Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

Wednesday, 20 November

It was snowing as we waited for the bus at Park Royal and we were not dressed for the weather. Not a busy night for travel it seems - we were the only passengers on the airport bus, and the airport was almost deserted Our PAL flight to Manila (from New York) scheduled to leave Vancouver at 12:30 am was over an hour late in leaving. It was snowing heavily by that time and it was necessary for the plane to go through the de-icing procedure.

Thursday, 21 November Sabang

We arrived in Manila only 30 mins late at 7:30 am. Favourably impressed with the airport - nicely decorated with plants and Christmas decorations - no doubt spruced up for the APEC conference (Nov 22-26). Immigration and Customs officials were friendly and we were through the formalities in no time. We had only carry on baggage and would have been out of the airport in record time if we hadn't had to mess about changing money. Only one of the six banks on the arrival level was open (and they were not interested in changing travellers' cheques) which meant going to the departure level and through two sets of security. Pleasantly surprised how hassle free it was getting a taxi to the bus station. No arguments about the rate - the meter was switched on without question. What a difference from India. There were horrendous traffic problems however - two lanes on each of the main routes were closed off, reserved for APEC delegates and hangers on.

At the bus station we found two buses going to Batangas, regular and a/c, but no one could tell us what time they would leave. We sat on the a/c bus for half an hour and then foolishly followed everyone else as they transferred to the other bus which looked like it was about to leave. In the end they both left at the same time. It took 35 mins to drive down the divided highway, do a U-turn, and come back on the other side to where we started, then another 20 mins to get on to the road out of town. The first half of the journey was along a dead straight, dead flat road (the South Superhighway), then along a smaller road through almost continuous small towns. Traffic was heavy all the way. We thought we had loads of time to catch the 12:30 pm boat but it took us 3 1/2 hrs to Batangas pier instead of the scheduled 2. It turned out there were several other boats and we opted to go straight to Sabang beach instead of Puerto Galera, along with a woman whose cousin owned accommodation (of course) on the beach. We had time to have some lunch at a stall - mami, which is noodles, hard boiled egg and vegetables with hot broth poured over. The boat, a big outrigger (which they call a banca) left at 2:30 after we had been sitting on it for an hour. To Jill's relief the sea was very calm, so the trip was an easy two hours. En route we had to stop to help a boat which had passed us earlier and then broken down. We ended up towing it to Sabang.

We only had to walk about 50 yds down the beach to the Gold Coast Inn where we had a choice of rooms with or without kitchen. We easily got the room rate down to P150 (the cousin on the boat had told us rooms were P250) which no one else we talked to seemed to manage to do. We had to promise to keep quiet! Our room has fancy lace curtains at the glass louvered windows, fan, and TV!! On the queen sized bed the top sheet was arranged in a very artistic fan shape. An additional bonus was the use of a fridge outside on the veranda. It was ancient and the door had to be closed with a bungy cord, but it served its purpose. We were pretty zonked by this time but Denys went off to explore while Jill had a lie-down. Two other units were occupied by young English people on their way to Australia - a couple from Henleaze/Oxford and a girl from Alsager. A third unit seems to be occupied long term by an older European man who has his radio on most of the day. Humidity is high and our room smells slightly mildewy. It is still the tail end of the rainy season, with heavy clouds and spots of rain. We ate dinner at Sabang Fast Food and were in bed soon after 7:00 p.m.

Friday, 22 November Sabang

Unbelievably we slept undisturbed until 6:00 a.m. We had banana pancakes for breakfast at the same restaurant as last night (where we finished upeating most of the time) and then chatted with Hayley (from Alsager) next door. We explored the village some more and found there is more to it than we thought. Certainly it won't be necessary to go into Puerto Galera for anything. Even more surprising, most places seem to open at around 6:00 am which suits us fine. A major find was the bakery, easily missed since it was at the end of a dead-end road. The "breads" we got from there supplied us with many breakfasts/lunches. Lunch today was banana fritters from the stall that sells satay in the evening. We found we could buy a case of beer (24) which worked out at P10 each, delivered to our door. Beers are P15 in most stores and cheap restaurants. Now we shall have to stay here until they are all gone! Lots of vendors came round selling fruit, and we made the same mistake we've made before - buying bananas that look ripe but which need days before they are edible. Went for a swim at the only place where it is deep enough - where the outriggers come in - and had to watch out for boats coming and going all the time. The water in front of our place is too shallow and rocky for swimming.

Lots of people arrived today. All government workers in Manila have been given Friday, Monday and Tuesday off to keep congestion out of the city during the APEC conference. Most of the newcomers seem to fall in the Western man/Filipina woman short-term relationship category. Two German/Filipina couples, one of them with a baby, arrived, along with a single German woman, taking up three of the units. Although we were both falling apart with lack of sleep we waited until 8:30 pm before turning in. It was too dark to read outside on the veranda or in the room - the usual 25 watt light bulbs. If we were staying here any length of time we would buy a brighter lightbulb. We found we were able to get the CBC and BBC on the radio. The local radio stations are already playing Christmas carols. All the doors of the cottages at the Gold Coast have Christmas decorations on them.

Saturday, 23 November Sabang

A clear morning so we went for a walk to the opposite end of the beach to Little Laguna. Surprised to see how much more accommodation there is in that direction, some quite posh, and a lot of it aimed at divers who have more money to spend. Treat for the day was a nice ripe papaya from one of the vendors - quite expensive though at $1.50 (same for pineapples). We heard on the CBC that Vancouver's high temperature for today was minus 4ºC.

Sunday, 24 November Sabang

Rain most of the day but we managed an outing between showers to Big Laguna beach (across a headland from Little Laguna) in the morning. We amused ourselves quite happily on our veranda reading and drawing (Jill). Power went off in the evening. This must be a common occurrence as many places, including our guest house, have generators. We enjoyed listening to a classical music program on Philippines radio before settling down.

Monday, 25 November Sabang

Bad night! The two German men came back at 3:30 am from a night on the town, drunk and talking in loud voices. A big row ensued between the couple with the baby which went on for another couple of hours. Denys twice called out for them to be quiet. We decided we were better off away from the cottages as much as possible today and decided to do the Lighthouse walk this morning. It was a pleasant, short (2 km) walk to the lighthouse on the end of the point, starting with a long flight of steps and then up a steep muddy path - very slippery after all the rain. The top of the hill, some of it a coconut plantation, was flat with long waving grass. There were great views, a lovely breeze and no one around. In the afternoon we went swimming twice, and in the evening out for a fancy dinner in honour of Jill's birthday. The food was good but the place very disorganized and it was much later than we planned when we finally got to eat. We had already had a minor splurge - chocolate ice creams after our banana fritters at lunchtime. We had fancied some grilled eggplant we saw being cooked on the street but when we asked how much we were told they were for the shopowner's meal!

Tuesday, 26 November Sabang

The last of the Germans left today, thank goodness. Peace and quiet again. Very low tide this morning exposed many more rocks out from shore - easy to see why the boats tie up midway along the beach. It was cloudy all day and in this humidity our washing is taking so long to dry. Went to sit at Little Laguna beach for a change of scene and on the way back bought corn cakes - little patties made of ground corn and coconut milk topped with a savoury toasted coconut mixture, served on a piece of banana leaf. Chatted with our neighbours across, Kerry and Farley, the only other guests now. We were all highly amused to get a visit from the Avon lady - they are all over the place in the Philippines it seems - along with her friend who sold underwear! Jill said if only she had known she could have saved herself a trip to the shops before the trip. (She was assured they had big sizes!) There was a heavy rainstorm with thunder and lightning in the evening while we were out eating and we had to make a mad dash back along the beach during a lull. We didn't quite get wet through but we were ready for a cup of hot Milo before bed.

Wednesday, 27 November Sabang

Cloudy with rain on and off. No swimming today and our only excursion was to walk to Big Laguna beach. We chatted with a boatman who had nothing better to do, after he failed to persuade us to go to White Beach - a 30 min trip for P500! When we told him we would soon be moving on to Boracay and planned to take the boat from Roxas down the coast, he suggested we would do better going back to Batangas and getting the big boat to Boracay. An early dinner to be sure of getting back before more heavy rain. Lots of men (mostly foreigners) are wearing red T-shirts today, even the old man next door who doesn't usually wear one. We never found out the reason. More Christmas decorations have been put up at our guest house today.

Thursday, 28 November Sabang

Heavy rain again. Big furrows have appeared in the beach where the run off had come down. Jeepneys to Puerto Galera weren't running today - either the road is too muddy or has been washed out. The only way out of Sabang now is by boat and that's how all the school kids have to go. We were not too thrilled to see the new arrivals at the guest house (two German men) -and as we feared we had another broken night. They woke us up at midnight and then there was more noise at 3:00 am when one couple decided to leave. In honour of American Thanksgiving Day, the South Seas restaurant had a roast turkey dinner.

Friday, 29 November Sabang

Same old weather. Almost a steady drizzle with the occasional heavy downpour. Haven't gone swimming for several days. Although the guidebooks we have read indicate that the weather should improve Nov/Dec ("Best time to visit the Philippines is Dec-April"), people here are saying that the weather in December is bad. We can't get any regional forecasts to find out where the weather might be better. We were disappointed that the spring roll woman who comes here at around 1:00 pm didn't have her usual wares - no bean sprouts - so we had to make do with banana spring rolls instead. We changed money (US $) at a little money exchange - the easiest, fastest transaction ever. We plan to leave tomorrow so had a last good dinner at Fast Food - chicken cordon bleu with chips. We have a new next door neighbour - a young Aussie guy. Denys had a "quiet word" with him about our previous noisy neighbours etc. He said "no worries" - he was too tired.

Saturday, 30 November Roxas

Sunshine this morning as we set off to head for Roxas further south in Mindoro. First leg by banca to Puerto Galera (still no jeepneys between Sabang and Puerto Galera). A jeepney for Calapan was waiting at the dock as we arrived but we knew it would likely be a while before it filled up and left so we took a chance to walk around the town. Eventually we got some more passengers and set off, but just south of the town we took a detour down a side track to hunt for more passengers - maybe they had asked to be picked up. The road to Calapan at first was through thick forest, hilly and winding. Across from us a young fellow who had volunteered to look after someone else's small boy held a plastic bag in front of the boy who soon began to look green. People happily took care of other peoples' babies and toddlers; teenage boys gave up their seats to girls (and not even to chat them up!). It was very crowded most of the trip both inside and on top. A stereo being shipped in a tall cardboard box took up much of the driver's area. After about an hour we dropped down into flat country with rice paddy. They were working on the road in this area - difficult to determine what the work plan was. Every few hundred yards there would be a short single lane section of thick poured concrete standing about 12 in above the existing road bed. Elsewhere there was mud. At the rate they were producing concrete (a hand turned mixer) it would take years to finish that length of road.

The 2 hr journey finished at Calapan, the largest town on Mindoro. The conductor tried to disappear without giving us our change. Unfortunately for him we knew what the fare was and eventually we got our change. Before the next leg of the journey to Calapan pier we had to buy chloroquine tablets. We should have been taking them from the beginning of the trip but there was no drugstore in Sabang. A motor bike taxi (pedicab, a motor bike with sidecar) took us the 4 km to the pier where the buses to Roxas depart from. Four buses from different companies were vying for our business. Since they weren't leaving until a ferry arrived ("few minutes", which we took with a pinch of salt) we went off to get something to eat (a quite reasonable "egg sandwich" - a fried egg liberally doused with banana ketchup on a hamburger bun) from a sort of Burger King stand, and a Pepsi. Finding a women's toilet proved more difficult. After asking several times Jill was directed to a building that turned out to be some family's living quarters with a spotless flush (by bucket) toilet for which she had to pay P2. We chose the best looking bus - all of them of much higher standard than what we are used to on our trips - and settled down on our comfortable padded seats. By the time we set off it had started to rain and windows had to be closed. It was difficult to see out when the scuffed plastic windows steamed up, and we opened ours whenever the rain began to let up. It was rainy and windy on and off the whole 4 hr journey, part of which was "off road" to villages on dirt, pot-holed roads. We passed through a series of small towns (Victoria, Bongabong, etc.) but a lot of the time we were going through coconut/banana plantations with copra being produced.

As soon as we arrived in Roxas we first made sure there was no boat leaving for Boracay tomorrow and then set about looking for somewhere to stay till Monday. We shared a motorbike taxi with a German who had also left Sabang this morning (hadn't seen him until then) out to the pier to a place listed in "Lonely Planet". Since there as only one room vacant and we weren't impressed we were happy to let the German have it, and we went on the bike to check out another beachfront place which was an even worse dump. Both places wanted P150 for a crummy room, no furniture and no bathroom, the same as we had paid for a decent bungalow in Sabang. Neither place was prepared to deal on the price and so, quite discouraged, we went back to town to look at the two remaining possibilities, hotels on the main street across from the market. We chose the better of the two (both were OK) and for P150 we got a decent room with attached tiled bathroom and the use of a balcony overlooking all the action. The food situation in town wasn't particularly good, with only two rather unattractive restaurants, both of the "cook food for lunch and leave it out all day" variety. We managed to persuade one to cook us some pancit canton (noodles with veg and meat) before they closed up. Everywhere was quiet by early evening.

Read in the paper that 13 people were killed in floods and landslides in Cataduanes, not very far from here.

Sunday, 1 December Roxas

Awakened by church bells at 5:15 am. At least that's an improvement on loud, distorted temple music in India. This is the best looking day we have seen so far. We bought breakfast from a nearby bakery, then later wandered round the market looking for possible snacks/lunch. Found no lumpia or empanadas but many variations on a corn and bananas theme. We ate roasted corn on the cob, and warm flat cakes tasting of coconut and corn, and something else that looked like a tamale - a sweet mixture steamed in a banana leaf. We never saw any lunch places so it's just as well we snacked when we had the chance Amazed to see a "tribal" man whose lower dress was basically a thong with a little apron on the front. Later we saw him leaving town on the roof of a jeepney.. We checked out the local supermarket (Super Mega store) and noted the list of articles not allowed inside: no jackets, bags, cameras, guns. Inside one whole aisle was devoted to snack/junk food and candies. We noted that a 2 L bottle of Sprite costs far more than a 26 oz bottle of rum.

Yesterday's motorbike man was at our hotel soon after breakfast to offer to get us tickets for the boat (for a small fee). Jill was anxious to get tickets but not enough to want to hand over the P500 plus commission. Just to be on the safe side we decided to go the pier in the afternoon to get the tickets and afterwards lay on the beach for an hour. We were glad of a change of scene but the main objective was to get the weight off our backsides after too much sitting on hard wooden seats. Not the most wonderful of beaches - black sand and flat pebbles - but there was a nice stiff breeze blowing, which kept it from getting too hot. However, this obvious change in the weather made Jill apprehensive about tomorrow's sea crossing. We had read that the Tablas Strait can be very rough in bad weather. We had hoped the boat would have come in while we were there. It was an easy walk back to town; on the way we passed a sign for Plan International - Calapan, and a school with a big notice at the entrance: No Smoking, No Drinking, No Gambling, No Drugs. Saw a pig being transported in a motorbike sidecar. We thought today was going to be our first day without rain but we had a heavy downpour around 5:30.

Monday, 2 December Boracay

Heavy rain and high winds all night. This does not augur well for the crossing to Boracay. At the bakery we discovered "pan de sal" - soft unsweetened rolls - sold as soon as the bakery opens and gone before 7:00 am. The motorbike guy was hanging around our hotel before 8 o'clock hoping to take us to the pier. After we paid only P10 for the two of us yesterday with another bike, we realized we had been grossly overcharged on Saturday at P15 each and we let him know it. This time we went for the normal rate. The boat, a ramshackle looking outrigger, was in but the crew had only just started to cook a meal on the beach. We had to wait two hours at the beach before they started loading. The waves were pounding on to the beach making it impossible to board normally. Cargo and passengers' baggage were carried on the heads of the crew, who then had to take passengers on their shoulders. (Two German men, twice the size of the Filipino crew, stripped to their underwear and managed to get on by themselves.) Jill was in a real state by this time and declared she was not going. She waited, hanging on to her luggage, until everyone else was loaded, and then relented. It was noon by the time we were properly away from shore. All passengers who had settled at the front of the boat were told to move to the back, where the weight was needed. Seats were 2 x 6 planks. The first thing the captain did when he got on was remove all his clothes down to his underpants and a sleeveless vest - and we soon found out why. The sea was so rough it was only a matter of minutes before the first big wave broke over us, in spite of a protective tarpaulin. This happened again and again and soon we were all wet through including our waist packs and money belts and everything in them - passport, air tickets, travellers' cheques and money. Fortunately, most of the baggage was in a watertight hold and stayed dry, except for Jill's two bags which she had held on to until it was too late. Jill was sick the whole the way - an absolute nightmare. At least 4 of the crew were kept busy working the outriggers, dancing back and forth in an effort to balance the boat. It's a wonder some of them weren't washed overboard when they were hit by big waves, but they seemed to thrive on it. We got cold and started to shiver so that when a wave washed over us it felt warm. The trip took 6 hours instead of the expected 4 or 5, but at the speed we were travelling to avoid the waves we thought it might have been more. A lot of the time the propeller was out of the water. The boat creaked and groaned every time a big wave hit. Denys kept thinking it was like trying to cross the Irish Sea in a canoe in a force 10 gale. Jill was too wrapped up in her misery to be afraid. She said it would not have taken much to persuade her to jump overboard and be done with it! There were no instruments, no radio and no lifejackets for the 20 passengers and crew.. Other than the two of us and three Germans the rest were Filipinos.

It was just after sunset when we arrived at White Beach, Boracay. The water was calm and clear. It felt wonderfully warm as we jumped from the gangplank. Jill declared that not for $1 million would she go through that again. There were a couple of locals waiting for the boat, hoping to persuade us to go to their accommodation and we went with one to see a cottage 5 mins down the beach. We couldn't believe our luck - it was really nice and he soon came down to P200 from P300 on the basis of a long stay. Jill said she might well have to stay here for the rest of her life unless there is another way off the island. (There is - almost everyone flies from Manila to Calapan on Panay, and from the nearest port it's only a 20 min banca ride.) The thatch roof cottage is almost entirely of bamboo, with a big veranda with seating along it. There is a bay window of latticed bamboo (no glass) with lace curtains! It is quite nicely decorated (new mosquito netting and patterned sheets) and has a fan. The bathroom, as expected, is basic, concrete floor and walls, shower and a type of toilet we haven't come across before - something between a western and an Asian (which I guess you could say sums up the Philippines) - low pedestal type, no seat, and hand flushed. No washbasin, just a tap and a plastic bucket and dipper. We didn't feel like going out to eat and made do with what we had on hand (mainly our uneaten lunch). Amazingly the bread rolls which were in a plastic bag inside Denys's backpack managed to pick up the smell of diesel from the hold. His new black leather fanny pack got soaked through and dyed his new shorts. Everything in his inside money belt (passport, airline tickets, travellers' cheques) also got soaked and many of the stamps in his passport have blurred. No need for a fan tonight. It sounds like a gale blowing outside

Tuesday, 3 December Boracay

A noisy night, what with the rain and wind plus the sound of waves only a few feet away. Completely overcast again in the morning and rain several times during the day. The priority for today was to get a load of washing done, particularly the clothes that had been soaked in sea water. We spent a lot of the day sitting on our veranda admiring the view and watching the activity - boats coming and going, a boat being painted, kids playing. One boat came in with a load of Japanese middle-aged women who all had to be carried off because they wouldn't wade through the water. Later we saw them going off somewhere in formation two by two. We found several little shops nearby and discovered we can get hot pan de sal in the morning, if we are there when the shop opens at 6:00 a.m. (At 7:15 they were all gone). Also at 6:00 am our veranda gets swept and a big Chinese thermos of hot water left on the table. This was much better tasting than the tap water we had used yesterday which had made lousy tea. We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw that one of the mugs they brought us was a "Canada" one with pictures of beavers in Mountie uniforms! The massage ladies on the beach have uniforms and numbers like they do in Bali. We ate lunch at the TST restaurant, the local turo turo (point point) restaurant - you find out what is available by lifting the lids off a row of pans and then point to what you want. For dinner we had pizza at an Italian restaurant close to home - it came on to rain quite heavily at that time.

Wednesday, 4 December Boracay

Picked up our pan de sal which we had ordered yesterday for breakfast. The weather looks more promising for a change, which is good as we have to walk 3 km to the opposite end of the beach to the post office. On the way we came upon another option (a courier service) on the main drag, for which we paid an extra P10 (in addition to the normal P5 stamp) to send two birthday cards (Susan's and Denys's mother's) to ensure they go direct by air to Manila. We continued our walk by the beachside 'main road" - a sandy path lined with restaurants and shops - and eventually reached the regular post office where we bought normal stamps and aerograms. We walked back part way on the island's concrete main road, still quite narrow since the only vehicles are motorbikes with sidecars (passengers and freight). We passed Doctors' hospital and a couple of medical clinics - nice to know they are there. We were amazed at the amount of accommodation available, some of it very posh, although set well back from the beach on the other side of the road. We looked for a market to buy fruit but all we found were just a few stalls and a lot of empty ones, where we bought mangoes and bananas. Denys went out again after lunch for a bottle of rum while Jill had a siesta. He also had a swim in beautiful clear, calm water with white sand. Not had swimming like this for years, although it was a bit on the cool side. Hopefully the weather pattern has changed for the better. All the beach "toys" - small sail boats, windsurfers, etc.-started to appear in the afternoon. We explored all the restaurants looking for dinner at a reasonable price and found there is not that much choice apart from those offering three course meals. We had a mediocre chicken schnitzel and chips, with soup and dessert (fruit). We had to shelter from the rain on the way back and whiled away the time chatting with the Filipina stall owner, who told us proudly she was over 70 years old (born in '26 on Boracay) She told us that tourism in Boracay had started in a very small way 20 years ago, aimed at people who wanted the simple life. Now you can live very luxuriously for a price (several resorts at over $US100 a night). It is easy to get to now - by air from Manila, then a/c coach and fancy outrigger from Panay.

We spent the rest of the evening on the veranda watching an electrical storm. Geoffrey (husband of Judy, the owner of Judy's Cottages) came over for a chat. He has 5 kids; the family next door has 9. He admitted that Filipinos have "too many" kids. Says his wife has no time for him. (Wonder why?) He told us our cottage was built in '82, which means it is in amazingly good shape. The other cottage they own next door, now occupied by an Australian couple, was built only 18 months ago.

Thursday, 5 December Boracay

Sunshine! Clear, blue skies, winds calm. Swam several times. Jill dared to walk down to the south end of the beach wearing her Eaton's underwear (matching flower printed cotton bra and pants) for sunbathing only. Jill had another unsuccessful attempt at a siesta - too many kids around today. Denys had to chase away two little boys who were playing under our cottage. As our floor is only made of bamboo slats it's no wonder they sounded like they were in the room. They probably go there for a quiet place in the shade themselves, as well as to look for any "treasure" (coins, pens, etc.) that may have fallen between the slats. We have finally found a restaurant more suited to our budget (the Shanghai), although it is quite far. There are only four tables and all were full when we left. Service is quite slow - each meal is prepared strictly in order. We saw an amusing sign today "Room for rent with Electrician"! Sprinkles of rain during the evening and rain again during the night.

Everything is brought to the island by outrigger canoe -e.g. a boatload of beer, another of Coke. Lots of boatloads of building materials (concrete blocks, bags of gravel or cement). Everything has to be unloaded and carried through shallow water, then up the beach before being taken away by motorbike or pushbike. Today a load of bamboo arrived at the beach and was dumped in front of our place. We also watched an interesting load of new furniture and potted plants arrive. Must be for the new nightclub soon to open.. No regular phone service on Boracay but lots of cellular phones around. It seems like much of the Philippines is covered by cellular networks and has bypassed the wired phone stage. There is even a computer centre with e-mail.

Friday, 6 December Boracay

It looks like the weather is settling into a better pattern, although there are still plenty of clouds zipping by. Swam and sunbathed at the south end. People are starting to get tans now. Everyone was pale when we arrived. Bought a nice pineapple and a kilo of sapodillas (already had papayas, mangoes and bananas) from the market, also more postcards. The electricity went off in the early morning and never came back on again. As a consequence we had warm Coke with our rum and a "romantic" dinner by candlelight. Many of the bigger restaurants have generators. Geoffrey came around with a kerosene lantern and stayed to chat, just as we were starting to listen to the fourth episode of "The Shipping News" on the BBC. He is obviously bored stiff with no TV and "all those women talking". We found out that the bamboo is to repair flooring. It rained so heavily just as we went to bed that rain was coming through the thatch over our bed.

Saturday, 7 December Boracay

Finished off writing the rest of our postcards and then set off on the long trek up the beach to the post office. There was nobody around when we got there and then we remembered that today is Saturday and the cards won't get picked up until Monday. We checked out menus at several restaurants on the way back, including one that looks promising which displayed photos of actual meals. Although it looked very classy and most a la carte items were way beyond what we would normally pay, their special 3 course budget meal looked good. Unfortunately it is almost half an hour's walk from here, and with the weather being as unreliable as it is around dinnertime, it might be a bit risky to go that far for dinner. We bumped into the German couple from the Roxas boat and talked for a while. They had had to search quite hard to find accommodation within their budget. We had an early lunch (still breakfast there) at the TST: ham, egg, roll and real NZ butter, plus coffee (can of evaporated milk opened specially). Power is still off. There is a good, brisk wind today that dried the washing in no time. The washing line belonging to the family next door (that owns Mabini's Place cottages) is nearly always in use. Today it is lace curtains and sheets as well as the usual assortment of clothes. The balcony of the cottage next door (where some of the older boys in the family live) is always full of washing, mostly baby stuff, including some rather fancy diapers. We ate dinner at the counter of a tiny restaurant in the Flea Market, which had caught our eye with the notice of "spaghetti, chips and Coke P50". Jill decided that was one gourmet meal she should definitely sample before we move on. For tonight we chose a pizza done in an "oven" on top of a gas flame, which turned out surprisingly well. The only illumination was one candle on the counter. There are no fishing boats out tonight and many small boats have been dragged up onto the beach. It is very windy. The power finally came back on at about 10:00 pm.

Today we had our first "What is your name?". This trip has been unbelievably hassle-free to date. Kids don't bother you for ask for money, and vendors and massage ladies are not persistent. The most common request is "Do you want a boat?"

There are a lot more Filipinos on the beach today, being weekend. We can't say whether they are day-trippers from Caticlan (20 minutes by boat) or from further afield.

Sunday, 8 December Boracay

The wind really howled all night, and the coconut palms dragging on the thatch roof make quite a racket too. Sometimes the lace curtain was blowing straight out horizontally. Today is market day in Caticlan over on Panay, but we decided we didn't need another boat trip in bad weather. It looked pretty choppy out there with frequent rain and wind squalls. Denys wanted to go and see the other side of the island while it is stormy. There is a short road across the narrowest part of the island which leads to a small bay with mangroves all around. The wind was blowing so hard here it was whipping the spray off the waves into our faces like rain. We were told this bay is used by boats during the times when White Sand beach is difficult (June to November?). There was little improvement in the weather as the day wore on but we ventured out again after lunch, this time to the south following a trail that starts behind our place, eventually joining a gravel road (navigable by motorbikes). We passed many attractive little cottages, simple but neat and tidy, with lovely well kept gardens. We wondered about the "International School - an Ecological School" that we passed on the way, which looked deserted. We reached the sea directly opposite Caticlan, the first time we have seen it, and then continued on to investigate a couple of supposedly expensive resorts - one of them turned out to be very decrepit. With the return of electricity it is really noticeable how many places along the beach have put up Christmas decorations. You also see them at the most basic local dwellings. Enjoyed the BBC's production of Moliere's "School for Wives" in the evening and then early to bed (9:00 pm) as usual. Very windy again and we needed to put a chair up against the "window" (no glass) to stop the curtain flying straight out. No fishing boats out again tonight.

Monday, 9 December Boracay

Awakened during the night by someone strumming a guitar attempting to play "Happy Birthday" over and over. Bamboo walls are not very soundproof. There was lots of sweeping on the beach this morning. Perhaps this is a regular chore after the weekends? Today we met the first Canadians since we left home - an older couple came walking by our cottage with Maple Leaf flags pinned to their clothes. Jill happened to be wearing her "Canada Day - Dhaka" T shirt too and we invited them to stop for a chat. Amazingly the guy used to spend summers on Bowen and they now live in Sechelt.. We walked across the island again at a point further north this time. The wind was still blowing hard and there was a lot of debris washed up. Some mysterious orange stains have started to appear on our washing. The Australian girl next door showed me the same stains on her sarong. We decided it looks like rust which won't come out. No swimming again today, too cool and windy. although we did spend some time on the beach, as much for a change from too much sitting in hard chairs as anything else.

We were invited next door for drinks at sunset by the Australian couple, who are getting married on Wednesday. At least they hope so. They are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their best man, who is supposed to arrive today. Also they are not totally sure whether the Mayor will be available that day. Conversation made a nice change. Later, Josephine, the Filipina friend of the bride-to-be (friend from Australia) whose family lives a few yards down the beach, and Sue, an Australian girl friend who teaches English in Japan, showed up and then two Korean guys (the girls said they were used car salesmen!) stopped by to take the two girls out for a seafood dinner. From the looks of it the girls obviously fancied the seafood dinner more than their escorts. Another Filipino friend, Arthur, who is Executive Housekeeper at a fancy new resort on the north end of the beach, entertained us with an account of how his day had gone - a disagreement with the (female) General Manager on where the hotel garbage should go. During dinner we were startled to hear a telephone ring - the first one since we left home! After bed we heard the Australian best man arrive.

Tuesday, 10 December Boracay

Still pretty grey although a little less windy. Josephine said this weather is unusual. She told us it is not easy to get accurate weather forecasts - you have to phone Manila for that. We decided to go for a long walk and set off for the north end of the island to see for ourselves the infamous new Sheraton development the Sechelt couple had told us about. We were appalled at what we saw. Huge swaths of land have been bulldozed clear of vegetation and soil; the centrepiece is a golf course, already partly grassed. There were amazing numbers of construction workers in yellow hard hats and T-shirts, and heavy machinery, which came as quite a shock when we have seen nothing bigger than a motorbike so far on the island. The whole thing seems pretty obscene and will probably do little to benefit locals. Environmentally, on a coral island with limited water and nothing to absorb fertilizer and pesticide runoffs, it looks like a potential disaster. We pressed on uphill after that, hoping to reach Puka beach on the north coast, but after yet bend in the road and with no idea how much further we needed to go, we decided to turn back after 3 hours. Our Lonely Planet guide was not accurate enough to indicate where we were. In fact, continuing on would have added at least another hour and a half to the excursion.

Every day in the late afternoon from our veranda we see the palm wine man climb up a nearby coconut palm to collect sap which he empties into a bamboo tube on his back.

Had a good "set meal" at one of the "garden" restaurants - our first taste of the premium fish tangigye along with some excellent chips. We were the only patrons at that time. There seems to be far too many restaurants for the number of tourists. The restaurant next door, advertizing Austrian cuisine never seems to have anyone in, except when they have a barbecue once a week which draws a small handful. Same with the number of "resorts" - can't imagine them all getting full even at Christmas. Some of them are charging as much as $US150 a night. It is expected that the new Sheraton will attract a mainly Japanese clientele. Several restaurants are already catering to the high end oriental (Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean) market.

Meredith says everything is fixed for tomorrow and the Mayor is confirmed, but she is having second thoughts, wondering if it would be possible to delay the ceremony until Thursday when the weather might be better. We were awakened at 1:00 am to the sound of an attempted break and enter next door - David and Grant had lost their door key (Meredith is sleeping at Josephine's tonight). They had had to go and awaken Geoffrey for the spare key. Unfortunately the previous tenants had also lost their key and Geoffrey hadn't got around to replacing it. Eventually, after a lot of banging they punched the lock out. We later heard the story of how they had lost the key - they had "borrowed" one of the small outriggers sitting on the beach and managed to sink it, losing their key in the process.

Wednesday, 11 December Boracay

We have been officially invited to the wedding. Now we have to go out and look for a present. After scouring the Flea Market area where most of the stuff is totally tacky, we finally settled on a pair of Boracay T-shirts. Jill spent a good part of the afternoon making a home-made wedding card - a drawing of their cottage with their hammock out in front. This hammock is a source of great delight with the local kids, but any parents who find them in it quickly chase them off. The bridal party all went off to the beauty parlour to have their hair done. David and Grant got ready at the last minute - David shaving for the first time since arriving on Boracay in honour of the occasion. The ceremony was to take place at Lorenzo South Resort (a couple of minutes' from us). There was a beautiful set up on the beach out front - bouquets of lilies and greenery decorating a walkway leading to the archway where the ceremony would be performed. The buffet and tables for the 16 guests were similarly decorated and the sand had been raked all over the area. The bride, looking gorgeous in a white gown, was barefoot, as was the groom. The formalities lasted only a few minutes and drinks were served immediately afterwards- a strange selection: Johnnie Walker Scotch, Gilbey's gin, Bailey's Irish Creme (very popular here for some reason) and Galliano. Not a rum or beer in sight. However, beers arrived when Josephine's elderly parents said that was what they wanted. Unfortunately it started to spot with rain shortly afterwards and the staff insisted we move indoors. It was a splendid feast: roast suckling pig, tiger prawns thermidor, chicken, lumpia and several side dishes. There was a wonderful dessert of coconut, fruit and cream served in a half coconut shell, then wedding cake. A wonderfully relaxed occasion, and no speeches.

Prior to the ceremony we had been chatting with the elderly parents of Meredith's friend Josephine who were also guests. They are 82 and 72, and have 14 children and 53 grandchildren. After dinner when she had had a few beers the old lady got up and sang, seemingly to the embarrassment of her husband and daughter. A special plum liqueur from Japan, contributed by Susan, was also passed around for sampling. We finished off the evening with fireworks on the beach and it was all over by 10:00 pm, giving David and Meredith time to make their getaway to another Lorenzo resort - on a motorbike of course.

Thursday, 12 December Boracay

Felt fine this morning - no after effects from last night's overindulgences. A lazy day sunbathing at the south end in the morning where we can move from sun to shade. Enjoyed talking to Susan about life in Japan as we watched the sunset, the best so far on Boracay. Ate at the Shanghai, our regular dinner restaurant now, sharing a table with the German guy who was on the boat from Roxas with us. He told us he regarded it as "a major event in his life" and admitted he was scared! He told us about another boat whose outriggers had broken in bad weather, and another that had capsized. He is a diving enthusiast; works for Mercedes-Benz on the assembly line but his factory is currently closed down for updating. Later Geoffrey came and sat on our veranda for a chat. He talks a lot about the fact that there is no divorce in the Philippines, obviously he is fed up with his marriage. He starts a new job this weekend at the new Sir Albert Steak House (the posh night club with marble exterior) - barbecuing imported steaks on imported charcoal with imported spices. When we ran into him this morning he took us in to meet the owners (Canadians from Toronto) who showed us around. The main floor is a karaoke bar, laser disks.

Friday, 13 December Boracay

A beautiful day - the best since we arrived in the Philippines. David and Meredith are sorry to be leaving on such a day. We left for a walk before 8:00 before it got too hot, to walk to the north end of the beach and have a look at this posh resort where Arthur works. It is the last property before the cliffs so quite private. The main building was completely wrong for the site - no windows faced any kind of view. We later heard it is slated to be bulldozed. At the post office we had to wait a few minutes to buy stamps until the postmaster arrived. We were told "short time - he has shower!" On the way back a big parade of schoolchildren passed by on the main road headed by an American style marching band in fancy uniforms. Included in the parade were Master and Miss Faith and Master and Miss Charity - each pair of small children riding in a bicycle sidecar. We picked up a couple of hard boiled eggs from the Shanghai to take back for lunch along with fresh bakery stuff and another papaya to be ready the day after tomorrow. By the time we got back we were dripping and ready for a swim. It got very hot in the sun and by mid-afternoon even the die-hard sun worshippers were searching for shade. One of the guests at Mabini's place put out two full lines of washing (must be planning to leave soon) and by the time Mrs. Mabini came with hers she had to drape it on the outrigger. We lashed out at dinner with a huge meal at an all-you-can-eat buffet (P120) which included roast suckling pig (again!), mussels, crabs, shrimps, oysters, as well as chicken and beef. We were disgusted at the way some foreigners (Germans as usual) piled their plates with nothing but crabs and shrimps. A Philippine couple who arrived shortly after us (the place was nearly full) complained to the staff there was hardly anything left for them to eat.

Saturday, 14 December Boracay

In an "Action Asia" magazine borrowed from Grant we read that the Boracay funboard cup at Bulabog was the windiest and most successful in the 8 year history of the cup (24-29 knots, N.E. monsoon). Also the 2nd Boracay International Dive Festival was held last Nov-Dec. "Despite problems of overcrowding and rapid growth, the proprietors of Boracay's resorts have one of the best records in Asia for environmental responsibility". "Dive operators are well to the forefront and reefs are now better than they were 10 years ago." There are 16 dive shops on Boracay. Boracay also hosted the 2nd International Mountain Biking Festival.

One of Denys's thongs broke while we were at the market and he had to walk with one bare foot until he could buy a new pair. For once we didn't do a comparison shop - the nearest place had to do.

We watched halo-halo being made at TST's restaurant - ice(their own good water frozen in plastic bags) shaved by machine and spooned into sundae glasses one third filled with the syrup of your choice, topped with more shaved ice, then evaporated milk. We enjoyed what has become our "comfort food" here: the ham and egg breakfast.

One of the big outriggers used by the construction company (for the golf course etc.) which speeds up and down ran aground on the reef right in front of our place. It took a while to get it off again. Obviously they are not the regular boatmen who wend their way through the reefs with heavy loads with no problem.

Almost every day here we have at least one occasion where we have to correct the arithmetic of restaurant or store staff. You have to wonder about the quality of math education as they seem quite incapable of adding and subtracting. Even using a calculator they make mistakes and don't recognize even massive errors. Tonight's (at the Shanghai) was a bit different. The mango shake on the menu had no price against it so Jill asked if it was the same price as the others - P25. When the girl said yes, Jill ordered one, and after seeing it some Germans at the next table also ordered one. They got their bill first and were charged P35. We (the Germans and us) had a big discussion with the girl (not the original one) and eventually she agreed to allow them to have it for P25 "this time only". We thought that resolved the problem, but when it came our turn to pay we had to go through all the same arguments again, just as if the previous discussion had never taken place.

Sunday, 15 December Boracay

Rain during the night but a nice morning. We decided to pass up visiting the Sunday market at Caticlan (we might be leaving in a couple of days via Caticlan) in favour of a walk around the southern end of the island. We followed trails along the coast where the beaches were deserted until we came to a fence and a No Trespassing sign so had to turn inland. We never need worry about going hungry or thirsty on any walk - there is always some little store nearby. We passed through some interesting little villages including the very attractive Bantud with its fenced gardens and well-kept elementary school. A banner across the road read "Welcome back to the Vogels". It had been bright and sunny, with choppy seas, until five minutes before we got home when a heavy shower soaked us. We spent the rest of the day swimming and then had a stroll to the south end. There were no adults around all day - there must be something good on TV - and during the afternoon hordes of local kids came to play in front of our place and Grant's (he was out). The hammock was taking such a beating (no doubt Judy will take it down as soon as Grant leaves) that in the end Jill went over and told them to clear off, which they promptly did! We have noticed that mother's word carries some weight around here. We had to get Geoffrey around to repair the lock on our door, which he managed with a nail and a cutlass for a hammer.

We discussed our options for the rest of the trip, possibly moving on from here on Tuesday, while we killed our 2nd bottle of rum on Boracay - only P38 for a bottle of good 5 year old stuff. We ate a whole pineapple today; yesterday we polished off what remained of a kilo of mangoes; tomorrow we need to eat the papaya which ripened today. Fruit doesn't keep well in this climate without refrigeration, which is why most of the fruit you buy in the market isn't ready for eating that day. You buy for tomorrow or the day after.

Monday, 16 December Boracay

Heavy rain during the night and overcast in the morning. Grant left today and a new occupant arrived shortly afterwards. As we have decided to leave tomorrow we did a load of washing so we will leave with mostly clean clothes. We probably won't have the chance to do any for the next few days. We spent a long time trying to phone Anne (we've been gone a month now) from the telephone office but couldn't get through. We were told that Canadian phone cards aren't applicable in the Philippines, but we are rather sceptical about that. We had a good farewell dinner tonight at the Coral Gardens Restaurant, which we happened to be near when there was a sudden downpour of rain.. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Jill's steamed lapu-lapu (grouper) in a ginger garlic sauce was a particularly good choice.

Tuesday, 17 December Iloilo

We were up early, before our thermos of hot water arrived. The weather doesn't look so good, which makes it easier to leave. It was quite choppy on the outrigger going over to Caticlan,, but at least it was only a 20 minute ride. However, during that time, there were two short rain showers and a wave came over the boat and soaked us. Then because of the chop the boat couldn't make it all the way into shore and we had to jump into almost waist deep water. A lot of people were getting carried off the boats to avoid getting wet.

The bus to Kalibo was waiting at the "dock". The first part of the journey followed the coast; miles of road had hibiscus hedges covered in flowers of different colours. The journey took 2 hours, and typically you get off the bus at one end of town and have to catch the next one at the opposite end. We walked part of the way looking for food - we saw empanadas and sio pao for the first time this trip - then got a motorbike to the bus station. That bus station was memorable in that it had extremely clean "comfort rooms", well worth the P2 fee (collection tin outside). We only waited 20 minutes for the bus to leave. The weather improved as the morning wore on, and the four hour journey was interesting enough. Along the way we saw:- buffalo pulling sledges loaded with goods; coffee beans drying by the side of the road; cocoa beans growing; pineapples growing and lots of them for sale at roadside stands; fields of sugar cane; many of the towns we passed through had quite elaborate Christmas decorations up. Much of the first part of the trip was through a construction zone which meant miles of thick, deep mud after all the rain. Later we were plagued by dust.

We arrived in Iloilo City in mid-afternoon and got a motorbike to take us to a pension recommended in our LP guide. Our driver originally asked for P80 but soon settled for 20, which we later realized was far too much. The map in our guide was misleading so that the distance looked much further than it really was. We had barely sat down before the driver asked us how old we were. This happens in every country we travel in. They can see we are "getting on" but can't seem to believe that we would be travelling in such a manner if we are as old as we look. The first place we tried had only a/c rooms available, but we found another pension a short walk from there, which was a bit seedy looking and more expensive than we have paid so far, but it was the only other place in the area. The room we got was actually only a single (at P250) but we had a folding bed brought in for an extra fee. Cities are never good value when it comes to accommodation. Several rooms appeared to be occupied but we only saw one other guest - a fellow from Bosnia-Herzegovina, who has been wandering for a few years.

We went to explore the city centre and to find some dinner. Like most cities in the Philippines there doesn't seem to be a great deal of interest historically or architecturally - just shops and a lot of air pollution from the traffic. One whole street was nothing but ladies hairdressers, which also offered manicures and pedicures, wide open to the street. We made the mistake of ordering too much in the Chinese restaurant and couldn't finish it all. We noticed as we looked around that most people only ordered sio-pao (dumplings) and some came for take-out. Everywhere we saw apples for sale, including boxes marked "Canadian apples, BC Tree Fruits". These were more expensive than the American ones; Chinese ones being smaller and less attractive were the cheapest. On the way back, only a few blocks from our hotel we discovered a high class shopping mall, air conditioned, and complete with Macdonalds. The supermarket was North American standard stocked with all kinds of attractions, especially the in-store bakery where a batch of French bread was just being taken out of the oven. It is warmer here and for the first time on the trip we needed to use the fan - This was a good thing as our travelling clothes had to be washed and dried ready for tomorrow.

Wednesday, 18 December Dumaguete

Went to the bakery across the road for breakfast as soon as they opened at 6:00 am. The bread rolls were good but they couldn't produce any hot drinks although they advertise them. We got Milo from the 24 hour drugstore next door to our pension. We took a jeepney to the dock area to catch to boat to Bacolod on Negros. It went a long way round but we had plenty of room and we got there in the end, with a tricycle for the last few hundred yards. At the ticket booth they waved us through, pointing to the boat, which we realized was about to leave in one minute at 7:00 am. In fact the passenger ramp had already been removed and we jumped in at the freight entrance just as that ramp was about to be raised. Great timing. As it turned out there was another boat an hour later (faster but more expensive) so it wouldn't have been a catastrophe if we had missed this one. We were very impressed with the ferry - too bad it was only a two hour trip. The MV Don Vicente was in much better shape than we expected, with smartly dressed crew. In fact this ferry had won an award for the cleanest ship in the Negros Shipping Line. Most people were already settled in and all the chair seats in the video sections were taken - not that we wanted to sit there anyway. (Two videos were shown; the second one was "Robin Hood - Men in Tights"). We found space on the shady side, facing Iloilo, sharing a bench with a young man. We fell into conversation and the two hours passed quickly. He was obviously quite well-to-do, with expensive watch and cellular phone. He told us his grandfather had been the mayor of Iloilo City and was now a senator. The first thing he asked Jill after Denys had gone off to explore, was how old she was. These people are just as bad as Indians. Obviously people are curious enough to forget any inhibitions. He was only 29, with 3 children, aged 10, 9 and a baby. He had married at 17. When we first sat down he had told us he was gong to Bacolod to see a sick relative (today is a public holiday in Iloilo), but later confessed he was going to spend the day with his girlfriend. He said his wife has no time for him and there's no divorce. Starts to sound familiar! He asked Denys (when Jill was off exploring) what was the secret of a happy marriage.

We were lucky to be very close to the exit and were among the first to disembark, straight onto the shuttle bus for Bacolod City and the Ceres bus depot. We decided after Iloilo we would avoid overnighting in big cities from now on and since we had got off to such an early start we would try and make it to Dumaguete in one day. Our companion on the ferry had told us there is a shortcut to Dumaguete (4 hrs) via a new road across the island, instead of going the long way around the coast. We arrived at the bus depot just as the Dumaguete bus was pulling out, but as it was still only 9:15 am we weren't too worried, plus we needed to find something to eat for the journey. We expected they would be every hour but we ended up waiting three hours. The 10:15 was cancelled (broke down) and the next one, due at noon, didn't leave until 12:30 pm. (I guess we used up all our good fortune for the day catching the early boat!) While we were waiting we heard a big explosion close by, but it was only a firework seller demonstrating his wares. There were crowds of men, not passengers, sitting in the bus station most of the morning watching basketball on TV.

We were impressed with the quality and comfort of the bus (deluxe) although the fare was rather more than we anticipated, until the conductor told us it was a 7 hour journey (it actually took 8). Good thing we have nice comfortable seats - the best we have come across on all our travels so far. We soon discovered that the seat by the window is very breezy, and even wearing sunglasses your eyes get sore. Your clothes get filthy too. We soon saw why Negros is called the Sugar Isle - all day we saw vast areas of sugar cane growing as well as being cut and transported to sugar mills. The progress of the bus was often slowed by these heavy trucks on the narrow roads. There were a couple of old but derelict steam engines outside one mill. Railways (2 ft gauge) are still used a lot for transporting cane to the mills but they now have small diesel engines. One of the mills has 500 km of railway in its collection area and the trains are radio controlled.

We stopped in San Carlos, about halfway, for a break, but there was no announcement and everyone stayed sitting on the bus. The character of the passenger load changed from here onwards, from the long distance travellers who had embarked in Bacolod, to villagers going short distances. Two young guys got on in San Carlos with three fighting cocks and sat across the aisle from us with their birds cradled under their elbows as best they could. They went almost all the way to Dumaguete like that. The last part of the journey was in darkness, which gave us a good view of a lot of very elaborate Christmas lights. Many houses were lit up but each municipality also had displays in the centre, some quite spectacular. Santa and reindeer were popular themes. Some Christmas trees were enormous and one even revolved. Other simple trees were bare tree branches painted white. It's not surprising we were an hour late with the number of stops we had to make. Often, the driver had barely time to change gears before someone would request a stop only a few yards away from the last one. Everyone expects to be set down on their doorstep if that's possible.

Arriving in Dumaguete we were smart enough to get down in the centre of town before the bus headed off to the terminal which always seems to be on the opposite end of town. The pension we had picked out only had one room left, fronting on to the street and very noisy, but they directed us to another place nearby. This also only had one small non a/c room without bathroom, so we had no choice but to take the more expensive a/c room. We couldn't be bothered to go searching for a proper restaurant - too tired - so we just sat in a bakery round the corner and had a drink and sweet bread. We added up what we had eaten in "snacks" during the day (bakery goods, egg sandwich, hard boiled eggs, several mangoes and peanuts) and although it might have been satisfactory from a nutritional point of view it wasn't that enjoyable. It is hard to believe we left Boracay only the day before yesterday. It was not a very restful night. There was only one bed, a single, so we had to sleep top to tail, plus the thermostat didn't work - the a/c was either full on and we froze, or off and we sweltered.

Thursday, 19 December Larena

Spent the morning looking around Dumaguete to see the sights and agreed with LP that it was "a pleasant town". It helped that the sun was shining for a change. It is small enough to be manageable, with a big green plaza and a university campus (Silliman University is old established and Protestant) with lots of green near the centre of town. It made a nice change to see some old buildings especially those on the promenade along the seafront. We walked out to the ferry dock to check up on boats to Siquijor and decided to go on the Fast Cat at 1:00 pm. We spent a while browsing in Lee's Shopping Plaza. Almost one complete floor was devoted entirely to jeans. Lots more apples available and these were selling almost as fast as they could set them out. We ate an early lunch at the Food Fair - a very attractive eating area for several different outlets, the Chinese being the biggest. They were also serving dim sum.

We went to the pier at noon to wait for the ferry to Larena on Siquijor, then waited and waited. The 1:00 pm ferry still hadn't arrived by the time of the next scheduled sailing at 3:15 pm, by which time there were two lots of passengers milling around. When it finally arrived some time later, it was a big chaotic with everybody wanting to get on, but the ferry employees were scrupulous in allowing only passengers with 1:00 pm tickets to get near the boat. Boarding was a difficult procedure with the waves rocking the boat wildly. The ferry (built in China) was quite a posh affair with airline seats and TV. Jill was seriously worried about being sick again and had her plastic bags at the ready. The water was quite choppy and 45 minutes was long enough. (We had chosen this Fast Cat over the regular freighter which takes 3 hours.) The passenger seated next to Denys was a Filipino dentist from Chicago returning to Larena with his wife and two teenaged adopted Korean sons, who thought they were coming to the end of the earth. He had the same seat number as Denys, but for the 8:30 am sailing, which he told us had been cancelled. A rope had got entangled around the propeller when it was leaving Dumaguete, and divers spent 2 hours trying to untangle it while the passengers had to stay on board. They had no control over the boat, and it rocked violently in the swell. Nearly everybody was sick!

It was grey and drizzling when we arrived and the dock area of Larena didn't look too appealing. We went to a nearby stall for a drink while we decided what to do next, and before we had even finished our Cokes a truck with foreigners in it drew up and asked us if we wanted a lift. We hopped in when they said there was accommodation next to their place (a dive resort) down the beach, which turned out to be one of the places we had in mind anyway. The driver was a New Zealander and two of the passengers were from Seattle. It was about 9 km along the road and then another km down a private road to the beach. The Paradise Beach Resort only had two cottages for us to choose from - one very large and one very small. We managed to get the large one for P200 with the 7th night free (standard practice over here). Because of the isolation we had little choice but to have our meals there. It was good we had had a big lunch so we only needed something light.

Our cottage, about 20 yds from the water's edge, had originally been divided into two and the partition later taken down. We have a large covered veranda, an inside sitting area with a table and potted plants, and a huge bedroom with mosquito net and fan, and frilly yellow lace curtains. The outside shower and toilet (separate) are fed from a tank on the roof which has to be filled by hose from the house. Can't imagine needing a fan while we are here - we had to close the shutters to stop the wind howling through.

Friday, 20 December Larena

We had the set breakfast: two fried eggs, three slices of toast with butter and jam. The bread has that all pervasive coconut flavour. Then we took stock of our surroundings. It is a long beach curving round the headland, very flat and shallow with a reef before the shoreline slopes down to deeper water. When the tide is out, long sandbars and tide pools are exposed. To be able to swim you have to go outside the reef - a not very inviting prospect today the way the waves are coming in. There are patches of mangroves in places. For the first time this trip we heard bird calls early this morning. The "resort" (Islander's Paradise) is a big house (where guests eat) and four cottages well spread out along the beach. We can't see any other habitations although next along the beach is the Kiwi Dive Centre and south is a place called Casa de la Playa. The cottage next to us is occupied by a retired American, who spends half the year in Spain and half here, and his Filipina "wife-to-be".

It is still grey, threatening and windy. Denys went into Larena to do some shopping and to try and phone Anne again. We call "collect" so we don't have to pay if the operator gets through to the answering machine. There isn't much to Larena: a market (the only fruit available were mangoes at twice the price we paid yesterday in San Carlos), a few small grocery stores and general merchants, two banks, two pawnbrokers and two bakeries.

Saturday, 21 December Larena

Had to make another trip to Larena this morning to phone Canada. We gave up on Anne after getting the answering machine again and got Susan instead. Unfortunately it was a bad line and Susan could hardly make out anything Denys said, but at least we have made contact and everyone is fine. It rained heavily nearly all morning. The New Zealander who runs the dive centre said this is by far the worst December he has seen. There is currently a tropical depression approaching which could turn into a typhoon, but these aren't much of a problem this far south. In the afternoon we took a walk down the beach as far we could go in the direction of Larena and passed a couple of picnic groups, and another one in the gazebo at our place.

We went to check out Casa de la Playa to see how much they wanted for their cottages with kitchen. We had a nice chat with the German owner and agreed to take one on the clifftop for P350 a day including the fridge which is normally an additional P80. This is more expensive than we are used to paying but will probably work out cheaper than staying where we are now where we have to buy expensive meals. It really is quite luxurious: gas stove and fridge, proper bathroom, separate bedroom and living room with good lights. We decided to move tomorrow if we can get away from here without creating too much hard feeling. We had indicated we might stay long term but after a couple of nights there is no way. The two biggest problems are lack of comfortable seating (a couple of hard wooden benches), which soon takes its toll on your backside, and the awkward shower arrangement: in order to turn on the shower you have to climb up on a precarious rickety stool on a box. We had an excellent dinner of soup (home made), BBQ chicken and chips, then fruit salad with Nestle's cream! When we announced to Freda, the cook, that we would be moving next door, there didn't seem to be any hard feeling. She is a nice woman (sister of the Filipina owner) who makes a living taking in laundry which she irons with a charcoal-heated iron.

Sunday, 22 December Larena

It was so windy during the night - must have been the tropical depression passing through - that Jill said she had nightmares that all the big buildings in Vancouver blew down. The weather looked much better this morning although the sea was rough. It was no problem waking up early - the rooster next door was crowing at 3:00 am. We had breakfasted, packed and moved over to Casa de la Playa by 8:00 am. Ilsa (half of the ownership, the other half being her Filipina friend Emily) was amazed at how light we were travelling. We went for a walk along the very quiet main road in the opposite direction from Larena for 35 mins or so until we came to the sign for Hidden Paradise resort, which had a For Sale sign on it. This was another place in our guide book that we had considered. The set up was similar to Islander's. You would have to eat at the resort which is even more out of the way. The swimming would have been no better - too shallow again - plus there wasn't even any beach walking, with mangroves at each end of the small bay.

Most of the houses along the road were neat and tidy with gardens and there were a few little stores (called "sari-sari" stores) that might save a trip into town now and again. We bought a one litre Coke at one of these, and when the old lady couldn't make change for P20 (the Coke cost P18) we took 4 bananas instead. We went home by way of the Kiwi Dive private road to see Bruce (owner) and buy one of his island maps which will be useful for hiking. We ended up staying for over an hour, drinking tea with him and his Filipina wife. The German guest at the table seemed intrigued as to why we would choose to come to Siquijor if we didn't dive. Even the locals seemed surprised. Kiwi Dive caters mainly to Germans, and a sign on the gate to the private road was in German only. The clientele at Casa is also mainly German. (The owners advertise in Germany.)

Our new place is on the cliff tops in a garden with a 180 degree panoramic view over the ocean. The cliff top is edged with poinciana and frangipani trees. The cottage is much more solid than our previous abodes. From the outside it looks like a bamboo hut painted aqua but it is only bamboo faced. Floors, including the veranda, are concrete rather than bamboo; bathroom is tiled. 2 burner gas stove, electric fridge, table and two chairs inside (same again plus a bamboo day bed on the balcony) and a foam couch (extra bed) in the living room; plenty of shelves and enough cooking utensils, dishes etc; windows have wooden louvers and mosquito screens; lace net curtains at every window; bed has a mosquito net.. We have been provided with a large thermos which we keep filled with hot water and a large container of drinking water. We later found out the only difference between this and what comes out of the tap is that it "hasn't sat in the tank.". We were quite shocked to learn that every drop of water on the property has to be carried from the well at the main road, which is only open certain hours. This is usually the job of Ernesto (Emily's brother), although sometimes another man has to be hired. They fill the holding tank and from there pipes go to the various cottages. The owners live in a big house (the Residence) higher up the hill behind. For the first time in over a week we lay out in our swimsuits.. The dogs are good company; there is almost always at least one with us on the veranda. They have soon learned that foreigners are softer with dogs than the locals. (If any unknown locals walk by down the beach they rush off and bark at them.) We don't hear any barking during the night but the roosters are a real nuisance starting to crow well before 4:00 am.

We were invited up to the main house for a welcome drink ("sangria" made from local wine and fruit juice) and were surprised to be serenaded by Emily on a karaoke machine, singing Visayan songs. She also plays the guitar. She has a lovely voice but she apologised for it - she had been entertaining at the office party on Friday and was drinking hot ginger tea to soothe her throat. It is very Christmassy here with lots of lights; the Christmas tree has several "programs", so that it flashes in different ways.

Monday, 23 December Larena

For the first time in days the wind and sea are calm and the sun is shining. We got a ride into Larena in the jeep with Emily on her way to work. You have to drive along the beach about half a km before turning up the track to the main road. High tides can be a problem! Emily "filled up" at a little stand on the main road - 5 litres of gas in 1 litre Coke bottles - enough gasoline to last for three days. We had quite a shock when we came to do our food shopping: sweet peppers $7.50/kg, potatoes $2, onions $4. The market only has meat on Sundays (butchering day) and for the rest of the week only fish is available. We finished up loaded with stuff (including eggs in a plastic bag) to be taken back on the motorbike which was also carrying a 20 ft length of galvanized water pipe on the roof. Although it clouded over in the afternoon and became very humid, the previous weather pattern has obviously changed. The sea was almost like glass at sunset. We had just gone to sleep (around 9:45 pm) when we were awakened by carollers singing "O Holy Night" next door at Islander's. We have seen no Fast Cat sailings for days.

Tuesday, 24 December Larena

We went a long walk along the beach to Hidden Paradise (about half an hour) and then back along the main road, stopping on the way back to buy packets of peanuts and a Coke at the little sari-sari store where we bought the other Coke. The toothless old woman immediately wanted to know "where my Coke bottle?" We promised to bring it back when we had finished both. (We will have to buy our Cokes closer to home from now on.) We had company the whole way - Brownie, a young female dog from Casa. We were a bit concerned when she wouldn't turn back when we left the beach and we didn't know how she would behave once we hit the road. Fortunately there is very little traffic and she stuck close by us anyway. It must have been quite an expedition for her - she dashed straight into the sea when we reached the beach again. The rest of the day she lay in the shade under Romy's jeep.

We were invited to a Christmas Eve party at the residence just after we got back and agreed to join in the "game" of Christmas gifts. You pick a name out of a bag and buy a small gift for that person. We got Ade, the young woman "helper" of Romy. (Romy is the original friend of Ilsa - the two of them were travelling the world when they arrived at Siquijor and decided to go no further. She has her own cottage on the clifftop.) We didn't feel like traipsing back up to the main road, certainly not to Larena and decided to buy something from Emily's own sari-sari store - a bath size bar of American Jergens soap. We were told that imported soap is much prized here. Everyone living or working on the property and relatives living nearby was invited to the party. The buffet meal was rice, noodles, fish (tuna), with the special treat being dessert - a sort of halo-halo. Carollers from the local barangay (neighbourhood) came to sing and received an envelope of money from Emily. Then came the exchange of gifts. We got two young coconuts from the painter. Ilsa told us he was quite worried at drawing Denys's name but she assured him Denys would be happy with that, and he was. Emily, Romy and Ilsa distributed their gifts - a dress length for Ernesto's wife, skirt length for the girl gardener, jeans for the painter, who also got a penknife from Romy ("not for cleaning fish" he was warned). Other gifts were taken home unopened. Emily's nephew, 15 month old Paulo, the son of Ernesto, who lives behind us, received home-made painted wooden blocks. Jill sat next to Ernesto's mother-in-law whose English was pretty good so they got on well. There was a good Christmas feeling all around and we felt privileged to be included.

Wednesday, 25 December Larena

A quiet day. We walked down the beach towards Larena and saw that the "Chinese" house (the weekend/holiday home of one of the Chinese merchants in town) was occupied - Christmas music was playing and the remains of a roast suckling pig lay on the table. We sat and sunbathed on the beach in the afternoon and not a soul went by the whole time. We walked along the water's edge in the shallows, but Jill was put off by the starfish everywhere - so many that you can't help stepping on them. Later we enjoyed some very large rum and coconut drinks. A new couple arrived and took one of the cottages on the beach. We met them in the evening when we were all invited up to the residence - to say "goodbye" to the German couple and welcome to the English couple. Another karaoke presentation by Emily. Ernesto also played the guitar and sang. Emily's cat was again brought out in its basket to be admired and petted. We have yet to see it put a foot to the ground. Weatherwise this has been the best day on Siquijor and as good as the best on Boracay. We listened to Christmas music on the BBC - none of the local stations were playing anything Christmassy.

Thursday, 26 December Larena

Denys's birthday. We needed to go into town to do some shopping and we thought it would be no problem to get a ride with Emily at 7:30 on her way to work. We were surprised to see quite a crowd - the Germans were leaving plus one of the workmen was going in, as well as Ilsa - but we all managed to squeeze in. The German couple intended to catch the boat to Dumaguete but found out the Fast Cat is out of action for three weeks and there are no other boats leaving today (despite having phoned yesterday and being assured there was one today.) We did a bit better in the market today and bought quite decent looking eggplants and tomatoes as well as fresh noodles which are really cheap. We saw tiny packets of garlic cloves, salt, black peppercorns and what looks like baking powder at some of the market stalls. We also bought what looks like corn grits plus a load of bakery goods which we can keep in the freezer. The only fruit available was papaya (cheap) and pineapple (very expensive). We wanted to buy chicken but the place where we had seen the sign (half chickens by the kilo) was deserted. I suppose they weren't expecting any business after everyone had feasted yesterday. We were back home by 9:30 am and sunbathed for the rest of the morning. The sun was hot but it was quite windy so we had to weight our beach mats down. We enjoyed the second young coconut with a good shot of rum. Rum is so cheap here - Denys suggested we could save money on dinners by filling up on rum in the afternoon! A kilo of potatoes costs more than a 26 oz bottle of rum! By dinnertime it was chilly enough that we ate inside for the first time, and later we had to close the louvers in the kitchen and the windward side in the bedroom. Emily, Ilsa and Romy spent some time trying to dislodge the rooster from the big tree between our place and Romy's. We are all fed up with being awakened at 4:00 am. We found out the chickens etc. aren't theirs, they are looking after them for Swiss friends along with their dog, Basile ("speaks French only"). We have just about sorted out the resident dog population: One mother, daughter Brownie, a brother, pup Maxi from a later litter, then a whole new litter which is still holed up underneath one of the beach cottages. A beat-up male also seems to have taken up residence. We were told this is probably the father of them all. He is also taking a romantic interest in Brownie. Various other visiting dogs are chased away from Brownie by him.

Friday, 27 December Larena

The last working day in the Philippines until January 2. It blew hard in the night and we didn't hear the rooster until 7:00 am - so perhaps it had a bad night too. It is bright and sunny but the locals are complaining of the cold. Ilsa told us that this weather may mean a typhoon is approaching, but not to worry. Here it only means windy weather and rain. When talking with the German couple yesterday they said they hadn't considered Indonesia because it's the rainy season there. We told them we had never had weather like this in Indonesia. We decided to try out our new trails map and go for a hike. We headed inland after going through the village of Bataug (on the main road past the turn off for Hidden Paradise). There was a good track and very few houses. It was hot and not so windy away from the coast. We reached the top of the ridge and came down the other side which met up with the main road about 2 km from home. It took us two and a half hours. We needed a good lunch after that - banana pancakes. Later we put on our swimsuits and walked along the sandbars as far as they go in both directions. We talked to the English couple who are hoping to rent a motorbike to explore the island. The one they were offered today wasn't up to standard, they said - bald tires, front brakes not working, etc. They had been into Siquijor (capital) to see the doctor - Theresa has an ear infection and Graham has the runs. We have been lucky so far.

Saturday, 28 December Larena

The weather seems to be getting more dependable and it is more often clear and sunny. Jill is starting to get headaches from the bright sun and needs to wear her hat and sunglasses. Our only excursion was to return the two empty Coke bottles - 20 mins each way. There is plenty of construction activity going on and Ilsa is also involved.. The second beach cottage is supposed to be completed today ready for two German couples arriving tomorrow. Emily had to drive one of the carpenters home - his grandmother has just died (at age 96) - so on the way back brought as many water containers as the jeep would hold. With all these cottages occupied we must be getting through water at a terrific rate. We are always extra careful to conserve water, but none of the other guests are even aware of where their water comes from. Our water went off briefly several times today - probably when the occupants of the beach cottage who are on the same line as us are drawing water.

Sunday, 29 December Larena

We went with Romy in her car to Siquijor so Jill could get a haircut along with Romy . The road from Larena to Siquijor (10 km) was quite interesting, mainly lined with little houses with colourful gardens, some with lots of orchids. At the "House of Beauty" (a regular bamboo hut) the hairdresser turned out to be a transvestite, complete with glass-fronted wardrobe of exotic dresses,as well as photographs of "him" in various beauty contests. Jill got a great haircut for P25 (=$1) but Denys could not be persuaded (he'd had one a couple of weeks before in Roxas). He went for a look around the town but the shopping wasn't as good as in Larena. He looked at the meat in the market but didn't fancy what was left - a cow's head or half a pig's head. Our English neighbours managed to rent a motorbike today and set off early (6:00 am) to buy pork in Larena. We offered to keep it in our fridge while it marinated. We had a quick stop at the Sunday market in Larena while Romy waited - the only fruit available besides bananas (many varieties) was papayas. Potatoes, red onions and green beans are available at a price.

More frantic activity down at the beach cottage. Our wooden lounger was taken away to be used as a temporary single bed with a foam mattress. In exchange we got a folding webbing bed - much more comfortable and portable. Ilsa went to pick up the new guests at the pier but there was no boat. Eventually the guests came by pedicab (two) from Larena, although once they reached the beach the people had to get out or they would have bogged down in the soft sand. We had our usual afternoon stroll in the shallows before settling down to our rum and Cokes. Romy came over for a chat and to bring us an air mattress to use on the lounger. What luxury! We get along well - she is around our age. We were amused when she told us she doesn't really like Germans. She is half Danish with some French blood. Her father was a POW and was sent to the US to cut cane. Emily stopped by just after we had eaten to say she is now chief cook now. The German couples don't want to cook. Tonight she is cooking calamari and vegetables.

Monday, 30 December Larena

Today is a public holiday - Rizal Day -commemorating the execution of Jose Rizal by the Spaniards. This year is the 100th anniversary. Because of our isolation we saw no sign of any holiday activities. The number two item on the BBC news was the heavy snowfall (2-4 ft) on the west coast of British Columbia and Washington State. Later on the CBC we heard that Victoria had had 70 cm, Vancouver 35 cm.. There was a blizzard, transport was disrupted, no ferries, people trapped in cars. We figured that just about now our postcards from Boracay should be arriving! It's now more than a week since we had any rain and days are mainly sunny and pleasantly warm, although on the beach there is always a breeze to keep you comfortable. At low tide when the sandbars are exposed, millions of tiny blue crabs cover the entire surface with sand balls excavated from tunnels they dig. One of the workmen spent the whole day repairing the steep track up from the beach where it has developed ruts.

Tuesday, 31 December Larena

Today we repeated the walk from Bitaug to Cabulihan, this time setting off an hour earlier and eating a bigger breakfast first - a big improvement. Emily and Ilsa came over to invite us to their New Year's Eve celebrations - a bonfire and BBQ on the beach - and also to give us some bananas grown on the property. We had a chat with Bill, the American next door who had his bonfire going before ours. He said he is planning to marry his Filipina girl friend. This is his second trip this year - the purpose to find a wife. They will go back to live in Spain. Our bonfire was of burning coconut husks; forked sticks at each end with sticks at right angles held skewers of pork (butchered this am) and whole fish. Emily and Ilsa had had to go into Siquijor for the fish. They had mentioned yesterday that if they could get tinfoil they would do sweet potatoes in the coals. They obviously didn't succeed as we had them boiled (cold) instead. The two young German couples were there plus Romy and Ade who had already eaten (said they couldn't wait that long to eat - almost 7:30 pm). The pork was tasty but very chewy, the fish was very dark fleshed, sort of sardine tasting. There was sangria to drink and bananas for dessert. A group of a dozen or so singers from a local barangay came to entertain us with Christmas music, well lubricated with local wine. Then around 9:00 pm we all set off to walk to the local barangay hall (actually a basketball court) on the main road where a children's dance contest was taking place. Several groups of children did dance routines to pop or Christmas music. Some of them were hilarious without intending to be and we laughed until the tears ran down our cheeks.

It was a beautiful starry night. You could see the lights of Dumaguete just below the horizon with flashes of exploding fireworks. We decided against staying up till midnight and went to bed. As we had been warned we were awakened at midnight by a cacophony of sounds, radios, revving car engines, tooting horns, pots banging etc, not to mention dogs barking and cocks crowing. The tradition is that anything that can be "should be set going as soon as possible after midnight". In the cities the noise level must be deafening.

Wednesday, 1 January Larena

We had just finished our porridge and bananas when Emily and Ilsa came over with a gift for us - a home baked wholewheat loaf and two rice cakes, also a 1997 calendar. It appears that New Year is more a time for exchanging gifts than Christmas. We were invited to go with them to a fiesta at a neighbour's house at 11:30 am (Philippines time!) At 11:30 Emily, Ilsa, Romy and Ade all set off down the beach for a swim, well wrapped up in big bath towels. This is their New Year's Day ritual. The fiesta was the 75th birthday celebration for Fulgencia Buka. As soon as we arrived, the six of us were ushered into the kitchen/dining area where a table was spread with so many dishes - rice, several kinds of pork , BBQ chicken pieces and vegetables. (Romy and Ilsa who are vegetarian ate only rice and ketchup.) Then sticky rice and fried bananas appeared. Pitchers of tuba (palm wine) disappeared quickly as our glasses were constantly refilled.. We were offered Coke to go with it if we preferred but we had no problem drinking it plain. As soon as we had finished eating we had to make way for the next sitting. We then sat down outside and a table was placed in front of us with clean glasses and pitchers of tuba, constantly refilled from 5 gallon jerry cans. It couldn't have been too strong. In spite of countless glasses it didn't do much more than make you feel warm and give a pleasant buzz.

The afternoon was spent playing games, children first then the adults. First came the Filipino version of the pinata, with a clay pot used as the container to be hit, then various games like sack race, tug-of-war, statues, etc. One even involved young girls being dared to come and kiss us both, which two managed to do with great embarrassment and lots of laughter from all the guests. The adult's games were pretty much the same as the kids' - musical chairs, sack race and so on. We broke the ice when we suggested a challenge sack race - foreigners versus locals. This wa s announced as long noses (foreigners) against short noses (locals) - over 50s. It was all very hilarious. Ilsa went back for her video camera to record all the fun. When we weren't playing games we were plied with more tuba, coffee, rice cakes, sticky rice, and fried bananas. We were both asked to judge a singing contest, the objective being that we would show no favouritism, since there are small cash prizes for all the contests, of which there were several. We contributed P100 towards the prize money, and we ended up diplomatically making three awards: best singer (an old lady), best entertainer, and best musician. No musical accompaniment was allowed (i.e. no karaoke) but the birthday boy played his home-made guitar. Everyone had a great time. It's years since we laughed as much as we did today and last night. It's hard to visualize adults at home participating in the same way.

A cup of tea and a snack was all we needed at dinnertime before going up to the residence to watch videos -of Emily doing Visayan dances at a contest, and the moving of the two beach cottages from the main road, plus a promotional video for Casa de la Playa and Siquijor.

We are enjoying ourselves so much here we are having serious second thoughts about moving on. We should be making a move very soon if we are to see anything of Mindanao or other islands to the west. It's so easy here - we'll never get such a good set up as we have now. Emily and Ilsa are always telling us how much they appreciate having us as guests, that we fit in so well, etc. We are beginning to feel part of the community now. We know where all the best deals are when we go food shopping, the shopkeepers know us; getting rides back to our place is a lot easier now - the pedicab drivers often come and seek us out when they are going our way. All this makes for a more relaxing and satisfying experience. Emily and Ilsa even talked about house-swapping possibilities. They could live in our house on Bowen while we live stay here. They promised us a very special long term rate next time we come. Certainly returning here is something to consider when we want an easy, get-away-from-it-all trip.

Thursday, 2 January Larena

A day to be got through. Jill needed a long siesta to make up for lost sleep. No hangovers fortunately. Romy has just had a small outrigger boat made which she picked up yesterday and spent today (or at least Ade did) painting it. They painted it pink figuring the local fishermen wouldn't want to "borrow" a pink boat to go fishing in. We are already starting to see the days lengthen, with sunset being a minute or so later each day.

Friday, 3 January Larena

Got a ride with Emily at 7:15 to go to Canlambo to do another hike. This is a longer hike (approx. 4 hrs) recommended by Bruce finishing up in Larena. The route climbed right up to the spine of the island where we could look down to the ocean on both the north and south sides of the island. We were walking most of the time on narrow cart tracks. After the first little way when there was an occasional motorbike there were no vehicles until we got to the paved road going down to Larena. We started off climbing up though coconut and banana plantations, then open grassland with areas of forest. We passed through several small villages, as usual very neat and colourful with lots of flowers, huge poinsettias, bougainvillaea, roses, and frangipani. The hardest part was the pounding our knees got going down the long, steep black-topped road into Larena. We saw several quite fancy houses on the outskirts of town. We did some food shopping in Larena and were back home for lunch. The walk took us three and a half hours.

More travellers (mostly German) are arriving every day. Our place is full and has to turn people away. One couple staying next door would dearly love to move here. They are eating here as they say it is much cheaper. We could smell a very appetizing aroma coming from the residence - good thing we had already eaten. Emily, who has taken to dropping by every evening , said it was chicken curry made with chicken, apple, pineapple and sweet potatoes. They charge P60 for dinners.

Lots of fishermen out in the evening. Apparently there is a good run of fish out on the reef.

Saturday, 4 January Larena

High tide is getting earlier each day, so we did our daily paddle before lunch. When Emily and Ilsa went out in the jeep in the afternoon they had to leave the jeep by the road when they returned as the tide was right up. More would-be guests are arriving daily and are turned away. One girl travelling alone asked to be allowed to stay at the residence. The upstairs is not finished yet and can only be reached by a ladder. They let her stay since it would only be for a few days. On our three outings today (two on the beach and one up to the road for Cokes) we had three dogs with us. Brownie's boyfriend has been in a fight and he looks like he might have lost an eye. He looks a real mess but they are devoted to one another. It was amusing to see the purebred fluffy white dog from the Dive Centre being chased off his own territory by this old battle scarred mongrel because he dared to pay attention to Brownie.

There was a spectacular sunset tonight, by far the best of the trip, which is surprising when it had been a very mediocre day with not much sun and some heavy black cloud. Emily and Ilsa came over and asked if it would be OK if they gave us the island tour next weekend instead of tomorrow since they are overrun with guests. We said we expect we will still be here. We talked about how we would get to Cebu and from Cebu to Manila. Ilsa suggested we investigate air fares from Cebu to Manila on the two new airlines who had started out selling cheap tickets as a promotion. The big advantage over sailing would be we would arrive at the airport in Manila, which is at the south end of the city, whereas the docks are at the north end, saving ourselves the hassle of crossing Manila.

Sunday, 5 January Larena

Rain and wind during the night, and grey and drizzly when we got up, with the clouds down to sea level. It seems quite cool too, the coolest since we got here, unless it is the contrast after being warmer. We are thankful we are in a real "house" that keeps the wind out rather than a bamboo hut. We scrapped the idea of going into Larena for the Sunday market and stayed in and read most of the day. We even had to put socks on and wear long sleeves to keep warm inside and had hot soup for lunch.

Monday, 6 January Larena

We were awakened around 4:30 or so by people making a lot of noise on the beach, then people coming up the residence and the jeep took off. Denys got a ride into Larena with Emily on her way to work and so we got to hear what had happened. A group of divers, some staying in one of the beach cottages and the rest from Kiwi Dive, were drinking on the beach all night and when it came time for them to get the early (5:15 am) fast ferry to Dumaguete Bruce was too drunk to drive them. One of the guys fell down the cliff and injured himself. Emily ended up driving them to the pier. She was naturally not impressed with this sort of behaviour. She said Bruce has a responsibility for his guests when they are "out in the country". She told us that at Casa they like to screen their guests and prefer not to take single guys. Denys was back by 8:20 with the shopping, during which time Jill had done the washing and was drawing - a rosebush in a pot which Emily had received as a gift and which sits beside our veranda for us to appreciate. Since it was such a nice, clear morning we decided to go to Enrique Villanueva, the next town to the east. We walked along the beach as far as we could, then the rest of the way along the road. The town was quite a nice place but smaller than we expected: not much else besides a large church (under repair), high school, the Ministry of Agriculture depot, Social Services Dept. and Telecom office. The market place was deserted and we saw only one medium sized general store. We got a pedicab back home. For dinner tonight Jill cooked a stirfry with Chinese black beans, which was so salty we could barely get it down. Even the so-called starving dog (the while outside male) turned his nose up at it.

Tuesday, 7 January Larena

On our way up to the main road for our Coke we ran into Bill and spent a good half hour chatting, mostly about food, and especially Mexican (which he misses a lot, coming originally from California). He told us he managed to get hold of some ground corn (like masa harina) and made a reasonable imitation of tamales done up in corn husks. Made our mouths water. Later we got some old paperbacks from him which we promised to pass on to another American living further down the beach. (Bill was actually on his way there with the books.) Back at his cottage he showed us a collage he has done while he has been here, just with materials available, and photos of some of his previous work. He has an exhibition coming up very soon after he gets back to Spain, along with his ex-wife, a painter. We are now OK for reading materials. Romy was telling us she is reading a nice book she found up at the residence. She is so pleased she can understand it - it is "Hearbeat" (which we left up there) It seems she has seen some of the James Herriot TV series so understands a little of the background. She said the characters in the series, were a lot like people in the North of Germany on the North Sea (reminding us she has Danish blood), and then we pointed out that Yorkshire and the Northeast of England were invaded and settled by some of the same people. She said that while she didn't understand everything, it has given her confidence to try reading other English books, perhaps a romance. There is precious little reading material on the island, and you have to go to Dumaguete for books (She came back from her next trip with the latest Readers' Digest which she lent to us.). Romy told us she has always dreamed of living in a thatched house - she had seen some on an island (an exclusive resort?) in the North Sea, also pictures of English villages. And here she is living in her very own thatched house, overlooking the ocean. She certainly seems content enough pottering with her plants - she has some nice roses - and trips out in her jeep. She only learned to drive since she came to Siquijor.

Over our afternoon drinks we discussed our options for getting back to Manila and have now given up the idea of flying to Cebu (too expensive). We can go to Dumaguete on the 5:15 am Fast Cat, then to Cebu, or overnight (leaving the day before) on the Don Martin from Larena to Cebu. It is approximately 22 to 24 hours from Cebu to Manila. We need to try and get more information the next time we go into Larena. Romy doesn't have her Christmas lights on now, after Three Kings, but we needed ours on to read as the fluorescent light was low tonight.

Wednesday, 8 January Larena

It was very quiet here today. Emily, Ilsa, Romy and Ade all went off to Dumaguete for the day. Another great sunset.

Thursday, 9 January Larena

Terrific howling of dogs before we got up but there didn't seem to be any casualties. A lovely day - Emily said today is like a summer's day. We got a ride with her to Larena then took the jeepney to Siquijor to have a look around - it's a pleasant little town, the capital of the province - then back to Larena for shopping and to make a phone call to a travel agent in Dumaguete to see if we could get a cheap airfare from Cebu to Manila. They only deal with PAL and we already knew that fare. We gave up the idea of flying when we found there was a superferry out of Cebu on Tuesday at noon, arriving in Manila next day at 9:00 am. Excellent timing. We can take the boat from Larena to Cebu on Monday night and arrive in Cebu early next morning.

We were back home by 10:30. It is quite amazing how much you can accomplish by midmorning. Sunbathed after lunch - Denys out on a sandbar, Jill on the sunbed in front of our cottage. (She didn't want to venture any further in her Eaton's underwear.) Now the weather is getting warmer we can begin to appreciate our shady spot here. We were sitting reading, thinking of making a cup of tea - it was too early for rums - when Ade came over with 2 cups of hot chocolate (very special treat made with local chocolate) and a plate of special sticky rice, which just hit the spot. The rice was the red/black variety and mixed with coconut, ginger, sugar and salt. Delicious. We saw some splashes in the water way out to sea and wondered if it was fish. Emily said it could be dolphins or whales. Silliman University in Dumaguete has whale watching expeditions in the straits between Negros and Cebu. Ilsa spent the whole day working with the handyman (the carpenter is still away) in the last beach cottage. Although it has been rented out a couple of times it is still not completed.

Friday, 10 January Larena

Another hot sunny day. The locals are now talking about summer. Denys suggested a project for today could be to get all the dogs lined up for a group photo. Romy said we would need a sausage on a stick. Ade brought over a jar of her home-made salted peanuts - perfect with our afternoon drinks.

Saturday, 11 January Larena

Ilsa showed us around the almost completed beach cottage. She wants it to look good as her mother and her friend will be coming to stay soon from Germany. Her mother usually has the cottage we are in. Denys had his first swim at this beach but couldn't persuade Jill to venture to soak in a "hot tub" pool - too many starfish around. The guest at the other beach cottage, a Chinese-Filipina (Helen) from Manila, now living in Germany, came over to chat around sunset and we got a terrible crop of itchy bites during that time.

Sunday, 12 January Larena

A big rain and windstorm in the night, with one big flash of lightning and clap of thunder. Emily was out early checking for any water damage. She came to the door to tell us to come down to the beach and see the "sea airplane" (a big manta ray) the fishermen had caught. All the beach was out to watch them butcher it. It had an unbelievably large liver. The barangay captain arrived to oversee that the fish was carefully portioned out into small piles so there was some for everyone. Emily came back with a bucket of pieces. By the time everyone was finished there was only bloodstained sand, not a piece of bone, guts or anything.

We left after lunch on our round-the-island trip. Helen also came along - a not too comfortable ride with three of us in the back. Ilsa was in front with Emily. Denys's backside soon got wet when water oozed from the upholstery - the third time this trip he has had to sit in wet shorts for hours. We stopped first at the new house of two Swiss women on the beach near Siquijor. (They are currently both working in Europe). The house looked very impressive from outside but was like a barn inside. The new nipa roof was already leaking in numerous spots. The owners had put plastic sheets and cans all over the place. We stopped next in Santa Cruz where there is a natural spring and swimming pool (not very inviting on such a grey day) and then at an enormous 400 year old banyan tree. The villages were very neat with lots of flowers, and very fancy shelters put up by each purok (cluster of houses) within the barangays. These were painted in bright colours and decorated with posters and potted plants. We stopped next at the town of Lazi which was a hive of activity since it is market day and cockfighting in the afternoon. There was plenty of noise coming from the rather rustic looking cockpit. There were all sorts of food vendors around it and we had a snack and a drink, then met up again with Emily and Ilsa who had been having lunch and a couple of beers in a small restaurant. We went into the Spanish church which looked very old but only dated from 1881, and the convent, supposedly the largest convent in the Philippines. It doesn't look as if it is used as a convent any more . There are church offices on the ground floor and an enormous open space on the second floor. The interesting floor there was made of thick planks arranged in various designs.

As we were descending into Lazi, a chicken flew into the back of the jeep and flapped around our heads for a while before we finally got it out. When it was all over Denys discovered he was missing a lens from his glasses (hanging on a cord around his neck). Luckily when we stopped we found it on the road, caught up in the chicken's feathers. The frame was all bent out of shape but he managed to get the lens back in temporarily. Hopefully it will last until we get home. After Lazi, we passed through Maria, then Enrique Villanueva (quick drive around the fish sanctuary) and back home. Although it was very grey when we set off, the clouds cleared enough for the sun to come out briefly, but it was dark when we arrived back home..

Monday, 13 January On boat

The worst looking day weatherwise we have had this whole trip. Grey and cloudy then continuous rain from mid-afternoon. Denys went into Larena to buy the boat tickets for tonight. Then after lunch we walked down the beach to visit Don, an American who lives further down the beach to pass on some books from Bill and some of ours that we have finished with. He has lived here for the past 7 years with his Filipina wife and is now trying to sell and move back to Portland. We stayed chatting for a couple of hours but had to leave abruptly when the weather turned black and a squall started approaching. The rain started almost as soon as we got outside and we had to run as fast as we could in the pouring rain. We were drenched and now we will have to pack up wet shorts and T-shirts. We finished off our rum (extra large doses) and then went up to the residence for dinner. Jill has been off her food for a couple of days, worrying about the two boat trips and wasn't able to do justice to it. Emily and Ilsa gave us small gifts when we paid our bill and didn't charge us for the meal or drinks. We had to leave for Larena immediately afterwards because of high tide or they wouldn't be able to get back. We said our farewells to Romy and Ade, tearfully. We had enjoyed their company. Emily and Ilsa drove us to the pier, along with Sandra, an Italian girl, who overnighted here on her way back to Dumaguete. (She says she doesn't stay long in any one place so she doesn't get attached to it!) We had almost three hours to kill before the boat left at 10:00 with Jill getting more and more apprehensive. She spent as much time as possible on the dock watching cargo being loaded - plenty of chickens etc. in wicker cages, so there will be no shortage of roosters to wake us up in the morning. The pigs were already on but the goats took their time going up the gangplank. We have quite reasonable cot beds in a good spot. The fare for the 7 hr trip is unbelievably cheap at P120.

Tuesday, 14 January On boat

We got off the boat as soon as it docked in Cebu at 5:00 am. after a calm, uneventful voyage. We noticed that not everyone was in a hurry to get off - it was still dark - and I think we could have stayed on longer. We found it was a couple of kilometres to the pier where we get the boat to Manila so we got a tricycle. It was a good thing we had plenty of time to spare with all the backtracking we had to do - we were told three different pier numbers and two different booking offices. The ship was just coming in when we got to the pier at 5:30 am. It took well over an hour for all the passengers to disembark, which was quite interesting to watch and helped to pass the time. The pier was in the middle of a big container handling area and there were no facilities in the area, not even a toilet. Eventually some vendors started showing up but they didn't have anything of interest to us. Fortunately, we had brought water, hard boiled eggs and rolls with us. Later we checked out a small market just outside the dock area and Jill bought another hard boiled egg and some bakery stuff - afraid she might go hungry. Meals are included in the ticket price but she said she didn't expect to be able to eat anything.

We boarded the ship at 10:00 am and we left exactly on time at 12:00 noon. It is enormous, carrying 2464 passengers, all with bunks, on four decks. We have an excellent spot on the top deck - on the outside row near the rails. We couldn't have picked better if we had tried (we had been allocated berth numbers). Our section was less than half full so it was very comfortable . We were able to leave our belongings as each bunk has a small locker for valuables and go off exploring. The ship (Superferry 8) has two big restaurants, bars, snack bars, children's playground, disco, beauty parlour, shiatsu and reflexology clinics. We spent the time exploring around, sitting or lying on our bunks and watching the scenery. There was plenty to see - we were within sight of land for the first part of the voyage - the length of the island of Cebu then Leyte. Later in the afternoon we went and had beers in a snack bar on the stern of the ship. At dinnertime Jill was pleasantly surprised and ate everything on her tray (except the pork fat): rice, pork, 2 side dishes, cup of soup and half a fried banana. We went to bed at 7:30 pm and the next thing we knew it was 12:30 am. There was a strong wind blowing on the other side of the ship and although the awnings were down we felt some impact. Some passengers made windbreaks from the spare mattresses. We put more clothes on and slept again until 4:30 - our usual waking up time - so we had the best part of 9 hours' sleep. There was hot water available all the time so we were able to make coffee whenever we wanted. We were waiting in line for breakfast when the dining room opened at 6:00 am - quite reasonable coffee, rice, ham and hard-boiled egg. Jill says she has seen enough hard-boiled eggs now to last her several weeks.

Wednesday, 15 January Manila

We docked an hour early at 8:00 am in nice sunny weather. We had not been looking forward to having to make our way across Manila, from north to south, and had decided our best bet was to take a taxi from the docks to the nearest metro station then take the metro to the southern terminal. We weren't successful in negotiating a reasonable taxi fare from any of the taxi drivers in the dock area, which was just as well as we found "Special" jeepneys waiting just outside, and one was going all the way to where we wanted to go. We were ushered into the cab next to the driver and it wasn't long before we filled up with passengers. The fare was P30 each. The drive through Manila wasn't too bad. There were some awful shacks by the roadside near the docks, among the worst slums we have seen. Air pollution was so bad the jeepney driver used his towel to cover his nose and mouth at times. We recognized Rizal square from the last trip 15 years ago. The traffic situation was much better than when we arrived when they had lanes closed off for the APEC conference. Some fellow passengers suggested we check out a new hotel which had only recently opened which they thought was in the budget range. It was difficult to refuse without causing hard feelings so we got off the jeepney with them a little sooner than we had planned, which was a mistake. The place was well out of our price range and it took us a while to find another jeepney to finish off our journey. We found the guest house after about 20 minutes' walk and only just managed to get in. It was pretty well full and we had to take their most expensive room. This is the only real travellers' hangout we have encountered on the trip. It is owned by the same people who own Tin-Tin's cottages on Boracay. We didn't feel inclined to do much besides having a walk in the immediate neighbourhood, mostly residential, in the afternoon, and check out a huge supermarket. We ate dinner in the guesthouse, then tried several times to phone Ed Canela who lives in Manila but the phone was always busy.

Thursday, 16 January Home

Taxi to the airport with no hassles. Very chaotic at the airport check in area, and we only just made it through Customs and Immigration etc in time. We have now revised our previous (on arrival) glowing opinion of Manila airport. In the departure lounge everyone was having all their carry on bags inspected and various items removed and set aside We were relieved of our duty free rum, toothpaste, lotions, creams, etc. and were told we would be able to claim them on arrival in Vancouver. We were furious as this means we will have to wait for all the baggage being unloaded when we only have carryon. (If it weren't for the rum we wouldn't have bothered claiming.) It was only when we got to Vancouver that we found it this is usual practice with all US flights (our plane was going on to New York) They had been searching for explosive devices! As it turned out, the boxes with these items was unloaded very quickly so we were hardly delayed. Anne was waiting to meet us - an unexpected pleasure - and drove us all the way to Horseshoe Bay.

We set off to walk home from the ferry, but someone picked us up on the way and gave us a ride. It was cold, damp, with traces of snow still lying around - almost like when we left.