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. :-)