Touchdown Palawan

Months in the making, our planned get-together with my college friends finally came through. Suggestions of a beach getaway started in the middle of 2022 when one of my close friends, who's now living abroad, finalized her decision to return home to the Philippines at the end of the year.

As adults, we know how extremely difficult it is to align everyone's schedules when all of us are working different jobs, in different locations, and have different priorities. By some miracle, we were able to agree to go on a vacation trip to El Nido, Palawan, on January 2023. And now we're all here (I wrote this the day we arrived)! We still had a few friends who couldn't make it, but we were able to gather 13 people to the island of Palawan.

Days before the trip, we were worried that the weather would be bad, or worse, our flights would be canceled because, for weeks since December of 2022, it was constantly raining in Cebu. There was also news of a Low-Pressure Area (LPA) entering the Philippines and wreaking havoc in some parts of the country, leaving towns in deep floods.

Thankfully, the weather was good during our flight, and I got to see a crystal-clear view of Cebu. I'd never been on a flight that crossed the island of Cebu to the other side, and I was amazed by the sight below. However, just a few minutes after, our plane entered through some clouds, and everything was just white. I had to close the windows on my side because it was too bright. Turbulence plagued our flight the entire time.

After over an hours, the sky cleared, and the pilot said we were to begin our descent to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. We landed safely, and then we started a grueling 6-hour drive to the north of Palawan. After a dizzying journey through zigzagging roads, we finally arrived at El Nido.

We checked in at our hotel, which had a direct view of this giant rock formation. We had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant called Garlic and Mint. The weather in El Nido was in stark contrast with Cebu's. It was clear, and no signs of rain. We finished our Bahn Mi's and Pho's before turning in for the night, ready to face three days of pure beach and sun.