TravelhackRR

Our second day in El Nido, was dedicated to scuba diving. El Nido boasts of its marine life, and the 400 coral species are more than enough to get me excited. Our dive shop of choice: Sea Dog Diving — one of the more popular dive shops in El Nido. Rambi and I, having advanced open water licenses, get to dive up to 30 meters deep. Ate Bebot and Kuya Denver were to go on a fun dive of up to 6 meters deep at a different dive site.

The non-divers were to be dropped off in a deserted island where they must learn to survive on their own for three days. 

Our dive site, the name of which I forget and shall put in once I remember, is only on the other side of this beach. Ate Bebot and Kuya Denver’s too.

Visibility still wasn’t at its best because of Typhoon Haiyan but the view was breathtaking, nevertheless. In our second dive site, we saw barracudas! Wow. Restricted by a Nikon Coolpix camera that could only go 10 meters deep, we weren’t able to take as many photos as we wanted. We risked taking it beyond its limits, which didn’t end well. You’ll find out about it once we get to Bali.

We finished at our second dive site about 5PM. Just in time for a quick rest and then dinner. The beach in El Nido town proper is lined with bars and restaurants that offer al fresco dining — a genus idea until the tide comes in. But if you don’t mind getting your feet and some parts of your clothes wet, or your chairs sinking in sand, then eating here will be a treat. I highly recommend Sea Slugs Restaurant, where the food is amazing, and with prices ranging from 150 to 300 per dish. Much, much better than the food in Art Cafe, in my opinion.

We were up by 3AM on the third day, and an hour later we were on our way back to Puerto Princesa. As promised, the driver was to take a detour to Sabang.

The tour only explores only a section of the total cave length and takes about 45 minutes short. The stalagmite and stalactite formations were really amazing, though. Apart from the cave, the island also boasts of a forest where you can easily spot different animals. Be careful not to take out any food, the monkeys are quite aggressive.

So then we took the boat back to mainland Sabang and headed to a buffet restaurant nearby for lunch. Another few hours on the road and then we were back in Puerto Princesa. Rambi and I rested for an hour then took a tricycle ride to the airport for our flight back to Manila. Honeymoon Part 1 was over, but we were only getting started.