I walked around the small town I just arrived in. It has the 'Asian' look and feel to it. Small streets, small one owner shops and vendor carts lining the streets. But, there is one large building right in the middle of all the small, wooden frame ones. I look at the large red sign hanging over the front entrance. It reads, "Mass Blood Letting". Next to it is a sign that this is the tax collectors office!

I got into the van around 6:30 this morning headed to El Nido, about 150 miles from Puerto Princesa, where I have stayed the last few days . To get to El Nido, you drive over the mountains.

You hang on the seat in front of you as the driver tries to straighten out the curves at break-neck speeds. Five and one half hours later, with some luck, you arrive at El Nido in Palawan.

I was the first passenger to be picked up. Then we drove around picking up other people until the van was probably overloaded. As soon as it was full, we stopped on the roadside and someone began to jack the van up. I thought they were fixing a flat tire, but it turned out they were rotating the tires. (No one ever told us anything, we all just sat there wondering what was going on and wondering how long it would be before we started the trip.)

When we made a lunch stop, I looked at the tire on the front to see if I could find any tread on it. I took a photo, you decide for yourself if this looks fun to barrel along narrow, curvy mountains roads with .

Before leaving town we made a stop or two to pick up packages or something. I am not sure. But, the driver had the radio blaring with Filipino music, and I was sitting in the passenger seat next to him. On one of the stops, when he was gone, I turned the volume down a few decibels. When he got back in, it still sounded loud with the engine off and the van sitting still, but as we went down the road the noise of the engine and things drowned it out. He never noticed and never turned it back up. This was one of my more brilliant moves.  

The roads here seem to be good. They are small, two lanes, but well maintained. But, there are not usually any shoulders, just the two narrow lanes. People walk ON the road, bicycles ride on it, livestock walk and sometimes cross it and there are the motorbikes and trikes everywhere. The windshield on the van is tinted, except for a strip acorss maybe 6-8" wide. Nevertheless, the driver never lets up off the gas pedal the entire trip . He passes on curves and hilltops. Maybe I shouldn't have requested to sit in the front seat!

During the over 5 hour trip we would come to "checkpoints" on the road. There was never anyone there to check anything, and no buildings nearby where someone would normally be to check vehicles. All the 'checkpoint' was, was either 3 or 4 road barricades set up on opposite sides of the road with just enough space for the automobiles to maneuver around. It was like an obstacle course for autos. We would come to these on the road ever so often. Maybe there are there to slow traffic down? It didn't slow our driver down much, though.

When we stopped for lunch, there were two basketball goals set up in the middle of the street. Boys were shooting baskets and when a vehicle came it would just weave in-between the two basketball goals!

We arrived in El Nido about 5 1/2 hours later, just as they said when I bought the ticket . But, the driver never spoke a word to anyone the entire trip. Never said hello or told us when he was stopping for us to buy lunch or use the Comfort Room. Never said how long we would be there. Nothing, Silence. (It was the same on the way back with another driver, never a word).

El Nido is a small town right on the water. The beach is only a short walk from where I am staying. It is situated between the Bacuit Bay and the large, beautiful limestone karst cliffs. Restaurants and guesthouses back up to the beach where you can sit and eat or drink, and watch the beach activities or the sunset.

Not only do you remove your shoes to enter different buildings around the small town, but often there is a bucket of water for you to wash your feet before entering.

In the center of town is the tax office and right next to it a large basketball court. Someone is always playing on the court, it seems . A large Christmas tree, composed of painted plastic bottles is still up in the square. Maybe they leave it up all year?

Sellers with mobile carts are set up all around the small streets, like other places in Asia. I young boy with a cart called to ask me to buy something. I had seen the small carts around but was not sure what the people were selling. The boy said it was ice cream. So, I bought one. He held up a bread bun but I pointed to a waffle cone instead. Later, I found out they put ice cream on the bun also. Before I left El Nido a few days later I tried the ice cream on a bun (I guess you could call it an "ice cream sandwich"). It was really tasty.

Walking to my guesthouse along the street there are tents that open every day and night to sell souvenirs and things. Also, there are gambling games set up. I don't know what the games are, but there is money placed on the table for the betting. 

We have a resident rooster at the homestay where I am staying . But, he has friends! A rooster in the far distance will crow, then one closer, then the homestay rooster will crow. They keep this trio up starting at around 4:30 every morning and go all day until mid-afternoon.They each wait their turn to crow! I tried to get a video of it for you to hear. Why does he start at 4:30? I thought roosters were supposed to wake you at daylight? I am a light sleeper.
 
The unit of currency in the Philippines is the peso (P), which is also spelled piso in Filipino, and is divided into 100 centavos (c). Banknotes come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 pesos. Coins are in 10c and 25c pieces, and P1, P5 and P10. Currently as I write this it takes 44P to equal $1.

NEXT: I Go 'Island Hopping' and Snorkel in Some of the Most Beautiful Water You have Ever Seen!