i am leaving Padre Burgos and heading south to that little sliver of an island called Limasawa
a nice SunRise for a new beginning to a new short adventure
i left most of my luggage at Peter’s and headed for the dock in Padre Burgos for an 8am banca, costing 50pesos. on the dock i soon learned that there was no 8am banca. a construction banca was being loaded, but i was told they would not take passengers. ok …. then i saw 2 boats approaching from the direction of Limasawa. they docked, i asked a lot of people, but couldn’t get an answer, then someone said they might leave at 12 or 1. this is so EXASPERATING !
the thing you hear and learn about the Philippinos as a people: if you ask a question, and they don’t know the answer, they won’t just say they don’t know, they will give you an answer, whatever it is. i don’t know if this is because they are embarrassed that they don’t understand, or they are just getting their laughs for the day :) at any rate this is absolutely true !
there was guy with a small banca (my least favorite option), but he wanted 500 pesos for the private trip, no deal. another backpacker showed up and a guy yelled at the construction boat, and told him it was ok to get on. so we both got on, only to be told by the SAME guy that said it was ok, ...to get off :( i was walking down the dock to go back to Peter’s, when the guy with the small boat motioned for me. he had 2 women who were going to Limasawa, and i could go for 100pesos. oh man, that boat was small, and 3 of us ? i looked at the sea, it looked pretty calm, and the 2 women did not look like they had a death-wish … i reluctantly got in.
i tried to relax, but it wasn’t easy … it was ONLY an hour trip over open water :( the nice lady facing me tried to reassure me that it would be ok, and she was with her mother … certainly she wouldn’t endanger her own mother.
eventually we made it …… i took this photo once we safely reached the Limasawa shore … small banca !
it is run by a woman and some of her grown children. she has 5-6 ‘huts’ right on the beach, that share a bathroom. i had booked a hut. ...she showed me the hut, it was nice enough with a fan. but she encouraged me to also look at her air conditioned private rooms (she only has 2), and of course, they were more expensive. they were up in the ‘big house’
with a nice porch, and they would prepare my meals for me (extra); i had access to the refrigerator and cold water, and there was WiFi on the porch …
i still wasn’t sure i needed to stay in the big house. then i started to ‘hear the fine print’ … if i stay in the hut, i cannot go on the porch, nor use the WiFi … they would prepare my meals, but i would have to eat them by my hut. …..she really wanted me to stay in the private room, with A/C, so she gave me a $10 discount. it sounds kind of ‘underhanded’, but i really liked her, and the room was quite nice :)
the night before i left Peter’s, the Chinese were so loud in the dining room, that i went outside and sat by the water with my laptop. when i got into my room my back, shoulders, and neck were itching like crazy, then during the night it was even worse. i figured i had gotten bitten by mosquitos/bugs, even though i saw none.
so now, i was hot and sweaty and my back was itching me something terrible, and i really don’t think i could have tolerated a sweaty night with only a fan, with my skin that i wanted to crawl out of. by this time i was really miserable. she gave me some ‘special power oil’ that she said would help the itching. of course, i couldn’t reach my back, so her daughter applied it to my back and massaged it…. i asked her to take a photo because i couldn’t see it. i didn’t know how horrible it was until i saw the photos. my back was covered in welts ! they were also on my shouders and under my arms..... and on my butt cheeks ! i was a mess
i started to think about this … there is no way i could have been bitten by an insect(s) that many times without my knowing it ! i started thinking, … i remembered that when i was snorkeling the day before..... remember the photo of that JellyFish? during the snorkel, i felt something ‘picking’ my back and butt. i am quite sure now, that i snorkeled through some jellyfish larvae (called sea lice) , and they got inside my shirt and pants and stung the hell out of me. i don’t think i’ve ever been so miserable !
they fixed me a nice dinner, including fresh garlic shrimp, and we visited. her oldest son lives in Chicago and is a physical therapist. she has a beautiful piece of property, (their investment), but lives so simply (not in the big house). i eventually retired to my A/C room, which by the way, had very fast WiFi right from my bed. i was, however, up ever couple of hours continually applying the oil all through the night.
i had heard about the snorkeling at the Marine Sanctuary and an ‘Island Lagoon’ on line, so i hired my habal habal driver, Marlin, and he took me there. my idea of a ‘lagoon’ and what i found was totally different. i almost booked a room at the ‘lagoon resort’ … thank God i did not ! this was not a ‘lagoon’ in my opinion
i asked Marlin to pick me up in 2hrs, hoping i could entertain myself for that long. it was a Saturday and there were lots of island kids in there, jumping and screaming and having fun. why did i come here on the weekend ? …because i never know what day it is ! actually i took this photo after all the kiddos had left. it is pretty, but not what i would all a lagoon
i got in the water. the waves were raging and slapping up against the lava rock ledges. i was telling myself that this was a mistake. then i looked down … the first thing i saw was a large Spanish Dancer ! OMG … how could that be ?
it was down 12’ … i dove down to get a better look and take a photo or two. i even saw the Egg Rose !
YIKES, it felt like someone drove a knife from my nostrils up through my left eye. WoW, that was painful ! i tried going more slowly a few more times with the same results.
i surface-snorkeled here and there and back again, seeing nothing else; the waves getting larger and larger. time to fight the kids for the ladder and get out.
i found some sun and took a nap. when i got up, it was quiet and the kids were gone. i needed the ‘Comfort Room … oh, ok, up there
so happy i did not book here ! it was really off the beaten path, and down many many rocky steps; and would have been VERY difficult to navigate with more than just snorkel gear in tow. this is the 'entrance' .... ???
Marlin took me back, i got cleaned up, had another nice dinner and visit; and asked about snorkeling tomorrow at the Marine Sanctuary ... which is actually where i should have gone. tomorrow was Sunday, everyone would be going to Church, but after that, she would find a way for me to get to the Marine Sanctuary (only accessible by $$ banca).
more good WiFi and power oil during the night.
around noon Sunday she returned, she looked real pretty dressed for Church; and i asked again about the Marine Sanctuary… eventually it was arranged. however, she was not comfortable with me going there ‘alone’ … so she had Gay, one of her daughters go with me. oh geez …. :(
we got in banca, ...actually i slipped and fell in the water getting in … klutz ! now she was probably more convinced i needed watching :) and we were off to the Marine Sanctuary. it encompasses a very large area along the shore. i was extremely pleased when i got in the water. it was so clear !
and the coral was in great shape and there were lots of fishes !!!!!!!! yeahhhhhh success !
i had read a review talking about the ‘room size’ Table Coral here … and here it was ! .... amazing !
i snorkeled to the north, looking up every once in awhile checking for Gay … then turned and headed south .. so happy to be here ! i have seen 2 or 3 Moorish Idols swimming together … but never a school of them ! they are so graceful with their large dorsal fin trailing in the current
a lot of different fishes swimming together over the beautiful .. and even more importantly, SHALLOW reef !
i tried to dive down once again to see how it would be today … another knife into my eye … ok … i’m not doing that anymore for awhile. thankfully it was shallow enough where i didn’t need to :)
i had snorkeled quite a way to the south and looked back to check on Gay … i didn’t see her anywhere,,, then looked forward, and saw her climbing lava rock over lava rock following me … ugh … with the goats following her ... i felt really bad :( …but no use stopping now. she was doing what she was told. it was obvious that the children did EXACTLY what momma wanted — they were a family, a strong loving unit !
this was such a healthy LARGE soft coral organism … WoW !
this is a Black Belt HogFish
more pretty healthy corals
this very colorful fish is a Yellow Tail Corlis ... very fast little bugger
i have never been able to get close enough to these Long Nose ButterFly Fish. today was a special day
this momma goat and her baby were looking for food on the lava cliffs
i had read that it was best to snorkel the Marine Sanctuary in the morning because once the sun fell over the rocks, it would be cold. they were right. i had no choice but to get here in the afternoon, and now i was getting cold.
i got out and told Gay i was ready to go; so was she. she called someone who was now in Padre Burgos, so it would be another hour before someone could pick us up ...with no sun :( we talked for awhile… soon a banca was passing by. she waded into the water, and the banca came to shore. she said it was her ‘cousin’ … she laughed as she said 'half of the island' is related :) ….i am very happy to have met this family; they truly embody the definition of a family :)
i got cleaned up and visited with the family again. ‘mom' had mentioned that i should see the sunset and the ‘Cross’
this island is famous for the site of the ‘First Catholic Mass in the Philippines. in 1521 Magellan landed here and sent a priest to prepare Mass. there is a large cross, up 450 steps, to commemorate the event.
it was already 5pm…she sent me up the road to flag-down a habal habal. after standing there for 15min, and no one would give me a ride, a guy finally came and she told him to take me to the sunset, then to the cross.
well, he didn’t listen. he took me to the site. everyone talks about the ...450 STEPS ! ... way up to the top ! .... i walked up the 450 steps in record time (old lady that i am). there were a few teenage boys at the bottom that teased me about 450 steps, then followed me up the steps to ‘keep me honest’ :)
i read that it is a beautiful view from up there, you can see 360: the islands of Bohol and Leyte. unfortunately, i didn’t read the fine print, and i saw nothing but a lot of trees blocking the view. i guess i was supposed to walk around the trees 100meters and then i could see the view. i even asked the ‘boys’, but language mishap, although they HAD to have understood ‘Bohol’ :( so i totally missed the view and the SunSet as well
this is the 'shrine'
and the story
back at ‘home’ ….. this is ‘mom’, Gay and her younger brother. you notice they are NOT on that nice porch on the Big House ...
dinner and more conversation before bed. i paid my bill, plus plus plus. she was ‘noticeably moved' and said i had paid the full price for the room and more, even though she had given me a discount. i was happy to give more; they accepted me into their family. that is worth more than $$$.
ok, warning … several days later, i’m now sitting on another beach writing this: weather is perfect; half-moon in the sky, and i’m having several 'rhum-cokes’, so what follows is a bit ‘wordy’ :)
i was scheduled to take the first ferry from the main dock, back to Padre Burgos at 6:30am. during the night the wind picked up and it started raining. at 6am ‘Mom' came to my room and said the weather was turning nasty and she had me on a banca ‘now’, right out front with some other tourists. i hesitated… i’d had my fill of small boats: ‘was it a big boat, with a cover?’ … yes! ok. i tossed everything in the bags and headed for the beach … it was a bigger boat than what i came in on, but not a ‘big’ boat. it was raining, there were 5 other tourists and me on the boat. we quickly loaded, and covered ourselves with plastic. the boat captain took off, then stopped and wanted to know if we would pay an extra 100pesos if he did NOT pick up another 3 people. where the hell was he going to put 3 more people? there was no room; but what choice did we have? i was happy that i was in the ‘back’ of the banca … the person in the front acts as the ‘windshield’ catching all the wind, spray and rain, i know, because i was the 'windshield' twice last year. now i know to do whatever i can to load first and be in the back of the banca. today the 'windshield' was a young kid …. i’m playing the ‘senior citizen card’ more and more these days :)
the ride back to Padre Burgos was surreal… the sky was very dark, it was raining, but not much wind. i wrapped myself in a thick plastic tarp and stayed dry …. and … the seas were eerily calm as bath water … not a ripple ! the air was heavy and it was obvious some serious weather was on the way. 'Low Pressure', i was told.... which i could tell was not a good thing !
we arrived with rain but safely, and i grabbed a tricycle back to the safety of Peter’s Dive Shop. unfortunately the ‘Chinese’ were still there !!!!!!!!!!!! ....but 2 new friends awaited me: Claire from Virginia, but living and teaching in Singapore, and Alex traveling on his ‘sabbatical’ from Germany.
the weather was turning really nasty now and they were booked for a dive and a Whale Shark Tour. Peter’s provides a 2hr journey to the Whale Shark destination. they both traveled here specifically to see the Whale Sharks. it was touch and go: the dive was cancelled but they took off for the Whale Shark Excursion. they were lucky: the weather broke for several hours enough for them to get there, interact with the Whale Sharks and return through pretty horrible seas. when they returned, we had dinner together and ‘bonded’.
i also decided that my ‘cold’, now over a week along, and just getting worse, was something that was not going to go away without some Rx help. i started myself on antibiotics.
i should also mention that we all fell in love with Princess, the little resident puppy. she is a good little girl. i pulled many ticks off her the first couple of days; but then she seemed 'clean' .... at least for a few days :( my heart continues to go out to these island dogs; some are in such horrible shape. Princess is young and maybe she has a chance hanging around Peter's ... i hope !
we were all supposed to leave in the morning … but there was a Typhoon warning and the Coast Guard had closed all the ports. we were stranded. luckily Peter’s had rooms and we all spent another night, and bonded further.
the next day was full-blown ‘Signal One Tropical Storm', named Basyang (Sanba) with maximum winds of 65 km/h and gusts of up to 80 km/h. i have never experienced torrential downpours constant for two days. the rain just kept coming.
here is a video of the storm from my balcony at Peter's
we hung out, visited, slept, cancelled our plans, and tried to ‘guess’ what would happen the next day.
i was supposed to go north and spend 2 nights in Inocopan and do an island tour to Cuatro Islands. Claire was headed to Bohol Island. Alex was headed to Malapascua Island.
Dino found out that the ferries were all cancelled the next day as well; but … possibly, Plan B, the Night Ferry would run to Cebu. i was going to stick it out another night and head to Inocopan the next day. but in the end, going with the 2 of them on the Night Ferry and then going to Malapascua with Alex sounded like more fun. it’s always more fun to travel with someone, than travel alone ! i just needed to find a place to stay. finally a room opened up at Mr Kwiiz, where Alex had a reservation. i considered going to Malapascua last year, but never made it; i guess this is my year. and at this point in my trip, i’m just looking for somewhere warm, sunny and cheap to stay and hang out. i have no more ‘great snorkel from shore options’ in my bag of tricks :(
Night Ferry and on to Malapascua Island
Dino, the Manager, the ‘miracle worker’ with all the connections, made all the arrangements for us: private taxi, 2 hrs up to Hilongnos; and tickets on the Night Ferry to Cebu City. this is the ‘3 Musketeers’ ready for departure at 6:30pm .... and hopeful that the Night Ferry would not be cancelled.
all the things i had on my list when i stocked up in the ‘Walmart’ in Maasin City on my way to Peter’s … i neglected to go to the ATM. my bad! i assumed; there would be one at Padre Burgos. i was wrong, thankfully Peter's accepted Visa, which i don't like to use, but nice to know it's there as a back up. but i was out of cash and there are no ATMs on Malapascua either. when we got to Hilongos, it took 2 different ATMs, but i finally got some cash. and i was ready to go
thankfully the Night Ferry was a ‘go’ too. we were traveling from Hilongos across the sea to Cebu City
Dino had booked us in ‘tourist’ class, which is what we would call ‘first class’. we had the air conditioned section. this was good. for whatever reason, my stomach had not been ‘happy’ for a couple of days, too many pills and i couldn’t eat. i was happy to be in the A/C. my first experience on a Night Ferry .. this is the scenario.
i loved it ! the ferry left around 9pm and i slept pretty well. i woke up once and thought i was going to be ‘sick’, but i talked myself out of it, ‘peed' and went back to sleep :)
6 hours later, and we were in Cebu. at 3am Alex woke me up and said we were in Cebu City … time to go ! the 3 Musketeers were parting ways: Claire on a Ferry to Bohol and Alex and i on to Malapascua. our ship in the background ... a big thank you to these 2 for their friendship.
transport and arrival in Malapascua Island in next blog
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