Through a friend we were told of an epic journey called Tao Philippines. The Tao expedition is an adventure through the Palawan islands of the Philippines on a banka boat. It is not a typical all-inclusive beach vacation, a wait-on-you-hand-and-foot resort, or a massive overcrowded cruise ship. 

This particular Tao expedition was five crew members taking ten strangers (from 6 different countries) from Coron to El Nido, Philippines over the course of seven days with no set schedule… cruising the open ocean and exploring secluded islands by day, and camping on isolated beaches by night.

 

What sort of experience was it? It was a…

relaxing, fresh air breathing, white sand beach walking,

kayak paddling, cold bucket showering, clear water swimming,

community eating, bonfire singing, bright star gazing,

sunset watching, island wandering, life reflecting,

sun burning, book reading, ginger tea drinking,

sunscreen applying, no shoe wearing, journal writing,

fresh calamari eating, endless reef snorkeling, lagoon viewing,

village exploring, moment enjoying, limestone cliffs looming,

no distractions overtaking, no electricity working, no watch-wearing,

intense relationship building, interesting mix of people relating,

live chicken killing, Tao staff entertaining, arm wrestling,

sunken ship exploring, Betty (sea dog) barking, wild dogs roaming,

cock fighting, karaoke singing, filipino dancing,

real pina colada (with freshly-concocted coconut milk) sipping,

jelly fish stinging, Wasoy fire-spitting merman making, nap taking,

mosquito net sleeping, new food trying, scenery gawking,

shade chasing, fish eating, cultural learning,

horizon fading, and no other people around for watching…

 

…sort of experience.