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Published: January 13th 2007
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Tuesday, January 9th The exciting overland transportation fun continued this morning when I joined three Italians from Mary’s in organizing a minivan to take us further Northward on the Island of Palawan. Leaving Sabang early in the morning, we sped down the RFH (Road from hell) until we reached a rain slicked muddy incline and the van came to a spinning, wheezing stop. Instinctively, we all got out and started pushing from behind while the driver spun the wheels and plenty of mud onto us trying to break the van free and get up the hill. After about fifteen minutes of wiggling the van up and down, left and right, one final triumphant push got us back on the road again. After another hour of speeding along the road at maniac speeds, our minivan started sending out some smoke signals. The driver pulled over, leaned his head out of the window and began sniffing as white smoke rose from the front brake pads. We took the opportunity to get out and stretch a little bit while the car took a much needed rest. Then I took a peer into the front right wheel well and realized the brakes weren’t just
smoldering, they were on fire. I gestured the international “we have a fire” distress signal to the driver (jump up and down while flailing your arms around) and he quickly grabbed a gallon container of water from the back of the van and doused the flames out - Whew close call. When we finally decided to continue on, the car wouldn’t start - now we were stranded. That was fine because I wasn’t sure I wanted to get back into a mini van with barbequed brake pads anyway. A nice gentlemen driving by offered a rope tow and eventually we made it to the junction where another van was flagged down, and some hours later I was dropped off in the port town of Roxas. From here, I was taken out to sea for two days on the secluded island paradise of Coco Loco Island where I caught up with frineds from Sabang; Oliver, Juliana and Mike who had arrived here a day earlier than me.
Coco Loco Island is a spec of land surrounded by tuquiose green sea about one hour by boat from the coast. The picturesque island is only about ten or fifteen acres and is
encircled by a nice sandy beach. There are nineteen A-Frame style huts fanned out along the downwind side of the island, serving no more than about thirty lucky visitors at any given time. People who have fantasies of marooning themselves on a fairly deserted island with only the most basic amenities may have their wishes fulfilled here. The big decisions of the day oscillate between snorkeling over the reef, collecting sea shells, bird watching, and circling the island on foot in less than fifteen minutes. Fortunately, with no other distractions to spend time on, all of this and plenty of reading and relaxing are all that fill each day….and that’s A-OK. The shoreline here is a virtual treasure trove of exotic looking shells, like the ones you always see in souvenir shops, but never on a beach. I decorated my front porch steps with plenty of them.
I’ve fallen into a nice “early to bed and early to rise” sleeping pattern now so I have the pleasure of seeing the sunrise and sunset everyday. In fact, I’ve probably seen more sunrises in the last month than I’ve seen over the past several years and that has been a pleasant
habit I hope to continue when I get home. Low tide on Coco Loco peaks just after sunrise. Vast fields of coral and sand reveal themselves and one can walk nearly half a mile out to sea from the island. There are plenty of interesting creatures to see in the low tide pools and the snorkeling along a reef rimming the island was a real treat. There’s a super colorful coral bed, vibrant colored fish of all shapes and sizes, and exotic mollusk, octopus and sea slugs. There were also interesting creatures on land which made it into my room at night. When I opened my door to the hut after coming back from dinner, a small bird flew in behind me. When it landed on the wall, I realized I was mistaken - it was a large cockroach. I chased it around the room to no avail and finally just decided I would be safe under the protective cover of my mosquito net - confident he wouldn’t be able to chew through it during the night.
Other than finishing off a couple of books, nothing more to report from Coco Loco.
This morning I walked down the to
the end of the island for the perfect sunrise, then joined our group for the boat transfer back to Roxas where we will journey onward up the coast to El Nido and the island paradise of the Bacuit Archipelago.
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