Weddingbee Blog

Part 1 

(Note: This is adapted from a post on my personal blog 3 years ago.  Also, these pics were taken with an old point and shoot camera, and before I learned Photoshop. )

As we walked towards Mr. Bee’s parents’ place, this little girl said, “Hello Mom” to Mr. Bee’s mom. She was really saying, “Hello Ma’am” but Filipinos pronounce ”ma’am like ”mom”, so you’ll hear this a lot because everyone is so polite and friendly!

Neighborhood kids would show up to the property everyday because Mr. Bee’s mom gives them candy and cookies. They bring her a plant that looks similar to one she likes; she tells them to stop bringing the plant, but they won’t because they want cookies.

Video clip of a local monkey eating some fruit and some pheasants.

A millipede.

Mr. Bee’s mom covered in head to toe in the sweltering humidity. When she first moved to the island, she got bit by a red ant and had a horrible allergic reaction. Since then she always wears boots.

A tricycle (a motorcycle with a shell that seats 3 passengers) is the main mode of transportation in El Nido. Cost - 5 pesos or 9¢ per person (it has since gone up to 10 pesos for natives and 30 pesos for tourists).

The local church. The nicest building in all of El Nido.

Downtown El Nido

Roosters are kept on a leash in front of many houses. They’re used for cock fights, which are a big part of Filipino culture.

These crabs live everywhere on the beach.

A local bar with an amazing view.

My version of the Philippines Corona commercial. Since there is no electricity in the afternoon, this beer was very warm.

A local elementary school. All education in the Philippines is done in English, so visiting is very convenient for tourists because everyone speaks English.

A woman buying fresh fish for the day.

Local children playing on a vanka.

A local house. Hanging laundry is something you see in front of almost every single house.

We bought some fresh veggies for dinner.

Animals galore along the forest path to Mr. Bee’s parents’ place… goats and water buffalos (to plow the rice fields)

Chickens and chicks. Black chickens have black chicks. White chickens have yellow chicks. Brown chickens have brown chicks.

A gaggle of geese and a mother hen with her chicks we passed along the way…

We burned these mosquito coils every night. When I used to live in the Korean countryside as a little girl, we burned these every night.

Mr. Bee’s mom with one of her workers Derrick, washing white radishes fresh from the garden for the evening’s dinner.

More of Mr. Bee’s mom’s garden. We ate fresh fruits and veggies from it everyday - papaya, squash, coconuts, bananas, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and more!

The house is right on the beach facing west, so you can watch the sun set every night.

The flora of El Nido.

Mr. Bee and I booked a tour from 9am - 4pm that included island hopping, snorkeling in 3 different locations, cave exploration, and lunch all for only 550 pesos or $10.19!!! Our first stop - snorkeling in these crystal clear waters.

Some pictures I took with an underwater disposable camera. They didn’t come out too well but there were a lot of fish and a lot of coral!

My dorky self.

Next we headed to Snake Island. The water was absolutely crystal clear!

I’ve never seen so many beautiful shells in my life as I have in El Nido. They’re everywhere but it’s against the law to take them.

Snake Island is a bar of sand that connects two islands.

Then it was over to a secluded island for lunch. I was the first person to step on the pristine beach.

Our 2 guides cooked us a fish lunch.

Off to explore some caves…

We saw dogs catching and eating crabs on the shore.

These black limestone cliffs are magnificent.

Cathedral Cave. We wanted to explore inside, but the waters were pretty choppy and we might have been dashed against the rocks by the waves.

6:00 am - Fishing Trip at high tide. Mr. Bee’s mom getting a piggyback ride onto our vanka.

These are our poles. They cut up the bait and put it on our hooks for us.

Derrick and Jeffrey both started catching fish instantly.

But Mr. Bee and his mom both got violently seasick. The rest of us didn’t catch anything. They dropped us off in town before heading back home.

Mr. Bee and I also booked a hot springs, mountain hike, and waterfall tour We travelled by tricycle - the driver, our guide, Mr. Bee and me. It was a very bumpy ride because the road is not paved and filled with rocks.

Rice fields - number one crop in the Philippines.

Farmers are starting to use modern machinery instead of water buffalos to plow fields.

First stop - the hot springs. Insects die when they land on the almost boiling water.

Our guide making his way across the hot springs over a tree trunk path.

Natural hot springs. You could feel the heat and smell the sulphur. Bubbles rose up to the surface (you can hear our guide talking in the background).

We stopped by to help someone with a flat tire. The roads are realllly rocky. It’s crazy how strong these little honda bikes are.

Onward to the forest hike. Oink oink and moo moo.

This mama water buffalo kept staring at me directly in the eye both times we passed her. She was very protective of her calf.

We had to wear tevas because we walked through a lot of creeks.

Ribbit. Ribbit.

A good portion of the trail was made of clay.

We finally made it to the waterfall! Washing my face in it was so refreshing.

Random chicken video. This is at the neighbor’s house. We were exhausted after fishing at the crack of dawn and hiking all day.

I’ll save a tour of Mr. Bee’s parents’ property for when I get back because they’ve made a lot of additions since the last time we were here 3 years ago. If you have any questions about El Nido, please feel free to ask!