Update: Yes I am home. However the past few weeks of my trip had minimal to no wifi so I wasn’t able to upload photos. I wrote this posts as I traveled and will be loading them up now. Stay tuned!

El Nido

The Philippines is supposed to have some of the most amazing beaches in the world and I was prepped to tease out the truth. As many of you have seen from my pictures, I think it is easy to argue that. Palawan is an island on the west side of the Philippines that houses many of these beaches. We flew in to Puerto Princessa in the middle of the island and proceeded north to El Nido. A packed van that was delayed for about 2 hours finally got us there about midnight. In true last minute travel fashion we didn’t have a hostel yet so we searched around. With everything booked I ended up in a dump that was probably the worst place I stayed in my 5 months of travel, but I survived. 

We spent the next two days hitting the beach and doing a tour of islands. We saw some gorgeous beaches with water so clear you can see all the way to the bottom from the boat. Hawaii and Croatia have some beautiful water but I think this tops both. It is crystal clear with a light blue and green hue that can’t be described in words, at least not by me. Hopefully the pictures can do some justice. We met more nice Canadiens and I keep being proved wrong that all Canadiens are as miserable as my lovely roommate Chamo. I may have to make a visit to the North at some point after all. The tour was great as we side a wide range of lagoons, beaches and got to snorkel. Only downside as there were jellyfish everywhere and i felt like I was being stung about 5 times per minute. Good thing i’m so tough.

A real highlight all over the Islands was how friendly the kids were. I am not sure if they are just not used to seeing tourists but their faces would light up as we would walk by. Some of the braver ones would ask us our name and chat a bit, but usually we were in for a huge smile, wave and hello. They are so happy as they run around and play with their friends with simple things like a cardboard box or a broom and it shows in how they act. Who says we need smart phones?

I am prepped to hop on a boat tomorrow and head north to wrap up my island tour for this entire trip. Sad, but excited to see what is in store.