Palawan Island Adventure

Having been born beneath the huge mountains of Kyrgyzstan, it is hard to be impressed by natural phenomena. And yet, when I first beheld the Pacific Ocean from the El Nido beach in the Philippines, I was speechless.
After an hour in a light jet from Manila and a crushing five hour bus ride, I arrived at the beach's local village exhausted and wary of teeming crowds of tourists. Yet, the village was surprisingly tranquil.
As I made my way up to the third floor of my hotel, where my room was, I caught a glimpse of a massive island through one of the stairwell windows. Although it was easily ten kilometers away, I had the impression that I could jump at it right from my balcony. Hurting for sleep, I figured it was just a trick of exhaustion; the next day, awake and refreshed, I was surprised to discover the clarity of the island was no mirage.
Right after breakfast, I went island-hopping by boat with two local shiny smiling boys. In case I had to choose only one remarkable feature of all local Filipinos I was surrounded by throughout my whole journey, that would be a genuine warm smile. They were short and seemed rather scrawny, until they gave the boat, thronging with 12 people, an almighty push. Suddenly, I felt like the short and scrawny one, although I towered over these boys. I was the kid, and they were the kuas (“elder brother” in Tagalog).
Just after the boat finished its first route, it dawned upon me that I was covered in ants crawling all over my legs. I had been so entranced by the island scenery that I hadn't even noticed – and indeed, everyone on the boat was slackjawed in amazement. I decided to ignore the ants and just let the beauty overtake me, in the hope that somehow, like a sponge, I could be saturated with it.
Soon, I was snorkeling, swimming amidst coral reefs, gazing at fish, running my fingers through strange underwater plants, touching stones, taking underwater selfies (of course), and then finally, crawling back onto the beach like an ancient creature from the primordial sea, where I sprawled out, utterly filled with new and previously unimaginable experiences. And as I lay there, the gentle crash of the ocean waves sounded a timeless beat...