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Published: April 3rd 2007
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Whale shark
We were lucky enough to snorkell with ten of these big beasties, up to 30 feet long.... The Philippines certainly packs a punch when it comes to natural wonders: spectacular beaches, beautiful mountains, awesome volcanos, stunning lakes, superb diving and colourful aquatic life - d'you see that whale shark to your right?? - so we didn't need much arm-twisting to persuade us to linger for over five weeks (our longest stay in any country so far) and sample the local delights....
The Philippines is a vast archipelago (7,107 islands) probably most famous (to us) for it's girlie bars, political corruption and Filipino nurses who prop up the NHS. Over 90% of the population are Christian (82% Roman Catholic) and the majority of people speak English. A former Spanish colony (since 1565), the USA bought the islands from the Spanish (after defeating them in war) for $20 million, then granted independence in 1935. Japan invaded seven years later until they were kicked out by General ("I shall return") MacArthur in 1944; the country received full independence in 1946. Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 and ruled virtually as a dictator until 1986; he and his wife, Imelda, fled to Hawaii after his regime was toppled by revolution, and Imelda was found
Mount Mayon
Perhaps the most 'perfect' (i.e. symmetrical) volcano in the world.... to be the proud owner of 15 mink coats, 508 gowns, 888 handbags and over a thousand pairs of shoes, fill yer boots missus!
Our trip had a degree of symmetry in that we started (and finished) in the island paradise that is Boracay, we simply couldn't resist going back. White beach is breathtaking, undoubtedly the most gorgeous beach we've ever had the pleasure to lie on - and we've seen a few crackers in our time - the sand blinding white and the sea crystal clear; at chest-deep you look down and see every single hair on your big toe, no joke. Boracay is fairly developed - loadsa cool (and not-so-cool) bars and restaurants - and some people we met took pleasure in being snobby about visiting such a 'touristy' place, but here's the thing: it doesn't matter if it's Majorca or Ibiza or Rhodes or Boracay, if you know where to stay and do your research, you can leave the tourist hordes and the 'all-you-can-eat' Korean buffets behind and still enjoy a world-class beach whilst dipping in and out of the madness.....which is exactly what we did by staying at the far south end of the beach,
genious. If anybody out there wants to experience a repeatedly-voted-number-one-beach-in-the-world (with good food and hotels to boot) then get thee to Boracay before your three score and ten years on the planet run out, you will
not regret it....and the San Miguel is only 25p (!) a pop during (very long) happy hours.....what are you waiting for?? Book the flight!
After five days in Bora, we dragged ourselves away for a very different challenge - learning to scuba dive in Malapascua - which we took to like cats to water. It was rather tough at times, but our instructor (Juliet) had previous experience of Glaswegian idiosyncracies - she studied in weegie land - so was able to adriotly guide us through the many peaks and troughs, good lass. So, we're now open water divers - i.e. total novices- but have since done four wreck dives on Japanese WWII ships sunk by the Yanks near Coron in a surprise attack on 24th September 1944; the attack consisted mainly of Hellfire bombers from Task Force 38, which flew almost 600km from the USS Lexington (an aircraft carrier) to sink at least a dozen ships. We were lucky enough to dive the
White Beach, Boracay
Probably the whitest sand and clearest water we'll ever see, simply breathtaking.... Akitsushima (a seaplane tender), the
Kogyo Maru (a supply ship), the
Okikawa Maru (an oil tanker) an the
East Tangat Gunboat (a gunboat/submarine hunter), a couple of which were at 35m (120 feet) deep, getting brave.....but don't we look rather dashing in neoprene? Good for holding in the lumps and bumps....
Next stop was Palawan, an island in the far west of the archipelago, where we visited the subterranean river at Sabang - the world's longest underground river system - which emerges directly into the sea, we felt like Jules Verne as we ventured through the huge bat-filled caverns into the middle of the earth, dark o'clock as they say....
We then had our first (of several) hair-raising flights - to El Nido - on one of SEAIR's 19 seaters; the pilots double up as cabin crew, welcoming you aboard before stepping over those in the front row (us) into the open cockpit, then cranking up the props and fiddling with their dials, all within touching-on-the-shoulder-distance, verry coool. Unfortunately, you tend to feel every little bump in these 'baby planes', and the runway in El Nido was an interesting concrete/dirt/grass combo - dodgiest we've seen in six months
- but beats a nine hour bus journey over pot-holed roads any day of the year. El Nido ('The Nest') is the gateway to the Bacuit archipelago, home to dozens of limestone karst islands, hidden lagoons, secret beaches and sea caves. The soaring cliffs which surround the beach are also home to the Swiftlets which 'construct' their nests using their own spit - I blame the parents - which are highly sought after in China for 'Bird's Nest Soup', a national delicacy. It takes all kinds....The other piece of trivia to report is that Dom was asked to 'star' in the French version of 'Survivor' (helicopter shots only!) which was being filmed on a nearby island, but had to decline the prestigious offer as we were moving on, thems the breaks....
Jules had a somewhat unconventional - but smashing - 30th birthday in El Nido: swimming in the lagoons, snorkelling with turtles, feasting on BBQ fish on a remote beach, then out for a few refreshments with our new German pals, not too shabby eh?? Here's to her fourth decade! Donsol (in the shadow of Mount Mayon) soon beckoned, where we were hoping to hook up with the
Whale Sharks (
Rhincodon typusto) that have been hanging around there since 1998. Whale Sharks are slow filter feeders which grow up to 40 feet long - the largest living fish species - and are believed to have originated about 60 million years ago. Their mouths alone are up to five feet wide, so would be easy to get 'Jonah-ed' if they felt like a wee morsel, but thankfully they're gentle giants. We snorkelled with ten of the big beasties in total - longest one was around 30 feet - quite a surreal experience and a definite highlight of the trip.
It was soon time to leave the sea behind for some fresh mountain air, twisting roads and verdant scenery, and head up north to Sagada, a small town famous for its cliff-side hanging coffins and its headhunters of old, though both habits are now more or less extinct; locals choose which cliff/cave/nook they want to hang from before they die (a dry spot is premium). Sagada also has a quality cave to explore; we were clambering over rocks, dangling from ropes, squeezing through holes and swimming through icy cold water, all in our bare feet as surprisingly you get
Blue dog
No, it's not a genetic abnormality.....apparently he had been sleeping in a room which was being painted blue.... more grip
sans shoes....shame all the rocks were covered in bat shit....
A jeepney took us up a rocky road to Banawe and then a motorbike/sidecar combo (aka a trike) jolted us onwards to Batad saddle - perhaps the roughest journey we've ever experienced - from where we hiked down to the village overlooking the most spectacular rice terraces this side of the sun; a truly mesmerising sight of lush green fields in a soaring ampitheatre, Batad has now officially eclipsed Ella (in Sri Lanka) as the Number 1 View and Chill-out Spot, please add it to your list of 'must-sees'. The nearby waterfall was rather refreshing as well....Whence it was time to head back to our old pal Boracay for another four days of R & R and some top-notch spaghetti....
We're now in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), have been to see the Orang Utans and are currently in the middle of a four-day diving stint at Sipadan, the marine life is soooo good it'll take me a fortnight to come up with a description that might - just maybe - do it justice.....see you then....
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mikel
non-member comment
Great blog
Your blog on the philippine visit was the best i have read here. Really! Very descriptive, real and well written. Glad you enjoyed the islands. Bon voyage!