Here is another sketch from Las Cabañas beach – this time with an actual human being in the sketch. It’s not that I don’t draw people, it’s just that the beach was virtually deserted – due to a combination of the pandemic and the weather. Next sketch to post is not a boat or a beach!
Wed-28-July-2021
On the last full day of our holiday, we had planned another island hopping trip but unfortunately, because of the weather, the coastguard prohibited all trips. Instead we went to Las Cabañas beach again. Here is a view of the little natural causeway that connects the island to the mainland at low tide. You might tell by this that the weather was actually pretty good after all!
Wed-28-July-2021
Although we are home now, I still have several sketches to post from our holiday in El Nido. This one was done at a beach called 7 commandos which is supposedly named after seven soldiers who were stranded there during WWII. The beach is is actually connected to the mainland, so although we were still on our island hopping trip we had technically finished hopping at this point. Anyway, after our lunch we stopped here for a swim and a nice cold (overpriced) beer at the Vellago resort. Because the bar is so close to the sea they have piled up sandbags to protect them from the rough seas.
Mon-26-July-2021
This was the third sketch I did on Sunday. After having lunch in town we came back to where we are staying and then went for a walk on Corong-Corong beach. This beach is a bit less touristy than the others we have been to – there are a lot more boats and there is a lot more trash washed up at the high tide mark. The boat in the foreground is called Nanay (which means mother). When I had finished this and the tide had gone out, we wandered among the pools and sea grass looking at starfish, sea cucumbers and crabs, while waiting for the sunset.
Sun-25-July-2021
Our third full day in El Nido took us to Nacpan beach which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in the world. It is truly beautiful but unfortunately (according to some guys from the tourism office) the coastguard had issued an order to not allow people to swim because of the rough weather. I did manage to go in for a little dip before this and could feel a really strong rip tide, so that was probably good advice. We finally had some patches of blue sky that day!
Sun-25-July-2021
Day three of our little holiday took us to Lio Beach, which apparently is ‘owned’ by the Ayala Corporation. Although technically the beach is supposed to be public, at one point a guard would not let us walk up the beach because there were guests at the fancy hotel (called Seda Lio)…however when the tide had gone a long way out (the guard being at the high tide line under the trees) we walked up to the point through the surf anyway.
Sat-24-July-2021
After walking all the way along the beach to the point, we found a quiet little resort to have a light lunch at. This is the view from our table. The wind was still blowing hard (I tried to capture this in the leaves of the palm tree), but look at that fantastic scenery.
Fri-23-July-2021
On our first full day in El Nido we took a little trip up the coast to Las Cabanas beach. It was extremely windy and a little bit rainy but we made the most of it. As I sat and sketched this (while my daughter and wife were swimming) I was getting free exfoliation from the sand being blown at me and my palette almost blew away several times!
Fri-23-July-2021
The #WorldWatercolorMonth prompt for yesterday was “favourite place”, so I thought of the beach and that led to sketching something that reminded me of the beach. My daughter gave me this little shell and I carry it around in my wallet. I take it out to marvel at the incredible beauty of nature – in real life it looks much more beautiful than my sketch.
Mon-13-Jul-2020
My landlady warned me that the weather was going to change on Saturday afternoon. But still I went for a walk to the beach. Wow it was windy – sand got in everything including my paints. These two guys didn’t seem to care though – several times they were lifted up into the air on their kites.
Sat-7-Mar-2020
