Port Barton - Welcome To Paradise

After 2.5 days in the hospital, I took the flight to Puerto Princesa and a 3h minivan ride up north to the sleepy town of Port Barton. There I met up with Andrea, who I last saw in Cambodia in mid-December. We stayed in touch and will now explore the Philippines together over the next month.

Back to Port Barton. Once I arrived, I felt like traveling back in time. It is a sleepy village with a gorgeous beach, beautiful surroundings and just a generally very relaxed and calm vibe.

The same day I arrived, we took a boat for a short drive to a beach called ‘White Beach'. The moment I stepped foot on the beach and the crystal clear waters, all my troubles from the last 3 days were forgotten. I felt like I was in paradise. Happiness.

In the evening, we had a family BBQ in our hostel, where we met Rodrigo (Argentina) who would join us for a couple of days on our travels through Palawan.

Anyway, the next day it was time for the first of many island hopping trips in the Philippines.
And it was an absolutely brilliant one (watch video). In total, we had 5-6 stops with a good mix of snorkling, white beaches, and a sandbank with starfish. A superbly prepared lunch, good music, a great captain/crew and plenty of pineapple rum added to the great times.

The highlight, however, was seeing a sea turtle for the first time in my life. They are just such majestic creatures! A very close second were the beaches. You truly feel like you have found paradise. Not only is the sand white, the water clear and the palm trees green and plentiful, but there are hardly any people there. In Thailand, these beaches would be super crowded!

Staying on these islands for a few hours, walking along the beaches and swimming in the water was just pure blizz. You truly forget life for a while and bathe in awe and happiness. It is exactly what I needed after my hospital time - my back has been fine since, so fingers crossed

Once we got back to Port Barton, we watched the sunset on the beach with a few cold beers. Afterwards, we went to a local BBQ place for dinner - I had a tuna steak, which must've been half the fish for just €5. It was the perfect end to our time in Port Barton and an incredible re-start of my Philippines adventures.

It made me look forward to the rest of my time in this country.Read more