All the Rest of El Nido

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It's almost time to leave El Nido after being here for about a month. Tom left for Puerto Princesa yesterday and we'll be doing the same in a couple of days. I've written blogs about all of the famous boat trips, but here's all the other little things I've been wanting to write about...

The Simple Life

We spent most of our time staying at Morning Walsh resort on Corong Corong beach, known locally simply as "Green House." We had the luxuries of air conditioning and a hot water shower, so it wasn't a simple life in that way. However, now that we'd moved away from the hustle and bustle of El Nido town, the sound of tricycle horns and revving engines was replaced by the cock-a-doodle-doing of roosters. The kids could roam around the amazing garden of the resort, all hand designed and created by Ning the owner. The kids spent many an afternoon pushing their stuffed animals in the hammocks and having them "explore" the garden. Kyla even made a rope swing out of long skinny leaves for her bunny! They also decorated coconuts with crayons, drew in the sand with sticks, found lots of hermit crabs to sail around on their mussel shell boat, and had a blast with some polystyrene boats that our tour guide Tom made for them, complete with the side runners typical of the Philippines. It proved to me again that they don't need lots of fancy toys to have fun! In the evening we'd eat an early dinner right on the sand at Greenview Resort while watching the sun set. The live music started at 6:30 so we were able to see 30 minutes or so before shuffling the kids off to an early bed.

The Canopy Walkway

During the windy days when no boats could run, Tom convinced us to do a land-based activity. It turned out to be really fun. We got a tricycle to the start and were kitted out with harnesses and helmets. How difficult was this going to be exactly? We were assured that it was safe for a 2 and 4 year old, so off we went with our two guides. There was just one rope bridge where we were clipped in just in case the bridge collapsed (comforting!) but the rest of the way was climbing up scaffolding-type stairs with huge gaps where the kids could fall through. The guides were helpful with the kids, but it's definitely a leap of faith to trust a stranger with your child. Right at the top we got great views of the bay and town but I was relieved when we all made it back down in one piece! Oh, and this was Valentine's Day by the way!

Kayaking to Papaya and Seven Commandoes Beach

I mentioned in the prior blog that some of the boat tours were cancelled due to several days of high winds. During this time we met Amy and Kevin, a Canadian couple with two young children, Oliver (3 years) and Avery (18 months). I felt so bad for them as they had just four days in El Nido and between the winds and the kids being sick, they were not able to do a single boat tour. On their last day, after the boat was cancelled yet again, we ended up renting kayaks together to visit some of the nearby beaches. We each got two-person canoes and just put the kids in between our legs, essentially making them four-person canoes. If the locals can put a family of five on a single motorbike, we can certainly put a family of four on a two-person kayak!



We spent several pleasant hours kayaking to four different stunning white sand beaches, and even spotted a turtle from our kayak, watching it as it surfaced for air twice! Amazingly the weather held up for us. We were afraid of high winds on the paddle back but they never really materialized. Not quite sure why the coastguard cancelled all the boat tours! Later that evening we all met up for dinner on the beach.

Scott's Birthday

We celebrated a few days early, on Tom's last night, by going out to a fancy-looking Italian restaurant we'd seen a little further along the beach from us. To get there we had to walk through the water as it was high tide and there's quite a few boats parked on the beach getting refurbished. We had some good food and good cocktails and then Scott opened his presents. They included a Bali guidebook from Tom, a frisbee and T-Shirt from me, dried mangoes and a fridge magnet from Kyla, and of course another toy Jeepney from Jake (as he'd already lost the one he gave me!) The kids also gave him a blow up airplane each! We had creme brûlée and chocolate cake for dessert with a few candles to blow out. We then negotiated the even higher tide to get back home and had the kids in bed asleep by 8pm -success!

On Scott's actual birthday we took a tricycle into town to The Arts Cafe as we had to say goodbye to Danika, our kids' favorite waitress, anyway.

Potty Training with an Unexpected Hitch

There's not many California kids who can say they potty trained in The Philippines, but Jake can. When he told us he didn't want to wear diapers anymore, he meant it and was potty trained in just a day or so (other than at night). Right as I was celebrating the fact that I'd never have to change another poopie diaper ever again, his diarrhea came back with a vengeance and I found myself changing dirty diapers in the middle of the night! Poor Jake. It was just two days after completing his antibiotics for the last bout of diarrhea. We were at first reluctant to put him right back on antibiotics but decided there was no other option. The annoying thing was that we had no access to information - the internet seems to be permanently down at the only place we've ever got it to work and we don't exactly trust the doctor in town after our last experience. We only have two more days in El Nido. Everyone seems to be getting sick, and Kyla and I had it a little too, though not as dramatically as Jake. There's definitely a sanitation issue in this town and until we leave, we fear Jake will never get better. At this point we are just waiting to leave. We have booked two nights in a fancy hotel as it is attached to a water park, just for something different for the kids. I hope we are all well enough to enjoy it!



*** Please scroll right down for more photos ***

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