Register or log in —

Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Bee
more by Mrs. Bee (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Bee
Mrs. Bee's Picture
Mrs. Bee, New York Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet Engagement Date: May 7, 2004 Wedding Date: March 5, 2005 Venue: Westside Loft, New York About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
About Mrs. Bee

The Philippines Part 2: El Nido

November 4th, 2008 @ 5:17 pm by Mrs. Bee

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. :P )

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!

z13784501z13785701z14057801
z13786401z13786501z13846801
z13847501z13850601z14047201

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

The flora of El Nido.

z137846z13784601z137847
z137866z137874z137867
z138918z137873z13787201

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!

b138100

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.

b141199

b141200

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

b138104

Our 2 guides cooked us a fish lunch.

z138115z138209
z138210z138244

Off to explore some caves…

We saw dogs catching and eating crabs on the shore.

These black limestone cliffs are magnificent.

b138258

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.

b138323

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

z138326 z138328

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.

z138908z13890801

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! :)

Tags: |   Link for this post | Share this post: The Philippines Part 2: El Nido      
Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Bee
more by Mrs. Bee (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Bee
advertisement below

21 Responses to “The Philippines Part 2: El Nido”

1.
Guest Icon
Guest
linda

love it! more posts, Mrs. Bee! A pig with a leash! :)

 
2.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Dumpling (message)  650 posts, Busy bee

Its so interesting to see how people live in different countries. I love how bundled up Mrs. Bee looks in all the shots. Great post! Looking forward to more!

 
3.
EAQ219
Member
EAQ219 (message)  1,035 posts, Bumble bee

Those shots of the beach and water are amazing. By the way, I know there has been talk of the Google ads here lately, and just so you know the ad that came up under this post says “Find Your Filipina Beauty Today. FilipinaHeart.com.” I’m not offended, just wanted to give the heads up in case this isn’t something you want on the site.

 
4.
Guest Icon
Guest
Springbride

I’ve always wanted to go~

 
5.
Guest Icon
Guest
Soon2BMrsElnels

Love the pictures! It brings me back home… thanks for sharing. You guys have fun!

 
6.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Spring Roll (message)  718 posts, Busy bee

What a neat place. I love the photos, so beautiful.

 
7.
Guest Icon
Guest
Vic004

I love your posts about El Nido, would have never known a place like this exists. It is so absolutely beautiful and secluded. Mr. Bee’s mom must love it there. The water buffalo are so cool and I love the monkey eating on the tree video!

 
8.
Guest Icon
Guest
mic

i saw your pictures of san miguel beer and suddenly i miss it!

i showed my husband to be the pictures and we are putting the Philippines on our top place to visit for our honeymoon!

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Onion (message)  657 posts, Busy bee

OMG Bee you crack me up. “Video clip of a local monkey eating some fruit and some pheasants.” All I could picture was the monkey eating fruit AND pheasants. I watched the video with bated breath.

 
10.
Guest Icon
Guest
Angeline

i love reading about your philippines adventures!

 
11.
Guest Icon
Guest
darleene

Wow, what great photos! I fantasize about one day washing my face in a waterfall myself…

 
12.
bellenga
Hostess
bellenga (message)  4,662 posts, Honey bee

Thanks Mrs. Bee! I needed the mental vacay…getting over strep throat..

I love their island version of corona and your remake of it!

It looks peaceful and beautiful. People look so friendly too. You’re lucky to have such a wonderful family ya know?

 
13.
Guest Icon
Guest
maya

Nice one, Mrs. Bee! El Nido is really beautiful! Thanks for posting the pictures! I love ‘em! I really haven’t been there, but I hope I can go there pretty soon after we’re done with our wedding expenses!

 
14.
Guest Icon
Guest
Honey

Thanks Mrs. Bee! Your posts build up my excitement even more. Cant wait to experience El Nido soon! =)

 
15.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Taffy (message)  2,605 posts, Sugar bee

It looks beautiful! I love the baby chick photos. :)

 
16.
Guest Icon
Guest
mrs. raiders

hi mrs. bee. i think its awesome that you are talking about the philippines. However, its would be even better if you showed them the actual resorts! THere are so many wonderful sights that you can actually share with our bloggers….we have very competitive resorts and it would be nice for everyone to know that we are not as “primitive” as the usual notion! dont you think so?

 
17.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Sea Breeze (message)  913 posts, Busy bee

Oh my gawd! If I weren’t leaving myself in 7 days, I’d be soooo envious of your amazing trip! Oh, wait, I am anyways. Hee hee. I love these posts, I’m learning so much.

 
18.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Pomegranate (message)  956 posts, Busy bee

Hey those are guinea hens aren’t they? They’re the birds that sport the famous spotted feathers that everyone loves to put in their fascinators (like Autumn K.).

 
19.
Guest Icon
Guest
Jehnel

Haha, I didn’t know Mr. Bee was a Flip!

Para sa inyong dalawa, maraming ligaya sa kinabukasan ninyo. (=

 
20.
Mrs. Bee
Bee
Mrs. Bee (message)  3,261 posts, Sugar bee

@Jehnel: Mr. Bee is actually half Japanese/half white. :)

 


You can also just...

Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Bee
more by Mrs. Bee (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Bee
Visit our sister sites Project Wedding
Wedding Songs
eHarmony Advice
Dating Advice
JustMommies
Pregnancy Calendar
Fertile Thoughts
Infertility Support
Copyright 2004-2009, eHarmony, Inc., Advertise
 


Sponsors
Mrs. Bee
Mrs. Bee Mrs. Bee, New York Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet Engagement Date: May 7, 2004 Wedding Date: March 5, 2005 Venue: Westside Loft, New York About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
Weddingbee PRO
 
Boards
 
Classifieds
 

Blog Calendar
November 2009
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930

Weddingbee Bios
Wiki
More