Travel to Palawan - El Nido's Attractions - Secret Beach

Our second Island Hopping Tour in El Nido brought us to the Secret Beach. It is really not so secret anymore as tourists opting for Tour C can actually get there. We woke up at the ungodly hour of 600 a.m. (well, ungodly at least for us ;)) because our boatmen were supposed to pick us up at 630 a.m. As usual, they were on Filipino time and arrived at 8:00 a.m. Their lateness allowed us to bask in El Nido's sunrise and early morning activities -- fishermen getting ready for the day's work, resorts cleaning up the previous nights excesses and getting ready for another day -- and to have a leisurely breakfast of pan de sal (1 peso each) and Nescafe instant coffee (10 pesos) on our inn's balcony with a view of the Bacuit Archipelago.

Tour C is the most expensive among the tours (700 per person minimum of 4 persons and 2,200 if you rent the entire boat) since the islands are also the farthest from El Nido town. Our boatmen gave us a discount and we paid only 1,800 pesos for our own boat.

It took us 1 hour to reach our first stop - the Secret Beach on Matinloc Island. It is accessible only during low tide that's why it was important for us to reach there early in the morning. We had to swim through a keyhole in between the limestone karsts to enter the Secret Beach (see picture on the left). It looked very initimidating to me (even if I can really swim and even in my life vest!). I was worried if the current would become too strong while I'm half way through the hole, then I'll be pushed against the sharp rocks. After repetitive assurances from our boatmen and after one of them volunteered to swim ahead of us, we dove in to check out if all the fuss was really worth it.

Thankfully, the tide remained steady and we were able to get through. But not before I got stung by a jellyfish! Until now, I still have the jellyfish sting marks on my left thigh. It seems that the Secret Beach is also the favorite hideway of the jelly fishes. I'm glad our boatman guided us on where to swim to avoid the jellyfishses and where to tread to prevent from stepping on sharp stones. Once we went through the keyhole, I forgot about my pain. The Secret Beach was really nothing like I've ever seen. It is a small strip of white sand beach enclosed within the limestone karsts.


It was indeed a pleasant freak of nature -- a beach inside the rocks. I'd like to think that hundreds of years ago, the rocks weren't there yet and it was just an ordinary white beach. The limestone karst probably appeared out of volcanic activity. Of course, my theory sounded incredulous to The Boy! :) Aside from the jellyfishes guarding the entrance, another downside is its shallow waters. You can't really swim along its waters because it is only waist deep. But yeah the fine white sand and the rocks were perfect for just lazing around and appreciating the harmony and symmetry of it all... we lingered for a few minutes, enjoying the silence and the intimacy -- we claimed it as our own secret spot away from the bustle of the outside world even for only a few minutes.

We even fantasized of being island castaways and also of buying the Secret Beach for ourselves (as if we could! :D) but our boatmen's calls jolted us back to reality. It was time to go before the current got too strong. I dreaded going back because of the jellyfishes so our boatman had to swim through the hole again to fetch me! I clung to his life vest for dear life and got out unscathed with the Secret Beach's beautiful memories still in tact -- jelly fish sting and all.


* Electricity in El Nido is only from 1pm to 1 am. There were frequent black outs when we were there (because of the fiesta), so make sure to bring a flashlight and extra battery for your camera. My battery conked out and I wasn't able to take photos of the other attractions like the Hidden Beach, Matinloc Shrine and Cadlao Lagoon. Will post about them as soon as I get copies of the photos.