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Published: February 17th 2009
secret beach
i believe meg refered to this one as the most beautiful beach we had found yet; and we had it all to ourselvesTHE PICTURES IN THIS BLOG ARE NOT IN ORDER WITH HOW WE TRAVELLED OR TOOK THEM...WE PUT UP TOO MANY TO GO THROUGH AND RE-ORDER...IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN TOO LONG...THEY ARE ALL LABELED SO YOU CAN CONNECT THEM WITH THE PARTS OF THE BLOG...ENJOY
After two weeks in Dumaguete visiting with Wilson and family, we were back off on our own, trying to cover all the sights in the few weeks we had left. We covered almost every island in the Visayas, traversed most of Palawan and even made it to the northern mountains of Luzon for some rice terrace viewing.
Here's a quick overview of our route and the immense amount of travel involved... (skip this part and just head to the highlights if you don't ever plan on visiting the Philippines or trying to recreate this "journey!")
ok, here goes...We left Dumaguete January 5th and ferried two and a half hours to the island of Bohol, where we then took an hour and half jeepney ride to the town of Loboc, then another hour habal-habal ride to our first stop: Nuts Huts. After a few days in Nuts Huts, we bussed to Ubay (with a
milagrosa j-cinco
our ferry to palawan docked at cuyo island to pick up cargo and passengers. meg and i had no idea we were stopping at this place quick stop off at the Chocolate Hills), ferried 5 hours (we had to stop to load about 15 cows onto our 30 foot banca boat) to Maasin on the island of Leyte, then took a short jeepney to Padre Burgos. From PB, we hired a private banca to sail across the bay to San Ok II-site of our awesome whale shark encounter...details below! From San Ok II, we bussed 6 hours up to Hilongos to catch the night ferry to Cebu (which due to bad weather left at 4am rather than the intended 9pm-but luckily we got a free night's sleep on the ferry!). We got into Cebu City at 10 am, caught another bus up to Maya and got there just in time for the last ferry out to Malapascua at 4pm (we fought a hard fight-and won- to not pay for a "special trip" just because the weather was bad-we had to walk away about 5 times to bring the price down from about $30 to about $3). Three days in Malapascua, then the ferry back to Maya and a bus over to another port to catch a ferry to Bantayan. The ferry was cancelled due to bad
reading at sandfly beach
a lovely beach with heaps of sandflies weather and they weren't sure when it would leave again, so we hopped on the next bus and started heading back south down Cebu, not sure where to go or what to do. We pulled out the good 'ole LP and found a ferry to Negros from the town of Escalante on Cebu-but we had already missed the ferry for that day, so we hopped off the bus in some random town to sleep, then caught the early jeepney the next morning to Escalante. It was a two hour ferry ride over to Negros, then another few hours by bus to Bacolod, where we caught another ferry to Iloilo (these are quick and frequent!!!). We spent a night in Iloilo, then caught another ferry-this time only a fifteen minute one-out to the island of Guimaras, where we got a jeepney south, then hired a banca to take us out to the Baras Beach Resort for two nights. Two days later we made our way back to Iloilo where we hopped on another bus and rode six hours up to Caticlan to catch the ferry out to Boracay for three days. We followed the same route back to Iloilo three days
another sunset
sundown while under way on the milagrosa j-cinco later, spent an evening in Iloilo, then boarded the Milagrosa ferry at 7pm on Thursday night to Palawan. The ferry stopped the next morning in the Cuyo Islands at 9am for a six hour stopover (which we spent chilling on a gorgeous remote beach and being bitten by sand flies), then took off again at 3pm and arrived in Puerto Princesa at 9am the next morning. When we boarded the ferry we thought we were in for a 26 hour ride (which seemed absurdly long at the time), yet soon came to realize that it was actually going to be 38 hours-our longest ferry ride to date! In Puerto Princesa we caught a short bus to the turn off for Sabang, then rode 2 hours on the top (yes, on the top!) of a jeepney down a dirt road to Sabang. The next day we took the afternoon jeepney (and got to ride inside this time!) back to the main road where we caught a bus to the Port Barton turnoff. We turned down the offer of a habal-habal ride (too expensive) in favor of hitching a ride in the back of a truck-and were extremely happy with our choice
sabang
beach of sabang, the place where subterranean nat'l park is when we saw the condition of the road-horrible-and realized a habal-habal ride would have been suicide! Standing in the back of a truck for two hours covered in rice husks wasn't exactly pleasant either, but was better than balancing three bags and three people on a motorcycle through mud holes. On the way out from Port Barton we caught the once-a-day jeepney to Roxas, and then took a bumpy, dusty 7 hour bus ride to El Nido-worst road in all the Philippines! We repeated the same ride a few days later, but all the way back to Puerto Princesa where we got a flight to Manila. After a slow (Manila has tons of traffic) taxi ride across town, we immediately caught an overnight bus into the mountains of Luzon to a town called Banaue. We spent three days hiking through rice terraces, then caught yet another bus south to Manila-leaving at 7am and finally reaching our hostel at about 7pm. The next morning was yet another taxi ride across town (Manila was just too crazy to try to figure out the jeepneys) and a three hour bus ride up to the Clarke Airport, just in time for our two hour
entrance
the underground river cave entrance flight out of the country to Borneo.
If it seems like we spent the last five weeks of our time in the Philippines riding a bus, then you get the picture! Just writing about it makes me tired-the actual experience was exhausting. Luckily, in between all that travel we got to see some of the most gorgeous places and get to know one of the warmest, friendliest countries we've traveled in yet.
Here are some of the HIGHLIGHTS...
NUTS HUTS: This guesthouse is on the island of Bohol and has about a million steps (Matt counted on one of our long treks upward and I think the actual count was somewhere near 300). It was the perfect place to get back into the backpacking-mode as it was rather rustic and geared toward adventure. Our first day there we spent 4 hours hiking up a mountain to explore a gigantic cave and then swimming a half mile upriver from the gh to a waterfall. The next day we rented mountain bikes (which had a rather disastrous start considering my front tire went flat within the first mile and Matt's tire got stuck in a crack on a bridge,
safety first
about to enter the longest subterranean river cavern in the world he flew off his bike, sliced open his chin and we visited every health clinic along our route-luckily there were many-to clean and redress his wound). However, our destination-the Tarsier Foundation-turned out to be well worth it and we got to see Philippine tarsiers, which are the second smallest mammal in the world. At Nuts Huts we also met loads of other backpackers, shared some great stories and got some awesome advice for the rest of our travels.
WHALE SHARKS!!!!... We decided to be adventurous and try out a homestay/whale shark encounter program we had heard about in Southern Leyte. In Padre Burgos, we hired a banca and sailed across Sogod bay to a tiny town that has developed a cooperative to promote the conservation of whale sharks that come every spring to their shores. The whole town came out to greet us and we were put up with one of the whale shark spotter's family-which consisted of his wife and two daughters. We put down our stuff and were immediately whisked out onto a boat to start our search. The first evening our search was unsuccessful, but we were promised a sighting the next day! Our family fed
carabao
this water buffalo, or carabao in tagalog, almost let me ride it. I wanted to enter the carabao races in port barton but didn't look filipino enough nor did I have any experience riding them. us an incredible Filipino dinner and the older daughter took us out to explore the town and meet the Pastor's family (who is head of the co-op). The next morning we were up early, despite some heavy downpours, for a snorkel in the sanctuary directly offshore the village. Our whale shark encounter guide and spotters picked us up from our snorkel and we took off along the coast on another search. Within minutes one of our spotters began frantically waving his arms. We zipped over and literally threw ourselves overboard just in time to catch a glimse of a very rotund whale shark diving into the deep blue. We hopped back in the boat and continued on. About a half hour later our spotter once again began the frantic hand motions and we once again threw ourselves in the water (actually, I hesitated a few seconds cuz this time we could actually see the fin cutting through the water and it looked more like a shark than I had expected). This time the whale shark was right next to us and was cruising along the surface. And it was huge; about 30 feet long and had the most gigantic head
of any animal I have ever seen in the ocean. For ten minutes we got to swim along next to it, watching in awe as it just cruised along. It finally decided to go it's own way, and we got back in our boat and headed in to shore. We were served another delicious meal and then the whole family accompanied us out to the road to catch the bus.
*You can also do some great diving and snorkel with whale sharks by staying at Pete's Dive Resort (a really cool guesthouse) in Padre Burgos-a little less complicated, though more expensive, than the homestay program!
Malapascua: this was our next stop after Leyte. It was touted as one of the best beaches in the Philippines, but what stands out most in our mind was the horrible rainy weather and the terrifying boat ride out to the island. However, despite the rain it was an extremely relaxing place, with no cars on the island a super chill island vibe.
Baras Beach Resort: We headed out to this "resort" on Guimaras island randomly for two nights to fill some time while we waited for our ferry to Palawan. When we
island
one of the islands of our port barton island tour arrived, there was no one there and we thought we'd have the place to ourselves. However, shortly after two Sweedish couples arrived, and guess what-they were getting married there the next night! They had eloped together and planned a secret wedding at the resort without telling their families or anyone at home. So the next day a Sweedish priest from the nearby city of Iloilo arrived with her family and a Filipino choir and Matt and I got to be the sole witnesses (and I the photographer) of their cliffside wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous and we had fun helping them eat their wedding supper and celebrating. Pretty random!
Boracay: Another last minute addition that we added to fill some more time. We had pledged to avoid it as it is "the tourist spot" of the Philippines and we were determined to avoid the crowds. However, we were pleasantly surprised and unlike Phuket or other super touristy places, it actually had a very low-key atmosphere. We easily found our own slice of beach to spend the day on (and it is an absolutely gorgeous beach!) and had fun strolling past all the beach bars and restaurants set up on
island hopping
in port barton with aussie adam taking the photo of us the sand at night.
the Milagrosa ferry...this shouldn't really be considered a destination, but considering we spent 36 hours on this ferry it definitely counts. This was our third, and most run-down, overnight ferry of the Philippines. Despite paying extra for the tourist class, we were still surrounded by crying babies and huge buckets of rice (Filipinos travel with their own personal rice buckets to keep them full on their journeys!). We lucked out (not!) and got the beds right in front of the blasting AC and tv speakers. For some reason, when we boarded the ship, we were completely convinced that we would be arriving in Palawan the following evening. At about sunset the next evening, we began wondering why we still couldn't see land ahead when we should be docking shortly. We poked our head into the captain's room to ask about our arrival time and were shocked to find out that it wouldn't be until 9am the next morning. Oh well. Another night we didn't have to pay for a hotel!
Palawan: While Boracay is the tourist destination of the Philippines, Palawan is the backpacker destination. It is definitely one of the most gorgeous places
parade
for the festival in port barton, palawan. other events included cock fighting, water buffalo races, banca boat races and a lot more we've been on this entire trip, yet all of our crazy transport experiences were beyond exaggeration here: from the extra long ferry to reach it to riding on top of a jeepney to the dustiest, bumpiest roads I've ever seen (Matt actually cracked his head on the roof of the bus).
Our first stop was Sabang, the site of the longest subterranean river in the world. While the river is a must-see, and the beach was prettier than expected, it's a good place to spend the day then keep moving.
Next stop was Port Barton, which I think both Matt and I can agree will top our "top five beaches/towns" list by the end of this trip. We showed up just in time for the local village festival and were warmly welcomed in to the many events from the basketball championship games to beauty paegants to parades and dances. The town has two main streets, adorable guesthouses right on the beach and delicious restaurants. We did a snorkel/island hopping trip one day, then spent the remainder of our time laying on the beach and strolling through town.
Finally, we made our way all the way up to
el nido
views from the island hopping tour the top of the island to El Nido. For the first time on our trip, EVERY guesthouse was full (we had had some close calls, but never yet encountered this)-supposedly because it was the Chinese New Year and every Chinese person had chosen El Nido as their vacation destination. In the end, we found accommodation a short cyclo-ride away, which ended up as a good thing as it led to our discovery of the most gorgeous beach we've ever seen. Our first morning we set off on a walk down the beach in front of our hotel, which is around a rocky point and not accessible to El Nido, and after crossing over 3 or 4 bays found a gorgeous sweep of white sand and turquoise water backed by palm trees. It was on this beach that Matt made his first successful climb of a coconut palm as well, a very proud moment for him (and a delicious, refreshing treat for me in the form of a coconut!). In addition to relaxing on our "secret" beach, we also took the classic island hopping trip that everyone who goes to El Nido takes. It was a bit touristy for our taste,
finally
after getting close to the top of about a dozen of these i finally made it to the coconuts. Meg and I feasted on a couple of delicious Bukos (young coconuts). This one was the highest of any I attempted at about 50ft high. but the island were gorgeous-they are similar to the ones we saw in Halong Bay in Vietnam, but more tropical. And, in one of the lagoons we visited on the trip, Matt and I swam around a corner and came across the set for the Sweedish Survivor (the tv show). We climbed up onto it and were able to explore for a few minutes before security found us and kicked us off. Sadly, the actors weren't there, so we didn't get to see the show in live action.
Banaue: On our final three days in the country we rushed up to norther Luzon, which seems a world away from the islands of Palawan and the Visayas, to see the ancient rice terraces carved by the native Ifugao thousands of years ago. We spent a day hiking up to the viewpoints of the rice terraces surrounding Banaue-and recovering from the coldest (think blasting AC) overnight bus trip ever. The next day we loaded up our backpacks with overnight stuff and headed out with our guide, Guideon, for the village of Batad. We spent the night at Rita's pension house, which has a porch overlooking the ampitheater of rice terraces that
gateway
the view from the beach outside of island front guest house looking at the gate to the courtyard surround Batad. Rita herself is about 60 years old and is the most adorable, tiny woman you have ever met. She speaks excellent English and spent the evening entertaining Matt and I (her only guests that night) with stories of her youth.
We've reached the end of our Philippine tour, though we haven't even come close to telling all the stories that went with it. Hopefully the pictures will cover the rest, as I don't think I can bear to write any more and except for our parents, I doubt many are even still reading! Leaving the Philippines was the hardest of any country yet. We had made more friends and discovered more special places than any place yet. But I think we just about covered it all...and now we're on to Borneo!!!
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bristol
non-member comment
of course we are still reading!!!! keep them coming!!