The guides of El Nido

LITTLE HAS CHANGED in Bacuit Bay, home of three of the four El Nido Resorts (ENR), in the last millennium. Its craggy limestone cliffs have been that way for the last 250 million years. All that might have changed in the 1960s and ’70s when commercial logging and fishing became the area’s main sources of revenues but because the bay was declared a turtle sanctuary and eventually a protected area, its biodiversity and natural balance has been maintained.

Stories like these shared by the guides of Bacuit Bay’s Miniloc, Lagen and Pangulasian island resorts and Apulit, a fourth island resort in the next municipality, are what make a stay in El Nido Resorts memorable, said Joey Bernardino, ENR Director of Sales and Marketing. “Most of our guides, who accompany guests to the activities offered in the islands, are locals and they inject freshness and vitality to the visitor’s appreciation of his surroundings.” In addition to the facilities, accommodations and food and beverage, their interactions with clients have been significant in reaping a 95% guest satisfaction rating through the years.

The guides help the guests identify many of the 855 species of marine fish, 400 species of corral, and five of the seven species of marine turtles in the world found around the resorts. They also educate guests on the origins of Palawan, its geology, the history of El Nido municipality, and the many other facets that make the place special — in addition to assisting guests snorkel, do trail hikes, and get on and off the boats.

Thus, when they point out just how important it is to keep the balance in the area by not littering, not feeding the monkeys, and respecting the wildlife, guests readily respond. They are so drawn to the advocacy of preserving as much of El Nido’s beauty that they willingly accept the reusable bags handed them upon arrival for personal trash. Many guests heed the suggestion to bring home the litter.

Nevertheless, most of the guides and other frontliners who were born and raised in the area grew up oblivious to the uniqueness of their surroundings. They are themselves the products of ENR’s program called “Be GREEN” — short for “Guard Respect Educate El Nido” — which teach different aspects of conservation to all new employees of the resorts. Moreover, they undergo intense training and refresher courses in Nature Interpretation defined by ENR Director for Sustainability Mariglo Laririt as “the systematic ordering and weaving of observable and verifiable facts to create compelling stories.”

According to Jamie Dichaves, Lagen Environmental Officer, the five-day Nature Interpretation program is composed of lectures on the geography and biodiversity of Palawan, the geology of the El Nido area, the marine turtles, terrestrial animals, birds and the like found there.

But among the most compelling invitations to preserve El Nido’s beauty result from activities such as witnessing marine turtle eggs hatch — and alongside other guests and resort staff — cheering the hatchlings on as they make their way back to the sea. Females who survive to adulthood will return to that very same beach to lay their own eggs, the guides point out.