Wedding Blog

Part 1
Part 2

Weddingbee reader mrs. raiders asked me to mention El Nido’s gorgeous resorts!  Though I’ve shown you the rural side of El Nido, there are actually two all-inclusive resorts, Lagen and Miniloc, located on secluded islands a short boat ride away.  The vast majority of the guests there are honeymooners, and they have all the amenities and activities that you could hope for!

Mr. Bee’s parents live in El Nido, where they rent out a couple of cottages on their property (15 min from town) and they also run a coffee shop in the main town. I love mingling with locals whenever I travel, so visiting Mr. Bee’s parents is always an interesting experience because they’re actually locals!

Oh and since many of you have asked, Mr. Bee is actually half Japanese, half white. His dad is a civil structural engineer that worked in the Philippines for many years, including in El Nido, where he eventually retired. They purchased this 2 1/2 acre plot of land 5 years ago, and have completely transformed it. This is what it looked like when they first purchased it…

The property was as is - excluding the pigs and chickens!

This is what it looks like today!

The cottage we stayed in…

The view of the ocean from our room during low tide.  That’s a lounge on the left…

…complete with computers with internet, a ping pong table, and cable tv.  The electricity is on from 6pm - 6am and 12pm - 4pm every day on the island.  Luckily Mr. Bee’s parents have a generator, so I was able to access the internet when I needed to.

The view of the garden from our room.

There was no running water, so they built water tanks to collect rain water and draw underground water.

The two other cottages.  When we first visited three years ago, only the one cottage below had been completed.

In the back part of the property, there is a chicken house (left), and several fish ponds.

The chickens kept breeding and now there are over 100!

We ate fresh vegetables from the garden every day.  The yummiest were the okra and eggplant!

Fresh bananas, papaya, coconut and other exotic fruits grown right on the property.

Two days before we arrived, the local vet gave this 6 week old puppy to Mr. Bee’s parents.  I was given the honor of naming the Dalmation/Doberman mix, and I named her Chili!

Nothing beats a new puppy!

This neighbor’s rooster (manok - tagalog for chicken) has a crush on Mr. Bee’s mom.  He comes to visit twice a day, every day. He flies up to the window and crows to get her attention when he arrives.

Chili tried to chase him…

But Manok was always victorious.  Chili got pecked!

Downtown El Nido

During low tide, all this coral is exposed.  Every afternoon we’d see women, children, and dogs looking for crabs and octopus.

This is how far out onto the water I can walk during low tide!  That’s Mr. Bee’s parents’ place.

These dogs next door live on the beach.

Local kids playing on tree trunks on the beach.

We ate so well!  Mr. Bee’s mom baked fresh bread…

Grilled us fresh lobster…

And a friend dropped by with this tuna…

Which she turned into a traditional Filipino dish similar to ceviche.  So fresh and so good!

Calamari - yum!

These lizards make the loudest quacking noises.  We initally thought the noise was coming from ducks!

Though there is still a lot of poverty, El Nido seems much more prosperous than when we visited three years ago.  Pigs on leashes are still a very commonplace sight.

Typical homes

This is their cafe in town.  The only place in El Nido with an espresso machine!

Low tide (Mr. Bee’s parents’ boat)

The same spot in high tide.

Paradise huh?

We didn’t really do much in El Nido.  We slept, ate, read a lot of books, and spent time with Mr. Bee’s parents, Chili the puppy, and Manok the rooster.  It’s nice to get away from the madness that is Manhattan every once in awhile.