After the boat tours I decided to spend a few days on land. First I did what was advertised as a via ferrata and turned out to be a metal staircase with a hanging bridge in the middle. Great views from the top though. Tuesday afternoon, I then walked along the beach for an hour or so out of town until the hotels gave way to forest and there were no people about.
Yesterday was yet more exploring on land. I was up by 6 for Taraw cliff, which was probably my favourite activity. I didn't know what to expect as descriptions ranged from 'hike' to 'serious rock climbing' but it turned out to be a very nice scramble up the hill to a view from some pointy rocks and back down the same way, including being roped for a short section of down climbing.
Sweating my way up in the heat knocked me out for a couple of hours but in the afternoon I joined Holly who had directions to some 'really good rainforest'. We never got as far as the deep forest but did find a little village away from the road and a viewpoint and shelter that she described as a 'prayer mountain'. Then we went to see her boat at the non tourist end of town before I finally got to try a Philippines dish that wasn't meat and rice - a pork stew called silagong (?).
Today I hope to visit some waterfalls and then tomorrow I finally move on.
Overall impressions of El Nido. Lots of tourists and lots of rather disorganised tours. Stunningly beautiful but they really need to do something about the smell from the drains. It's hard to remember what it was like not to have sand in everything and hot weather, even when it rains.
Yesterday was yet more exploring on land. I was up by 6 for Taraw cliff, which was probably my favourite activity. I didn't know what to expect as descriptions ranged from 'hike' to 'serious rock climbing' but it turned out to be a very nice scramble up the hill to a view from some pointy rocks and back down the same way, including being roped for a short section of down climbing.
Sweating my way up in the heat knocked me out for a couple of hours but in the afternoon I joined Holly who had directions to some 'really good rainforest'. We never got as far as the deep forest but did find a little village away from the road and a viewpoint and shelter that she described as a 'prayer mountain'. Then we went to see her boat at the non tourist end of town before I finally got to try a Philippines dish that wasn't meat and rice - a pork stew called silagong (?).
Today I hope to visit some waterfalls and then tomorrow I finally move on.
Overall impressions of El Nido. Lots of tourists and lots of rather disorganised tours. Stunningly beautiful but they really need to do something about the smell from the drains. It's hard to remember what it was like not to have sand in everything and hot weather, even when it rains.
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