Boracay
During Chinese New Year, we took a 25-day break from China. We traveled to a beautiful place with white sand, good food, and English-speaking people: The Philippines.
Our first stop was a week of relaxation on the beaches of Boracay.
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We stayed at Casa Camilla and spent most of our time on
the beach here. |
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| venturing onto the high seas one afternoon |
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| just relaxing |
Puerto Princesa
After Boracay, we flew over to the island of Palawan, a little more remote, and full of beautiful scenery. Our first stop was Puerto Princesa.
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| About to climb a karst mountain |
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| up on top |
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| this is how we got down, zip line |
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We took these boats over to the famous
underground river |
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| the obligatory sign picture |
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strange area where a monkey and a
monitor lizard were hanging out |
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| about to enter the cave beyond |
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the cave was impressive, Julia was in charge of
shining the light around |
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| coming back safely |
El Nido
After a trying 6-hour ride in a van up the island, we arrived in the little town of El Nido. It was a bustling town full of locals and travelers that had electricity from 3pm to 6am. You could always hear the sounds of generators and chickens, but off the coast was an amazing archipelago of 45 small islands. Each had its own caves and beaches.
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| the best way to get around town - a tricycle |
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| a beach restaurant in town |
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| just an amazing place |
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| high above "snake island", a sandbar in the background |
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| Julia floating |
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| hanging around |
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| exploring the islands |
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| a new best friend |
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We stayed for a couple of nights on this little island beach. There was only one other cottage with 2 french people.
We had our own private chef who cooked delicious meals for us. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. |
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| a view from the little beach |
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| during the days we took trips around to the smaller islands |
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| some amazing scenery |
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| and great seafood |
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| a place I hope to visit again |
Manila
Last stop was the big city for a few days.
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| jeepneys everywhere |
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| around the old Spanish walled city |
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| the wall itself |
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| taking a little pedicab tour |
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| riding a jeepney. Does anyone know where this thing goes? |
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| definitely a colorful place |
