El Nido & Fat Dogs

I checked out of Kudat, Northwest Borneo, after an uneventful trip north from Labuan, checkout was a breeze and free, I topped up with Diesel and at 85 cents nz a litre, who could blame me, I rode my bike from the wharf with my 20L container on the carrier to the bowser, then rode it back to the wharf, then repeat, then out to the boat, on the second trip the owner came out, “where are you from” she said, “NZ” I said, “Oh I have a sister in Auckland” we chatted, she had been down-under a couple of times and loved NZ, then she said “foreigners are not allowed to fill containers here”, her being of mixed heritage, I was tempted, but I didn’t go there, “carry on, I will tell you if someone comes” she said. Three trips and 120L later I was full.


I just day hopped from there up to Puerto Princesa, and managed to pick up my fishing line with the prop, while arriving in a little harbour the second night, (the only thing I’ve caught since Indo) yes forgot it was out, HaHa! I’d pulled in here on the faint hope I might get a SIM card, unfortunately this was a Coast Guard base, so I had a reception committee when I went ashore, for you Land lubbers you’re not really meant to go ashore once leaving one country for another, except in an emergency, but this was an emergency, well according to Generation Alpha it would be, I didn’t have an internet connection!!! Of-course I didn’t try to explain to the uniforms that I needed to see the latest TickTok videos or up-date my Facebook, “I need a connection for the weather”, which was a half truth, quarter truth, not that Gen Alpha would have any idea about the truth. They marched me up the street to see the big boss, he just waved us away, “procedure” they said, we went to the dairy, a small problem, I had no Pesos only Ringgit, there was some hand ringing, I got my sim, turned out they are free, gave the guys some Ringgit for the charity sports fund and I was on my way, No, I never did get online for another week.


The next day I stopped at a beautiful spot, off a golden sand beach with clear clean water to deal with the fishing line problem, (there was no way I was diving at the Coast Guard base, they said there were crocodiles about). Anyway on with the dive gear (no wet suit needed, eat your hearts out) and while I was at it I scraped the hull, getting rid of 6 weeks of growth got me over another Knot in speed, which was most welcome because there wasn’t any wind to speak of all the way to Puerto Princesa (PP).


Checking into PP was ok, the Abanico yacht club organise everything, all very relaxed and all women customs and immigration, they come out to the boat, it’s getting them off the boat thats the problem, welcome to the Philippines, (unlike Malaysia where you have to go ashore to find them, customs that is), money changed hands and soon I had a one month visa & clearance, the hands stopped shaking the next day when I got back online, hehe.


I spent two weeks in PP on a mooring, I enjoyed it, but on the boat it’s just another dirty Port, I have a little bike now so rode around the city a lot, no fat dogs here, filled the water tanks, extended my one month visa for another month $ and off I went, heading north now for the top of Palawan. TayTay was the highlight, there’s a wonderfull old fort here, the Spanish built in 1667 Fort Santa “Isabel” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Santa_Isabel , everything there is within walking distance, nice floating dock. The most spectacular anchorage of the trip though was Imorigue Island, it’s a limestone monolith, I will return. Another cool spot was Iloc Island, the water is clean, hardly any plastic which was nice after Indo, and a little beach bar, did I need a beer that day, temp&Humidity were through the roof.


Up around the top of Palawan I went, just before the Northeast Monsoon set in (here there are two main seasons, the Southwest monsoon, and the Northeast monsoon, with lulls between, No it doesn’t rain all the time, but is dryer in the NE) and so two weeks after leaving PP I arrived in El Nido, this place is a French tourist hot spot, beach bars, restaurants, G strings and sunburnt tourists, plus Fat Dogs, healthy flea free Fat Dogs, which makes a nice change after some of the poor skinny, mangy, flea ridden mongrels I’ve seen since arriving in Asia. But now I’m suspicious. I haven’t seen any on the menu, but you know what the say French say! “We eat it all!”



Fort Santa Isabel


Fort Santa Isabel, Invererne in the background


Imorigue Island


Anchorage, Imorigue Island


 Cooling down with Joy, Iloc Island






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