Travels to El Nido, Palawan.

Today we woke up very early like 3 am to catch our flight to Palawan. Luckily we also went to bed very early last night so it really didn't effect us. Our flight left Manila at 630 am.

When we got to the airport it was so crowded! The line wasn't moving at all. I was sure we were going to miss our flight. But all of the sudden the line started moving pretty fast and of course our flight was a little delayed. I've never had a flight going or coming from the Philippine Islands be on time. For this trip we took Philippine Airlines. We usually take Cebu Airlines. I don't remember much of Cebu...but I think they might be a little better than Philippine Airlines. For one, the seats are super small on Philippine Airlines. There was hardly any room between the seats!

Once we landed in Puerto Princesa, Palawan we looked for our shuttle with Day Tripper to take us to Stunning Vistas Beach Resort. We couldn't find them anywhere! I was concerned because our flight was a little late so maybe we had missed them. So we went to the travel office and they contacted Stunnning Vistas and they said our van had broken down so they had arranged for someone else to pick us up.

Fort Wally was the company that picked us up. When we got in the van we were the only ones and I thought that was how it was going to be....I was wrong. They took us to their office and told us that the next shuttle was around 9. It was about 8 so that was okay. But then it turned into 10 then 11. They kept telling us they wanted to find more people. It was very annoying. Around 1030 another couple came up. Later we would learn their names, Yan and Alex, a couple from Germany. They were also staying at Stunning Vistas. So then it was around 1120 and finally they started loading up the van. We had acquired a filipino man and woman also. So it looked good, looked like it would be six of us. They loaded our luggage in the back of the van and we were all sitting pretty comfortably. There was still one row that was empty. Then another couple came up and joined the van. So now me, Don, Yan, Alex, 2 filipinos, a French woman and a man from Denmark. We all got in the van and were still sitting pretty comfortably and we had started on our 5 hour journey to El Nido.

Suddenly the van pulled over. We were at another van company's office. There were people standing outside the van and they did not look happy. We could see 4 people clearly. Then we were told that they were moving all of our luggage to the roof and putting a waterproof cover over so we could make room for 4 new passengers! I was not happy and neither were these 4 other passengers. The van was going to packed! The 4 passengers and the drivers argued for awhile. We then learned there were about 15 of these people looking for a van and they were splitting up. One of the girls said she didn't want to be cramped like
that. So the guy that had started unloading all the luggage so he could put it on the roof started putting it back in the van. One of the drivers told the girls they wouldn't be able to make it to El Nido today. So then somehow it worked out we acquired 3 of these new passengers and the rest (like a group of 7) got in the other van.

So up on the roof our luggage went! It did not seem safe. But off we went. The 3 new passengers were from Uruguay  They were on a college graduation trip.  They were all accountants. The guy told us it was tradition in his school for the graduates to take a trip.  He said some people go for about 3-4 months but he is probably doing 7 months. 7 months vacation! I couldn't believe it! They had already been traveling for some time! We learned Yan and Alex from Germany had booked with Stunning Vistas about a week ago; they had about 3-4 weeks left of travel and hadn't really planned it out they were just booking as they went. Denmark and France seemed very spontaneous since they had just up and decided they would come to El Nido. They had been in Manila the past few days and they were headed to El Nido with us and they hadn't booked a room yet. I couldn't believe it! These people were just living and not by a schedule. I feel like in America we only have so long for vacation and everything is pretty much planned out. I want a 7 month vacation!

So we thought we were pretty much on our way when the van pulled over again. The driver got and talked to someone at a store. Then we he tried to turn around so he backed up and we heard a loud noise. The back tire had gotten stuck in a rut alongside the road. We had to get out and help push the van out! What kind of road trip was this going to be?! What else could happen!?

The driver drove like a maniac. The road was so curvy and he would take it top speed. He would pass other cars with no regard if an oncoming car was in the way. It was scary. And my stomach was not handling it either. I started feeling carsick. Sometimes on the ride I felt we might not make it out alive. I had really never experienced such a crazy driver. About 2 hours into the ride we pulled over at a restaurant. It was kind of like a buffet. We got some adobo and rice. I took some Dramamine for the carsickness.
Here's a picture of the pitstop.

The rest of the ride was really no better. I would try to look out the window but I felt like my head was spinning. The driver was always tailgating someone or passing someone with another car coming right at us. Finally around 6 we made it to El Nido. We should have been there around 2. The driver went into town though and didn't drop us off at our hotel. When we got there we told him he was supposed to take us to Stunning Vistas. Yan and Alex also needed to be dropped off there. So eventually he did.

When we arrived at Stunning Vistas all I wanted to do was go in the room and relax. They made us welcoming drinks and we sat by the beach for a few minutes. We made it in time just as it was getting dark. Here's our first glimpse of El Nido, Palawan.

Then we went to get our room key. We had booked a standard room but were told due to construction they had upgraded us to a deluxe room for tonight and we would be moved to the standard the next day. The deluxe room was okay. It looked kind of old. The TV didn't work,but the bathroom was better than what we had at the airport hotel. The room also had a fridge. I am a little scared to see what a downgrade will look like tomorrow!

After we got settled in a bit we went to get some food at the hotel's restaurant. Yan and Alex were there and they asked if we wanted to eat together. They were very nice and we had some good conversation. Good thing because the food took well over an hour! It was amazingly slow. So we vowed not to eat at our hotel for dinner again.

First Real Day

Today we were up pretty early like 7 am. The time change was messing with us. It also didn't help that there was a rooster constantly crowing. It's even crowing as I write this. The hotel room is really small but after thinking about it, this is why I booked this place. It was very close to the airport and was cheap. I didn't expect a luxury hotel, but I guess I just hoped it would be a bit bigger. But I am feeling better about it now. It serves its purpose and we leave here tomorrow very early. I also realized after arriving here that Trip Advisor didn't show most of the hotels near the airport...booking stuff was hard from the US.

We did get to see our view outside the hotel this morning...

Not the nicest view...I think the nicer and safer areas are on the other side of the airport. Although this place seems okay. We were able to explore a little bit this morning. The security at this hotel is nice because they have guards and there is a gate around it. It even has its own convenient store so we don't have to go out. I feel good about that because outside the gate...isn't so nice. We took a small walk. So...if you want a little bit above bare minimum stay at the Isabelle Garden Hotel near the airport. The room is nice enough. The bathroom is extremely small. They do give you free breakfast though. And they arrange free airport pick up. The price is almost $30 a night.

Don's uncle (Tito Rom) and cousin (Regan) visited us this morning and we talked about our plans. Then Don's dad came with his brother and we went out for lunch. They took us to the Mall of Asia. We went there last time we were here. We were able to exchange some more money and it was nice to get out and walk around. We ate at Max's Restaurant. It was kind of a mixture of a fast food restaurant and a sit down place. They specialize in fried chicken. They have a number of American dishes combined with Philippine cuisine. Once we were done with lunch we went back to the hotel and we worked on booking another hotel in Los Banos, for when we get back from Palawan.

This evening we just hung out and relaxed. We were tired from traveling and we have a 6:30 am flight tomorrow to go to Palawan. There seemed to be a party going on outside. There were people singing and a DJ. It was really loud. We ordered some pizza from a menu the front desk gave us. The place was called Greenwich Pizza. It wasn't very good at all. The sauce tasted like ketchup. Ready to see what Palawan will offer us!

Arrival in Philippines

We arrived at Incheon Airport (near Seoul) around 4:30 pm. The Korean airport was really nice, so modern and clean looking. We got some food. I had a Subway sandwich and Dr Pepper! Because every time I see Dr Pepper in a foreign country I have to try it. It tasted slightly different, better than the Dr Pepper I had in Greece though.

Our next flight to Manila was at 7:30 pm. This plane was not as big and more cramped. There were hardly any free seats so we had to sit next to someone. This flight was about 4 hours. It felt like 8. We still had tv screens to watch whatever we would like so that was cool. I mostly tried to sleep on this flight but it was impossible. I couldn't get comfortable. But still...Korean Air way better than Delta...plus this flight was also on time.

We arrived in Manila around 10:30 pm and we got our luggage quickly. Yay, no lost luggage! The process of getting through customs was fast too. It took us forever to find our hotel shuttle connection though. We eventually had to call our hotel because there were so many people and we couldn't find our guy. We didn't get to the hotel until around 12:30 am. I was so tired and grumpy. I also wasn't very impressed with the hotel at the time ahaha.

Philippines! Flying Day

Woke up today around 7 to get ready for our 12:45 flight from O'Hare. it was nice having time in the morning before the flight, usually we are always flying so early.

When we got to the airport we checked in with Korean Air. Usually when we fly we take one backpack and a small roller for carry ons but they would only allow us to bring one so we had to check our rollers. This made me so nervous because I hate losing luggage. I've had my luggage lost once and ever since then I pack so I will not need to check in a bag. But there was nothing we could do.

The flight from Chicago to Seoul was about 14 hours. It was on time (last time when we flew with Delta to the Philippines every flight was delayed). The flight wasn't full and we got lucky because the 3rd seat in our section was not taken so we had a lot more room. Compared to Delta Airlines the seats on Korean Air were much more roomy. Every seat had a screen on it to watch movies and play games.

I got some wine and Silver Linings Playbook was the first movie I watched. It was pretty good. Then for lunch they served Bibimbap (Korean dish). For airplane food it was actually pretty good.

After lunch I read some and then checked out the games I could play. Then I watched Life of Pi. I tried sleeping but I don't think I slept much. The guy in front of me kept opening his window shade to look outside. I didn't understand why someone would need to look outside so much! Seriously you can't really see anything! But overall, flying with Korean Air was sooooo much better than flying with Delta.

By the time we only had about 4 hours of flying time left I was ready to be off. It happened like this last time. I got so restless and couldn't wait to get out!

St. Maarten :(

Today we got up early because we really wanted to check out beaches in St. Maarten. I wanted to go to the beach that is known for low flying planes and hopefully get some snorkeling in on our last day. We went up to deck 9 for breakfast and we noticed the boat was still moving and there really wasn't any land in site.  It was kind of cloudy and we knew that weather was a topic the night before so we thought maybe we were just delayed.

Then during breakfast it was announced that there was a tropical storm called Rafael that had popped up over night and was now over St. Maarten.  We would not be going to St. Maarten we were going to have a day at sea and try to get away from the storm.  This was really disappointing.  We were so pumped and ready to get off the boat and now we would have to spend the entire day here on the boat. It was hard not to be upset but at the same time there was nothing we could do. The crew did their best to come up with more activities for people to do and they made a new itinerary for the day.

So we started off our day by laying out for awhile by the pool.  I brought my book and was reading. Don was kind of resting.  There was some sunlight.  The captain kept saying he would try to get us to some sunlight.  It was getting pretty hot so we went inside the boat and went to the library.  It was a first time there and we rented the game Scrabble.  We took it to our room and started playing.  It got my mind off my disappointment.  Don wanted to go to the Coral Cafe to see what the puzzle and games thing was at 11 am so we paused our scrabble game and went.

At the Coral Cafe we played Battleship together.  Then we played a pictionary game. Don was really good at drawing; I was horrible.  We did not win that game. We pretty much played games and trivia all day.  We tried to win $1000 from a game in the casino.  It was frustrating because it looked so easy but we could not win. We played Movie Clip Trivia, Sea Feud, General Trivia, Entertainment Trivia, and Picture Trivia on the big screen on the lido deck. We did not win any of these games. Don wanted to win so we went back into the boat and played another General Trivia game.  The questions were hard but this time we actually won!! We won a little trophy of the Carnival Victory Ship. The last trivia game was Food & Drink and it was ridiculously hard.  Then we went back to our room and finished our game of Scrabble. We started packing a bit and then went to dinner with Mike and Teresa.

For dinner I had a salad which was very good and Bacon Mac & Cheese.  It was pretty good.  I got Melting Cake for the last time but I could not finish it. After dinner we went to comedy and saw the same guy from the other night. He is really good.  Then we saw another guy who was not so good. We thought maybe he just couldn't do family friendly comedy. There were a lot of awkward moments.

That was our last day. Tomorrow we will leave. I don't know if I have been very impressed with the cruise. The food has been okay, not as good as I thought it would be. I think if we do a cruise again I would definitely want to try another cruise line. Carnival was okay but I think there's better.

St. Kitts

Today I had booked an excursion with Greg's Safari.  This was the first booked thing we did that wasn't through Carnival and I am thinking it was the best.  While we were waiting for Greg we were bombarded with guys with about 6 little monkeys.  The monkeys had diapers on and some had clothes.  Before we could discuss anything they were putting the monkeys on us and taking pictures with our camera.  Then they told us $20 a piece!  Don said he would give them $20 for both.  I think that was a rip off but we did get a lot of pictures.

We met Greg around 830 for our tour of Philip's Rainforest.  Michael and Teresa came with us on this excursion.  I was excited because it looked like it was just going to be us 4 and then another couple but then 4 other people ran over to Greg and booked last minute.  Then when we got to the land rover there were already people in it. I was a little disappointed because I didn't want a repeat of yesterday, but turns out the vehicle was pretty spacious and we had a good amount of room.

The tour started with a drive to the rainforest that was about 45 minutes.  It was a cool drive, very scenic.  Then we got out and started our hike.  Along the way Greg would tell us about the plant life.  It would rain and then it would be sunny.  It was pretty awesome.  We came to a waterfall and put our feet in the water.  The hike was pretty good, some of it was a little rugged.  While hiking I got bit near my wrist by some kind of ant.  It was painful, but didn't look too bad. At the end of it Greg gave us some local fruits.  Then it started pouring and we got back in the land rover and made our way back. I will post some pictures of some things we saw on our rainforest hike.

On our way back we asked Greg if he would be able to drop us off at Frigate Bay to go to the beach.  He told us earlier it was a good place for snorkeling. He said that would be fine. He told us about a good restaurant there and to ask for Greg's Special.  He also told us to tell them we are with his tour and they would let us use their beach chairs for free.  Then he even offered us a ride back to the boat later because he was picking people up from the beach at 430.  That gave us plenty of time to eat and snorkel.

We ate at Sunset Cafe which was part of Timothy Beach Resort.  We got Greg's Special which was Conch Fritters and Rum Punch.  The fritters were delicious but the rum punch not so much.  I kind of just wanted a cheeseburger and fries but then decided I had to get an authentic meal so I got Stewed Chicken with Macaroni Pie and a Salad.  It was pretty good.

Don got the fish and chips.  Both meals I would say were great. We mixed it up and had a little bit of each other's meal.

After eating we got in the water.  It was raining off and on but it didn't bother our snorkeling. I would have to say I thought this was the best location of snorkeling we did on the trip so far.  There was a lot of coral and sea life.  Of course we didn't swim with turtles but it was a really cool place to explore.  It had a dock that had a lot of coral and rocks with sea life.  Then out further there were rocks and the water got a bit rougher. Don did not want to go out that far but I had to see it.  As I was swimming I saw something pretty big in the rocks so I looked and it was a sea turtle!! I was so excited to see a sea turtle on my own!  I told Don but when we looked back in the water I couldn't find it. Don had the camera so we also didn't get a picture.  But it was so cool!  It was a bit creepy in this area of the water for some reason and Don was getting annoyed because he didn't have his fins so he made his way back to the beach.  I went behind him a little bit after. I wanted to see if I could find the turtle again but I never did.  So then I slowly made my way back up to the beach.  I saw a sea snake!  I was totally freaking out when I saw it but I had to get a picture. Then I swam away keeping my eye on it.

Here are some more pictures of the snorkeling...

Around 430 Greg picked us up along with some other people and gave us a ride back to the ship.  It was a great day.

Then we had dinner with Michael and Teresa in the dining room.  I had a Thai Chicken Appetizer. It was okay. Then I had Shrimp and Fries for my main course; it was probably one of my favorite meals on the ship so far. Don had Filet Mignon.  During dinner Mike and Teresa told us they got a notice that their excursion in St. Maarten was canceled due to weather. This got me bummed out because I was afraid of what the weather was going to do and how it would effect our day.  After dinner we went to a magic show and then to a comedy show.

St. Lucia

We woke up this morning and it was rainy.  We had our breakfast and got off the boat to explore St. Lucia. We hadn't made any plans for shore excursions in St. Lucia so we were not sure what we would do exactly. As we were walking into the port terminal a guy yelled at us about an island tour.  So we went over to talk to him and another couple with two kids followed.  At first the guy said $40 per person for an island tour.  Don talked him down to $30.  So we were going on an island tour. We were not really sure what that entailed but the guy told us to meet him on the other side of the fence and to ignore all other tour guides that tried to talk to us.

Finally the 6 of us made it to his van.  It was me, Don, a couple from Boston and their kids Jonathon and Aaliyah.  They were 5 and 6 years old.  We were somewhat disappointed to see that Phillip our tour guide had already brought another couple and their daughter into his van.  They didn't speak English so I was thinking well maybe he is just dropping them off somewhere, because we have had tours do weird things like that.  So we all piled into this van.  Phillip was in the front with the man that didn't speak any English.  Don, the couple from Boston (I can't remember their names) were in the middle row of seats.  And the woman her daughter, the 2 other kids and myself were in the back row.  It was extremely crowded.

So from 9 am until about 4 pm we were cramped inside this van.  We got out in various locations to take pictures. I will try to remember the route we took.  We started at Castries.  From there we went down the west coast, the Caribbean side.  The next town I remember was Soufriere.  Along the way we took pictures with a man and his boa constrictor and views of the pitons.  Phillip also took us to a banana field and told us a bit about the banana crop.  I tried the local beer here called Piton. It was pretty good. The views of St. Lucia were amazing, absolutely beautiful.  That made up for being cramped into the van.  Here are some pictures from the Caribbean side of St. Lucia.

Then we made our way down near the airport.  At one point I thought he was going to stop and take pictures by the airport and I was thinking to myself "awesome, now is our chance to pay Phillip and get a cab out of this awful cramped van!"  But that didn't happen we stopped at the lighthouse near the airport to take pictures of the Atlantic side of St. Lucia.

We made our way up along the Atlantic coast.  I remember going through the towns of Micoud and Dennery.  Then we went back to Port Castries.  Everyone in the van was very irritated by the time we got back.  It was way too long to be cramped up like that.  But we did get to see most of St. Lucia.  And now we know when we get an island tour next time to make sure we are not going to be cramped in a van with 15 other people for 8 hours.  Even though it wasn't the most pleasant experience, I loved St. Lucia.  I think it will be hard to find somewhere else more beautiful and I wouldn't mind going back.