This is probably one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in the province of Palawan. This gem is hidden in a backpacker's haven popularly known as Port Barton.
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(The view of the island from afar)
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My year-end adventure for the year 2014 includes an overnight stay at Toby and Thelma's Island Camping Adventure!
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(Tandan Island as viewed from Palawan Camping)
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Together with my travel bud, Pixie, we explored the paradise of Port Barton and stayed in this unique beach.
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(Palawan Camping Island)
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No questions asked this place is really a piece of paradise!
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| (Palawan Camping, December 2014) |
I was awestruck by the serenity and beauty of this gorgeous place. The
"island" is actually still part of the mainland but it's only accessible by boat. The reason behind this is that the owners wanted
to keep their paradise private.
The remoteness of the beach is an essential ingredient of its charm.
To know more about the story on how we got to this place you can read it
here.
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| (Kayaks by the beach) |
Palawan Camping is also said to be a place where one of the most beautiful views of the sunset in Port Barton can be seen.
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(Palawan Camping Sunset)
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And indeed, as you can see in the photos, the view of the setting sun from the island is truly spectacular. According to the people who have visited the place already, each day, you will be given a different view of the sunset.
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| (Sunset view) |
After watching the breathtaking view of the setting sun, we went to our
room to fix our stuff. After being able to settle and rest for a while,
we decided to hang out at the balcony of the room where we're staying at.
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| (Amazing colors of the sky during sunset as view from Palawan Camping) |
This is the view from the balcony.
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| (The view from the cottage's balcony) |
The cute hangout nook at the cottage's balcony is paired with an awesome view of the beach.
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| (The balcony with a nice view) |
When dinner was about to be served, one of their staff called us to go to the dining area to have dinner.
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(Campfire dining feels)
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So, we went down and proceeded to the dining area for dinner. After blessing the food we fell in line to get our dinner. After getting our food from the buffet table, we went to the stone tables by the beach. We chose
to eat on the stone tables in front of the bonfire for a more
island-feel dining experience.
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| (Palawan Camping Dinner by the beach) |
I enjoyed the dinner so much, the food was super good and it's like your typical
home made Filipino meal. The dinner is composed of white rice, grilled
tuna, fried vegetable lumpia, caldereta and boiled squash.
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| (My Dinner Plate) |
It was a
buffet dinner and you can eat as much as you want. Mrs. Clark also gave
us some stir-fried shrimps with veggies, it was delicious. I heard that
Mrs. Clark studied a culinary course to give her guests good and
delicious meals. She's a jack of all trades, a good cook and a talented
and creative artist as well. She designed her bungalow house and the
mini bar as well as the bamboo shower and these beach tables too.
The aftermath. The food was so delicious that I finished up everything that's on my plate. Look at my now wiped out plate. Haha.
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| (The aftermath) |
After finishing our scrumptious meal, April and I stayed for quite a bit at our dinner table by the beach to exchange stories and to get to know some of our co-campers. We had a really nice couple of hours chatting with them. When we we're quite sleepy already we said our good nights with the rest of the group who was still there and went back to our room for the night.
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| (Our accommodation for the night) |
After taking a quick shower and fixing up some of our stuff, we decided to call it a night. We were lulled to sleep by the gentle sound of the waves and the soft breeze wafting through the small openings of the cottage.
Though they have a generator set, electricity is not available 24/7.
Having no electricity in the island is actually not a problem because
for me that's part of the camping experience, isn't it? At night, it's
also not a problem having no electricity on because you're provided with
a small rechargeable lamp which you could use when it's already lights
off. We really didn't get the absolute camping experience because
they're already fully booked and we're accommodated at their son's room
but that's completely okay. It's timely that the owner's son was not in the island during that time that's why we're still accommodated. They made us stay in his room.
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(The room)
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This is the room of the owner's son where we slept in that night. I had a really good night rest, thanks to my favorite sound of nature which lulled me to sleep.
The next day, this is the view which welcomed me the moment I opened up our door.
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| (Good Morning view) |
I could get used to waking up with the kind of view. It's priceless! I sooo love the beaaaaachh!! It was a good morning indeed! I super love the place, the ambiance, the homey island-feel and all. This is truly a piece of paradise!
This was our breakfast, it's composed of slices of banana, a cup of brewed coffee, scrambled eggs and toast with butter and orange jam. I liked the orange jam so much!
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(Palawan Camping brekky)
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After having breakfast, April and I lounged at the beach to read a book.
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| (My travel bud Pixie is also a bookworm) |
After a few minutes of reading, we realized that we only have a 3-4 hours left to enjoy the beach so we decided to stop reading and explore the island instead. We returned the books at the mini bar where there's a mini library where you can borrow some books to read. And after which we went back to our room to change clothes for swimming.
Let me give you a mini tour of the beach. Join me as we explore the camping island of Mr. and Mrs. Clark.
This is the stone tables by the beach and at the background is their mini bar.
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| (Palawan Camping Stone tables and beach chairs) |
Going to the western part of the island, you will see the small huts and tents which serve as the island's accommodation. There are a total of six (6) small huts in the island.
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(Palawan Camping Accommodation)
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If you are a non-luxury seeking sort of traveler, you are very likely
to appreciate and enjoy the remote, relaxed and friendly vibe and
natural beauty of this location.
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| (Tents under the huts) |
The accommodation in Palawan Camping are tents with a double bed inside it. The tent is covered by a small nipa hut and each hut has a set of table and chairs, and a hammock on the side facing the beach.
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(Tent number one at the farthest end)
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There's also a beach volleyball court where sporty guests can enjoy playing volleyball.
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| (Beach volleyball court) |
The western most part of the beach is full of rock formations and there are some small caves in there too.
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| (The view of the beach from the westernmost part) |
There are a lot of nice views in the different parts of the property.
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| (Rock formations at the western part of the beach) |
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| (The splashing waves against the rock formations) |
From the western most part of the beach, you can get a better view of its neighboring island. This is the island in front of Toby and Thelma's, it's popularly known as Tandan Island.
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| (The neighboring island, Tandan Island) |
After exploring the western part of the beach we went back to get to the other end of the beach. Now off to the east!
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| (Powdery white sand) |
The eastern most part of the beach is said to be home to an amazingly huge stone that we weren't able to see. We didn't get the chance to see it because we have a limited time and we only got to go only up to the bamboo shower.
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| (Going to the bamboo shower) |
The place is so blessed with a gorgeous white sand beach and clear waters!
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| (A private sanctuary blessed with a gorgeous white sand beach) |
As you can see in the photo above, the beach is spotless!
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| (Enjoying the super private beach!) |
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(The view while sun bathing)
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(Soaking up the sun)
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The simplicity of the place allow families to bond and be a family, maybe that's the reason why one of our co-guests always make it to a point that he and his family spend at least a week every year here in this campsite.
This little guy beside me is one of the children of our co-guest that I'm talking about. This is Roomer and the little girl in pink at the background is his sister (I forgot her name).
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(Me with Roomer)
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| (Bamboo shower) |
They have a unique bamboo shower located at the other end of the beach. From the campsite, you need to walk to the eastern part of the beach to get to the bamboo shower. Mrs. Clark's creativity produced this unique bamboo shower. A long piece of bamboo was placed in a water source coming from the mountain and it became a unique shower where the island's guests can take a quick shower after bathing in the sea.
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| (Cold shower!) |
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| (Enjoying the bamboo shower) |
There can't be many places in the world like Palawan Camping, but I'm glad April introduced me to this one.
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(Two thumbs up for Palawan Camping)
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After exploring the different parts of the beach, we went back to the campsite to take a shower and change clothes. After that we packed up our stuff and got ready to go back to the mainland. Ms. Clark made us an early lunch so that we can catch our 2pm trip going back to Puerto. I think it's an hour of a boat ride from the island to the mainland. We were sad to leave the place because we'd love to stay for a couple more days but we just have to. No worries because there's still a next time.
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| (Mini Bar) |
Unlike before, Palawan camping now has a mini bar where you can have some delicious cocktails and other drinks. Mrs. Clark made us try their unique mix the other night. The drink is called Esther, it's a cocktail mix named after one of their former guest who according to the owner, looks so much alike her eldest daughter, Rica.
. I am so happy to meet the owners of this wonderful campsite. This is Mrs. Thelma Clark, the very kind and accommodating owner of Palawan Camping
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(Me with Mrs. Thelma Clark)
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An overnight stay in this island is really not enough for you to be able to explore all that the island and its people have to offer. I will surely come back to this piece of Paradise!
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| (Bidding goodbye to this peaceful island. Until next time!) |
If you also want to experience what Palawan Camping has to offer, you can contact them thru:
E-mail: palawancamping@gmail.com
Cellphone: 09994863348/09087405614
Landline: 011-63-48-434-8687
Visit their website at
http://palawancamping.com/
ENJOY PARADISE AND ENJOY CAMPING in the best island resort in Port Barton!! :)
ADIOS!
-The Palawenya Explorer ;)
For Port Barton tours, you can contact a local tour guide friend of mine Dave Cabungan at 09479688904 or send him at e-mail at davzred008@gmail.com :)
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