Dinner at the Alternative Center in El Nido

I was very happy with our tour for the Bacuit Archipelago which focused on beaches and caves. The islands here are as beautiful as always though it saddened me to know that some of the islands were sold off to private entities probably to turn them in to high end resorts. We even had a run in with security when we were told to leave some supposedly private part of the beach in Seven Commando Beach. This really left a bad taste in my mouth and wondered what the toll of this privatization of these islands is going to be. Such natural beauty is meant to be shared and not fenced off like some common piece of land. Some would even have the audacity to extend their “ownership” of the land to the very waters fronting “their” property.

Our trip back to El Nido Town was uneventful as their excitement of the entire day suddenly dawned on us and we finally had the time to be tired. It was past sunset when we got back to town and only to be met by a frantic couple who were looking out to sea. It seems like they kayaked from Cadlao island back to town. It wasn’t really that far. However, it seems that their kids were going nowhere and were still out at sea. We can still see them though. Our boatman and guide rushed to get his kayak and started paddling all the way to where the kids were and towed them back to safety. It was very admirable of our boatman to do so even if the couple wasn’t his customer. In fact, anybody able to kayak would probably do the same thing.

We had to do a fast dinner at it was time for me to leave El Nido. I would be traveling on a night bus to go back to Puerto Princesa city which is six hours away. Dinner would be at a place which was familiar to me – the Alternative Center. I once stayed here at the Alternative Center back when El Nido was still more affordable. Most notable here was the food as it is supposedly healthier. The fish I had back then was heavenly and I wanted some more of that. Unfortunately, the menu seemed to have changed and I couldn’t find my dish. We ordered something a little more common Fish Steak with Spaghetti and Roasted Chicken with Spaghetti. The place seems busier than what I remembered it and it was far more cozy. Now it looks more like a restaurant owing the huge increase in the number of tourists here in El Nido. The food was still nice though just not what I was looking for. After five years, I guess it is normal that prices have already gone up. One thing I noticed was the service seemed to have suffered as it took us forever to get our food, maybe it was because they were filled with customers.

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