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So happy to be off that ship. We stayed in a large air con room filled at least 30 bunk beds. The sea was calm. The bathrooms were horrendous. Squatters. Have you ever tried to squat and per while flying across the ocean? It's tricky.
At the port we hailed a tricycle to Krystals Lodge. 50 pesos for the ride. The lodge was a cute bamboo hostel built on bamboo stilts above the water. It was open, allowing us to feel the cool ocean breeze as we hung out in our swaying hammocks. 80 pesos a night for a cute but small private room with a mosquito net hanging over the bed.
In the dining area of the lodge was a bookshelf filled with all kinds of books. I was excited to pick one out, lay in the sun, and get lost in a story. Here was only one problem....none seemed to be in English. A bunch of French literature to choose from, zero English. Until I looked harder, over and over again. I found one in english, Tornado Down. Hmm wonder what this could be. I turned the book over and began to read the description on the
back. Royal Air Force Torando fighter jet gets shot down over enemy territory during the Gulf War. "Umm I don't think I will like this." I thought to myself. I continued my search for another English book and found none. "Well it looks like I'm gonna have to give this a try." I explained to Calvin how it just might turn out to be a great read. And boy was I right. I could not put the book down. Anytime Calvin wanted to venture off somewhere, I had to say, "okay, let me finish this chapter" or "I have to find a good stopping point". A real page turning that opened your eyes to the horrific events soldiers endure during war. These 2 men were captured and tortured for 7 weeks by Iraqis. And did I mention, it was written by the 2 men who experienced such horrific incidents.
Down the street we found a fantastic BBQ stand. Best pork belly I have ever had! It melted in your mouth. I never caught the name of a side dish we had with it, but it basically was a bunch of veggies, cut up real small, tossed and fried in
oil. When accompanied with a chili oil, it was great. Minus all the cooking oil that was used to make it.
The next morning we decided we needed to be more careful with the amount we were spending. We walked to a market, bought some peanut butter, "American bread"(sliced white bread), and local bananas. We are peanut butter banana sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. There were some restaurants but all were too pricey.
We rented a motorbike one afternoon and decided to tour the coast line. 350 pesos for 3-5 hours. Another 100 pesos to fill it up. Cause why would anyone rent you a motorbike that already had petro in it? It was a gorgeous ride! We putted up to the top of one hill, the view was breathtaking. The vast open sea in front of you. Smaller islands to the side. The colors went from Crystal clear, to turquoise, to deep navy blue. A couple hundred meters from the shoreline you spotted the surf breaking over shallow reefs.
During our motorbike trip we passed a baby blue headstone that read "Our Father who art in Heaven". As we drove another 500 meters another stone "hallow be
thy name". The prayer continued all the way to an "amen". I enjoyed the quiz it offered me, trying to remember what was next without having to start the whole prayer over again. Some things you just never forget. 😊
We got lost, no, we explored. We stumbled into a small village where the children were playing with a tire and stick in the road. Every one so eager and happy to see us. The kids would run next to the bike shouting hi! Friendly people.
The sun was getting ready to go to rest as we decided to head back to the main town of Coron. The roads posed a hazard for us... I don't know how anyone could drive on them. Loose deep sand sitting on top of some very rocky steep hills. Every now and again I could feel the back getting out from under us, as I'm sure Calvin could feel me tightening my grip around him. We had a system, or so we thought. Lean all the way forward for uphill and all the way back for downhill. Well as we were climbing up a rather dangerous incline, I felt the back swaying beneath me.
Next thing I knew I was on the ground, 5 feet away from the laying sideways back on top of Calvin's left leg. The sand won. We weren't hurt much, just a few scraps, cuts, and dirty legs. Thank goodness. Even the motorbike was returned with some scratches. 150 pesos. At least the guy didn't notice the bent foot peg. For how dangerous that road was, I'm surprised, yet glad, that we only wiped out once and weren't severely injured.
After 3 days of exploring Coron we decided to move on to another island, El Nido. We had bought our tickets at the port when we had first arrived. If only I was sure enough to catch the scam that the lady did. The tickets you purchase are on carbon paper. When you arrive at the dock, a guard checks to make sure it is valid and let's you through, then on the boat another personnel comes and collects the white copy and you are left with the pink slip. We had been through this a handful of times. I KNEW something was up when the lady only handed us only the white slip. I was so close to
saying something but let it slid. When we got to the dock, the guard said our ticket wasn't valid and you could pay 20 pesos to get it "valid", which was a a slip with something written on it. I was upset, to say the least. Scam! After paying the 20 pesos and continuing towards the boat I was cursing and bitching about the whole thing. Some inappropriate words were said and judgements on these 2 ladies passed. Lesson learned.
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