Tao company & foundation

TaoPhilippines.com

To get from El Nido to Coron in style we booked a trip with Tao. They offer different tours from day trips, private tours and the expedition style we did.

All together we where 23 on the fully booked and just recently renovated (overhauled?) ship. Sounds like much but you have to keep in mind that we didn't sleep on the ship itself but on so called base camps on some lonely islands. These camps, scattered all around the route, consist of some huts, an outdoor shower and toilet, a little kitchen and a communal area.

The day before departure we got briefed and had the chance to buy some beers, rum and pineapple juice for the general drinks pool, so we wouldn’t die of thirst on the remote islands ;) This way nobody had to count beers or hide a stash of rum somewhere. 

Also there they warned us beforehand that we all would gain weight, so true! The food the guys cooked in the little kitchen either on the boat or on the islands was just extraordinary! The best food we tasted in our whole trip (yes, shame on you Hong Kong)!

Also worth mentioning is that most of the food came either from their own farm or got supplied by locals from the islands. Tao company has a foundation which it supports to develop, help and support the local islanders by giving them opportunities to earn a buck and help preserve their tiny islands for the next generation. 

We stayed one night on their farm and had a chance to look around. They explained the different plants they grow, the newly build pig pen (the little piggies get distributed around the islands and then bought back once they are fully grown), the duck and the fish pond.

The foundation tries to spread ideas and techniques like using rice wash for doing the laundry or leaving dead plants over the soil and roots instead of burning it, so it would retain moisture. Because one of the main problems for the islanders is the few fresh water they get, so everything which helps to save and reduce is welcome!

This fusion of old and new ideas is best seen in the huts and buildings they are now building. With new plans is mind (to resist the yearly typhoons) these constructions get built by using local resources (mostly bamboo) and local techniques employed by the fisherman since generations to build their boats.

All in all a good cause! So lets go and have a holiday! :D

Mango Tree - Fish Pond - Papay Tree - Duck Pond

Palawan (29.09.2015 - 08.10.2015)

A mini bus took us up north to El Nido. This (once) laid back village is the entrance to the limestone rocks out in the bay and home to dozens of dive shops. Booming but still small and nice enough we spent some pleasant 6 nights here. During the day we were busy out on or under the sea. Enjoying the amazing landscape (waterscape?) and underwater world. The reefs were still mostly intact and literally swarming with fish!

Our next destination was Coron, 200km north on the island of Busuanga. There is also an island called Coron (right next to it), but the town city is on the other one, don’t know why…

Anyway, after reading some horrible stories on TripAdvisor and hearing first hand from my brother about the crossing from El Nido to Coron we were looking for a more respectable way to do this trip. The little boats need 10 hours and upwards for the crossing. Depending on the motor, weather and if the hull doesn’t leak (too much)… o_O

A bit of googling later I stumbled upon Tao which does the trip stretched over 5 day island by hopping from island to island instead!

Luckily they had a boat going north right when we needed it and I immediately applied for it. Yes there is no direct booking, they want to make sure everybody knows what they are getting into. This is not a cruise ship and accommodation is rather basic. So to avoid any negative reviews in hindsight they discourage anybody which is looking for luxuries like air conditioning and power outlets ;) 

But the following days passed like in a blur! 

Great breakfast was followed by some snorkelling by a deserted island - then some killer snacks - some more snorkelling - a bit of lounging in the shadows - stare out on the sea - have an awesome lunch - more snorkelling - do some reading, more snorkelling - have a nap - get a beer - arrive at the basecamp for the night - get set up - have an outdoor shower - get a pineapple rum drink - eat a killer dinner - have some more drinks by the beach fire and go to sleep in the little huts!

Sadly the time passed way to fast. Coron already in view we stopped a last time for a swim in the Barracuda lake on Coron island. This closed off craters upper layers are fresh water and below it is salty. You can’t imagine how hard it is to swim in fresh water after spending days in the ocean!

So it was time to say goodbye to the crew and head into Coron were we spent another 5 nights. 

Close by a Japanese WW2 support fleet, tasked to build airstrips and so forth, was sunk. In a single day two america aircraft carrier destroyed the whole fleet, resulting in a dozen wrecks scattered in the area. This makes Coron the world capital in wreck diving, wohoo! 

As Melanie isn’t into bad visibility, deep and wreck dives ^^ I had to go alone but it was totally worth it! Most of the wrecks were in quite good condition, considering they are now over 70 years old… All in all I visited six of the twelve wrecks, super dives!

Again time was running out and we flew further up north to Manila. We spent a single night in the old walled city, called Entremuros, literally "behind walls”. It was weird to see the same architecture as in our trip through latin america. Also funny is how still many filipino words have their roots in the Spanish language. For example counting is done in spanish (now slowly getting replaced by english) and there are many Spanish words still in use like abuelo (grandfather), etc

Next stop Hong Kong!

Getting to Palawan (26.09.2015 - 28.09.2015)

As our Cathay Pacific flight from Zurich already left with 3/4 of an hour delay we of course missed our connection flight with them from Hong Kong to Manila. After waiting four hours they put us in an Philippines Airlines flight instead. But of course this flight arrived on another terminal in Manila. Doesn't sound like a big deal do you think? Well the different terminals are kind of independent buildings/airports, connected by bus and taxi. To even have a slight chance we jumped into a cab and drove right into the gigantic traffic jam that is Manila. A lot of honking and overtaking later our taxi driver delivered us with probably a new record time for the distance through traffic. Nevertheless it was to late... Cebu Pacific wouldn't let us board and told us we would have to pay a fee for changing our current travel plans or even buy en entire new flight.
So we consulted the Cathay Pacific desk, as it was their "fault" of delivering us four hours late and on the wrong terminal. Luckily the people there where super friendly and helpfully that in the end their airline organized a new ticket for us to Palawan, even making sure our next flight was still valid. A big thank you here to those guys, other airlines we've flown with just stonewalled us when we had a similar problem (but then again that was in Greece, they aren't doing too well now are they....).

Anyway, our Cebu flight of course was delayed as well. At the time we should have been boarding the plane had barely arrived from its previous flight. When we finally were in the air they started some kind of game where we were supposed to take selfies in the plane to win some famous prize. I didn't see a single one taking a picture, not even the locals ;).
So in the end we made it to Puerto Princesa on Palawan with about eight hour delay, exhausted but happy. And because of our long "stopovers" the luggage even made it ;).

Every Juan!!! :D

The following day we didn't do much besides raiding the ATMs to get cash as our next destination wouldn't have any. After this and some shopping (mainly anti mosquito cream, the stuff they sell in Switzerland is a joke and doesn't help at all) we chilled at the pool. So on the next day we jumped on a mini bus for a six hour ride up north to El Nido!