I’m not a religious man, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve found paradise.
Not the angels sitting around playing harps kind of paradise, nor the 1000 virgins in heaven kind of paradise. No, I’m talking about the soft white sand beaches and swimming in a warm ocean teeming with life kind of paradise.
The lazy island hopping and dining on amazing fresh food every day kind of paradise. The kind of paradise where you easily go days without meeting anybody else except local fishermen and gorgeous little kids playing amongst the coconut palms.
Yup, I’ve found paradise alright. Its name is Palawan.
To say that this part of the Philippines is off the tourist trail is rather understating things. Far from the pricey resorts and package holidaymakers in places like Boracay, Palawan is known as the ‘last frontier’ for a reason.
Once you leave the small towns of the mainland and head out into the islands, infrastructure changes from basic to non-existent and scenery changes from beautiful to jaw-dropping. Jacques Cousteau reputedly commented that Palawan was the most beautiful place that he’d ever explored while filming a documentary here.
Four years ago a couple of university mates in the UK came up with the idea of restoring an old bangka (outrigger) boat in the Philippines and offering multi-day expeditions to adventurous travellers through the hundreds of unexplored islands of northern Palawan.
Tao Philippines was born and from the minute I stumbled across a review in a newspaper about a year ago, I knew that this trip was one that I was going to be taking at some point in my life.
The Tao owners (Eddie, a native Fillipino, and his English business partner Jack) are simply just a couple of great guys. Fun, laid back and with a strong social conscience, these two are well aware of what makes this part of the world so special, and more importantly, what needs to happen to keep it that way.
Caring for and about the fragile local environment, for example. Promoting environmental responsibility, and actively restricting both the numbers and makeup of people that come on their trips. Enjoying these expeditions requires a certain mindset, and they’re not for everyone.
The Tao guys make no bones about the fact that they would much rather have a small number of like-minded travellers on board than a large group of holiday makers that overtax the limited resources available and don’t really get along.
Rather than exploiting the local villagers or just handing out token charity money, Tao also co-ordinates several social welfare projects in remote islands where government funds don’t flow. Jack and Eddie have partnered with various villages to build schoolhouses, provide materials, and fund teachers for children who would otherwise receive little or no education.
The groups of laughing, chattering kids running and playing around us or proudly showing off the latest additions to their classroom – and it is undoubtedly their classroom, built and maintained by their own parents – shows that this approach is working wonders.
This is eco tourism as it should be, and there are a lot of other companies out there that could learn a hell of a lot from what Tao is doing on a daily basis.
For five incredible days I and a small group of other intrepid travellers and crew hopped from island to island on the good ship Diwa, a small new boat purpose-built this year to be even more nimble than the other Tao vessels.
As a result we could literally glide up and anchor in the sand a few metres from the beach every night: try doing that on a cruise ship! With the ability to get so close to the action, there was virtually nowhere that was inaccessible, from the smallest uninhabited island to quiet lagoons and shallow reefs perfect for snorkeling.
All of the Tao Open Expeditions run from Coron to El Nido (or vice versa) but have no set route or itinerary: weather and group consensus help determine where the boat goes each day.
There was a certain pattern that emerged after a while, though: up early to enjoy exceptional local coffee and breakfast, mid-morning departure, then a couple of stops for swimming amongst the coral or perhaps to check out a hidden bay or cave system.
After a delicious lunch and a few more snorkeling stops, we’d usually tie up in the late afternoon and explore our island home for the night. There, we’d shoot the breeze over dinner and drink.s and eventually fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean.
Speaking of wonderful food and coffee, I was continually amazed by the skill and resourcefulness of the guys that work for Tao. We were lucky enough to have Jack as our guide on this trip, and to be in Palawan right at the start of the season with everyone full of energy. I don’t know whether that had anything to do with it, but the crew were nothing short of incredible.
From Willie the chef who somehow managed to whip up mouth-watering food multiple times a day from a boat kitchen with two hot plates and no refrigeration, to captain Jojo finding safe harbours everywhere and navigating safely through the occasional storm, to Wasoy and the rest of the lads who seemed to be able to do a bit of pretty much anything with ease, the trip would have been nothing without them.
The great thing was that they were obviously having as much fun as we were, laughing and messing about with each other, diving (or falling) overboard every chance they got, and generally having a ball. I take my sun-bleached cap off to each and every one.
Between all of the snorkeling, wandering, snoozing, eating, and drinking, the hours soon started to blur and fade into each other in a way that only happens when you’re having the time of your life, and all too soon the five days were up.
As we slowly motored into harbour a new group of friends looked sadly at each other, realising that a rare and wonderful travel experience was coming to an end.
As I sit here on the balcony of my guesthouse in El Nido writing this post and gazing out at the gently lapping ocean, the temptation to put my plans on hold and head back out on the trip heading back to Coron tomorrow is almost overwhelming. There’s still time. Perhaps I’ll just pop back to the office now and see if there’s still a space available…
As I mentioned earlier, this kind of trip isn’t for everyone. Conditions can be somewhat challenging at times with basic toilet facilities, bucket showers and communal sleeping huts. You need to be fit and healthy to make the most of your time on the islands, and I’m still nursing the various bug bites, coral cuts and scrapes and bruises that inevitably come with a trip like this.
If you’re happy to rough it a bit in order to have what I truly believe is a unique and incredible experience, though, I would highly recommend checking out the Tao Philippines website. Long after your suntan has faded and the last of the sand has finally gone from between your toes, you’ll still be dreaming of the little slice of paradise they call Palawan. I know I will be.