Island Hopping -- Puerto Princesa, The Philippines

I'm starting this post from a hammock on the rooftop of Island Hop Hostel in El Nido, the Philippines. Roosters crow intermittently, insects buzz incessantly, an uproarious gecko chirps obnoxiously, and the odd rickshaw races past, reminding me that I'm not the only person awake at this unpopular hour.

It's around four in the morning, and I'm up because four am appears to be the only time WiFi works in this dazzling, internet bereft country. Also, I'm escaping the catastrophic stench of our room. Andrej and I somehow landed in a room that smells emphatically of mold, shit and floral cleaning detergent all at once.

So I don't make a habit of lingering.

I've caught up on Facebook, Words with Friends, most of my emails and have confirmed my appointment with an ENT in Chiang Mai for the end of the month.

My throat has been hurting since mid-October. I've been to three different doctors in three different countries who have either told me, a) I had a virus, b) hat nothing at all was wrong, or c) that something was clearly wrong, but they had no idea what "wrong" happened to be. So I've just been living with this. Trying to ignore it because I don't feel like there's anything else I can do. 

Like a really bad neighbor. 

A coconut crashes to the roof above me, clatter, clash, clunk. I leap from my seat in surprise, then realize that lighting has not struck the roof. Just a freaking coconut.

Hehe... only in the tropics.

Andrej and I booked an island hopping tour at the reception of Best Western for our final day in Puerto Princesa. A van picked us up from the hotel at 7:30 in the morning, drove us to the dock and we were ushered onto a boat that would carry us to three different islands.

This is what package tours are like. Not having to problem solve anything. Just getting tossed about from one idyllic place to another. 

Introverted Tree

The first island was Starfish Island.

Andrej spotted nary a starfish. But I saw two. A fact which I rubbed in (just a little) later on.

 

My eyes have been bothering me since Nepal (conjunctivitis?) so I've been reluctant to wear contact lenses, as they exacerbate the pain. However, I couldn't resist the opportunity to snorkel with tropical fishes, so I rashly popped in the lenses and dove into the smooth, warm water that was bursting with life.

 I saw coral reefs teeming with fishes of all the colors (even more colors than my eyeballs have). But the mask started to leak, I kept choking on saltwater and my eyes began to burn, so I reluctantly put the mask away and went to hunt down a coconut.

Which is a more dangerous endeavor than I would have guessed.

Our next island took us a while to explore...

 Luckily, we finished in time to make it to our third island, where we were able to relax and enjoy some lunch.

 We took a bus from Puerto Princesa to El Nido the next day, a journey that lasted about six hours and was full of breathtaking scenery.

After checking into our rancid room, we moseyed into town to grab a bite to eat at Sea Jane's, a restaurant on the seafront. Andrej ordered a plate of spicy shrimp and I ordered a tuna steak with oyster sauce. Both dishes were delicious, the sunset was sublime we felt as if we were winning at life (even with our putrid room).

Alas, the spice in the shrimp had irritated Andrej's sensitive stomach (or so we thought), and he spent the next day in abject misery.

Gosh... when I get sick, it's a bummer, but I never have to deal with the whole, "THIS WAS MY VACATION!" thing. This is just my life. If I get sick, I get sick. And I deal, 'cos getting sick is a part of life. But this... this is Andrej's vacation that he's been looking forward to for months. And to get sick on vacation feels dreadfully unfair. 

Regardless of Andrej's unpleasant predicament, we hopped into a rickshaw and jostled along towards two of El Nido's waterfalls.

Filipino petrol station

 We were led through the jungle to the waterfalls by a young Filipino lady named Lucy.

"Here," Lucy said, handing me a bamboo walking stick.

"Do I need it?" I eyed the stick skeptically.

I hate having to hold sticks. Almost as much as I hate getting my face wet in the shower. So uneccessary. 

"Yes, you need," the woman replied in her halting English. "It is jungle walk."

Grudgingly, I received the innocent bamboo stick. Andrej noticed my displeasure and offered to relieve me of my stick so that I could take photos as we walked.

"I'd rather have no stick," he confided. "But two sticks are better than one stick."

The jungle walk, sans stick, was spectacular. We ambled along gently sloping dirt paths --

-- and waded through silky smooth streams until we made it to the first waterfall. 

 

Where we stripped down to our swimsuits and plunged into the refreshing water.

Lucy led us to the second fall, where Andrej showered and I merely dipped my toes.

'Cos sometimes all I want is to stand back and admire.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon at one of El Nido's many pristine beaches, drinking daiquiris, observing a volleyball match between two lifeguards and wading (Andrej swims. I stick to wading. Especially when the lifeguards on duty are playing volleyball).