Philippines (Spring 2006)

Ok, I admit it. With all that talk about coups a month before I left, I was starting to think that maybe the Philippines wasn’t the smartest place in the world for Spring Break 2006. That and the following excerpt from the US Consulate website which reads: “The terrorist threat to American citizens in the Philippines remains high and the Department warns against all but essential travel to the Philippines.” But come on…how bad can it be? It sounds a little dramatic if you ask me (plus my ticket was non-refundable). So, I took the plunge, decided my relaxation was in fact essential, and you know what... I almost died my second day there. Ok maybe not “died”, but definitely seriously wounded. It turns out that the Philippines can be a dangerous place after all. Especially if you’re walking down that little main path on Alona Beach and hear a small snap high above your head. Just a word of advice, if this ever happens…don’t look up! In my case it was an evil little coconut falling to earth and crashing down just inches in front of me. Death by coconut…not really the way I want to go out but I guess it wasn’t my day. Thankfully that was the worst of my problems. The rest of my days were full of sunshine, beaches, jungle and all those random things that make trips worth it.

Actually, it was a little like two trips in one. It turns out two other English teachers from my area (Karin from Germany, Lena from Ireland) decided to go at the same time so we all traveled together for the first week before they headed back (actually, it sounds like one of those bad jokes “An American, Irish and German walk into a bar and…”). Well, traveling with two girls was a little funny at times, but overall it went pretty well. We started out in Cebu (near the middle of the Philippines) and our first destination was the neighboring island of Bohol. Somehow we missed the standard tourist ferry over (nice seats, hour and half) and ended up on the local ferry (and not even the aircon tourist part). Besides the 4+ hours though, it wasn’t so bad. We all had our own open air bunk bed and met a local guy who agreed to drive us to the beach area once we arrived. We showed up at dusk and wandered around looking for a place. Having little luck we ended up at a little hut that seemed to already be home to a giant spider. I also found out it was next to a construction site when at 7am the next morning I was awoken by what sounded like a wood saw just inches from ear. In actuality it was a wood saw a few feet from my ear, on the other side of the woven straw wall. Not surprisingly, the first order of the day was to find a new place and the first one we tried was perfect. It was a nice little beach resort with not one but two pools and budget rooms in the back (less than 100 yards from the beach). We were very happy and stayed here the rest of the week. As you can imagine, it was a pretty relaxed. Lots of beach time, swimming in the sea, walks and a few day trips thrown in for good measure.

Our first trip was a boat ride to this small nearby island called Balicasag. They’ve created a marine sanctuary around it so the snorkeling was great. There was a huge wall drop off and lots of coral and fish along with a couple eels. Back at Alona beach there was also some ok snorkeling with the best part being the endless variety of starfish. Lots of oranges, red, brown and even those bright blue ones I saw in Fiji. I also decided I better take advantage of the place and go for scuba dive. I actually lucked out and found this upstart company that was going to a more remote place (Puntod) with only a few people on the dive. We made a day out of it with a morning dive (nice colorful wall with scorpionfish, a huge pufferfish, triggerfish and several nudibranchs), lunch at this little remote island, and then an afternoon snorkel. Back on the “mainland” I was witness to an interesting daily ritual among the young local guys. Every afternoon as the sun started going down I found a big group of guys all huddled together off at one end of the beach. The first time I didn’t think much of it, but decided to see what the fuss was all about when I noticed the same guys the next day. They were all gathered around something, so poking my head over the first thing I noticed was that everyone had a small box (matchbox or custom made wooden one) and a wad of money. The next thing I noticed was the spiders (which for some strange reason I don’t really like). Apparently all these boxes are home to the owner’s prize fighting spiders. Spider boxing…coming to an arena near you. First, two guys place their spiders on opposite ends of this little high wire. The spiders then race to the middle, meet each other and have a little spider fight, with one quickly falling off. Of course really it’s just an excuse for guys to show off their spiders, bad mouth others guys’ spiders, and occasionally win and lose some money.

Our other day trip was a full day into the interior of Bohol island. The three of us hired a driver and headed out in the morning. The first stop was a short distance away at Hinagdanan cave. Not expecting much, it turned out to be pretty cool. Basically a huge cavern with stalagmites coming down, a pool at the bottom and sparrows flying above. It looked like something out of a Batman movie. Next we headed to a tarsier sanctuary up in the forest. Tarsiers are these little primates who can turn their heads 180 degrees and have these huge eyes for seeing in the dark (but I’m sure you knew that already?:). At the sanctuary I expected to find them far far away up in the trees, but actually they were all hanging out at eye level right near the main paths. I think I saw about six of them which didn’t do much but pose for the camera. After this we went for a little ride down the river to the upper waterfalls (nothing too spectacular) and down to the river mouth, all the while taking in the sunshine and checking out the palm tree- lined riverbank. We stopped at a riverside restaurant for a huge buffet lunch and then were off to see the famous Chocolate Hills, so named because they turn brown in the dry season which I guess reminds some strange people of chocolate? The view from the top was really nice but a little touristy so we asked the driver to stop at another one. Walking to the base we were met by a group of local children and adults who accompanied us up. Not as easy as it sounds really. The reason there are no trees on the hills is because the soil is basically loose sand. Not the easiest thing to climb but thankfully there were locals and long grass to hold onto. Everyone was really friendly and it was great just hanging out and checking out the view. The day was starting to end so we headed back and stopped at the Hanging Bridge (a long suspension bridge made mostly of bamboo) and the Clarin Ancestral House (an old politician house turned museum). The last stop was the oldest church in the Philippines in Baclayon but we got there too late. Instead of being open we found that it was hosting the local high school’s “Teacher and Parent Appreciation Ceremony” which we watched, much to the surprise and delight of the locals. I also learned one very important thing from this day…the Philippines does not disappoint. It seemed like everything I saw was better than expected. Thankfully, this was to be a reoccurring theme for the rest of the trip.

The first week ended back in Cebu and we spent the afternoon exploring the city- Cebu Cathedral, Basilica, Magellan’s cross and the old fort by the sea. We also had a chance to walk around downtown and even catch a movie before calling it a night. After saying our goodbyes the next day, I headed north for the second part of my trip. It was a long, cramped bus ride to the north of Cebu island to this little town called Maya where I caught a ferry to the small neighboring island called Malapascua. This was to be my home for the rest of my time here. Malapascua is most famous for it’s diving, especially to see the thresher shark who’s tail is about half it’s body length. It’s probably the only place in the world to reliably see these sharks. Unfortunately, I soon found out that it was not for the basic beginner like myself. Basically the sharks all congregate early morning on this little plateau but at a depth of 25 meters or so (I can officially go to 18). Plus, I heard that the chances of seeing one were 50/50… if you were lucky. If you didn’t, apparently there was nothing else to see. I’ve decided I’m just going to have to come back once I’ve got my advanced license. Not that I really need a good reason to come back. The island was really nice. White sand beaches, beautiful water and nice walks into the interior and around the little villages. The ocean was so calm it reminded me of a giant swimming pool off into the horizon. Most of my time was spent snorkeling off the beaches or hiking into the interior. Little things I remember were the palm tree speed-bumps, basketball hoops under a palm tree forest (basketball is hugely popular here), getting stuck with some kids in a rare rainstorm, eating the best meals at Ging Ging’s, drinks at Sunsplash (can’t forget the lovely Leslie) and dancing with the locals at the neighborhood disco (Rio Bravo). The only downside had to be the endless supply of roosters everywhere (apparently cockfighting is big on Sunday). I thought roosters were only supposed to cockadoodledoo at dawn? Well, I guess the ones here play by different rules ‘cause they were at it all day (and of course 5 in the morning). The funny thing is I swear it sounded like they were saying “Nice to meeeet you!”. Well, at least they’re friendly roosters.

My time in Malapascua was really too short but I had to get back. Just another long bus ride to Cebu (with a guy and his rooster next me) and I was back in the big city. I stayed right in the middle of downtown so got to fully appreciate the traffic, noise, pollution and more importantly bootlegs! Had a great time that evening buying all kinds of movies that I’ve missed since being in Japan. All in all the Philippines continued to be a pleasant surprise. The people were friendly and almost all spoke pretty good English. The food was a lot of chicken and fish, BBQ’s and curries and even the local fast food at Jollibee’s was good. I can’t forget about the daily mango shakes. the white sand beaches and the colorful sea. Although the reef wasn’t the best in the world, I was consistently surprised by the unique stuff I saw. Lots of crazy starfish and nudibranchs, some interesting fish, sea snakes, giant green brittlestars, cuttlefish and even a turtle my last day in Malapascua. The scenery was pretty amazing too and you wouldn’t believe the amount of palm trees. I’ve never seen so many. No matter where you went…along the beach, into the jungle, down main street, there were palm trees. I love the tropics. Forget about all those crazy travel warnings for a second. If anything they’re doing travelers a favor by keeping a lot of tourists away. I think as long as you’re a little careful and use common sense (this is true anywhere), the Philippines is a great place to go. I would definitely recommend it and I’ll be back sometime soon I hope. Just don’t forget about the coconuts…they can be a real headache at times.