Touring Palawan - Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

Sunday, February 15th;

One thing I wanted to see was the Subterranean River. It is the longest navigable underground river in the world. But as usual the package tours did not sound all that enticing. No one was really keen on getting up at 5:30 AM to be ready for pickup at 6:30.

After our van and driver experience, I wondered if there might be another way. I went to talk to the staff of hotel. Sure enough, it was possible to arrange your own trip. The slots to go into the river are staggered through the day. If you book a later slot with the park officials, you can hire a car and driver and plan it the way you want.

Now it sounds like something everyone can agree on. The hotel arranges for us to have Danilo A. Barone (Danny) as our tour guide. It was a great choice. Knowing we had problems with leg room, he came by with two vans the evening before. We picked the best as he recommended. He would pick us up at 9:00 AM and walk us through the arrangements with the Parks Service and also arrange our lunch for us. Unlike the package tours we would pay for the van and driver, the Underground River fees and the lunch separately but it actually came out to less than the Package Tours published prices. (They are negotiable and it actually comes out close to the same.) Add to that we had a very personable and knowledgeable driver, only the four of us in the group and a civilized start time!

We got up at our usual time, had our table set and breakfast waiting. Our cheerful little server had everyone’s order down pat by now. Just to be sure, Dan tested her every morning! We took our time over the meal, took more pictures of the flowers and visited with our neighbours. By 9:00 AM we were ready to go. We had our bags packed because we had to change hotels on our return. The Hibiscus Inn was filled and they were unable to find us one more night.

Danny loaded us up and took us to the booking office in town to get our Park Entry Permit. The two Dannys are in the front seats and getting along very well. I am not really sure if letting our Dan deal with government officials is a good idea but they come out with permits in hand. Then we were on our way north west across the island to Sabang. Danny has lived on Palawan all of his life and he gave us lots of information and answered our questions as we drove along. He pointed out Mahogany and Ebony trees. Stopped to show us cashews growing on a tree beside the road. Gave us time out at a lovely viewpoint where we could stretch our legs and look out over the forest to the bays and islands below. I could see the possibilities for some really good snorkeling.
It is a two hour drive to Sabang if you take it easy and stop en route so we were there well in advance of our 2:00 PM tour slot. Danny arranged for us to take an earlier slot available at 12:30 then we would lunch on our return. That would get us home earlier to be ready for our Valentine’s dinner.

First stop a washroom break at the Parks office. Not always a tourist destination you comment on but this one was an experience. In the Philippines it is important to know you must always carry paper. It is not available in most public places. In this case there was a very long line of people waiting when I joined. I was half way through the line when I noticed my pockets were almost empty of that most important commodity. Oh well, I had to stay in line. As I got closer, I watched the front of the line to learn the routine. There appeared to be a large barrel of water in the corner of the room and a small plastic dipper. Most people were using two or three dippers of water to “flush” the toilet when they exited the stalls. They would then hand a full dipper to the next person going in. I’m a fast learner and I did it all right when it was my turn. Smiles all around for the white lady!

I caught up with Riza and we watched the outrigger canoes jockeying for position at the dock and loading groups of tourists. In no time it was our turn. We took our shoes off to walk along the breakwater and climb on board. Watch for the waves coming in! You can get really wet and possibly injured by the movement of the boat. I had no problem - I was wearing shorts. Leroy had rolled up his jeans but not far enough. He did get wet! The boat ride out to the river entry was lovely. It was the perfect day to be messing about in boats! We were all glad we had made the trip.

The outriggers deposit you close to the shore once you reach the beach of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. Not on shore - close to it. Again you need to pick your moment to climb off and head ashore. The water is lovely and warm. The beach is beautiful. There are picnic tables there and board walks to explore but we have to stay on schedule. I did stop to get a picture of a monitor lizard in the path. I was disappointed not to see any monkeys. There is a 4 km trail back to Sabang you can walk if you have the time and you are likely to see the lizards, monkeys and many species of birds as well.

Taking pictures, I got behind and never did stop to get my shoes on! I caught up just as we arrived at the starting point for the river ride. There was still time to wait as other boats went before us. Now we are no longer in a group of four but have to join a boat that has four others already. Don your helmet and your life jacket and climb in. Guess what? With four North Americans in the boat there is 1 inch of freeboard remaining! The life jacket may come in handy. Well not too handy - it doesn’t have any working fasteners and cannot be done up. The helmet is useful though - the cave is full of bats. The water in the cave is full of eels and sightless fish. I have no intention of getting out of the boat.

The cave is interesting. The rock formations are beautiful. In the dark it is impossible to focus the camera and pictures are difficult so I abandon the attempt and just enjoy the ride. I am not sure if what is hitting me is dripping water or bat droppings, either way I put my camera away for the remainder of the trip. It does not take long to paddle up the portion of the river open to the public. By the time we return to the starting point we are ready to get off the hard seats and walk freely again.

We walk back to the beach with a little more time to look around. It really is a gorgeous place. I wander on the beach until our crew is able to bring our small craft through the crowd to the shore and we climb on for the return trip.

As we land on the beach at Sabang, a caribou cart is coming toward us. The perfect picture. We walk up the beach to our restaurant and Danny has our lunch ready to be served. We each have a fresh green coconut full of liquid to refresh us. It may be good for you, but it is still not my favourite drink. I had some but I let Danny have most of it. I’ll stick to Mango shakes!

Lunch over we started back to town. It goes much more quickly on the return. We picked up or bags at the hotel and Danny kindly delivered us to our new residence, Kookaburra Travel Lodge. We asked for his contact information before he left. He gave it to us so if anyone is going to Palawan I would be able to pass it on. I highly recommend him as a tour guide.

The Kookaburra is a new bed and breakfast and is good condition. The rooms are very small but well fitted out. Unfortunately, when Dan had his shower, the water did not drain away but filled the bathroom. They came to fix the problem. Then I had my shower. It also filled the bathroom.

We left the staff to sort it out and we moved to another room to finish getting ready for dinner.

We got two tricycles and went back to Kalui for their Valentines special evening. We started with Pina Coladas all around. A nice start to a tropical dinner. Then I took Dan to the art gallery while we waited for dinner to be prepared. I had picked out a painting the day before and thought Dan might like a suggestion for a Valentine’s present. It is a lovely watercolour of a local man preparing his net along the riverside as the sun rises. I think Dan liked it too because there was no real discussion (unusual for Dan). The lady wrapped it for travel while we ate our dinner. I have seen the men net fishing on the Calibago and it reminds me very much of the sunsets on the river. The perfect souvenir.

Our dinner was a set menu on this occasion. Much of it similar to what we had eaten the day before but beautifully served as individual courses. The seaweed looks like little branches off of a succulent green stem. It comes with a very nice sauce and I enjoyed it. We had Tuna steak beautifully cooked. Large prawns, again with a tasty sauce. A rice dish and the vegetable was a stirfry of vegetables with the banana blossom as the main ingredient. That was my favourite. We had the coconut and fruit salad dessert. You scrape the coconut jelly off the sides with each mouthful of fruit. Then finished up with a second pina colada. A grand ending for our last evening in Palawan. We discussed carrying on at some other night spot but we had an early flight the next day so opted to get our tricycles and head back to the Kookaburra.

Bad move, there are not a lot of rooms in the Bed and Breakfast but it was almost full. The rest of the crowd was much younger and in party mode. It was not too bad on the second floor but Leroy and Riza were just off of the lobby where the activity seemed to be continuous. It died down about 3:00 AM which was a little too late if you had an early morning flight as we did.

The next morning, we were not really ready to be impressed by the beautiful third floor dining room looking out across the mangrove to the beach and the sea. Breakfast was not as well cooked as we had grown used to - eggs over easy were sunny side up. I really can’t face undercooked eggs at any time so Dan ate mine too. The fruit salad was one slice of watermelon. Coffee was instant. We really missed our lovely little server and breakfast at the Hibiscus!
The manager did come out to meet me and say good-bye to us. I let him know about the difficulties I had communicating with him both through his website and by email when making my reservation. I did not go into the less than stellar stay. It is a nice place, hopefully it was just one of those days.

My only remaining clean clothes were shorts and a T-shirt. I froze all day in air conditioned airports and planes. Add to that I felt really under dressed as everyone else knew better!

It was good to get back to Calibago.

Touring Palawan - Iwahig Prison

Saturday, February 13th;

Another beautiful morning and breakfast on the lanai. We have lots of time for a leisurely start before the driver picks us up at 8:00 AM. The cool of the early morning is too pleasant to miss.
We have chosen to have a van and driver for a private tour so Dan and Leroy can stretch out and not crowd into a van full of other people. We can go at our own pace and see what we choose. Our wander about town yesterday has already covered half of the city package tour. The private tour will cost us a total of 1500 P ($30.00 CAD)

Palawan is working to become an Ecotourism destination. The current Mayor of Puerto Princesa has been very strict in enforcing his green policies. Residents can no longer cut the forest without permission so there are still mahogany and ebony trees in the wild. Valentines Day there will be a mass wedding for those who cannot afford individual ceremonies. It starts at 4:30 AM in San Jose and when it is over everyone will go out to the mangrove forest and plant new mangrove. All government employees, students, companies and any individual volunteers will also go out on this one day to enlarge the mangrove areas. This is in sharp contrast to other islands where the demands of fish ponds have removed the mangrove totally in many of their traditional areas. Our guide tells us that bats eat the cashews and spread the seeds so cashew trees are also growing freely in the wild and in many peoples back garden. We are enjoying the cashews as a traveling snack!

We start out heading as far south as we will go today and then work our way back. First stop Iwahig Prison. This is another innovation of the Mayor’s. There is little or no crime on Palawan yet there is a prison. Most of the prisoners are from other areas in the Philippines. The prison has a gate but no external walls. Medium and Minimum classification prisoners wander freely on the grounds and work at assigned tasks. They may be working in the fields as the property is a productive farm. They may be house or garden staff for the homes of prison employees. They may create or sell the crafts available to tourists in the prison store. There are many different ways to learn a skill and earn a living. For many this is the first opportunity they have had to do so. Life inside is far better than any they have had outside.

If they finish their sentence and have nothing to go back to, they can be granted land to farm and bring their families here to make a better life with the skills they have learned. We saw men working in the fields dressed in the prison T-shirts and we saw individuals farming plots on their own. One man was driving a caribou pulling his plow to prepare for planting. Another small home was obviously a family residence and the man was working in his field.

Inside there was a fenced area that appeared to be the residences and would also house the maximum security prisoners. It was obvious that all here were expected to work. The whole area was a very clean and well kept village. Very much nicer than the squatter’s slums I have seen in all of the towns and cities.

The prison was started in 1904 by the Americans to provide food for all of the prisons in the Philippines. The oldest building was a Theater built during the American occupation and it is now a recreation hall for the inmates. It appeared to have games of pool in play while I was taking pictures of the outside. Pictures of prisoners are not allowed for their privacy.

We did the usual tourist wander through the store. I had heard they did carving in ebony and I was prepared to buy a nice piece if I found one but all of the work I saw was of low standard for the tourist trade. Instead, I bought a sun hat as my contribution. I thought it might help in the heat of the day. Instead it felt hotter and got in the way of my camera. Oh well, I can leave it at Calibago.

Our next stop was the Crocodile Farm. It is actually the “Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center”. We joined on to the end of a bus tour group but soon were wandering on our own - too slow to keep up! We got lots of pictures though.

At the front door they have a hide and skeleton of a 70 year old crocodile that measured 16 feet long. There are crocodiles of all ages in the ponds. Someone in the tour group did not understand “Hands Off” and there was momentary excitement when crocodile tried to get the intruder. The poor croc missed.

Once past the Crocodile ponds, you can wander unescorted to see the many birds and animals represented. The Palawan bear cat is interesting. They can hang by their tails so all paws are free to feed. They can be quite snarley with one another at feeding time so I assume they aren’t as cuddly as they look!

There is also a bearded pig that looks quite entertaining but probably has the personality of a wild boar.

The many birds were beautiful but it is always difficult to get good pictures through a cage so we will just have to remember them. Our favourite was the Blue Naped Parrot. It seems very people friendly and gregarious in its own group as well.

Once our time slot was over, we climbed back into the van for a trip to Rancho Santa Monica, the home of Abraham Mitras who is running again for Congressman here. He has opened the grounds to the public as a beautiful picnic place with a view over Honda Bay. I was more interested in the large number of body guards congregating on the lanai. Obviously Mitras was home at this time. We saw another Rancho Santa Fe while driving across the island later. It is also a Mitras property. I assume the family have a connection to or a fondness for the American southwest.

Our time is almost up so we head back to the city and are dropped off at a very nice restaurant for lunch. Kailui is a restaurant and art gallery combined with beautiful décor and grounds. The food was good too! We had traditional food including seafood, seaweed and a vegetable dish based on banana blossom. It was all very well prepared and well presented. The exception was the mashed sweet potato. It appeared to be off. They apologized and gave us a complimentary dessert. It was a fresh coconut filled with fresh fruit steeped in a raw sugar glaze. The fellows booked a table for the next night - a Valentine’s dinner.

We hailed a couple of tricycles and headed back to Hibiscus Garden Inn for a leisurely afternoon, a light dinner and an early night. Tomorrow is our trip to the Underground River.

Touring Palawan - Puerto Princesa

Thursday, February 11th;

One thing we really enjoyed about the Plaza Astoria Suites was the breakfast buffet included with our suite. We took out time over breakfast and tried many of the international dishes. This day I limited myself to the fruit display and the fresh bread display for toast. I felt I had been eating way too much and we would be having a nice lunch while waiting at the airport. Bad move - take note we have not found a good restaurant at the NAIA 3 terminal. It may be there but we have not found it.

Our flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa was scheduled to be 3:30 PM. All our flights on Cebu Pacific had left early so far so we hung around our hotel room until the noon check out and then headed to the airport. At checkin we discovered the flight was to be delayed 3 hours to 6:20 PM. That was a very long afternoon.

They brought us Jollibee Hamburgers at 5:00 PM but the Lab Tech in me was reluctant to try a hamburger that had been sitting in a very large plastic bag with its buddies enjoying the heat of Manila for an unknown amount of time. I gave my burger and drink to Dan and went looking for the least problematic food I could find. That was easy! Everything had closed! I got a cup of coffee.

We left as per the new schedule at 6:20 PM and arrived in Puerto Princesa about an hour and a half later. It is a small town with no cabs and no short distance jeepneys. Tourist travel is by tricycle. There is very little traffic compared to Negros and organized enough that I might feel comfortable driving. When we landed, the hotel had arranged our pick-up and we were driven by van from the airport to the Hibiscus Garden Inn in less than 10 minutes. We drove in the gate and walked through the lobby to the beautiful walled garden. Our long day was over!

We stored our belongings in our rooms and walked up the street a few meters to the Chicken Inato restaurant. Chicken Inato is a local specialty - a variation on barbequed chicken. Other islands have it as well though the name varies a little from place to place. The food was good, the place noisy and we were glad to get back to “our” garden.

The rooms are built on three sides of a courtyard and the fourth side opens to the garden. It was lovely. Trees for shade and beautiful flowers for colour interspersed with sitting areas, art and carvings. There was a small Sari Sari store for cold drinks and snacks. The lobby had a nice sitting area and locally made goods for sale. The big item was South Sea pearls from Palawan. But there were woven baskets of all sizes, pineapple cloth shawls and the ubiquitous t-shirts.

We just settled in our rooms for the night. For the first night, both rooms had a private garden out the back with chairs and a hammock. We would move in the morning to the “classic room” with no garden. It was not a hardship as we preferred the public garden areas and the international group of people to talk to.

Breakfast was served at tables just outside your room. There were choices on the menu but I liked the continental with a warm French loaf, butter, jam, coffee and a huge bowl of fresh fruit - mango, crisp apple and bananas. What a nice way to start the day! We had the same young lady serving us morning and evening and we certainly enjoyed her sunny disposition.

All of the staff were pleasant and very helpful at all times. The people they recommended from outside the hotel were excellent as well. I highly recommend the Inn, it is a large part of what made Palawan so memorable.

For our first day, we just took a tricycle to the Cathedral and made that a starting point for our own city tour. We learned very quickly that four foreigners are too many for a tricycle that may hold six or more Filipinos! Neither Dan nor Leroy could sit up under the roof so the one on the back of the bike sat sidesaddle with his head sticking out and got sunstroke. From then on we traveled in two tricycles wherever we went.

The Cathedral dominates the town with its lovely white and blue towers. It is very cool and ornate inside with the blue shutters softly colouring the light of the interior. Across for the Cathedral is a square built over the sight of a wartime massacre, Plaza Cuartel. The Japanese forced 154 American prisoners of war to go down into the bomb shelter then poured gasoline on them and into the tunnel setting all afire. The memorial names those killed and those few who survived by swimming across the bay to the current sight of Iwahig prison. One of the survivors created the statue that was erected last year in honour of those who lost their lives. It is haunting.

From there we headed back into the hot sun for a stroll down to the harbour and bayside walk. Palawan is a long narrow island with the Sulu Sea on one side and the South China Sea on the other. Puerto Princesa is about the middle where Honda Bay and Puerto Princesa Bay take a bite out of the east side and Ulugan Bay takes a bite out of the west almost dividing the island in half. The Bayside walk is a lovely walkway along the harbour but as yet there are no facilities there other than shaded picnic shelters. It was much too hot to be wandering about on the pavement so we returned to the hotel to freshen up and then went out to lunch at the Fresh Café. The owners are from Arizona and the menu has both local and American choices. Warning - when they say spicy chicken, they mean set your mouth on fire, two mango shakes, spicy. I actually traded lunches with Dan.

We continued up Rizal Street looking at places of interest and I turned into the Palawan to get a better picture. The rest followed and we explored the building. There was a tourist office so Leroy went in. The ladies gave us some good information and maps. We wandered through the courtyard looking at the fresh fruit and vegetables being sold there. One office had some interesting baskets we did not recognise so we knocked to see if we could get some information about them.

What a good find that was! We met Aimee, a government employee in the Cultural department and a member of the Palawan Dance Theater with a deep interest in the culture of the islands indigenous people. There are between 5 and 9 different groups - depending on who you talk to. Aimee has gone out among the remaining Tagbanua in Southern Palawan with her dance troupe, learning about their life style and heritage. Then bringing their story alive in a mixture of historical and modern dance. They have danced in Palawan, the USA and Europe. Aimee showed us one of the costumes she created and a video of the dance she wore it in.

Both Riza and I tried the headress on. It is very intricate and heavy just standing still!

From there we wandered from souvenir shop to souvenir shop up the main street. Riza found a place to bargain for her baskets. It was still very hot walking so we decided to go to a coffee shop art gallery in the woods. Very pretty setting, nice place, interesting art, big mosquitoes and no service. Don’t bother!

We were glad to get back to the garden at the Hibiscus Garden Inn and relax for a while before dinner.

This evening we decided to walk to the Tom Tom Club. It was a pleasant walk in the cool of the evening. Dinner was OK. The live music was fun. The walk home after dark enjoyable. That said, there are better places in town to eat. Looks like it would be a lively bar though!

We have a car and driver booked for a half day trip tomorrow so we had best turn in.

Malling in Manila

Tuesday, February 9th;

We had a really early morning Tuesday. We had arranged for Boy and his jeepney to arrive at 3:30 AM. That would get us to the airport by 4:45 in time for a 6:30 departure.
We were all ready and we loaded our luggage into the jeepney followed by ourselves. Riza and I are fine, Leroy barely fits but Dan can only sit up between beams and pipes so he will hit his head in every direction on the rough road. He spent the whole trip bent over his lap to keep his head low.

Gomay, an older gentleman who owns the rice field across the road, is waiting at the gate to join us on the jeepney. Rumour must have flown about the village last night to have someone else ready to go at this hour! He was welcome to ride as far as the highway at Mercia and it made his journey to go and butcher a pig much easier. As soon as we stopped to turn onto the highway he jumped nimbly to the ground. No charge to him since we had booked it for a flat fare.

There are no windows and doors on a jeepney and the wind is cool at this time of day. Riza and Leroy seem to be feeling the cold by the time we near the airport. Then we are stopped by a large army roadblock. They are looking for arms being brought in to disrupt the upcoming elections. Early as it is Dan is prepared to be humorous. I elbow him. Maybe this is not the time. But the machine gun toting soldier with limited English recognizes harmless when he sees it so he smiles, wishes us a good day and lets us pass.

Interestingly, we see a news report that there are groups of mercenaries being brought in from Mindanao to disrupt the elections. Groups of 30 are spread through the highlands in towns like Canlaon City. Will they be able to find and stop them? I am glad we will all be in Canada in May when the elections occur.

We are at the airport in plenty of time and fly on to Manila.

Riza’s cousin is there to meet us with her car and driver. That certainly makes early morning traffic in Manila easier. Dida directs the driver to take a less direct route home in an attempt to avoid the worst of the morning rush but it does not seem to be a successful evasion. EDSA Avenue is a parking lot. Pollution hangs over the city like a grey cloud.

Not having to drive, we are all sitting comfortably in the back seats of the van and can start visiting immediately. Riza and Leroy have lots of catching up to do. We are busy looking around us and asking questions about the very busy city we see.

Dida is Dorothy’s sister and there is a family resemblance both in looks and in entrepreneurial spirit. She runs a successful tailoring business in Manila. We arrive at her home and are served a welcome coffee and the fresh Pan de Sol Leroy has been talking about for days! Dida had picked them up fresh from around the corner and they are warm and delicious little buns. Leroy swears this particular bakery is the only one that can create them exactly right. I have only eaten one other version and so far he is right!

We are introduced to Dida’s son, Rainier. He has cerebral palsey so is limited in his movement but he has a sharp wit. He and Dan have a lot to say as they get to know each other.

One of the tailors is also there sewing as we visit. He takes time to measure all of us for new clothes. I order two pairs of dress pants and three pairs of capris. Imagine, pants that will actually fit! I can hardly wait! Dan is measured for one pair of dress pants and three lightweight summer shirts. Reza is getting three pairs of walking shorts. Leroy has some clothes already on order. I like this kind of shopping. We sip our coffee and eat our buns while looking over fabric swatches, make our choices and the finished clothes will be delivered to the us in four days at the Manila airport during our layover when we will be traveling back to Negros.

At noon, the driver takes us to our hotel in the Ortegas district and Dida goes back to work.
The Astoria Plaza Suites is just a big modern hotel. Like many timeshares the suites differ in design and upkeep. The first suite we see has all twin beds so we ask for another. The second has a very lived in look and the layout is fine for us but gives Leroy and Riza a second rate room. I am not really happy with it so I go to the desk to ask for the first one back. They were very understanding and pleasant. Because the first one was actually a smoking room and they realize we want non-smoking, they show us to a third suite. Two bedrooms both with ensuite, king sized beds, kitchen, living room, no smoking on the 23rd floor. Our room is ceiling to floor glass on two walls with a bird’s eye view out over the city.

Now we are settled. We have a light lunch in the dining room and head for the mall at Greenhills. This is another place Leroy has talked about. Much of it is little market stalls selling everything you can think of cheap. It is attached to a normal mall as well but it is the market that makes it different and interesting. The men go off to look at electronics and computers. Reza and I prowl in ladies wear and the garden area. Nothing we can’t live without but we enjoy looking! We meet up at a restaurant Leroy wants to show us and make up for the light lunch.

Then it is time to head back to the hotel. Our early start is taking its toll.

Wednesday is a day to take it easy and to go to the malls. This city is all about malls! My goal is a fabric shop at SM Mega Mall. Riza knows it as the place to go for trim so that is our first stop. I am looking for cord for Bag Ladies bags. There it is! Every colour imaginable. We choose about 20 colours and it takes three clerks 2 hours to measure them in 100 yard lots and wind them on new spools for us. It starts out with pools of colour on the floor but soon a system is in place and it all goes smoothly. Not only have I never seen the selection, it is less than 5 cents a yard! Now how do I get it home????

That’s my shopping done. We wander for a while but we have invited Dida and her family to dinner so we head home to organize. We calculate dinner for seven but Dida’s daughter brings her boyfriend to introduce to us all and there is the driver of course so it is a cheerful party for nine. We are short on dishes and cutlery but we make do with chop sticks and take out lids as extra plates. The Chinese food is very good and there is enough to go around. No one minds the “camp out” style. There is plenty of room for everyone to sit and visit so it becomes a very pleasant family evening. Both sides are interested in learning from the other. Leslie and her fellow both teach at the university. Going through school he was a tour guide in Manila and is very interested in the history of his country. He offered to be our guide next time we come so we will certainly leave time to see the real Manila with him - no more malls!

All too soon it is time to say good night. Our time here is almost over - we leave for Palawan tomorrow.

Leisure Days

Running a little bit behind as we are have too much to do to leave time for writing. But here I am in the garden of the Hibiscus Garden Inn on Palawan forgoing my hammock to sit and communicate. I'll have another fresh mango smoothie to keep my strength up! Meanwhile, last week in Calibago...

Monday, February 8th;

We have enjoyed our days at home again. Not much new has happened but there is always something to get your attention.

Friday we went to Bacolod where Dan, Leroy and I got haircuts. Ramona cut Dan and Leroy. She is an interesting girl, dressed more in the skateboard style than the ladylike manner of most Filipinas. She is so short, Dan is taller sitting in the chair. She does do a very good haircut, trims ears and nose, takes a straight razor to the face and finishes with a firm massage. Dan was not sure what to make of it! I got a good short cut - it sure is nice to be a little cooler!

Saturday we joined the other international men with Filipina wives and families for their monthly lunch at a Bacolod restaurant. It was nice to meet the people Leroy and Riza know and mention when they talk about their time here. Steve and Kathy were there as well so we knew someone. We met Sally and Mike who live near Metrotown six months of the year. Their dream house here is nearly complete.

After lunch Leroy and Dan took the Pajero in to have the transmission looked at. Riza and I went to the mall. No danger here - nothing fits me! All we did was have a good walk around and get a few things for dinner.

We always seem to leave for home by three in the afternoon - no matter where we go or what we are doing the gazebo calls us at three on the dot and home we go.

I am sitting there now. It is 35 C. on the lower level 95 F. for those in the south! There is a warm wind blowing and the flowers hanging down from the trellis are constantly dancing. In this spot it is pleasant and quiet. I can see the river and all the activity there below me and the road to the village with people on the move in front of me.

The cats, Cuddles and Hunter, come by to see if it is lunch time or if there are any handouts. Hunter's babies are bigger now, very active and their eyes are open. She had moved them while we were away and no one knew where they were. Interestingly, Leroy saw her and asked her where were her kittens and she led him to them. But she has moved them once again because I went to see them yesterday. I will leave them alone until she is ready to make their debut to the public.

Caesar has been digging trenches around the new coconut trees this morning. It has been so hot and dry they are starting to die. Now he will fill the trenches with water evey evening and that may carry them through to the rainy season.

Dan has been trimming dead branches off of the older trees so no one will be hurt when the winds really blow.

Leroy has been doing maintainence chores as well. There are new cocoa trees to plant and two new bouganvilleas - one a very rich deep magenta and one a double pink blossom that is very beautiful.

Now everyone is resting in the heat of the day.

I have to pack this afternoon and we leave for Manila early tomorrow morning. Let the shopping begin!

Touring Negros - Sipalay

Wednesday, February 3rd;

Wellbeach to Sipalay is a longer drive. The roads remain good while you are in Negros Oriental but once you leave Bayawan you have some very interesting stretches. We stopped less because Leroy knew we would need the time but we saw some interesting sights as we traveled.

We passed a man on a tricycle, one hand on the handlebar of his bike, one holding a tuna. The tuna was big enough that it almost touched the pavement. As we passed we saw he had his child in front of him, hanging on for dear life.

It was Market day somewhere nearby and many of the tricycles now had cages on the sidecar carrying one or more water buffalo.

A bus went by filled to the brim with people and among the bags and luggage on the top a small goat was all curled up for the ride.

We stopped in a small village of bamboo houses where the road looked down over a valley of rice paddies. Dan got out to take pictures and the children waved shyly to us coming out of their homes to have their pictures taken.

We drove into Bayawan and headed for the waterfront for our mid-morning cold drink. On a side street we passed a garden FULL of orchids and the lady was picking a huge bouquet. The waterfront has been designed as a wide roadway with a boardwalk on the ocean side. It goes far past the actual town as if the city planners have great ideas for the future and expect the town to catch up. At the moment it ends in a lovely stand of nipa growing by the water.

We found an art gallery on the sand and wandered, apparently alone, until we found a mother and child sound asleep on a bed among the displays. One of the artists arrived from across the street and we spoke to him for a bit. Riza liked his painting of African children but he did not feel it was finished so it was not for sale. I liked the yellow beach scene but how to get it home???

We stopped nearby for our soda and then carried on again. We were in lots of time to get to Sipalay before a lunch stop.

Well we were until we heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire. The one that had been fixed failed us again. A passing motorist stopped to help and the men got the spare back on. We decided to go back to Bayawan as it was large enough to fix or replace the tire. Continuing on over very bad road with no spare would have been foolhardy.

Once again we were on our way and now we had to travel to make the distance before sunset. We still saw interesting sights along the way. A man on a motorbike with his passenger riding behind him balancing a table on his head. The dirt road wound up hills and down to the sea with lookouts often giving marvelous views of bays and fishing villages.

We caught up with a little blue car - Steve and Kathy had decided to join us one more night. We followed them through Sipalay and down to the beach beyond.

Our fist stop was Artistic Divers but it had a much younger more boisterous crowd. We walked down the beach and chose to stop at Robinson@Cruse. Very quiet in a pleasant garden setting with a nice pool. Each raised cabana by the pool had a raised seating area and a private change area as well. The sun was setting as we checked in and we walked down the beach to enjoy the last rays.

As we turned to come back we decided to stop at Easy Divers for dinner. This was the resort where we had planned to stay. I recommend it! Dinner was marvelous, the resort and the dive shop appear very professionally run. The rooms are cottages scattered up the hill. We really enjoyed our evening and walked back up the beach in the dark.

Our last night on this adventure. In the morning we headed back to Calibago. We bought more market baskets from a vendor Riza knew. We stopped at Kabankalan for lunch at a roadside restaurant with amazing orchids. We visited Riza’s father for a few moments and the garden we raided is on the mend! We drove into a small town and into the middle of the fiesta and parade! We saw a long flatbed truck lying down beside the road. The brave driver must have decided to head for the fields rather than kill the people in the van he collided with.

And then we were passing through Mercia and down the familiar rough road to Calibago. The dog was still sleeping in the middle of the road. The bamboo house has two walls and half a roof now as the owner continues to build. There were only two lady water buffalo in the creek enjoying their spa. The roosters on the hill were cowering in their little houses out of the hot afternoon sun. Then we drove down into the village and saw Caesar’s smiling face as he held the gate open to welcome us home. Good to be back in our quiet, cool place on the river!

Touring Negros - Wellbeach

Tuesday, February 2nd;

The next morning we breakfasted at the hotel and had a leisurely start for Dumagete less than 50 Km away.

Our first stop was to be the Centrop Botanical Garden. On the map it appears to border EJ Blanco Drive. We drove up and down and up and down but saw no evidence it existed. We did see the Sidlakang Negros Villages. A very nicely designed area with a cabana for each of the cities of Negros. The area opens at certain times of the year as an exposition of the wares for each area. Most were closed now but we did visit those that were open. I was particularly taken by beautifully decorated purses made of Pandanas fibre but I could not imagine how to get one home without damage.

Once more down the drive to the waterfront and we were in downtown Dumagete very quickly. We stopped again for a cold drink and walked up to the square and the cathedral. We took some pictures, particularly of the coral block tower built in the mid 1700’s. It is still in use as a shrine but has a very definite lean. We made a short detour to the public market - just long enough to buy plastic bags from a vendor for 2 pesos. It had started to rain and our cameras were unprotected. It did not last and we continued our walkabout heading back to the waterfront.

You do see the unexpected when you tour on foot. This time we the firehall got our attention with an old Isuzu fire engine. A fireman invited us in to see an even more unique engine further back. A three wheeler! Both engines were part of Japanese reparations to the Philippines in the 1950’s. The Isuzu was Engine Number 1 and is still in use today.

We walked back along the waterfront to the Bethel Hotel where we had parked and headed on our way. We planned to have a nice lunch at the Wellbeach resort and a quiet afternoon on the beach. Steve and Kathy were to meet us there as well. As usual the men rested or sat around visiting and nursing a San Miguel while the women took to the pool!

This hotel is owned by a Swiss man and his wife. It is down a hidden right of way between some lovely private properties. You really need to watch for the sign! It is lovely and quiet, well kept and again an unbelievable bargain by Canadian standards - 1500 Pesos ($30.00 CAD) a night.
Dinner and then breakfast in the restaurant overlooking the beautiful gardens and bay beyond - it was hard to leave but our next stop was another beautiful beach and we had a longer drive so on we went.

Touring Negros - Bais City

Monday, February 1st;

This week we decided to tour the island of Negros.

Monday morning we got up, had a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, mango and finished off with hot coffee just in case we did not find a good restaurant in time for lunch!

Gino and his tricycle (motorbike and side cart) had been hired to take the cement block maker into town for repairs. He came as planned and the fellows loaded the heavy machinery onto his cart. There was some concern about it carrying the heavy load out the very rough road to the highway. But Gino knows his machine and it was loaded efficiently and went on is way with no difficulty.

We packed up and headed out as planned. The first part of the route was over the familiar road to Don Salvadore Benedicto. From that high point it was steadily up even further before finally crossing the range and down the other side.

Our first stop was Waddy’s Place. A new hotel and restaurant high on the hill looking down the valley to San Carlos and the sea with the island of Cebu in the distance. We stopped out of curiosity. We like examining interesting hotels for future reference and it was very, very hot so a cold drink was in order.

The rooms are very nice with two queen sized beds suitable for a maximum of 4 people. The bathroom was enormous. When we went out on the deck, the view was breath taking. All this for 900 Pesos ($18.00 CAD) per night. The restaurant and gardens were lovely. We enjoyed our cold drinks and carried on.

We wound down and down and down to the town of San Carlos. This was to be our lunch stop because we heard there was a restaurant owned by an American with real hamburgers!!! We found it on the main street - it is rather hard to miss - Eva’s Burgers and Beer. Besides burgers they serve the best Mexican food around. The owner was originally from California. He makes quarterly trips to the US to bring in much of the specialty food. The rest he gets locally from Cebu or when necessary from Bacolod. He has certainly been very selective in his sources. It was a very good lunch. His personality made it fun. He has great stories to tell and obviously enjoys talking to the customers.

He told us of driving up over the mountain to Bacolod on a regular basis. His vehicle is very recognizable and fully loaded he drives very slowly up the hills to Don Salvador Benedicto and beyond. So slowly the children walk along side and talk to him. One day the colorful vehicle broke down up in NPA territory. The children all came running to talk to their friend. One little girl went off, coming back leading her father by the hand. He carried an automatic weapon over his shoulder and walked down to the stranded vehicle. Our host was very nervous! The man asked him what the problem was and then went back the way he had come. Soon he returned with another man. They crawled under the van and worked on it for a short while. Like rural people everywhere they seem to have an built in ability to fix anything with baling wire and chewing gum. When the van was operational, our host asked what could he pay for the repair. The men conferred and decided 30 Pesos was fair ($0.60 CAD). Before he left the armed man came to the window and shook our host’s hand thanking him for being so kind, talking to his children as he traveled and driving them home on rainy days.

We sat and enjoyed our surroundings for longer than expected and we had a longer drive than we had calculated to reach our final destination. Now we had to make time.

We left Negros Occidental and entered Negros Oriental. We did notice a difference. We were now on the far side of Kanlaon and the mountains. The land slopes more gently to the sea. There are beautiful beaches and mangroves. There are more big houses but even the small land holdings are tidier than on the west coast. The roads are in better repair as well. This may be because the main crop is rice and not sugar cane - though cane is still present. The big cane trucks do chew up a road. We saw rail lines and small cane trains where cane was more prevalent.

The vehicles on the road are different. There are almost no Jeepneys. Instead the “tricycles” are much bigger with parts of cars as the superstructure. We assume it is for protection as it rains more here. It does make them more difficult to pass in heavy traffic.

Our goal for the day was La Planta, a historic old hotel in Bais City. We made it with lots of time to spare before sunset. Those who wanted to siesta did. Riza and I chose to swim in the beautiful pool before dinner.

The hotel is owned by one of the “old” families of Negros. The dining room is lined with family pictures and events of the past. The heyday of this place seemed to be the 1950’s or 60’s.
The gardens were lovely, with many variety of palms and fruit trees. The buildings are still beautiful though they are not kept up to the standard of days gone by. Our venetian blinds were broken and appeared to have been that way for some time. Just little things. On the whole it was very comfortable and clean for a modest price - 1500 Pesos ($30.00 CAD). Being in town was much noisier than Calibago - we had the sounds of motorcycles on the street and goats in the next garden. Not your usual city sound!