Bohol Island, Philippines
Anna's entry:TAGBILARAN
Our ferry arrived from to the island of Bohol around 1 a.m. and we stepped on the long stretch of the concrete dock. We started walking towards the city of Tagbilaran in almost complete darkness. Eventually we were approached by a motorcycle taxi offering us a lift for about 50 pesos. We knew the town center was only a few kilometers away, and of course not worth the asking price. "I'll give you 10," I 've said "Do you want it?". The guy said yes, and we climbed with our large backpacks in his tiny motorcycle cabin. The city streets were completely empty, but it did have a modern look of a developing world with a few fast food establishments and gaudy lights and colors. We arrived at the hotel we booked prior, but the entrance gate made out of heavy duty bars was locked. There was no bell, so we tried to call out in hopes someone would here us and let us in. A few minutes later a big guy walking along the street told us that it was too late and the hotel most likely won't let us in. "But we have a reservation and they told us it would be OK to arrive so late...". "Oh, in that case, let's shout louder", and he began shouting into the dark hotel entrance. That had an effect, and a few minutes later a young Philippino showed up and let us in. We kept apologizing for waking him up, but he insisted he had been waiting for us, and he showed us into our room. He supplied us with two clean towels, two soaps, and a roll of toilet paper, then showed us two shared-bathrooms in a hallway, and bid us good-night. "Don't forget about your free breakfast tomorrow", he said. Then he smiled and left. We unpacked lightly, getting out only the necessary things for the night, one which was our ever-needed mosquito net (that has saved us from malaria and dengue fever for numerous months). Yes, we use it even in the hotel rooms (in this part of the world window screens, if they are available, mean nothing).
The next morning we woke up refreshed and headed it out for our included breakfast - omelet, toast and coffee - very Western breakfast. In a day light we found our hotel to be a very pleasant place - right in the city center, across a Philippino staple "Julie's" bakery and a mall (meaning fast food "junk food treats" for a change); the place itself was very spacious and clean, with large open dining room under the open sky, and even a place to play some hoops (basketball) and darts. I tell you, after months of traveling in a rustic way, it is fun to play some simple games. We decided to take our first day easy - we explored the town, got some freshly baked goodies and treated ourselves to a couple of ice creams. To my surprise, a small mall had a pretty modern movie theater showing the most recent US hits. It doesn't sound to you as much, but trust me - after months and months away from civilization, it is a treat! By the way, since we ended up for about a week in Tagbilaran, I ended up attending two brand new movie premiers (only $2!), and Rob ended up playing several hours of video games, which he hasn't done in decades. But, the most important thing was that I had an access to the government run tourism board just around the corner from our hotel, which meant I could continue my research in pursue of the further route through the Philippines, avoiding tourist traps, and most importantly trying to get us to the whale sharks in a few weeks.
One of the tourist traps we were able to avoid was Panglao located on the coast southwest of Tagbilaran. It was a triple cost to stay there, and supposed to have a decent coral reef and protected marine area, but was it worth it? We decided to make Tagbilaran our home base, and commute by jeepney (a former military jeep converted into a small bus by putting together a couple of benches and a top over the back , see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney). We were so glad we chose not to stay on Panglao - too many people, hawkers, sellers, and definitely on the tourist trail. As far as a marine national park goes, it was way below our standards. Some people were "oohing and aahing" over the reefs (including the worthless guide books), but in our opinions the place was simply pitiful. Anyway, we spent a few commute days (which worked out well) to explore the snorkeling options, and called it a try. We also considered other places on Bohol to get closer to a "presumably exisitng" marine life (such as tiny Balicasag and Pamilican Islands), but after hearing what the places had to offer, it just didn't seem good enough.
Having additional time on Bohol and being based in the town of Tagbilaran, we also decided to take a trip to the Tarsier Sanctuary - one of the few places in the world to see the smallest living primate. Unfortunately, their habitat has been ruthlessly disrupted by the humans, and the primates have been hunted and poached. The sanctuary is probably the only and last chance for suvaval of tarsier's, so we decided it would be important to try and see them. We took a jeepney, then walked a few km's along the highway, and eventually made it there. To our disappointment, there was a group of Chinese tourists brought in that day, and their behavior was very inappropriate and disgusting - shouting and poking through the tree brunches, flashing their cameras in the eyes of the scared primates. Unfortunately, it was pretty typical, which is another reason we are so desperate to get away from the crowds.
UBAY
Eventually, we decided to make an exit from Bohol to the more remote province of Leyte, and specifically the location of Padre Burgos - according to my research, it was the place we could encounter the whale sharks (without tourist crowds), and it was also supposed to be a relatively remote area, and definitely off the main tourist trail. I developed some contacts in Padre Burgos via email, and got the place for us to stay right over the ocean and right next to the reef.
Before we would make a ferry crossing from the Island of Bohol to the Island of Leyte, we had to make a long jeepney ride to the tiny ferry town of Ubay. It was simply a place in the middle of nowhere, with a stinky fish market, a few eateries and bakeries, and it was very cheap (about $4 a night). The place we stayed at was very basic, but it served the purpose. To the surprise of the hotel owners, we stayed two nights. And, we definitely were the only foreigners in that town - which was great. There wasn't much to see or do there, but the town was real, and it was refreshing to see the real life of a small town that no one ever heard of. By the end of the second day we began getting hand waves and hello's, and on the day we walked to the ferry terminal with our big backpacks, some locals were sending us off with friendly good-buys and sincere smiles, some thanked us for visiting their town (that is one of the reasons we try to avoid places like Manilla, where nobody give a damn if you are there or not). Finally, we boarded a shaky ferry for the crossing to the entry port of Maasin on Leyte.
posted by Rob and Anna @ 11:59 PM
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