We landed in Manila in the Philippines late on the Sunday night and stayed in a basic but surprisingly adequate apartment close to the airport before heading back the next morning for an internal flight to Puerto Princessa on the island of Palawan.
We waited an hour for our shared van for the journey to Port Barton and were lucky enough to get the front seats – everyone else was crammed in the back for the 4 hour journey, with the obligatory mountain of backpacker luggage strapped to the roof.
Driving past villages of bamboo huts, pristine churches, children walking back from school, others excitedly playing basketball, paddy fields and water bison, we got a real sense of what everyday Filipino life was about.
Soon the village scenes and good road gave way to darkness and an unpaved track – I don’t think my lower back will ever recover from the bumpiness!
Eventually we arrived in Port Barton – a 6 street, dirt track village with electricity only between 6pm and 10pm, slow wifi (if you were ever able to find it) and the friendliest people we’ve ever met. Everyone smiled and was keen to help and all the kids waved and said hello as you passed them.
Our accommodation, Le Cou de Tou was a cute wooden hut with a mezzanine level for the bed and a little balcony. No wifi, a trickle for a shower, no air con and regular power cuts but it suited us for 3 days.
We are both poor sleepers but we soon learnt that sleep is difficult in Port Barton because of the cockerels. Cockfighting is a huge sport in rural Philippines (we were surprised to see it televised!) and it seemed that every family not only owned a pet dog, but a prized cockerel too and they crowed intermittently all day and all night!
Village life seemed to blend seamlessly with the backpacker visitors and it was lovely to observe the everyday life – hearing the school bell, watching the kids obsessively play basketball until nightfall and seeing the local boat owners tend their traditional vessels without feeling like we were intruding. We were made to feel very welcome and we loved the genuine, hassle free environment – which was so different to what we had experienced in South America.
Our first meal on arrival was at Olive’s Crib restaurant and we had delicious fresh calamari, followed by tuna kinilaw (like a ceviche) and seafood pasta. Wonderful flavours and huge portions!
The following day we ventured around the village to take it all in and discovered that there had been bad weather for the previous few days and no boats had gone out on day trips. Hopeful that we would be able to go out the next day, we decided to take a trek to a local waterfall. An hour later we reached it, a beautiful spot where the locals had built wooden platforms to provide shade and a basic viewing area. After a refreshing paddle for me and a full swim for Dan, we headed back. Halfway along the same track we were surprised when a medium sized animal ran across the road in front of us. In shock we looked at each other and realised what we had just seen was a small stocky ape bounding briefly across the track before disappearing back into the jungle! Although incredibly brief, this unexpected sighting had us smiling from ear to ear for the rest of the walk home.
Back in the village we decided to take advantage of the many places offering cheap massages and for £8 we indulged in hour long full body massages on the beach with the waves crashing as our soundtrack. No fake whale noises for us!
The following day I woke early to find out if the boat tours were operating – much to everyone’s delight the coastguard had given the all clear and locals were busy getting their boats ready. We boarded the ‘Sunny Cool’ with 11 others and headed out to various nearby islands for walking, relaxing and lots of snorkelling. A stop for lunch where everything was freshly prepared was needed before an afternoon of more turquoise seas and white beaches. It was one of the best £10 we ever spent especially for me. In the Galapagos I was the only person who didn’t see turtles and I was very disappointed, so when we arrived at Turtle Spot I was pretty hopeful we would see some! After 20 mins of snorkelling in crystal clear waters with no sightings, we gave up and returned to the boat only for one of our party to shout out the word we wanted to hear ‘turtle’! Like a shot I was swimming as fast as I possibly could to reach the small group and I was rewarded with an incredible sight of a large turtle. It was happily eating and didn’t seemed bothered by us so I was able to watch it for a good 5 minutes before it decided to make a quick exit. This was followed by a second brief sighting of an even larger turtle – needless to say I was extremely happy at this point!
Back at Port Barton we enjoyed happy hour drinks on the beach – buy a beer and get a free rum & coke & snacks!! – whilst watching the sunset. Dinner on the beach followed at Barton Bistro, I had prawn curry and Dan had a whole crab in coconut milk, followed by banana cake and custard!
We loved the relaxing and friendly atmosphere of Port Barton. It’s a place that will surely become more built up and popular with time, so we are very glad that we got to experience it at its natural best.
An early morning van the following day then took us 5 hours to our next destination – El Nido.
Tiredbuthappytravels 