I think that I shall never see, a kingdom as lovely as the sea
You don’t need a passport to behold what to me is the most beautiful place on earth. Just hop on a plane to the town of El Nido in Palawan, and take a speedboat from the jetty in the small port of Lio to any of the El Nido Resorts on Bacuit Bay. From there, ask your trained guide (ours was Jimmy Cariño) to take you to the island of Bayog.
Request the boatman to drop anchor a few meters away off the island of Bayog. Be sure you have your snorkels and goggles, then take a dip (a plunge if you’re a good swimmer) into the clear celadon waters and behold a kingdom that will take your breath away — you have to surface for air in utter wonder and glee.
I lost myself to another world in the 20 minutes or so that I went sightseeing a few feet below the surface of the sea, in a kingdom with the most colorful inhabitants — tiger fish, juvenile emperor angelfish, candy basslet, parrot fish, Moorish idol, regal tang (looks like “Dory” in Finding Nemo), clown fish, among a multitude of others.
They dart freely in and out of coral palaces, with spires, steeples and alcoves they look almost Gothic to me. Down here, the architecture is intricate, each structure seemingly embroidered by deft hands. You will never find a plain surface, for each square millimeter is carved in a myriad of original designs, much like a filigree. There are also a multitude of bouquets, some a spray of seaweed, the others a graceful bunch of corals. Fish dart past you or play hide and seek with you. Sea anemones seemingly beckon at you. You marvel at how no two corals or giant clams have the same shape and texture, and how fish form an even more colorful shape when they swim together — like a funnel, like an arrow, like a jet stream.
But you hesitate to intrude further, realizing that life down here is pristine and sacred. The silence down here is loud, with only your breath and the fluttering of your feet disturbing the quiet.
And it is a privilege to be their guest, to be a recipient of the sea creatures’ hospitality. Grateful that in this underwater theater showing a real life epic, you’re a spectator with VIP access.
You emerge from your tour exhilarated, energized and enlightened, the cobwebs of your mind seemingly washed away by the soothing sea.
*** One-fourth of the Philippines’ 7,100 islands are in the province of Palawan, known as “The Last Ecological Frontier of the Philippines.”
Exotic Palawan is said to be the most sparsely populated region in the Philippines. You do the math and divide the number of lush islands with the small population and you know why Palawan is paradise.
My husband Ed, our son Chino and I took the 7 a.m. AirSwift flight from the NAIA 4 to the El Nido airport in Lio. The aircraft was spanking new, and the flight was a comfortable 50 minutes. The El Nido airport boasts a brandnew terminal with a modern Filipino theme, and yes, very clean toilets and lush foliage along the corridor. After a five-minute drive, we arrived for a sumptuous breakfast at Casa Kalaw, a bed and breakfast near the jetty. We walked along the beach to the jetty, where we boarded a speedboat to Lagen Island, one of four El Nido Resorts (the others being Pangulasian, Miniloc and Apulit).
Nestled between a lush four-hectare forest and a calm, shallow lagoon, Lagen Island, El Nido Resorts’ eco-sanctuary island resort, has the densest forest over limestone out of the 45 islands and islets of Bacuit Bay. Lagen Island serves as a sanctuary for a diverse variety of birds and mammals and has a forest trail that leads to a rewarding view of one of the coves on the other side of the island.
The ride to Lagen, even if it is all you have time for, is already worth the plane ride. It is like a guided speedboat ride through 250-million-year-old limestone formations strewn over sapphire-colored marine sanctuaries — some cliffs tower like cathedrals, others were shaped by God like they were of PlayDoh. There was a helicopter-shaped island, another was shaped like a turtle. Each island was ringed either by cream sands or clear waters that graduated from celadon green to deep jade.
We were welcomed with a song by the Lagen staff led by its affable manager Jennifer
Zafra. We were briefed to leave only footprints and take only pictures. Jen also gently warned us not to be afraid of the meter-long monitor lizards that sometimes cross our paths, and not to feed the monkeys because they do remember your room number!
We were privileged to occupy Water Cottage 109, which has a virtual 360-degree view of the sea, Lagen’s legendary “rock,” the shallow lagoon and the dense forest. Just below our cottage was a limestone formation, connected to the boardwalk by a dike. An eco-sanctuary, Lagen is ideal for those seeking a relaxing holiday in a private and tranquil island, yet wishing to be connected still to the world with Wi-Fi and cable TV! (To be concluded)
JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ