A little slice of paradise

I forced Matt out of bed to come running with me this morning which he didn't seem keen on at first but loved it when he was out. We came out of the hotel to find the huge cliffs in front of us. They were even more impressive in daylight. A hundred metres down the road we found the beach which was small but had the clearest water I've ever seen. Boats (they looked similar to cheap wooden catamarans) were lined up along the shore and out into the sea were various rocks protruding out of the water. It was stunning. The buildings along the beach (all small and fitting) shaded the sand making it a pleasant temperature for running. I'll be honest, we didn't run far as the beach wasn't that long but we did venture onto Caalan beach which was right beside El Nido. We thought it would be rude not to swim as we were sweaty and the water looked extremely inviting so after about half an hour lazing around in the beautifully cool sea we explored Caalan a bit. Here, there was numerous accommodation right by the sea front so we went into a couple to enquire about the price and availability. We were about to give up (prices were either ludicrous or no rooms were available) when a lovely lady called Elma offered us a room at a reduced rate at her lovely place by the sea. It was actually a little bungalow and was really cool so we happily accepted the room and the free pick up from our hotel. 

Back at our first hotel we packed up and bought some baked goods from a nearby bakery whilst waiting for Elma. The baked goods included a brioche like bread sprinkled with sugar, a raspberry bun and a cinnamon bread with strange jellies on top. We weren't huge fans of the cinnamon bread but thought the others were pretty good. Elma picked us up in her tricycle and took us down the tiny roads along beside the beach which just made our new place more exciting. 

Whilst Matt dilly dallied about I went for a swim again as I was a bit entranced by the sea. By the time we were ready to go out it was lunch time so we walked back into town and stopped at a beach front place for some food. On our way we passed the girl that was ill and her older man from yesterday. I was ready to smile but they blanked us so we awkwardly walked on. Again, there wasn't much Filipino food on the menu and the cheapest thing was pasta with vegetables in a sauce. I hadn't had pasta in ages so went for it. I do feel like I'm cheating slightly when I eat western food. But with our bellies full we wanted to go to a beach (El Nido was small and covered in boats). Elma had told us which was the nicest so we got a tricycle from round the corner and went to a lovely beach. 

After a short stroll down the length of the beach which looked out onto clear sea and tree covered rocks, we found a tree for shade and stayed near where the sand continued into the ocean. The whole afternoon was spent swimming and reading (in the shade) and Matt spent some time drawing pictures in the sand. We finished off with a beer at the bar on the beach (they played some decent songs too) and watched the sun start to set out over the sea. It was idyllic and relaxing. 

After another tricycle ride back to town we got a shower in our bungalow and headed out for tea. By this time it was dark and the small tracks into El Nido have no streetlights so we had to bring a torch with us. It made the whole experience seem more authentic. When we got to town we wanted to book a boat tour for the morning and nearly had our day ruined when we were told the price. It would come to 1500 pesos each for the tour, snorkel and lunch which is over £20. However, when you think about it, it's not too bad and we knew it would be amazing so we booked it anyway. This meant that we felt we should try to eat somewhere not so expensive but after walking down one street we realised this was impossible. Instead we settled for a barbecued fish place right on the beach which was lit with candles. Our chairs sunk into the sand as we sat down to eat barbecued squid and trout with an accompaniment of rice. It was okay but both fish were a little over done and lacked any kind of moisture to go with them. The setting was beautiful though. 

We walked back along the beach, noticing lots more restaurants a little further up which had music playing. It was lively but in a perfect way. Give it a few more years and I fear the place will be ruined with high rises and party people but at the moment, El Nido really is a little slice of paradise.