i’ve been putting off this post for some time now, mainly because i feel like i don’t have pictures that perfectly capture the beauty of el nido’s islands. you know that feeling when you’re looking at your closet full of clothes but in your head, you’re like, “i have nothing to wear!” it’s kind of like that for me. sure, i have all these photos here but really, they’re not enough. they will never be enough. you have to go out there and see this wonderful paradise for yourself.

because i will disappoint you.

waking up to a cloudy morning with my leg and arm muscles screaming for the most potent analgesic known to man because of that little adventure the night before, i worried that it would rain. i could accept the muscle pains but i could not, for the life of me, accept being in el nido when it’s raining. that would be like flying to the moon only to get there and realize that it’s lunar eclipse.

the first 30 minutes were nothing but the blue sea, the gray skies, and the sharp-looking cliffs scattered left and right in el nido’s sea like stars on the velvet sky. from afar, they were amazing to watch. silent. mysterious. dangerous.

i still worried that it would rain.

thankfully, the somber skies parted to let the light shine through. beautiful rays of warm light landed on the rocks and stones nature carved for her own amusement, radiating into the dark azure waters, transforming the color molecules to the loveliest shade of turquoise.

“salul!” the mother of a jewish friend exclaimed. indeed, the water was crystal clear, like one huge swimming pool except that there were colorful fishes and corals in it.

this is the entrance to the small lagoon. a truly enchanting cove which immediately had me under its spell.

to get to the small lagoon, you have to swim through a rather small opening in the rocks, snorkeling along the way if you want to so as to make the most out of the visual experience. inside, it was paradise!!! i fell in love with it the moment i saw it.

imagine the same magical turquoise waters enclosed by captivating rock formations on all sides. breathtaking!

it felt like nature enveloping me in a tight hug, with the strong boulders around me as her arms — covering; protecting; welcoming. the warm water was her womb. i was her prodigal child.

i would go back there in a heartbeat if i could.

this is the part where none of our cameras did the glorious place any justice. we didn’t have any of those sophisticated underwater cameras. good thing one of our tour companions had an underwater cam with her and we kind of hitched a shot before it zonked out later that day.

what the small lagoon really looked like? the closest photo i found on the web was this. taken from ronni’s site, whoever ronni is. haha. big thank you to ronni. =)

lesson learned: when traveling to el nido, make sure you have a really good underwater camera. you’d hate yourself later for failing to take beautiful photos of something where the word “beautiful” is an understatement.