WANDERING AROUND HELICOPTER ISLAND, EL NIDO, PH

Aloha Beaches! It's me, Marycris. Join us as we defy time and travel back to the first spot we visited during our El Nido island-hopping tour - the Helicpoter Island. It is the perfect place for those who simply want to relax on the beach, play with waves, swim with fishes and forget about the worries. As we mentioned in our previous blog, we signed up as joiners for the TOUR C package, which includes stunning beaches, some of which are private and hidden. It far exceeded our expectations, and the 1350 php ($27) per person fee was well worth it. So let’s start!

_{Sailing to the Island}

We hopped in the boat and the boatmen gave us some orientation regarding the tour. The outrigger boat then started sailing and the boatmen said that the first destination will take two hours. Then I said on my mind “What? Two hours? That would be a long journey!” Then the boatmen added “Two hours by swim and twenty minutes by boat😅”. Ohh okay, he was just kidding😂. We all then laughed and felt relieved since the two hours was just a joke. I cannot imagine myself riding up a small boat battling for waves for two hours. HAHA!

While sailing to the destination the boatmen suggested that he will take a photo of us standing at the edge of the outrigger boat with the island as our background.

_{Picture First at the Edge of the Outrigger Boat}

As we got closer to the destination, the boatmen stated we had to guess out what the island's name was, and he offered us a hint: it was named after its shape! The other joiners then began guessing. Some thought it resembled a whale or a fish, while others said it resembled a dolphin. As I can see it from a distance, it was like a half-submerged fried chicken drumstick.😃 It also had the appearance of an airplane and a turtle. But one of us said that the island has an strange shape, resembling a helicopter without a propeller. The boatmen smiled and responded, "You're correct!" The place was called as Helicopter Island. He went on to say that the location was officially known as Dimalucad Island, but that it was now known as Helicopter Island due to its shape.

_{Helicopter Island at a Distance}

When we arrived at our destination and stepped off the boat to see the island for the first time, I wondered aloud, "Are all the islands and beaches in El Nido like this?”. I then became enthralled by the prospect of visiting our next destinations.

_{Arriving at the Island}

The sand on beach of the island is powdery and soft, but there are parts where sand is mixed with pebble stones so I wore slippers while walking on the beach for comfort purposes. With massive cliffs sandwiching deep dark green rainforest in the middle of the island, the beach became more distinctive. On one side of the island, a towering mountain can be seen. From afar, the cliffs appeared to have rounded edges, giving it a more nurturing appearance than the other islands. The mountain was mostly naked, revealing its outlines chiseled by time. It was a perfect backdrop for any snapshot, and there was even a log positioned exactly in an angle where I could pose and get my finest photograph. The scenery was breathtaking. So the island has a charming beach with crystal blue water, and limestones that contribute to its beauty. It was a perfect combination and an ideal pairing.

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_{The Beach Quality}

The place is also a good spot for snorkeling and the clear waters are teeming with marine life. So of course, Nino did not miss out on his favorite activity, while I was just simply photographing the scenery. However, we did not have any pictures of the corals and fishes of the island because we saved up the battery of our underwater cam for the next destinations. Well for Nino, just being in El Nido allows him to enjoy the cool, relaxing sea as well as the corals and fishes when snorkeling. But I just skipped snorkeling because our boatmen gave us a heads up that our next destinations will require a lot of swimming. So on our first stop, I believed that it was a good idea to just relax and prepare myself for the upcoming adventures.

_{Snorkeling and Taking Photographs}

One thing we noticed right away was that the waves were a little bit more violent here. Because the waves would spit us back to shore, none of us could swim that far off the coast. We liked it so much that we decided to continue playing with the waves.

_{Playing with Waves}

At one point, I just chose to put down my snorkel and just lie down on the sand, in the middle of dry leaves, and watch Nino having the time of his life while snorkeling with a camera in my hands, hoping for a good shot. I also noticed other tourists sat on a bed of rock, admiring the view while others challenged the waves some more.

Other than taking pictures, playing with waves, relaxing on the beach and go snorkeling, we also climbed the rocks because we wanted to do a unique thing here and tried to be more adventurous. 😃

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I believe that having Helicopter Island as our first stop on our tour was a good idea because it allowed us to slow down and relax at the start of our journey. Following that, all of our other stops have endless swimming at hidden and secret beaches and limestone trekking. This island is a rare beauty that can be discovered in El Nido. It was just the first spot we visited during our El Nido island hopping tour but we were already satisfied.