Philippines : Rustic Cottage - El Nido

So, first off, these pictures are not in perfect chronological order; however, they should work as a guide for this post.

Although the Cliffside Cottages is located about a five minute walk away from the beach, this house is located a least a mile out of town within a small little community off the main drag. Small farms/homes, each with dozens of chickens, surrounded this small piece of property and, besides the power plant making noise at night and chickens and roosters calling throughout the night and early morning, one could always tell when power began flowing again because the neighbor began blasting Pop music at around 5 p.m.

Some might be appalled, yet Dacota and I have never been to a more majestic home within a town. It is hard to describe the wonderment found at this place; however, I must admit, since we encountered no mosquitos, I repeat no mosquitos, our time here offered no downsides. Where these normally troublesome insects vacationed is none of my concern because we thoroughly enjoyed their absence! What a wonderfully unique experience in the tropics.

Something about the place was special; it can be likened to a synthesis of camping, exploring, cultural immersion, relaxation, and humble (desirable) living into unique material form.

The alley leading to the cottage

 A small dirt path, between houses and farms, leads to house.

A rooster showing off

Although dozens of chickens ran about, this guy deserves a special "shout out".

Arrived at the cottage

A bamboo fence separates this land from the neighbors property, although plenty of animal life made it into our gated commune.

The cottage

Another Angle 

Unlike other cottages in the area, a metal roof, instead of a thatched roof, makes this a cottage, bungalow, cabin, shack, house, etc. possess a feeling of longevity. Although it did not rain, no evidence of water damage existed and I'm fairly certain this place would be fine during typhoon season. As stated before, this house belongs to the daughter of the woman who owned Cliffside Cottages and she and her husband are slowly building a hotel of sorts (possibly a B&B, pension, guesthouse, resort) on the same land as the cottage. She was so nice, helpful, and professional I cannot foresee anything but success in her future. She mentioned her name several times but the Filipino language is impossibly difficult to remember. Possibly due to this construction and property transformation, her and her family moved out of the cottage and are living elsewhere. So this is truly a native Filipino home that we stayed in.

The hotel under construction

Work on this hotel started at eight thirty in the morning, although we were gone before the workers showed up every day. The lady and her husband's surplus funds went into this project and slowly, but surely, the house moves towards completion. We had the chance to sneak a peak inside and it looked as though the completed hotel would be an absolutely lovely place.

The water pump

 During our stay, we needed to pump water for shower, sink, and toilet flushing water. We would transport the water where it was needed for a specific application using the buckets provided. Drinking water, in a reusable container, was brought in for us by the proprietress. A seal of purity (like the sealed plastic ring around a packaged condiment container) from the refill station ensured that we were drinking safe water. On the label is read, "If seal is broken, do not drink". A rather cool system and a really nice surprise. We didn't expect to have access to fresh water so it really helped save our budget and save time transporting water to and fro.

Kitchen and back stairs leading to a bathroom

 Although we did not take advantage of the kitchen, we certainly could have.

Interior accommodations

After stepping up two stairs, from the marble-tiled patio, one enters into a one room dwelling. A queen size bed, dresser, table, fan, and television were the sole decorations of the room. Bamboo slat flooring composed the floor running perpendicular to the twelve inch, on center, floor joists. You can obviously see the light coming through the flooring but no insects could be found within our the modest room. Perhaps my rose-colored glasses would have re-tinted to a more acumen gaze if I'd spent my entire life in a place like this, but it seemed like a wonderful get-a-way.

A friendly neighborhood dog

This happy black dog ran around the yard and always wanted attention. This tile-patio would have made a great place for drinks, cards, and friends.

Biaka and her puppies

During our first night at the cottage, we heard many noises: whimpering puppies, chickens, roosters, power plant, frogs, voices, and ... other things. The next morning, we awoke to find that four puppies lived under our house and were too cute. As we exited our cottage, we saw a little girl playing with the Biaka and her puppies. Introducing herself as Lisa, she introduced us to the dogs and helped secure a good relationship between us and Biaka. Protective of her puppies, Biaka growled at us as we approached, yet, with Lisa's help, she quickly realized that we would be a source of loving attention. Besides Biaka, the puppies, and the black dog, chickens ran about the yard; more would soon come after discovering that we accidentally left a few pastries outside (in a paper bag) one evening. These were gone by morning with only a destroyed paper bag as evidence of the crime. Increased chicken sighting gave us insight who perpetrated the crime.

A puppy!

On the right side of the photo, after the pump, the enclosed area is our shower area. Showering consisted of navy shower, combat shower, camp shower, etc. rather than a Hollywood shower. This system uses a bucket of cold water (or possibly stream of water for very short duration) where one 1: wets himself, 2: soaps up, 3: rinses off.  It was in the mid eighties (Fahrenheit) and the well water was pretty warm. I could see this being less enjoyable during typhoon season, but as it was, it was refreshing. I am one for cold water dousing anyway, so this might soon become my preferred method of bathing.

Lisa, her sister, and me

Do you remember the extra coconut from our motorcycle trip? Well, Thursday morning came around (the day we left to Coron) and we hadn't eaten it. So, during Lisa's short visit, we presented her with the gigantic coconut to thank her for her kindness. I really hope she grows up to find her dreams within this crazy world!