El Nido Resorts, Palawan - A Trip of Many Firsts

In the summer of 2007 I was invited to be part of a group that went to El Nido Resorts. Back then I was blogging intermittently and was not yet on Facebook.  As I reviewed my travel pages here, I realized that I never wrote about my trip to this beautiful resort that was doubly memorable, because it was a trip of many firsts for me.

 The first time I went on a leisure trip with friends instead of family.  

  The first time ever that I rode a small plane, a 19 seater Dornier aircraft which landed in Lio Airport, El Nido 

  The first time that I entered an exclusive island resort. This is the view of Miniloc Island from the speedboat.

 

 The first time I went inside a cave... the cathedral cave because there seems to be an altar inside

 

  The first time I went snorkeling and kayaking...there is a separate story to this experience, needless to say I came out of it alive and smiling :)

Back then, only the islands of Miniloc and Lagen (one of the sites used for an episode of The Amazing Race) were developed by El Nido Resorts.  We were booked at Miniloc Island.  As we moved along the bay, the other islands surrounding it were even more beautiful with their long stretches of white sand beaches compared to Miniloc which had a very narrow shoreline.  At that time however, these islands were used either as picnic grounds, for romantic dinners, or private parties. One of those was Pangulasian where we had a private party the evening we arrived. The island was bare except for lounging chairs, picnic tables and a pavilion, where we were treated with a sumptuous dinner buffet and local entertainment.  This breathtaking island where both sunrise and sunset can be seen has since been developed into another El Nido exclusive luxury resort.

Pangulasian Island before sunset

Sunset at Pangulasian

Pool Villa in Pangulasian (taken from El Nido Resort website)

There is still a fourth relatively new resort run by El Nido Resorts in Apulit Island.  While the three other resorts (Miniloc, Lagen, Pangulasian) are all located in the El Nido area and in Bacuit Bay, Apulit Island Resort is in Taytay, Northern Palawan and accessible via CLR airport.

This was my first visit to Palawan and it was an idyllic vacation for me...the kind that was far from the usual crowd of beach goers.  And best of all it was the first time I went on vacation where I was essentially incommunicado from the rest of the world. Peace and quiet for 3 days, where work concerns could not reach me...thank God! 

Someday, I hope to go back, maybe this time to one of those pool villas in Pangulasian :)  The next time around may no longer be a time of many firsts, but I will always be awed by the beauty and wonder of the islands of El Nido.