Camiguin

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We loved Camiguin.

We had been in touch with an English guy who owns some really cheap accommodation. He picked us up from the port which was kind and took us back to what was promised to be our own cottage with spectacular views, our own jacuzzi, cooking facilities and other wondrous things...of course it was too good to be true. Our cottage turned our to be a bedroom on stilts over a sunken, dirty, empty bathtub. The bathroom was short of a light, a toilet seat, toilet paper, but did come equipped with its own frog and mosquito farm. We went up to the main house to complain to Dave who was now pouring himself a large beer and settling down in front of the tv. He literally couldn't have cared less that we were unhappy. When we pointed out some of the features above he retorted: "well what do you expect love, it's the Philippines".

We turned on our heels and headed for the street. We were picked up by two charming motorcyclists who dropped us at a charming little resort 20 mins away, where no frogs resided or gekkos pooed on the bed. It was simple but ideal and set us back a mere £3.70 each per night.

We rented a motorbike for £5 a day and were able to explore the island in our own time. We visited 2 waterfalls, some hot springs, we snorkelled off the beach just outside our resort. We saw a sea snake of about 1.5m, black and white! We bbq-ed on the beach. We discovered cordon bleu. We learnt the ways of the local city (town) and learnt also to deal with the open-mouthed stares of the children and adults alike. (Doon, one for you: we discovered dim sum flour puffs that look like clouds. They tend to have a bit of chicken or pork in the middle. The closest thing to a sandwich we could find)

We made friends with 7 guys who were travelling together; Dutch, German, English. Very good people. We crashed their BBQ and drank with them most nights. Last night we trundled up the road already half cut, we ended up partying with the locals. It was great fun until the Rich, a tall white Englishman took off all his clothes and began to do the helicoptor. At this point, word of the drunken white folk must have got round as, to our surprise the street was suddenly filled with Filipinos and the bar lady began to usher us out. Our time was up. She had seen enough arm wrestles and white naked butts, she chucked us out!

We very much enjoyed Camiguin.

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