The trip to Club Noah Isabelle consists of a ninety minute plane ride on a Let-410 UPVP-E (an old but sturdy dual-engine turboprop, cockpit labels still in Russian) to Rodriguez “Airport” (more like a dirt airstrip with a hut) in Taytay, Palawan, followed by a short jeepney ride to a pier jutting out of a nearby mangrove swamp, then a 45 minute cruise on a banca out to the island, called Apulit.

The resort itself hugs the island’s coastline, a path going along the perimeter of the main cove, around the bend of the island, to a beach halfway up the shore from the lee of the cove. All along this path are the resort’s various clubhouses, scuba staging areas, dive and boat piers, and small and large cabaña houses jutting out into the water, standing atop sturdy pillars holding them about eight feet above the waves, each cabin accessible by sturdy footbridges.

Sadly my stay at Club Noah was about two days shorter than the rest of my family’s, as I had to come later to attend the aforementioned wedding, but I managed to do one dive, the standard checkout off the pier into the reef right in front of the resort. (Dive log entry here.) I also got to see various forms of island fauna, caged and wild, including a mousedeer, a very aggressive macaw, a budgie, several rabbits, ducks and geese, cranes, swallows, and at least one monitor lizard. Mostly the trip was very relaxing, with lots of sleeping done, lots of photos taken, and not much interaction with other guests, who were mostly Japanese and Korean. The views and scenery on the journey there and back were as much an attraction of the trip as the resort itself.

See the full Club Noah photoset here.