Before plunging into the turquoise blue waters of Philippines top destination El- Nido, it was time to unwind in the lesser visited Port Barton. Port Barton is a sleepy little resort village facing the South China Sea. Time comes almost to a standstill here. With hardly a handful of visitors especially during its shoulder season, it feels like having the endless stretch of rustic beach all to yourself for days on end.
This is the perfect place to just bathe, catch the sun, eat and doze under the shade of a cooling tree even as you sip on a martini or a cold beer. And all this can be done at a beach bungalow facing the ocean. Fruit trees, mangroves and palm trees line the fringes of the beach adding to its soporific charm. The closest town to Port Barton, Roxas lies half way between Puerto Princesa and El-Nido. Roxas is four and a half hours away by bus from Puerto Princesa.
From here there is a single jeepney that trundles its way into Port Barton leaving Roxas at 12 in the afternoon and reaching Port Barton around 1.30 p.m. Alternately, you can hire a motorcycle taxi if you are unable to coordinate timing or reach later than planned. Roads are severely bumpy, so be warned that it takes a toll on your spine. Just balancing the backpacks on our backs even as our drivers unconcernedly negotiated pot hole ridden roads at break neck speeds was a feat that deserved a hefty cash award for stoic endurance.
We decided to skip the regular beach front cottages. Instead we chose to stay at the Monkey Lodge nestled next to a paddy field on the road leading to the village. Phillip, a German who is half South Korean, on his travels to the Philippines, in Port Barton met and fell in love with a Filipino woman, Roxanne in this very seaside hamlet. The two now run their hostel like lodge welcoming budget conscious travelers from around the world. The moniker of the lodge is from the two monkeys that the two have as pets. While they are chained, they have a free run of the spread- out trees in the grove like garden that surrounds the house.
Phillip and Roxanne have a little girl whom they have decided to name Lakshmi or the Indian goddess of wealth ( as if their joint global heritage wasn’t enough). They recently had another baby. The two are happy, leading an anxiety free life. Says Phillip, “ I didn’t want the stress filled life of the West. This is perfect for me. Roxanne’s family is so supportive. We have a solid family on her side here. There is nature all around, plenty to eat, a regular source of income, constant sun to keep us cheerful, a loving wife and kids…what more could a man ask for?” he smiles.
On keeping monkeys Roxanne explained, “ These were monkeys bred in captivity when they were sold to us. They do not know how to survive in the wild. They will die if we release them.”
We sat down in the garden to a fabulous home cooked vegetarian Filipino meal made by Roxanne’s mother even as we watched the monkeys suck on succulent mangoes from the large tree they were fooling around on. Phillip also graciously showed us all the local joints serving local fare inside the village where we could eat at, that were inexpensive compared to the larger or the more fancy restaurants lining the beach.
He also drew out precise directions to the fairly well known waterfall in the nearby reserve. And the best part Phillip explores the jungle on his own and has found two other ‘secret’ water falls that most don’t know of. He let us be privy to this knowledge. He also told us about the beautiful crystals we could find on our way up one of steeper waterfalls we could climb up next to, to the top. We later found the ‘surprise’ he wouldn’t tell us about. There was another waterfall on top of it. He did show us his extensive collection of crystals.
We ended up exploring all three falls. Being not high season, we were the only ones in all of the jungle. Humans and snakes were the two things we watched out for but we fortunately encountered neither from the start of the trail inside the reserve that is already 3.5 kilometers away from Port Barton. Only the entrance has a tired shack with a lone listless guard. From the entrance, it takes a little less than an hour to reach the marked waterfall.
Of the three falls, the main one has a deep pool that is excellent for swimming especially on sultry days. Birds and insects of all hues swooped in creating a serene yet ethereal atmosphere. At the secret waterfalls the rocks sparkled but we didn’t collect any crystals. We were just content to climb or walk and after sit by or swim in the shallow pools; taking in, in silence nature’s unspoiled beauty of what felt like far far away from the madding crowds of human civilization.
Feature image- Port Barton at sunset. Image courtesy –ZM_Photo /Shutterstock.com.
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