The rest of our week followed in a very similar fashion, morning beach walks, exploring the island via motorbike, and hours spent at the beach (dodging the pushy souvenir vendors). We did sign up for a snorkleing trip, although this too was not quite what I had expected, and failed in comparison to the one I had done in El Nido years ago. The tour was supposed to las 3 hours and included three stops: the underwater cave, snorkleing in a coral reef, and viewing of a giant clam shell. The boat was much smaller than I had expected, although that added a bit of character to the trip. The cave was really cool and easy to navigate, despite locals trying to sell their guide services upon arrival, but the two snorkeling stops were frustrating. Both of our snorkel masks were continuously fogging up making it difficult to see much of anything, and we both experienced a few stings which we were later told "probably small jellyfish, no problem!"
0 Comments
Early on in the year I had set my mind on a (belated) birthday beach vacation in the Philippines. We had a week off school the week following my birthday, and in an effort to find a middle ground between good weather, flight duration and cost, we landed on the Philippines as our destination. My one issue with the country is that there are endless opportunities of where to spend your holiday, beautiful beaches and secluded islands, however getting to these destinations is sometimes a full day effort. I know for most people a week is a long time, but having spent months backpacking in my younger years, it still feels short to me. I didn't want to spend 1/3 of our time in transit, and instead chose to find an easier to reach beach paradise. Honestly though, in retrospect, I probably should have just put in the effort.
My first week in the Philippines was a mixed bag of excitement; generous friends and a beautiful [free] hotel room in Cebu, an interesting start to my volunteer experience at Seaside, and an impending Typhoon. I guess they're right when they say "It's more fun in the Philippines", or if not fun at least it's always interesting. When I made my return to Seaside things had changed a bit, a third volunteer, Caroline, had joined the crowd and we quickly befriended each other. The first few nights of work at the bar were slow with a mix of new and old customers but then the workers (construction boys) started hanging out, friendships were made fast and loads of fun was had.
Nine times out of ten, when I tell someone how long I’ve been traveling their first response is, “Are you rich?” I can assure you that’s not the case, I’m not rich, my parents aren’t supporting me and I have no sugar daddy funding my trips. The secret is how I travel, there are no fancy hotels (well, only when I’m lucky), I opt for the long bus or train over flight, eat local, and avoid souvenirs but there are a few other tricks up my sleeve. The first of which is Couchsurfing, which has provided me with nothing but amazing opportunities and unique situations, as well as new friends. The second secret is in volunteering or working for your room and board. I joined HelpX last spring and utilized it only a few times during my travels through SE Asia, either the opportunities weren’t there or I just wasn’t in the mood for work. This time around however I’m trying to make that dollar stretch just a little bit further so my travels are being planned more around these volunteer opportunities than pretty beaches or big temples, or maybe an even balance of the two.
After spending a week in Bohol I figured it was about time I actually pay a visit to the attraction(s) that the island has to offer. To be fair I was waiting for the third volunteer, Caroline, to arrive at Seaside so that we could split the cost of transportation. Bruce mentioned that he would arrange for us to visit the Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers and it'd be "cheaper than any way you would do it from town" so I figured I'd leave it up to him to arrange. Thursday May Joy explained the plan to us, she had arranged a day tour which consisted of 8 different stops but came with a price tag of 1500 pesos, we all agreed, thanks but no thanks. Our next attempt was to ask if we could just use the Seaside van but that was still going to run us 3000 pesos, looks like we were on our own. Thankfully we had discovered that the night guard from Seaside, Jerocisimo's hometown is Carmen which just so happens to be where the Chocolate Hills are located, looks like we were up for an adventure.
During my first night in Cebu, while at dinner with Jan and his friends Eric mentioned something about a “Super Typhoon” coming towards the Philippines. His delivery of said statement didn’t sound too serious and neither Jan or Tiffany sounded concerned so I brushed it off. Then, upon arriving at Seaside Resort talk of the coming typhoon once again surfaced, causing me to look into it a little bit. Only a few minutes of research showed me that this wasn’t exactly a laughing matter. The storm approaching the Philippines was a big one and it showed little sign of slowing down or disappearing, the question was what path would it take? There were different reports, one predicting the storm to head N/NW on path for the Philippines causing potentially catastrophic damage, while the second predicted it would take a turn North and head towards Japan. Clearly, my fingers were crossed hoping for the later option.
Roughly a year ago I had my first meeting with the Philippines, through a bleary eyed early morning arrival in Cebu. Clearly this was not the ideal way to enter the country, but cheap flights caught my eye and thus I found myself in a taxi, hoping to even make it to my accommodation. I didn't make that mistake again, well not exactly, this time I arrived at 5am after a red eye from Incheon aboard which I got a few not so comfortable hours of sleep. Thankfully I didn't have to deal with the taxi headache as my friend Jan was kind enough to pick me up from the airport. *Background story: I met Jan and his friends on my last day in Coron last year at which time he was my angel in disguise, saving me from a sketchy hotel situation* It's been a year since our meeting and I kept promising I'd come back for a longer visit, which I finally delivered on. Jan promised that if I returned to Cebu he'd show me the better side, seeing as I wasn't exactly blown away last time...
After spending nearly two weeks in paradise it was unfortunately time for me to return to the busy city for a night. I was hoping I could match up my flight times and spend only a few hours at the airport but no such luck. After a series of extremely lucky, weird-how-things-turn-out-for-the-best, events I found myself in a lovely hotel room near the Mactan-Cebu airport.
After my day on the water, and a refreshing shower, I figured I should devote a little time to the streets of Coron. I ventured out with my camera, but no real purpose or destination in mind. On the way out of the Sea Dive resort I ran into our captain from the day, Jam-Jam, who seemed amused when I responded "I don't know" to his question of where I was headed. If there was a rush hour in Coron I think I ran straight into it, the market and surrounding streets were overflowing with people, many of which appeared to be school kids, recently released from class. I zig-zaged my way through the rows upon rows of market stalls, covered a few blocks of the center of town and started to head up towards Mt. Tapyas when I ran into Ian, my new friend from the previous days boat.
Thankfully, getting settle in Coron, post boat ride, was a breeze. Ian and I walked part of the way to town, eventually flagged down a tricycle and soon arrived at the Sea Dive resort, where I had a room booked. There was a kitschy bar, conveniently located about 10 feet from my room so Ian and I decided to grab a drink before calling it a night. The next morning I was up early thanks to the combination of roosters, construction and the dive office being directly next to my room, there really is no sleeping in with budget accommodation. I made my way into the dive office planning to figure out an island hopping tour for the day; different than El Nido, where you pay per person/per tour, in Coron you pay 1,500 for the boat, but can share it with up to four people. I didn't really want to hire my own boat so I was looking to tag along with a group of two or three. It was my lucky day because a Chinese couple were just preparing to leave and said it was no problem if I join.
|
AsiaPhilippinesOver 7,500 islands of pure bliss. I've been twice, both times arriving with a "what am I doing here" hesitation, but weeks later resisting my departure. Forget about being on time, or eating lots of vegetables, but welcome beautiful sunsets, gorgeous beaches, and welcoming, friendly locals. Categories
All
|