Manila to Naga to Lagonoy.... jiggidy jig!

So, after a comfortable night, I got back to the airport in the morning around 3 hours early.  The plane eventually arrived and I was off to Manila, finally.   When I got there, the Manila airport was crazy busy, as per usual.  I had a general idea where in the city to find the bus station that I needed to get to, the only issue was getting a cab.  Two kinds of cabs here... the ones that are easy to get (white cabs)... these cost about 10X more.  Then, there are the yellow cabs... fewer of these and people just que up to get one of these.  I took a spot in that line for awhile and just waited.  The line didnt move.  I estimated that there were about 250 folks and tons of luggage in line ahead of me.. This was going to take hours!   And there are no busses, or shuttles or anything like that to consider either... as best I could tell, the only way out of terminal 3 is by cab... I might be wrong...

Anyway, I did a very american thing, I am ashamed to admit.   I pulled my "american" card and jumped the line.  No one seemed to be bothered by it, but it was certainly not a very Peace Corps thing to do.... I mean, I was one person, no luggage.... but I walked right up to the front of the line and quickly got a cab... I was out of the airport and on the way to the bus.

When I got to the station, I learned that all seats from Manila to Lagonoy were sold for the day (!) and that if I wanted a seat I would have to wait until tomorrow.  Nope.. can't do that. So, I went down the street to another station and bought a ticket to Naga, requiring a couple of additional travel hours because its a bit off the path and I would also have to transfer from bus to van in order to get back home.  The thing was this... the bus wasn't leaving for 7 hours!  And the  bus terminal was jammed with people and very limited seating.  So, I left that spot and did some exploring!

Luckily for me, this part of town has a lively market scene going on, and I quickly got absorbed in the culture.  Here are some photos

I grabbed some soup, talked to a few people and the time passed.  Somewhere around 7p... I caught the bus.  Made it to Naga, transferred to van and made it home by around 7a.  Exhausted.

Slept for a few hours, went food shopping in Goa... then went back to bed....   The Palawan adventure had finally, concluded.

Thanks for reading the story of it all!

Imagine this: Plans Change!

ok.. sorry… another station break here… does anyone else see the irony in providence granting me the friendship of three wonderful frenchpersons on the same day that I would commit to reading arguably the finest work of french fiction ever to be written?  Just checking, because, if you are paying attention, sometimes life can just blow you away!

Speaking of being blown away… about my plans for travel to Manila…So, I get back to the airport… sit another two hours and am unfortunate enough to hear the following announcement:

“Cebu Pacific regrets to inform all passengers on flight SJ168 to Manila:  This flight has been canceled due to inclement weather.”  Hello?? Did I just hear that??  The skies had been clear all day!!!  Well, I can tell you, I grabbed my stuff and ran to the counter knowing that there were going to be over a hundred really upset people behind me in line!   

Then the following:  “We regret to inform all passengers on all flights to Manila that all flights to Manila have been cancelled for this evening.  Please proceed to your ticket counter for further booking information.”

In how many ways was this really unpleasant news?  Ok… lets explore that, shall we?

1. I had no place to stay in Palawan and with upwards of 400 people looking for a room, things were going to get pretty dicey very quickly.
2. This was going to incur an expense I hadn't considered in my planning and with the inability to use a credit card in most locations, my options were limited.
3. I had no reason to WANT to stay in Puerto any longer
4. The whole thing surely represented additional delays and aggravations and,
5. I was exhausted

I could go on, but suffice to say… it was not welcome information, eh?!  Not for me nor the Dutch group standing in front of me in line who were being told by the counter girl that this problem was going to cost them an additional (ready?) 30,000 euros in order to rebook!   They were frantic!!!!!  Now, I have to believe that there were some math errors here… but still… can you imagine being told that you owe the airline $30,000 in order to get back home????  As a post-script, I talked to these folks (a group of around 6) and they sincerely believed to the bitter end that the entire cancellation was a fix in order to scam them out of their money… I dont know what their details are… but Im sure you can imagine that these people were really, really, I mean really upset!

Ok… so, back to me!  Again, the moment I hear the word ‘cancellation’ I rush to the counter to find myself about 10th in line.  This would be a good time to recall that, in abnormal situations, systems, training and routines help, right?!  Well, these are attributes that I have found in very short supply in Philippine business practice!  In fact, an utter chaos ensued in front of me that I was growing accustomed to.  Calm, complacent, gentle and kind filipino’s meshing with utterly gnashing westerners wanting action, and wanting it fast!  Suffice to say, getting rebooked on the next flight took hours and a boatload of patience.. even being 10th in line… and I was informed that for some reason, I would need to re-check in the next morning as well!  Wonderful… all the while I am worried that folks are out there were gobbling up all the inexpensive rooms and I would be left with a flop costing $100US!

As it turned out, I should have had more faith in my dear friend, the filipino.  As soon as I left the airport, I found a tricycle and explained my situation to the driver.  All he said was, “no problem Sir, I know just where you can stay if you dont mind not spending too much for limited accommodation!”

Now, how wonderful is that?  How many other ways could he have taken that situation?  That’s what Im saying about this place… everywhere you turn people take joy in helping other people!  You have to experience it for fuller appreciation but maybe you can get a flavor from my stories.  I will say again, It is easy to love this place, despite the inefficiency and the rain!

My driver took me to a home.  The family was eating dinner, but he explained my situation and wondered if they might have a spare room for me to let for the night.  Of course they did.  So, for 500ps (around $10US) I got my own room, a bed, bathroom, towels and linen all to my own.  The family could not have been nicer and even offered me food from their dinner table.  I declined and went across the street to a small restaurant instead.

Talk about ups and downs of travel, right?  … honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried.

Isn't LIFE GRAND??!!  I just have to say, I have been so blessed by this experience!!  Are you ready???  TYG!!!

las Cabanas photo's found!!

so, I spent a lot of time last night and I FOUND the photos from las Cabanas!  Here are some of the best ones.

a most despicable man

The trip to Puerto was long, but uneventful.  I took a van, so it was far more comfortable and speedier than the ride to PB.  Anyway, I went straight to the airport under sunny skies.  The only problem was that I arrived a good 7 hours ahead of flight time.   I felt I needed to be cautious, given my proven experience that 'anything can happen'.  So, I hung around the airport... and it's boring because the Puerto airport is like a third world postage stamp.... colorful, but very small!

At around 4pm, I decided that it might be good to go down the street and find some food.   I felt this was good timing... eat, have a couple beers, get back to the airport by 6... two more hours till flight time...  Sounded like a perfect plan!

I ended up at a place advertising on a chalkboard "International Food!  Happy Hour!"  I ended up ordering delicious shrimp curry.  As Im sitting there a man walks over to me to strike up a conversation.  Turns out that he is from Kansas.  He's talkative and quickly informs me that he is retired (67 yrs old) and 'living the life' here in Palawan.  So far, so good.  I like to hear success stories!

He goes on to tell me that he married a filipina and he enthusiastically pulls from his wallet a picture of his bride. She is beautiful.  She is 19  (I'll save you the math, thats a 48 year age difference).  Turns out he met her in a brothel in Angeles City, the center of the sex industry in Manila (how romantic!).  Essentially, Angeles City is the worst, seediest part of Manila, which is already a really really dirty and seedy place to begin with!  What he tells me next is nuanced, so I hope I can do a good job of describing how horrible this man really was....  Anyway, he moved her away from her family to Palawan because he liked Palawan better than the city she grew up in.  He was just so angry with her because he felt that all she did was ask him for money to help her family.  It turns out that her family had suffered greatly through Typhoon Yolanda last year, losing their house and most of their possessions.  He felt she was constantly nagging him to help her family get back on their feet.  "I told her, 'when we got married, I promised to take care of YOU, not your family too'".  Besides, he was paying for her medical treatment, which, since she had genital herpes, was quite expensive.  Ok. so the marriage was losing its luster!

They finally agreed on a compromise... since, if they hadn't met, she would still be working as a prostitute to funnel money back to her destitute family, he had reluctantly agreed to offer the family a monthly stipend of 400ps a month (around $10US) to cover for their loss in income due to the marriage.  He felt this was very fair.

All this I got in the span of a beer.  But he went on....  she was off visiting her family, which she does far too often in his opinion.  And boy did she have a surprise coming to her when she returned!  He was going to kick her out of his house permanently!  Apparently, he was kind enough to buy her an iPad type device as a Christmas gift.  He even bought her internet access!  Guess what she did?  She went to visit them and then quickly sold the device so that she could give the money to her family....  he just wasn't going to abide this.... it was just too much... how dare she???!!!  Yep, as soon and she got home he was going to throw what little possessions she had right out in the street and he didnt care how she would get back home to her family... he was done with her!!!!!  He didn't work all his life to let a two bit whore drain his money from him a drop at a time!

Well, how about that... does a story get any worse?  Honestly, I felt sick in my stomach just hearing him.  I just had to leave, paid my bill, and walked out.   Could a human being be more awful than this?  I am sure....  of course...  but sitting next to this depravity for even just a little while just pissed me off.

I think its the first time Ive been pissed in the past 5 months!

drinks at sunset - parting ways with el Nido

las Cabanas was a wonderful destination and the perfect place to both watch a sunset and also conclude my el Nido experience.  Located at the far end of a remote beach, the only thing out there is a resort and beachfront bar.  There were a lot of 'rich and famous' sort of people here.  It reminded me a lot of Shirley Heights in Antigua, sans the music and height.  Amazing photo opportunities everywhere.

Sadly, I have very few photos.  Somewhere toward the end of the sunset, I realized that my camera batteries were dying.  I had been taking picture after picture... with no battery!   All is not lost however... I did give Anneleu my email address and once they get back to Paris, she promised to email me.  I know they took a ton of pics as well..... so I'll just use theirs !

I did manage to get a couple shots, here is the best of the lot

Somehow, I got to talking with the owner of the resort.  Im not sure if he was american, but his english was spot on.  Anyway, he described his resort as a sort of commune in that, everyone who works at the resort also lives at the resort - so, they've formed really close ties to each other. - like family  You got that vibe just hanging around.  I mean this resort is really down the beach!  So, it was a very cool spot.  I ordered a banana mango rum and the guy throws three mangos, two bananas, ice and a boatload of rum in a mixer... nothing to it!  

It was here that I parted ways with Damion and his crew of two.  They were off to Leyte (North of Manila) in a few days to visit the beautiful terraced rice pattys there.  I departed before them because I had packing to do, was rising early and didnt want to drink too much.  So, it was back to el Nido.  I had dinner in town, then crashed. The next day would be a long one... long bus back to Puerto, plane to Manila, taxi to Pension....  Little did I know how long it would turn out to be!

A beach picnic!

Before I continue with the narrative, I need to clarify something regarding one of my posts yesterday.  After rereading, I realize that I failed to explain where I went after I was driven out of my nipa due to the moans and groans of passion.  Well, remember that I was on the beach.  And, remember that it was NYE.  Finally, remember all of my discussions over the past few months about the "fun loving" filipino!

All I needed to do was walk about 200 meters down the beach and I fell into a new barkada.  I had the opportunity to meet Mel, a local mechanic, and his friends who welcomed me over to their table to drink rum.   Of course, they thought my story was quite amusing, and soon we were laughing and diving deeper and deeper into inebriation.  I stumbled home at around 4a and all the ruckus had ended by then...

ok... back to the story... where was I?  oh yeah, sea kayaking in the wake of a tropical storm.  At first, we were wondering if we could even rent the kayaks at all, given the coast guards' ban on sea travel.  In retrospect, this fear was ridiculous, given my knowledge of filipino adherence to rules and regs.... Anyway, renting was a snap.  We jumped into the surf and soon were traversing across the bay to a distant shore.  Luckily, my friends had one of those nifty waterproof bags you see around these days, so I was able to toss my camera, phone and other stuff inside.  My biggest fear in all of this was not really death, because I did have a life vest.  My biggest fear was losing my eyeglasses.  I have only one pair now and if I should lose them, well, I'd be sunk (tee hee!)   So, I found a cord nearby and attached the cord to my glasses and then to my belt loop.  Voila!  Problem solved.

As it turned out, the distance to our destination was alarmingly deceptive.  We had imagined that in a few short strokes we would be there.  In fact, it took us over an hour.... it was hard!  And it was scary!    What looked like calm seas... well that all changed once we got out there.  The waves were large! And there were currents out there to contend with!  And the wind was against us!  There wasn't a time that I felt we wouldn't make it, but I can honestly say, I was definitely nervous!

Anyway... here is what the effort was for:

Pretty sweet beach, right?  So, we stayed here all day.  Anneleu and Alex had snorkels and masks, so they did that. I basically, explored the beach, swam, slept, ate bananas, mangos and crepes....  relaxed.   Damion spent most of his time reading what looked like some obscure ancient french poetry.  I have no idea what it was.  Anyway, we had a blast!

There were others here as well.  I met up with a guy named Robin, who was an american living in China.  I wish I had gotten a picture of this guy, because he was a trip.  He had long hair and was wearing a skullcap... He and his friend were with two beautiful asian women who had just arrived from San Francisco.  Robin talked a mile a minute.  He has apparently been traveling for years around Southeast Asia and had so many stories to tell...  Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan... he has seen it all.  He was quite vague about how he funds these adventures and I wasn't going to pry.  We talked at length about China, and particularly about government in China, and even more particularly about how you don't want to cross the government in China.  He said something like, "you can do anything you want in China, legal or illegal, just don't upset the government.  If you do, they will like, 'disappear you!'  One day you will be there... and the next... you will be gone!"  Anyway, Robin was very friendly and easy to talk to.

Oh, here is a picture of me and my buddies, and another of the beach:

Thats Alexandra to my right, Damion and Anneleu.  So around 4ish, we decide on a new plan.  Drinks and watching the sunset.  They had been to a fun spot in el Nido previously and wanted to go there, and that was fine with me, so we departed. Again, it was difficult rowing, but in the end the return took only 45 minutes.  Maybe we were getting better at the work, but I think the current was more in our favor on the way back.  In any event, we made it to el Nido without either boat capsizing, so I was happy about that.  And, I didnt lose my glasses!

Next stop, happy hour at las Cabanas!

tumbling tumbling dice

So, I awake the next morning thankful that each couple seemed to have been all played out from their NYE romping.... and at this stage, I am torn... as you might recall from my initial itinerary, my plans on 1/2 were unplanned... because my flight back to Manila was not until 8p on 1/3, I had the option of staying an extra night in el Nido on 1/2, traveling back to Puerto during the day on 1/3 and going straight to the airport... or I could leave Nido on 1/2 and use 1/3 to explore Puerto a bit more.

I gambled.... since I hadn't done a tour.. and since the tour guides seemed very confident that the storm had passed (in fact it had, and skies were clear), I chose to stay an extra night in el Nido.  I found another place in town (seeya later Doublegem.. thanks for the memories) and this place was the cheapest yet... less than $10US.  As it turned out, I liked it better.... it was right in the thick of things... was basic, but did have private bathroom...

The point is... I really really wanted to see el Nido beyond the shoreline...   So, I reserved a spot with a tour guide not far from my hotel

The next morning, I awoke and went to see about the status of the tour... who should I meet there?  My French friends of course... they had booked with the same tour guide as I!!  Now, this is really really odd since there were probably a hundred tour guides in town... and they had booked BEFORE me... really really coincidental... we were all amazed.... Anyway, we wait and wait.. first the tour is on... then they don't know... and we wait... for like 3 hours.  talking and waiting.. and the tour guides are very nice but so disorganized, it was actually funny.  Hard to imagine that they do this every day.. honestly.

Long and short of it... .the tour is cancelled.. all boats grounded.  When returning our money, the guides mistakenly give my French friends an extra 600ps!  Nice!  We are left considering how to spend the day.   Ok.. this next part might not represent the safest decision I have made in my life, but my friends convince me that what we should do is take matters in our own hands and rent sea kayaks and do a tour ourselves!!!!  And that is exactly what we did.... I mean, the sky was clear.. the sea looked calm enough.....

We use their 600ps and buy a nice picnic of fruit and crepes and chips... and head off.. on the high seas... in kayaks.... to explore a brave new world.  Damion went with Annelue and I paired with Alex.   Yet another adventure had begun!