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Published: July 14th 2008
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So maybe this is more information then some of you want to know, but I have stopped shaving my legs here. Taking a bath out of a bucket is hard enough, and absolutely not condusive to shaving, and most of the women I know in this region of the Cordillera don't shave anyway, so I have swallowed my vain pride and stopped altogether. I have been humming and hawing over this decision for a while, usually with the most conviction while perched shivering on the edge of my seatless toilet, struggling to get the hair out of my way too expensive bic disposable in a scrub bucket. I made the final, I feel, bold decision, about a month ago... which now means that I am pretty hairy. Now, I say bold decision for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was never the anti-shaving kind of feminist because I like having smooth legs. I like having shiny legs poking out from underneath my pencil skirts and sitting atop of my shiny, black pumps. And secondly, because, as a caucasian, my legs are a lot hairier then the Filipinas I know who don't shave. ...honestly, and sadly, my legs are also a lot
hairier then most of the Filipinos I know. If it wasn't for the saving grace of feminine ankles and lots of freckles my overwhelming mass of coarse red hair would actually have my gams looking a lot like those of my old make roommates.
So, last week, when I was packing my bikini and sarong for my tropical vacation in Bohol, I thought about shaving. But at this point the work required to weed wack the legs of my 5'7 frame makes it far too undesirable a chore to even bother. And so that it how I hit a gorgeous tropical island with the mind and body of a women, and the legs of a man. I tell you all of this, because, one of the most entertaining parts of my vacation was in fact my wildly hairy legs. I have never before noticed the wind moving through my arm hair, but laying on the beach for three days I was left in awe of how bizarre and yet wonderful it feels to have the warm breezes flow through my leg hair. I wondered if men, accostumed as they are to having leg hair, notice this at all, and
if they do if they enjoy the soothing sensation as much as I did. That being said, though I am not self conscious of my leg hair here (I somehow have conned my vanity into believing that if I keep my armpits hairless it camouflages my man legs), I assumed I will go back to reveling in smooth skin again as soon as possible.
My visit to Bohol itself was wonderful, bizarre and entertaining - which was exactly what I was looking for in a vacation. I stayed for thee full days and three nights on the island of Panglao, just off Bohol proper. I booked myself into a resort on Alona Beach, probably one of the top ten tourist spots in the Philippines. I chose Alona on Panglao because I was looking for somewhere touristy enough to have good American bread and security guards who would make me feel safe as a woman traveling alone, but quiet enough for me to be forced to take it slow and really relax. This area of the island was perfect in both of those respects. I spent almost the entire three days sunbathing, reading, and swimming alternately between the the beach
front pool and the Bay of Panglao. Feeling a bit strange being treated like a tourist in a country I have come to consider home I didn't do too many of the tourist activities around the island, expect for the ones that allowed me to become more aquainted with warm water surrounding the island.
Growing up near the Atlantic Ocean I not only have come to love the water, but have also become fascinated by the wonders that water hides under its placid surface. My own ocean being cold, dangerous, and kinda boring (sorry Atlantic Ocean fans) I took advantage of the chance to explore to explore something tropical. My adventure started at 5:30 am, which in my opinion is an un-Godly hour to start even an adventure. In a state of bleary grumpiness I made my way down to the beach to meet up with my guide and our boat captain. Though neither spoke much English, they were both very friendly and very awake. Their energy and the gorgeous scene of the sun rising over the bay brought me out of my funk and allowed me to enjoy the half and hour ride to out first activity: dolphin
watching. Though I am unsure why I believed it would be any different, I was a bit shocked to realize that dolphin watching is actually code for numerous boats full of tourists chasing a couple of pods of dolphins around their feeding grounds. It was so weird to have these two Filipinos hollering over the engine "Ma'am, ma'am, take a picture" as we speed around behind a group of dolphins moving as fast as possible away from the overbearing boats. Though it was amazing to see real dolphins, and thanks to my guides' prodding, I did get some good pictures, I was happy when they suggested that we move on to our next activity.
The rest of our morning was spent snorkling in the protected reef of another small island off of Bohol proper. Arriving at the reef made me think of the image of an ambulance chancing lawyer. As our big white boat slid slowly towards the delicate reef the inhabitants of numerous smaller boats started paddling desperately towards us (and the many other boats taking tourists to the small activity) all trying to get to a boat and offer their guiding services first. My guide was a
nice man named Raymond who took me out into the shallow reef in a fun, green raft and stayed in my vacinity as I snorkled. Though I found his presence stressful - the longer he spent with me, the longer it would take him to get another customer and a second payment for his morning - I was even more, irrationally, scared of sharkes attacking me in the water, so I was glad to be able to come out of the water and spot him not too far away. Snorkling is something I think will become a passion. Puttering around slowly, watching the fish glide smoothly in and out of the multi-colored coral was pretty awesome. I think it may be one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. To end the morning Raymond took me into the small island where I BBQ baracuda for lunch. It was pretty awesome to eat an exotic, predatory fish, sitting in my bikini in the sun.
I ate as many weird kinds of sea food as I could while in the Visayas. Along the beach there were number restaurants with displays of fresh local fish to choose for supper. I
thought about having one of the wild looking, black with white spots, local lobsters, but the 700 pesos cost, though only about $17 CND was way out of my price rang. I did manage to try some local crab, clams, lapo-lapo and the gooey insides of those shells that we use as doorstops and listen to the ocean in. The weirdest part of my vacation always came out at supper time though. Sitting alone at a table on the beach with my journal or a book it was easier to watch the other people around me without being noticed. The resort area was full of western and middle class Filipino tourists. From the bits of conversation I over heard, the way they treated the hotel staff and the vendors and the conversations I personally had it was a group who either doesn't know about the real situation of the country or don't care about it. It was a group I felt uncomfortable being clumped into, and at every chance I had I found myself telling the local Filipino staff, guides and vendors that I actually lived in the country and worked for a people's organization. It was also during these
meals that I was able to observe the strange phenomenon of old white men being married to young Filipinas. After three days of watching these couples (who were the majority of tourists) I still feel too uncomfortable to think about it objectively and decide what I think about the unions. I am not sure if, being a white woman, it is something I am ever going to fully understand or appreciate.
Regardless of the bits of strangeness my vacation was wonderful. And really, the bits of strangeness gave me something more interesting to think about while relaxing alone then the warm breeze in my leg hair.
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toby
non-member comment
better
better to be this close to the dolphins :) http://tobyx99.multiply.com/photos/album/1/Philippine_Travel_Photos#49.jpg