The Philippines- Your Next Vacation??

I think I've said before that I knew nothing about the Philippines when we got here- no sights, no activities, no nothing. I think that's probably the best way to visit a new place. You have no expectations so you cannot be very disappointed (very buddhist).

Well, I sure am enjoying my time here, especially once we're out of Manila. Don't get me wrong- Manila has it's historical quarter, modern and old sites, food, etc. But in the end it's just another big city and we've seen a lot of big cities on this trip. They all have their own vibe, but life seems better for the budget tourist outside of the city.

Anyway, after hanging out in Camiguin we headed out to Donsol, on South Luzon. Since we're short of funds we thought it best to NOT FLY. That means taking it in short bursts of 3-4 hour bus rides and one-night stands in hotels before boarding another bus or ferry. Fortunately, we've got the time to travel slowly, and it's allowed us to see just a little bit more of regular life in the Philippines.

Donsol is known as the whale shark capitol of the Philippines. We're so fortunate to be here during the right season! Froody made a bunch of text messages to a guy named Taks who organized a place to stay, two trips out to see the sharks, and one evening on a river to check-out fireflies. He was a very relaxed guide and happily answered our questions about himself and the island.

He picked us up at sunrise and we all hopped onto his motorbike, stopping for breakfast before boarding our whale sharking boat. We spent about 3 hours on the water and had 7 "encounters" with the beautiful animals. I wish Froody's pictures did justice to the awesomeness of the experience.

After that, Taks took us to his uncle's house, who was having a party for his entire baranguay. It was nice relaxing, eating authenic filippino food (complete with scary red and awful tasting hot dogs. But it wasn't all bad.), and drinking warm beer poured over ice. That afternoon, Taks again picked us up and brought us to the river where we all loaded onto a small fishing boat--me and Froody, Taks, and the two young men who ran the boat. We stopped at a piece of land owned by Taks's family on which another family was living. We all relaxed in the shade of coconut palms and Taks asked that someone climb up and bring us all some young coconuts (buko). Froody and I had one and a half coconuts between us, water and meat. Young coconut is a bit different from the mature fruit we get at home. As evening approached, Taks (Froody) bought a fighting cock off the family. The young men and Taks then killed it about 3 yards away from us and gave it to the wife to clean and cook up for our dinner. Froody and I agree that while this chicken was tasty and flavorful, it did not taste like chicken. This took a while to prepare and it was full dark by the time we were served rice and chicken. I think Taks was a bit embarrassed and very hungry by the time it arrived. Anyway, when all of us were done eating, we slipped and slid down the mudbank onto the small boat and found the fireflies. Seems there are a few trees where hundreds-up to 1000- of fireflies congregate. It was beautiful,the tree outlined by silent, moving light.

The next day we did another whale sharking boat trip! We had another 8 encounters with about 6 sharks. One shark Froody and I had to ourselves, as the others on our boat couldn't keep up with it. :-) Of course, Froody didn't have his camera for this, but it's a good thing. I don't think he'd have been able to keep up with it while worrying about his camera.

Well, after that we thought it would be cheaper to stay on the island of South Luzon. So, it was off to Legaspi- the biggest town on the island- where we enjoyed cable TV and internet before deciding to get to the small island of Cataduanes, just off the coast of South Luzon. This meant a van trip to Tabasco, an overnight in a hotel, and an early (7am) ferry ride to Catanduanes. I had arranged for someone to pick us up through the Majestics Beach Resort, where we hoped to stay for a week. The "resort" is actually a main house with the kitchen and dining area and a small library. The guests stay in small, bamboo huts behind it, all encircling a small lawn of nice, green grass. The huts are very basic- a bed, mosquito net, fan, and toilet, with a faucet and bucket for washing! We also had a small porch and hammock where we spent most of our afternoons.

Our days here started around 6am. We'd eat breakfast (whatever Irene made-usually an omelette with toast or pancake), then go for a snorkel. The snorkeling was very nice, notwithstanding the loss of my mask and snorkel in a wave on our first day. I ended up renting snorkel gear from Lacy, the guy who owned another resort nearby (this one was a real building with a/c, cable tv, and an actual menu). After our snorkel we'd wash. Then, we'd read on the porch until lunchtime. After lunch we'd stay in the shade of our porch until 4 or 5, when we'd go snorkeling or Froody would go try surfing and I'd snorkel by myself. After that, we'd visit Lacy and check our email. We used that time to organize our final stage: the trip home.

We were lucky enough to book passage aboard a huge container ship bound for Long Beach, CA from Pusan, South Korea. This shortened our stay in the Philippines (ok by us) and allowed us a quick visit to one more country!!

During our stay we got to talk with some of the other guests. Many come here for the surfing. The coral reef we liked to snorkel around made an excellent wave break and in the mornings and afternoons you could find everyone, including Irene and her brother Alan (those who run Majestics), grabbing their boards and heading out. One such guest was a 58 year-old man from Japan who has been surfing for 40years!

Maybe I should add that Froody and I drank a lot more soda and beer than we're used to.

After Catanduanes (yes, you could call it a tropical paradise) we realized we have time for only 1 more big site- the rice terraces of the Cordillera, in Northern Luzon. We took a ferry from Catanduanes to Tabaco. From Tabaco we caught an air-con van to Naga. From Naga we boarded an all-night bus to Manila. After one day and one night in Manila (in the smallest room we've been in this trip) we got on one more all-night bus for Banuae...

...We arrived in Banuae butt-early, as Froody would say- 5:45 am. Luckily, we were able to check in to our room at the Banuae View Inn. We were greeted on the bus by Lolita who was politely if determinedly trying to get us to hire her as a guide for one of the many walks and trips to and through the rice terraces. (Because that's why tourists come here- for the rice terraces.) We were able to leave her at the door of our inn, both of us too tired to really commit to anything or anyone. Once in our room, the innkeeper brought us towels, soap, and Lolita's business card.

Anyway, Froody and I got to sleep for a bit. After showers and breakfast, he decided to give Lolita a call and she ended up meeting us at the inn. We decided to do the short 3 hour walk from the viewpoint back into town. This time, we all got into a tricycle (operated by Salvador, Lolita's husband) and had a pleasant ride up to the viewpoints where we took some pix. Then, Lolita and Salvador lead us up and down the rice terraces, following the irrigation canals downhill. Again, Froody's pictures capture only a part of the quiet beauty of this place. Having spent almost my whole life in SoCal(really the best place to be in the world), I could not get over the green of the young rice plants, the furry green of the mosses and ferns that covered the mud terraces, built by hand over many generations. I also loved the sounds of water that just fills the terraces.

Really, you should come here. The only thing to remember is to not have any hight expectations of the food.