The first couple hours of waking up has always been a sacred time for me. The morning ritual of drinking that first cup of coffee was instilled in me from a very young age and to say I can barely function before it is an understatement. I like to wake up quietly and with very little interaction. So, finding the best place to have that coffee is imperative. The coffee has to be good and the barista needs to be friendly. In Alona Beach we found a cafe called Glebe and the barista, Ronald, was great. When we got to Boracay it took a few days, but we found Gratitude Cafe, another good place for a latte. Here in El Nido, on our second morning we discovered Blackbird Coffee. We walked in and ordered and the guy behind the counter looked at us excitedly and asked where we were from, wouldn't you know it, he came to The Philippines from California. He is the third person from the states that we have run into here in The Philippines. Ian and his wife Gillean - she is from Manila- opened the coffee shop one month ago. It's small and bright and full of plants and the coffee is amazing and they have been so friendly! It's checked all the boxes for the perfect spot to have that first (and second) cup.
Ian and Gillean have been so kind and talking with them has been a great start to our day. In between customers we have learned a lot about life in El Nido, what it takes to start a business there and where the best beaches are.
As our time in El Nido comes to an end we can't help but feel we have not spent enough time here and are already discussing when we can come back to visit our new found friends.
To find out more about El Nido Town Restaurants we enjoyed check out Part Two!
The coffee looks like it's made Grant very pensive.