungover all over again the following day. But hey, screw it!