El Nido, Palawan Island

Enough cannot be said about the natural beauty of El Nido. World famous Boracay is its southward neighbor, but El Nido has been protected from droves of tourists by the treacherous 6 hour trek over unforgiving roads. Only recently has a small airport been established near El Nido, and there has been an uptick in new business. 

We started our trip in the beautiful Dolarog Beach Resort with its stunning views and wonderful hospitality. Getting there has been a challenge since the website is less than helpful and contacting the front desk is always a challenge. Taking a tricycle to the closest spot we could muster and then waiting for baggage handlers to walk down the beach and pick you up was a new experience. When we arrived, we were surprised to find that this resort is one of the oldest in El Nido, being one of two eatablishments in the 80's that catered to scuba divers. The property was a series of palm frond roof cottages that were spread out in a garden of coconut and palm trees. 

The inside was fitted with a wonderfully comfortable bed and indoor plumbing in the rear. 

Since the place is so remote, it operates a full restaurant, serving 3 meals a day along with operating its own excursions. 

We kicked back and let the gentle breeze guide our choices. Plenty of naps, great seaside meals and lots of swims in the calm beachfront. 

We couldn't do any of the pre planned trips, as they would depart at 9 and get back around 5, so we opted to charter our own boat and do a condensed version, so we were home by 12. We visited the Snake Island (known for its shape, not inhabitants) and another beautiful beach, while admiring some of the amazing cliffs in the area. 

After 4 nights at the beautiful Dolarog resort, we chartered a boat to Miniloc island in the distance that we had been watching at our sunsets. 

This resort was home to those idyllic cottages on stilts and a private beach. The resort felt far more polished than our previous resort and was run with the type of efficiency you might find in a commercial hot spot like Hawaii. 

We fell right into the island rhythm, kicked off our shoes and savored our beachfront beds with white sand covering the entire resort. 

The next day, Jen signed us up for scuba diving and we decided to split our dives up. I would do the morning dive while Astrid had her morning nap, circle back to the resort, pick Jen and Astrid up, let Jen dive and then make our way to nearby Entalula beach for a fantastic lunch. 

Our stay here was only for two nights and we made our way back to the mainland. We stayed at a lovely little bed and breakfast called Treetops, situated on another stunning beach and a short walk from a number of delicious beachside restaurants and bars. 

While Treetops was a lovely B&B, we quickly realized that the resort experience offered a better chance for us parents to comfortably leave Astrid in the room while she naps and for us to enjoy our time outside the room nearby. The Treetops was comfortable, but sadly had little to offer outside of the bedroom walls, so we adjusted our booking and left a night early. We cancelled our next stay as it had a similar setup and found a wonderful resort on Matinloc Island for us to enjoy the remainder of our trip. 

Now, I know our readers feel our burden with the challenge of booking ANOTHER resort in a tropical getaway, but this resort took the prize for best place during our trip. The Matinloc resort was recently built, so had all the amenities of a full fledged resort, but hardly any traffic, had a lovely beach, infinity pool, amazing restaurant, and stunning views of the mainland. 

Astrid turned 4 months and we celebrated with a little impromptu photo shoot by the pool and in our messy bedroom. She gladly brought the smiles before crashing hard from a half day on the boat. 

Tomorrow, we leave beautiful El Nido to make our way back to Manila before an evening departure back to reality. It's been an amazing stay and surely ranks up with some of the best places we have ever been lucky enough to visit. It doesn't top Paros for overall experience, but it sure came close with its stunning beaches, amazing scenery and wonderful inhabitants. 

We will gladly come back another day should any of our dear readers be in the mood to visit. 

Valentine's Day

Jen and I aren't huge fans of the hyper commercialized holiday of Valentines, but the date of February 14th has played prominently in our relationship. 

It is 1 week removed from when we met and also reflects a moment when Jen realized she might really like me. 

It is the day I proposed to Jen in Washington square park after the previous day's that week had become unavailable due to work conflicts for Jen.

It is the day that we signed our marriage certificate at a court house in Palm Springs before our unofficial ceremony in Paros in August. 

And this year isn't as much a milestone, but a really great reflection of how lucky we are to be where we are and to celebrate our many moments that mark a relationships timeline. 

After getting some tips from the great staff at Momo beach house, I found that the 4 star resort on the other side of the island was having a Valentine's Day special, a prix fixe 5 course menu in a romantic setting. 

Jen gave me a lovely little token with pages of lovely memories. 

The food was amazing, but hardly Filipino like advertised. Oh well, we drowned our worries in champagne and chocolate truffle.

We had a lovely evening and Astrid kindly snoozed through most of it. We ended our night with an enchanting walk through the candle lit botanical park. 

Happy first-meeting/proposal/first-marriage-ceremony, my love!

 

To my batha

Dearest Astrid,

Today, we had an exceptional bonding experience.

It all started while we were in the Philippines when you were just three months old. Mom wanted to go scuba diving, but it would mean she would be gone from 9 am until late in the afternoon. Not to let your breast feeding schedule stop her from her love of scuba diving, she pumped several bottles of breast milk the day before and said adios to us as the sun rose.

The day started off with a swim and showing you how to splash in the water. I would wiggle my toes and you followed suit. 

A power nap while daddy did some flight bookings for the rest of our trip. 

A trip to the busy Alona beach to finalize a few more trip details was in order, so I tossed you in the sling and headed to town. In the busy Filipino town, we were turning heads everywhere, since I tend to standout in Asia, it's not every day you see a giant albino, but it was you that stole the show. You were smiling and giggling at all the people to the delight of many of the locals who were coming up to us to say hello little "Batha", baby in Tagalog.

After strolling, we stopped for fish tacos at a beach bar that had a nice shady spot for us. We camped out, played with an ice cube and watched the people go by. We were taking it all in and it was lovely. We each got a bottle to sip on, a beer for daddy and breast milk for you.

Our little outing was a short one, so I only brought one diaper and a bottle, but lo and behold you decided to up the stakes. While at the bar, you must have been comfortable, so you decided to deliver quite the #2 that pushed your poor diaper to the breaking point. Changing you wasn't an easy task since we were at a restaurant bar with a tiny bathroom and I had no wipes to clean you up.

Thankfully the bathroom had a large sink to give your bottom a little rinse and used the hand air dryer to make it perfect. You were as happy as could be and we headed home in a rickety "trike" cab where you continued to make plenty of Filipino ladies smile as you looked out on the world. The cab driver was all smiles as well, but this photo doesn't do him justice. These trikes are quite the opposite to the heavy safety standards of the US, but we travel quite a bit slower here due to the terrible roads and ancient motors.

As we got home, you snoozed away until mom returned to cherish your little face. I think she missed you, as she is rarely away from you for more than an hour or two. 

I hope this message finds you in a place that recognizes the beauty in a smile and focusing on the essentials of life. An easy going, kind and resourceful attitude will take you around the world and back many times over. Your mother and I know this well, and it seems you have inherited our love of travel, happiness and making the best of any situation.

To my little Batha who is now surely a woman in her own, today was special as you were my little travel buddy and my love for you somehow grew even stronger than before.

Here's to many more in the years to come!

Love,

Daddy

Heat & Breeze

We woke before dawn today with a wide eyed and giggly baby. I took her for a morning stroll and took in the brilliant stars and the early light peeking over the trees. 

We saw the morning fisherman haul in their nets and the stray dogs sniffing the exposed seaweed of the low tide. 

As the morning began, we had a wonderful breakfast spread of organic sausages, beets and waffles at our resort. My ladies were matching in their vibrant floral onesies and sun hats. 

Today, we took the recommendation of a fellow guest and made our trek to the Bohol Bee Farm, an under the radar travel destination that boasts a stunning seaside restaurant and organic honey shop. Jen couldn't resist and we grabbed a van right away. 

The lunch was truly outstanding with the most insanely delicious cassava bread with mango honey spread, some fish tacos served in a cassava cone and a delicious fish platter. All the while overlooking a beautiful bluff of emerald turquoise waters. 

While we ate, the waitress took a liking to Astrid who smiled radiantly at her every time she came by. We had heard about the Filipino hospitality and were ready for some baby adoration, so when Our waitress offered to hold her so we could enjoy lunch, she was whisked away and entertained aplenty. Astrid was soon smiling and giggling for plenty of group shots with the staff. We had to laugh and was extremely proud of how well she handled being held by strangers.

After lunch, the famed White Beach was nearby and we took a quick "trike" ride to the area. The trike is just a motorcycle with a metal shell wrapped around it. It barely seats two passengers, but is definitely the quickest way around town.

The beach was hot and Astrid was getting tired, so a quick swim was in order and then made a break for home before she grew too tired. She was a trooper, but we have yet to find a way to have Astrid nap well outside of the room. The Philippines is a hot, balmy region, with tropical, lush surroundings and frequent downpours. It's saving grace is a cool ocean breeze when you're by the coast. When the breeze dies down, everyone is sweating and keeping Astrid cool can be a challenge when we're not riding in an air conditioned van or have our hotel room handy. 

So now we're back to the room with a fresh, fed baby who is back to loving the breeze and snoozing in her crib. With the pool steps away from our room, Jen and I take the chance to go for a dip and beat the heat one more time before the night takes over. 

Trekking to the Philippines

After a red eye departure from SFO, our little family minus louloudi, made our way to Manila. It was a 12.5 hour journey leaving in the middle of night that begun well enough by a kind Philippino grandmother offering her bulkhead row seat, so that Jen and I could sit together with Astrid. She became one of the many nearby passengers who Astrid engaged in smiling and giggling with. She slept and ate remarkably well for the journey, enough so that we decided to give her an A-, the minus only for her slight fussiness towards the end of the trip, when she couldn't sleep with the lights coming back on and crew hustling about doling out drinks and pseudo food. We did our best to shelter her from the light and noise with a make shift tent over the bassinet. 

Upon landing in Manila, we had to hurry to make it through immigration and transfer over to the domestic terminal. The Manila airport is sectioned into 4 domestic terminals and one international, but they are not connected via trams or walkways, so you must exit the airport, find a shuttle and hope your Intel of which terminal your flight was in was accurate. As we exited the airport, the crowds had gathered and the shuttle was not arriving per a the gate guard. Not wanting to miss our window, we hailed a taxi and scrambled a 25 minute drive through the busy streets of Manila to our terminal. The roads resembled our time in India, with nobody paying heed to lanes or speed, but just a mix of mopeds, carts, trucks, vans and these amazing hybrid motorbike taxis with tin roofs, aka tricycles, all squeezing their way forward. 

We made it to our terminal as the check in was closing and thankfully one passenger before us had packed one too many souvenirs and was shuffling items between several large suitcases to the dismay of the desk agent, and our great fortune. We breezed through security with our special baby pass, that gets you waved into all the VIP lanes typically reserved for first class, pregnant women and the elderly. I'll take that, thank you very much. 

We made it to the bustling joint gate/waiting room with a few minutes to spare and a hungry Jen scarfed down an Asade Moma while we walked out to the plane taxi area. Between the last few hours and our race through Manila, Astrid hadn't slept much and was a little over stimulated, so sadly she whined most of the next flight to the dismay of ourselves and some equally tired passengers. Being "that" traveling family is painful and sometimes it is simply unavoidable, as Astrid giggled at times, but was just exhausted, even for such a good little sport she was earlier. Most fellow passengers were good sports about it, but Astrid received her lowest travel rating of the day, a D- from Jen, but clearly a passing grade from me since this leg of the test was on the curve and few babies could have been keeping it together given the previous trip duration. 

Upon making it to Taglibaran, we entered the open air airport and grabbed a taxi to our resort. The next 30 minute ride was an eyeful through the city and a bumpy one with plenty of roads being washed away and/ or under construction. Astrid, poor sweet little baby, somehow managed to feed and sleep through the most turbulent part of our journey yet, a sign of just how tired she must have been. Thankfully we arrived at our resort which was a step into paradise. From our door in San Francisco, a 20 hour trip set us on the white sands and gorgeous palm tree resort of Momo Beach House. 

From there, we scrubbed the plane from our bodies, donned our finest beach bum wear and took in a delicious breakfast with fresh squeezed fruit juices that seemed heavenly. The little lady loved her new surroundings and enjoyed the gentle ocean breeze quite well. It calmed her tired face and we were all sound asleep within the hour.

 

As I write this, the ladies are still sound asleep and I'm enjoying my first frosty beverage while chatting with fellow travelers about their recommendations for the area. 

Paradise shall continue tomorrow, but first this little family has earned a day to kick back and soak away our worries.