The real secret beach of El Nido

I've crossed the desert for miles

Swam water for time

Searching places to find

A piece of something to call mine

A piece of something to call mine

Pure Shores, All Saints

Feeling adventurous and all tired out from island hopping, we asked the locals what else there is to do in the town of El Nido. Our friendly boat man and the bartender at Pukka Bar told us about this secret beach the locals call "mini-Boracay" that you can only get to via land in a span of an hour or so. We thought they were referring to the popular "secret" and "hidden" beaches included in one of the tours but apparently, this island is not included in any of the island hopping stops, hence making it virtually unknown to tourists. And because we felt like Leonardo Di Caprio's character on The Beach that day, we set out to find this secret piece of paradise.

After half an hour of riding in a tricycle through rough roads and another half hour of trekking through the mud, I was ready to give up and cry. I cannot count the number of times we had to push our tricycle or dig through the mud to locate our Havaianas. I kept telling our guide the beach had better be worth all the pain and effort.

And man, was it worth it.

Most people think the only beaches El Nido has to offer are located in one of the many islands surrounding the town. Little do they know that this hidden beach the locals call Calingit or mini-Boracay exists unknown by tourists and even most locals find it hard to get to. The shoreline is longer than Boracay's three stations and twice as wide. Literally. We wanted to explore the whole shoreline from end to end but it stretched for miles and miles.

The waves were perfect for splashing around. We were the only ones there, except for a handful of locals who were walking on the far end of the shore.

You can swim naked, do cartwheels, sleep on the shore, and no one will bother you.

Finally, we found our secret island.

He loved it there. Who wouldn't?

A piece of something to call mine.

We were like cast-aways. Good thing our tricycle driver/guide waited for us.

Feeling like an island girl.

bikini by Topshop

He loved those waves. I was too scared.

I asked our guide who owns the only house on the island. He said it belongs to one of the politicians in El Nido. Typical. I hope no one ever discovers this place. This is how I imagine Boracay used to look like when it was still a secret kept by the locals.

After swimming, splashing around, and lying on the shore, we headed back to the town. Of course, the trek back was just as hard, even harder. We pushed and pulled our tricycle, walked barefoot in the mud, slipped a couple of times, and even encountered a couple of pigs and a carabao in the side fields.

Happy? You bet I am. I just discovered my own beach.

The islands of El Nido

El Nido has over 45 islands all filled with white-sand beaches, limestone cliffs, lagoons, and unspoilt corals. We visited around nine of these islands in an island-hopping trip that took up the whole day and  rented a private boat with a guide to take us around some of the most popular islands of El Nido. I was mentally playing Pure Shores on loop in my mind because it's really the most perfect song to daydream with when you're in El Nido.

The tour operators at El Nido offer four sets of tours with around 4-6 islands each. We took the Tour A & B set with 10 islands but we were too drained by the end of the day to complete all stops. The Tour C came highly recommended but it involved swimming through an underwater hole to get to the other side to see the "Hidden Beach". No way am I swimming through any underwater hole. After breakfast at our by then favorite Pukka Restaurant, we set off to see the islands.

I was way excited when I found out we would be passing through the gap between the two limestone rocks that greeted us every morning for our view. It was like a dream passing through the mountains covered in lush greenery and limestone with the clouds hanging over them. 

After a couple of minutes on the open sea, our tour guide pointed out Helicopter Island. I thought it looked like a whale but eventually got the resemblance. Haha!

wearing Zara top, Dorothy Perkins bikini

First stop was the Miniloc area. We "parked" in an area enclosed in limestone rocks and swam our way to the crack to see the Small Lagoon. The swimming part was hard since the water was deep but the view was rewarding--imagine being surrounded by limestone mountains encircling a secret lagoon. We had a blast soaking up the view. It was really worth the effort to get there. Plus, there were some playful fish swimming around us. We even saw Nemo!

Off we went to the Big Lagoon where, thankfully, we didn't have to swim. It was big and beautiful. At Christmas, the locals put up a raft in the middle with a lighted tree and they sing Christmas carols from the raft. Just this photo alone makes me want to book another trip just in time for the holidays.

Our next stop was Shimizu Island which was the popular spot for lunch for most of the island hopping boats. Our tour guide said it was named after two Japanese tourists who died there while scuba diving. Such a sad history, yes? The island was beautiful, though. Tiny crabs greeted us when we set foot on the shore. Dark rocks surround the beach with a roof-like formation and we had a blast sitting on the shore while kuya grilled our lunch of fish and liempo with fresh fruits. I wanted to snorkel but it was a good thing we didn't 'cause there were apparently jellyfish in the water. Nightmare!

The secret lagoon was right around the corner but kuya wisely chose not to take us there because the waves were strong and we had to swim through a small crack partly submerged underwater to get there.  We braved the waves and headed straight to Entalula Island--my favorite among all our stops. Our hotel was named after this island and I can see why, it's beautiful, deserted, and absolutely breath-taking. We were the only ones there because most of the boats didn't want to cross the open sea with the strong waves. It's worth the risk, though.

That giant limestone rock was absolutely majestic in real life. It's enough to make you appreciate the raw beauty of El Nido.

Our next stop was Snake Island, not because it's inhabited by snakes but because of the snake-like sandbar connecting two islands. We trekked and hiked all the way to the viewing deck (yes, in my bikini!) just to see the awesome view. I'm an idiot when it comes to hiking so I was a nervous basketcase the entire time.

We then set off for one of the islands with a cave and were greeted by these friendly dogs. Dogs love Jake. There's one in Boracay named Friday that followed him around every morning, I miss that labrador.

We had no idea what was expected of us while walking towards the cave. When we finally realized we had to crawl through a small hole, we backed out like chickens. Haha! We were too tired and I was too scared to encounter bats inside the cave. We just asked our guide to climb in and take our picture from the hole. Losers.

El Nido has a weird weather pattern. It gets sunny and cloudy at the blink of an eye. The weather circles the whole area so it depends on where you are. When we left the sun was shining but at the far end out on the open sea it became dark and dreary. It totally works, though. We had a dreamy view of the gray and shadowy islands on our way to the final stops. Looks like a watercolor painting, right?

We finally reached Pinagbuyutan Island with the small forest and again, the limestone rocks. You can totally hear some wild birds up in the trees. Like most of the islands we visited, it was deserted and we felt like Survivor contestants.

On our way back to the town beach, we saw this Nemo boat. We found out you can rent it for your island hopping tour for a couple of extra bucks. So cute!!!

I can't wait to go back and explore the rest of the 45 islands. :-)

Pumped Up Kicks

When I'm down and depressed, I only have to listen to this song to perk me up mostly because it reminds me of Jake with the reference to kicks and because it's a feel good tune. But then I made the mistake of researching the lyrics, I can't believe I'm all over a song about killing people. Gaah. I'm still listening to it, though. Rawr.

Pure Shores

I need the sea because it teaches me.

Pablo Neruda

I can't wait to blog about our El Nido island hopping experience. The limestone rock formations, the sleepy clouds, the clear waters, the secret lagoons and deserted beaches--it's like a scene straight out of a dream.

Ca'alan Beach, El Nido

On the far side of El Nido's town beach lies an almost secret pathway where you can glimpse an abandoned guardhouse just right around the tree-covered bend. Because I'm naturally curious and chismosa, I nagged Jake if we can walk the extra ten minutes just so I can take a peek at what's behind that curve. I've read about Ca'alan Beach and its unique rock formations and was actually tempted to book at Makulay Lodge which was the lone resort there, complete with cottages situated far up in the forest. My fear of being confronted by monkeys and wild creatures (which they were actually proud about because you were THAT secluded) while stretching on the porch made me back out. Nevertheless, it seemed like a nice place to visit. Let me show you how we got there, the views were just awesome.

First, we walked a couple of minutes from our Entalula cabana to the far end of the beach where we can spy the guardhouse and the bend. There was a dead-end for the beach-front resorts and we were greeted by this skeletal baby boat--too bad we didn't get to see the locals build this one.

A couple of minutes more of Jake complaining about the heat and our constant paranoia about the loud crickets and insects, we finally reached the bend. Only the locals passed by here. And yes, the crickets or whatever insects that were out to get us were insanely loud or it was just too quiet in the area.

I had a hard time concentrating on walking fast--the view of the Bacuit Bay and the limestone rocks were too hard to resist. I couldn't stop staring.

And then, tadah! We finally saw the guardhouse! It was precariously perched on top of the stones by the beach. What a pretty thing to look at, no?

If we had a smack-on view of the limestone mountains from our beach-front cabana from the town beach, Ca'alan beach's view is the islands between the cracks of those two mountains. It's like peeking from the side of two mountains flanking a valley. I was awestruck. I never knew we can see the islands from the town. 

wearing Topshop scalloped top, Zara sailor shorts, Brazil World Cup Havaianas, Rayban sunnies

After a couple of minutes of gazing at the islands, Jake finally managed to drag me back to the town beach. The long walk back was as rewarding as the walk going there--there's nothing more inspiring than the view of the town's limestone mountains welcoming you back from Ca'alan.

Again and again, I will never get tired of being amazed by those mountains. :-)