Hartman Beach - family-friendly beach near the city centre.

It’s been a long while I didn’t post anything, well, I went to Manila for some stuff I had to settle.  Somehow I cannot get the beat of the city, I can’t get used to the rush, the chaos, the traffic, the noise, too many people, the smokes, the pace of life and everything else that is inherent in most big cities.

Now, I’m back in Palawan, back to nature, back to the laid back pace of life, back to my comfort zone.

Yesterday, we woke up early as we’re heading to the beach. We hit the road to B.M. and at the end of it is the Hartman Beach.  The first beach resort charging 10 pesos per person right at the end of the road isn’t that good, too many seaweeds and water is so shallow, so we headed few meters to the next one.  The water is also shallow maybe because it’s early in the morning but the place is a lot better than the first one.  Entry fee is 20 pesos per person.

Here’s the google map location:  http://goo.gl/maps/h0RIV

It’s not (yet) crowded and the place is clean and well maintained.  Tall coconut trees dot the whole sands, plenty of wooden table and benches (cost of use at 60 pesos), small huts on the edge of the beach (at 300 pesos), barbecue facility, toilets and showers, and a nice big ballroom-type of platform jutting on the water, I could just imagine this is a nice place to have a wedding, it's romantic esp. for a sunset kind of wedding, or some parties or any other events.

The water is still low at noontime, we’ve already walked about 50 or so meters, still the water is  up to knee-deep.  I wonder though if it gets higher in the late afternoon as we’ve left the place around noon time?  I got impatient with the slow height movement of the tide.  It’s safe though for kids.  There are families having a picnic, group of teens having some barbecue and the occasional foreign tourists.

The best time to get to Hartman Beach is probably afternoon, if you want to swim otherwise you’ll just be soaking your feet on the water in the early morn.  It’s quiet though and tranquil during mornings there, so if you just want to feel serenity, a nice walk along a calm palm-dotted beach, Hartman Beach can be a good beach - I didn't say excellent - just good within the city.

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