El Nido, Palawan: Islands Away

islands away

El Nido, Palawan

I stood at the edge of the boat surrounded by nature's masterpiece. We were adrift in the middle of the big cerulean ocean, the boat bobbing as we asked them to stop for awhile. There were only limestone cliffs as far as one could see, mountains so lush with green that is absent in the urban grit. This is what life looks like when it is stripped off of worldly dealings and ramblings -- so simple, so unadulterated, so quiet. In the midst of it all, I was not wife, not mother. It was just me as me. I am beholden to you, I thought to the islands that simplified the world at that moment. How could a place make you feel so significant and not at the same time? Look at this majesty created for you. But also look at how small you are at the core of it. The demands of daily life were islands away that I had the time to wax philosophical -- for me an activity just as relaxing as a dip in the pool, as a ride on a kayak. It was the perfect backdrop to my contemplation and musings. 

cerulean views

The waters reflect what is above and create a world of blue...

castaway scenes

Far away from the everyday reality you know...

The cliffs tower over me and I am enveloped in a lagoon where I look up. I have not looked to the sky in a long time and I realize what a refreshing stance it is. It is astounding - and also very telling - of how much I am acclimatizing to it all. Normal life includes a kind of blue that is damaging, a posture that is unwholesome. If life were always like this, I think, beauty would never escape me. 

But as my musings tell me, life is not meant to be lived in paradise, the real world is calling me back, yadda yadda yadda. There's a reason the getaways are called so: there's always something we have to return to. And as I kayaked my way out of the splendid lagoon, gathering strength to paddle, I realized: oh how infinitely blessed I am to have someone more magnificent to come home to...

*Featuring the pride of the Philippines: El Nido, Palawan and just one of its most luxurious resorts, Lagen Island. It's always the top island in the world for good reason: it's the closest you can get to heaven on this earth. So do yourself a  great favor and make your way to it. Pronto.