Learning to Dive in El Nido

The boys and I decided to get our PADI Open Water Diver Certificates while in the Philippines. It was a way to treat ourselves for completing a year abroad in South Korea, and considerably cheaper than getting certified back home. After researching different dive centers in El Nido, we went with Submariner Diving Center, which was an excellent choice.

Everyone at the center was friendly and helpful. We spent the most time with our instructor André, so naturally he was our favorite, but all of the other instructors that we met were great as well. André gave very clear instructions but also put us at ease so we weren't afraid to do any of the tasks. He joked back and forth with us, and just really made the whole experience amazing.

El Nido

Hey everyone! I've been preoccupied moving these last few months, but I finally have internet at my new place so I can continue playing catch up with the blog. Yay!

The second place we went to on Palawan was El Nido. I really wanted to do this place justice because it was so beautiful and relaxing. First, a couple important points should you decide to go there:

• There were no ATM machines, so bring enough cash for your entire stay.
• There are really only two ways of getting there. You can take a bus from Puerto Princesa, or a boat from Coron.

El Nido is not a convenient place to travel to, but oh so worth it. We took a charter bus from Puerto Princesa, and that took several hours (I think about 8?) but it was worth it for the air conditioning and leg room. El Nido isn't a large town but it sports some lovely ocean views.

The balcony at our first hotel.

After our first night we found a new hotel with more room since we were meeting up with +Aubrey and +Philip! We picked the Rainforest Hotel because we fell in love with their back porch and view.

They also had cats! Sold!