It’s funny how the image of paradise is stereotypically a white sand beach on a tiny island with crystal clear water and a coconut tree. I well know that paradise is not about where you are but rather how you feel. However, since all these things were accessible to us, we decided to go to “paradise” for a few days.
Justin is way ahead of me on blog updates (what’s new?) so I’ll spare you some details. Rather, I wanted to illustrate our trip to the Coconut Garden Resort in Palawan with a few more pictures and a video. It took a bit of traveling from Puerto Princesa to Cacnipa Island… here’s the route:
View Palawan in a larger map
We took a (very crowded) bus from Puerto Princesa to near Roxas…
… where we hired a tricycle to drive us the rest of the way to Port Barton. It was a dirt, or rather muddy, bumpy road on which we bounced around with half butt cheeks sliding off the Filipino-sized seat. This is a glimpse of what that hour-long ride was like. The adventure factor was pretty great, but we were glad when it was over.
We got to Port Barton and immediately boarded the outrigger boat that was waiting for us (thank goodness it was there).
45 minutes later, we arrive at the resort with its private beach. Pretty sweet!
We stayed in a cute bungalow (the one on the left).
Accommodations were pretty simple. It was the 1st time we slept with a mosquito net which protected us from other things too, like gecko dung and giant cockroaches.
The bathroom was simple but decent (flush toilet). The shower was cold which didn’t matter since it was hot outside, and as you can see there is no ledge to contain the water. Rather, it would splash all over and drain in a corner. We found that this setup is pretty standard in the Philippines. It’s a little weird to have almost always wet bathroom floors, but we got used to it.
This is the view coming down our patio. At the bottom, there is a bucket of water… that’s to rinse our feet before entering our room.
The atmosphere was entirely about relaxing. Reading a book in one of those hammocks was so decadent.
On the last day, the weather picked up and got pretty stormy, making for dramatic views and a very wet boat ride back to shore.
Me, the morning we left, saying goodbye to the beach and getting ready to get soaked.
This experience was definitely worth it. I’ve always dreamed of going to a place that has warm water, a private beach, coconut trees holding swinging hammocks. However paradise has some somewhat annoying realities, like sandflies and jellyfish. Sandflies are meaner than mosquitoes, so we had to coat ourselves with coconut oil at all times which made us smell like stale movie theater popcorn and feel non-stop greasy/sticky for 4 days. Another feeling I had which completely surprised me, was boredom. I was beyond relaxed, I was bored. I think it’s the type of getaway that I would crave for after a really busy time, but as just another thing to do on an extended trip, two days would have been sufficient. Oh well, there are worse things in the world than feeling slightly bored on a picture-perfect beach.
