When we arrived in El Nido, we started filming around so Cory would be able to show and produce for her project here in Palawan. It was Cory's first time in El Nido and just like when we arrived in PPS, it was the same thing I saw in her eyes.

It glistened and it was beautiful.

I feel like I'm already seeing the wonders in there.

"So, what do you suggest we should go to? We've got a few days to stay here in El Nido and I think we'll do a lot of fun. What do you think?"

I nodded. "I think you are right. I've got a lot of exciting things for you and I hope you'll love it."

"I hope I will, Doggy. Kung hindi, kokonyatan kita."

"Kiss na lang mas better," aniko. "Masyado ka nang marahas kung kokonyatan mo pa ako, but kiss would be a better punishment don't you think?"

"I think mas better kung hindi na lang kita kauussapin, 'no? Would be so beneficial for me."

"Kung matitiis mo," pabulong kong tugon. 

She squinted her eyes. "Ano 'yon? May pabulong-bulong ka nang nalalaman ngayon, ha?" aniya saka niya ako kinurot sa tagiliran ko. I wasn't able to get away with it tinagalan niya pa ang pagkurot niya.

"Ouch!"

"Deserve," ngisi pa nito. "Tara na nga sa hotel natin. I can't wait to change and go to our first stop, okay?"

We waited for the spot where the van will pick us up and bring us straight to the hotel we booked for the night. We both decided to spend only a night in the hotels we'll be going since we won't have to be staying inside the hotel for too long and all the activities are outside.

We stayed in the Nacpan Beach Resort and Cory kept booking a room with one bed for both of us and in the end, she'll blame me for it. But who can I blame for it? Not myself obviously.

It doesn't take us long when the van arrived and asked for our names. When they verified it, they got us on board. Hindi lang kami ang pinick-up at may iba pa kaming kasabay. 

Every day, we'll have one big stop so we can focus and spend time as well as try to roam around the area. That was our mistake back in PPS when we squeeze all our visits in just a day and we weren't able to capture all the things we needed, but we've got what we needed. It's just the lack of time we're trying to avoid from now on.

And since Cory's new project filming came a little bit late and was informed when we were in PPS, she wasn't able to capture some of the good places in Coron so we talked about that before she flies back to Manila, she'll spend a quick moment traveling to the same places we went to so she can add them to her series of vlogs.

Half an hour, we arrived at our hotel. The good thing for us, the beach we intended isn't far from where we are staying so it would be just quite a few minutes of walk to the beachfront. When we saw our room, I didn't say a single comment about how we would share the single bed again, but the last time we did, she built a pillow wall that was broken in the middle of the night and we ended up cuddling.

"Should we go and go to the beach na?" she asked.

I shrugged off. "If you don't want to waste your time and see what it's like out there then go for it. Let's do it."

"Okay... but I think let's just wait for another thirty minutes... charge ko lang muna mga device ko."

"I'll do the same thing," I said. I grabbed my charger and put it on the socket then jumped on the bed solo. Tiningnan niya ako nang masama dahil nasakop ko ng buo ang kama. "What? You can spoon here with me."

"Ang laki mo talagang tao."

"Sabi ko sa 'yo," aniko. "Hindi pa talaga malaki 'yong nakita mo. Mas may lalaki pa ro'n."

She rolled her eyes. "Ayan ka na naman, e, 'no? Kailan ka kaya titino?"

"Kapag naging Alejandria ka na."

She grunted. "Bahala ka riyan sa buhay mo."

She charged her phone and camera the proceed to the balcony where she warned me not to go after her. She closed the sliding door and if I go after her, ihuhulog niya raw ako para manahimik na ako. So, I kept quiet and I ended up sleeping for a few hours, and when I woke up, Cory left the room and I don't have any idea where she went.

I tried sending her a message, but she wasn't replying to my message. Her clothes and stuff are still in the room with me so I'm confident she'll be back.

Thirty minutes later, I heard the door open and there I saw Cory with some food with her.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

Tumaas agad ang kilay niya sa akin. "Ay, ako na nga 'tong may dalang food for us. 'Wag na nga. Bahala ka riyan. Tinulugan mo ako kanina, magutom ka ngayon."

"No, I was just..." Bumangon ako sa kama at nilapitan siya para lambingin, but she quickly stopped me from doing what I will do to her. Inabot na niya lang sa akin iyong mango milkshake at pizza na binili niya.

"Where did you buy this?" I asked.

"Sa resto sa baba," aniya. "There aren't many stalls nearby and ang expensive rin ng food nila. I am hungry and so I just got us this."

"Okay, thanks for this... have you been to the beach yet?"

Umiling siya sa akin. "Not yet since I wanted to go there with you saka... tanghaling tapat at sobrang init sa labas. I wasn't able to answer your messages dahil may bitbit ako. Miss mo na ba agad ako? Naku, Douglas, ha. Bawal 'yong ganyan."

I laughed. "Who said that to you? Assuming ka, ha."

"Sus! Ikaw pa ba? Someone like Douglas..."

Pumunta siya sa balcony para doon kumain, I joined her there

"What do you really expect in El Nido?" I asked her.

"Beaches?" sagot niya sabay higop sa milkshake niya. "I mean, I search it on google at ibang-iba 'yong beaches nila rito. I think Coron, PSS, and El Nido got a lot of things to offer na iba-iba naman. Here, I'm so excited to see those huge karst rock formation here, I think iyon talaga ang hinabol-habol ko rito."

"Ako ba hindi mo hahabulin?"

Walang sagot kung hindi suntok sa braso ang natanggap ko sa kanya. "Isa pa. Ang hilig mo talagang magbitaw ng mga corny mong hirit, 'no? That's why many people are coming after you. Masyado ka kasing cheesy at pa-fall, plus corny and..."

"And what?"

"Wala."

"Sexy, hot, and yummy. I think you forgot to mention those things."

"Ewan ko sa 'yo. Wala akong sinasabing mga gano'n."

"But you might be thinking about it."

"Assuming na naman po siya Lord, o."

I chuckled. "Anyway... what if makita mo na naman ang ex mo rito? Baka destiny talaga kayong dalawa, 'no."

"Yuck!" she acted like puking. "Manginig ka nga, Douglas. I would never think of that after what he did to me. Kung makaasta siya in front of us feel niya okay na kaming dalawa? We will never be okay. Assuming din siya. Parang ikaw."

"Pero hindi pa ako ex mo."

"And will never be."

"Oooh, so tayo hanggang dulo 'no?"

She scrunched her face. "I mean, we'll never be together in the first place. Kulit mo."

I shrugged off. "Well, it's what you have to tolerate for the next two weeks."

She let out a deep sigh as if she already regretted this decision.

After we ate, we wait until three in the afternoon so we can out and check out the beach. We changed our clothes and both of us went there. The resort we stayed in got its little own pool, but we wanted to go to the beach since we need to feature more of what this island can offer.

Cory has been doing great on her write-ups and has been getting good feedback on it. I'm proud of her and she might not say it out loud, but I know my presence on this tour with her helps her achieve that. Well, she could do it alone and she might be right that I was just assuming it.

After our stay in Nacpan-Calitang Twin Beach and got what we wanted, the next day, we hopped into a new hotel and I heard that Nagkalit-Kalit Waterfalls is a must-visit when going to El Nido. we weren't able to book a hotel nearby since the area is somewhat out of the city and in the middle of two end-to-end destinations.

We stayed in Ahana Resort which is the nearest hotel for us and the good thing for us, we met a local there who is renting their motorbike for a few hours. It would be five hundred pesos for four hours. Hindi na namin iyon pinalampas dahil mahihirapan lang kami kapag van ang gagamitin. So we paid for eight hours and thought that was enough for us to travel all the way to the falls.

When the owner said that the Nagkalit-Kalit Waterfalls aren't hard to find and we might come across some people too who are entering the forest. Hindi naman daw liblib iyon as it got its own trail heading there. 

I missed my motorbike in Coron and wished I brought it here with me. Cory jumped behind the backseat and told her to put her arms around my waist which she did. Cory was the one who's navigating the ride for us, but it didn't take us too long. We reached the area in less than five minutes.

As we saw the Nagkalit-Kalit Waterfalls signage and the way it was pointing toward the forest, Cory and I prepared to head inside. We were instructed to wear pants while we were on the trail as grasses and insects were the ones we should look out for. We followed what they said. I carried the backpack for both of us while Cory is busy recording where we are going.

There was so much beauty as we passed through streams, green fields, and some majestic views. It was a little struggle at some point because the trails get muddy, rocky, slippery, and bushy. One moment, I slipped and Cory laughed her ass off, but she helped me get up, but I ended up having a muddy ass on our way to the falls.

It took us over an hour when we finally heard the waterfalls. There was some kind of excitement that build up on us and get it there as soon as we can and when we did, the slip was hella worth it.

"If I'm going to break my hips for this magical view, I would do it," I commented.

Cory laughed. "Well, then... let's enjoy the view."

We looked for a spot to leave our stuff for a moment and stripped off our dirty clothes. I took a dip in the water while Cory is still recording.

"You know what, leave your phone on the recording mode, place it somewhere steady, and join here with me... that'll be fantastic."

She thought of it for a second and then decided to place her phone on the ground. She stripped her clothes off and I grabbed her hand as she slowly dipped in the waters.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"This is... wonderful..." she uttered. "I'm a little scared it's just the two of us, but this is peaceful..."

"I love it when it's peaceful..."

I'm not sure how we are going to spend each day on this trip, but the only thing I can assure her, she'll never regret seeing these wonders. They were one-of-a-kind and getting to see them personally is one for the books.

***