Manila and Coron: Philippines Day 1-4

Day 1
It was Christmas Eve and David, Duck, Brian and I were off to the Philippines! We arrived in Manila around 11 PM and took a cab straight to our hostel. Friendly's Guesthouse certainly lived up to the name. When we arrived and checked in, the guys at the front desk told us there was a Christmas Eve party going on upstairs in the common area. We went up to check it out and lo and behold, there was a full scale feast of all kinds of pork and beef and chicken for the carnivorous amongst us, and even fish and veggies for me and Brian. There was Filipino brandy and rhum flowing freely, and Benjie, the most friendliest of the friendlies kept bringing us bottles of wine. And even better still, it was all free!

We enjoyed the scene and the vittles for a while before heading off to an early bedtime because our flight next morning was an early one.
Day 2 - Merry Christmas Day!
But the flight was delayed a couple of hours, so we got the free lunches pictured below. They were terrible, so we played hand jive for keeps with em. Then we were off to Busuanga Island and the city of Coron. Once our little prop plane landed we were into a jeepney (the public transport of choice for longer rides) and off down the dirt road to Coron. The jeepney dropped us right at our lodging - Crystal Lodge (see end of post for contact info) to be precise; best damn place I've ever slept. To get there you have to walk down a tiny alley, then onto a boardwalk beside a mangrove thicket and on out over the water. The entire place is built over the water on stilts, wholly out of scrap wood, bamboo, and wicker with the exception of the tin on the roofs and the porcelain of the toilets. Bathrooms, by the way, in the Philippines are called comfort rooms, or CRs, and most are just a toilet bowl, no seat, no back filled with water. Most CRs come equipped with a water spout and a big and small bucket. To wipe, you fill the small bucket with water and rinse yourself. To flush, you fill the big bucket with water and dump it in the bowl. I don't know how you dry off, I brought tp.

Mai (the owner) showed us around our cabin. We stayed in the last hut farthest out on the water and it must have been the best hut on the block. It was breezy, so no bugs and it stayed cool, the view was gorgeous, and we had our own picnic area and hammock outside. Mai and her husband Ronaldo were great too. They arranged our island hopping, recommended places to eat, helped us get food together for lunch on the beach, and were great company just hanging around the common kitchen. Their nephew Morgie was there on holiday and he showed us the ropes (he's 5). He was especially helpful in the realm of Good Cat/Bad Cat (the 2 furry friends at Crystal) politics and current events. As well as pointing out the most excellent dead squid in the fish trap.

Around Coron town all of the tricycles (transport of choice for short trips) were decked out in reindeer heads, scuba divers wrapped in tinsel, lights, glowing stars and flowers, and other Christmas paraphernalia. Everyone wanted to personally tell you hello and Merry Christmas (and later in the trip, hello and Happy New Years).

That evening we climbed the 700 some odd steps to the summit of Mt. Tapyas where there's a big white cross and an amazing spot to watch the sunset over Coron Bay. It was hot going for our winter acclimated bodies, but well worth our efforts. I imagine it was the most merry Christmas anyone could have when they're half the world away from home.

Day 3
The day after Christmas Mai arranged an island hopping excursion for us with her friend Joy and Joy's husband as our captains. Mai cooked us some rice and put the food we'd bought at market (2 kilos of tuna steaks for 2 USD and fresh veggies) the day before together and we were off. Joy's bangca (the Filipino narrow boat with wide bamboo outriggings) was the tiniest we saw the whole trip, and the water was choppiest that day. But it made for an exciting, constant bailing adventure. First stop - Siete Picados, a marine wildlife reserve where there's never been any dynamite fishing (a common reef wrecker in the Philippines). Unfortunately, it was an extremely windy day (the boat to El Nido that left that day had to be rescued by the coast guard, in fact, the one the day before that sank) so the water was really murky and we were cold as it was only 8 AM, but we still managed to see some beautiful reefs and colorful blow fish and best of all, a harribon! They say there are only 100 of these small eagles left in their native habitat (normally further south than Palawan), but we saw one that morning.

And from then on the day just got better. Next stop was Lake Cayangan. The hike up takes you to a small cave and gorgeous vista of the almost physically painfully beautiful lagoon from which you've just climbed. The lake itself is brackish and clearer than bottled water. The sunken canoe picture below was taken at around 25 ft. and it looks just like it did in person. And that's when the batteries died in the camera for the day. But after swimming and raft paddling there we went to the similar but perhaps more spectacular Barracuda Lake. Both are surrounded by greenery and limestone cliffs. Second to last stop was lunch on a beautiful beach that I don't know the name of. Joy and her husband roasted up our fish and okra on an open fire and doused with the traditional Filipino adobo sauce (soy sauce and vinegar flavored with hot peppers) and salsa it was the best food we ate in that country. We ate and lounged for a few hours before finally heading to the Skeleton. This is a ship wreck, the shallowest part of which is at about 20 feet, but that's the upper tip and it's sloped steeply down from there so it's tough to snorkel without fins (as we tried). From what we could get down to see, it was impressive.

That night we took a tricycle to the hot springs not far from town. They were lit with the paper stars that may have been permanent or may have been Christmas ornaments. It was beautiful and the water was perfect after a chilly day out in the wind.

Day 4
The next day we were up early to eat banana pancakes and get on the boat to El Nido. We had plane tickets to Puerto Princesa, but opted to skip the flight+bus ride for the boat. We found out later that this was a risky move but our trip was next to perfect. And when we got home we had an email waiting saying that the flight had been cancelled anyway and we get a refund! We're so lucky. We were on that pleasure cruise for about 8 hours and arrived in El Nido at night, so we had no idea what to expect the next day. But walking the streets at night was surreal. The town only has electricity from 8 PM til 6 AM, so from around 6:30 til 8 everything's candle lit. We arrived around 7 and walked past candle lit street side shops, racing the other passengers to find lodging for the night. Lucky for us, we found Hanny. Hanny lives in Puerto Princessa, but his brother owns Hadefe's cottages, and he told us we could get a room there.

At this point we broke all the rules of Philippines travel. Brian and David split to go look for Brian's shoe (fell off pack on the boat, never recovered). Duck and I followed Hanny through the enchantingly, but nervously dark streets to the beach where we waited for someone to come from the lodge with a flashlight. 2 men came. One with a light, one with a motor bike. It didn't occur to me until I was out of site down a pitch dark dirt path in the woods with a strange man driving past a graveyard in the Philippine night that perhaps I should not have separated from Duck. But luckily for us all, Hanny and Emille and their entire family turned out to be angels and El Nido probably isn't a part of the Philippines where your guard needs to be up. But these things and more we wouldn't know fully until the morning.

More to come on our Philippine adventure. For now, the contact information for the wonderful places we stayed. From the four of us, I'd say they get 8 thumbs up.
Friendly's Guesthouse www.friendlysguesthouse.com

Crystal Lodge (Mai and Ronaldo)+63(920)801-6058 http://www.divecal.com/CrystalFS.htm

for boat to El Nido Sea Dive Resort (you can pay with visa, approx. 50 USD)

Hadefe Beach Cottages 09209523280 and 09206005975 (have to google island code, I don't know it) www.geocities.com/hadefes.cottages