Motorcyling Through Northern Palawan - Duli and Maremegmeg Beaches

For my last day in Northern Palawan, I cruised the countryside on a tiny motorcycle, dodging water buffalo, dogs, big rocks and little children along the gravel roads on my way to a few secluded beaches. A friendly Australian that I had met earlier in El Nido let me borrow his rented motorcycle for a day, so I headed up the coast, eventually making a very steep, slippery descent to Duli Beach where I spent a few hours enjoying the magnificent scenery and solitude. I finished up the day just South of El Nido at Maremegmeg Beach, recommended to me by one of the locals as his favorite spot in the area.

(Duli Beach - not all that easy to find or get to, but I had the huge beach to myself for almost four hours.)

(As I sat in the sand underneath the palm trees, the waves crashed in front of me, and the clouds passed overhead. At one point, there were three other visitors on the expansive beach, but they came and went quickly, and a stray dog was my only other guest.)

(Riding a tiny motorcycle on loose sand isn't as easy as it looks.)

(After leaving the bumpy gravel and dirt road, I followed a tiny footpath down to the beach on my motorcycle, stopping at a house or two on the way to ask for directions.)

(Some of the scenery on the way back to El Nido from Duli Beach. I came very close to running over a big black snake coiled up in the middle of the gravel road, but with a nearby water buffalo, dog and large rocks that I was trying to avoid, I didn't have much time to get a good look at it.)

(Getting out of El Nido, you quickly get back into the rural parts of Palawan with tiny farmers' huts along the side of the road.)

(Maremegmeg Beach - from Corong-Corong, about 3 km South of El Nido, this beach is a 30-45 minute walk further South, but it's definitely worth it.)

(Rows and rows of palm trees at Maremegmeg make for some pretty decent pictures. I just had to wait for one oblivious French guy to move out of the shot.)

(Maremegmeg Beach looking out towards Cadlao Island.)

(Fish curry and rice.)

(A traditional Filipino soup with random vegetables, some pork and a tamarind base - sinigang. Not at all like synagogue, particularly the pork part. Sorry for the confusion.)

(Another version of halo-halo with taro flavored ice cream, random gelatin, rice krispies, ice shavings and some random pieces tucked in the bottom. This was back in Puerto Princesa on my last day before heading back to Manila.)

(I also made a quick stop by the vegetarian restaurant in Puerto Princesa, along with my obligatory visit to the bakeries and kid along the side of the road that sells something like fried plantains for 15 cents each. Mmmm.)