Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Naval Island, Philippines

ALMERIA

Anna's entry:
After an unbelievable encounter with the beautiful whale sharks our spirits were up, we were truly enjoying our travels in the Philippines, and it was obvious that getting off the tourist trail was the way to go. We elected to go on with our travels in smaller and not-so-known places which continued to be a tried-and-proven method of experiencing the genuine side of the Philippines and finding peace and quiet. One of such many places was our stop in Almeria. It became the usual occurrence by now that we are the only foreigners visiting, meaning we could have the entire place to ourselves, no westerners in sight! We settled in a small wooden cottage overlooking a peaceful bay, it looked almost like a tree house with a balcony and a few modern conveniences such as running cold water and a shower. We also brought all the food provisions with us which helped us a lot with the budget and flexibility of meals. In the morning we would enjoy a simple breakfast on a terrace, then we would step down to the ocean for some snorkeling or take a "western pleasure" and use the swimming pool for splashing around and enjoying a refreshing afternoon. Once, a local man brought his family to the pool and invited us to join him for lunch - freshly prepared BBQ chicken and cold beer. He admitted he was really surprised to see Westerners in this place, and was very pleased to hear we try to avoid them (for a known by now reason) ourselves. We spent several days chilling out in this hidden quiet place, and rested up for our journey onto Samar - one of the forgotten, and least touristy places in the Philippines.

posted by Rob and Anna @ 12:00 AM