Photo credit: Katherine Willis
My sister Katherine visited us from Texas and it was nice to be connected in person again. She visited both Lauren's and my work sites while she stayed with us in Iloilo. We filled our days with Bananagrams, Cards Against Humanity, Uno, and cooked together in the evenings. It was exactly what we needed and I am so thankful she visited. We also got to see another major island while she was here venturing to Palawan, the farthest West island in the Philippines. We headed directly to El Nido on the northern tip of the main island where we island hoped. The scenery was beyond breathtaking as sharp rock islands jet out of the clear blue ocean.
The island hoping tours allowed us to explore, lay on the beach, snorkel and swim in and out of caves. The tour guides provided a delicious lunch that they cooked on the back of the boats. While eating one day, we came across 3 monitor lizards hanging out in the bushes. They were certainly impressive in size, with the largest one reaching at least 4 ft in length.
An abandoned church and monastery on the edge of Asian Christendom.
The tiny port of El Nido is a remote town of a few thousand who run eco-tourism businesses.
Custom mga bangka (boats) competing in a local race
were five times faster than anything we've seen in the Philippines.
We found the perfect spot to end the day. Watching the sunset with a drink in hand.
