There were too many photos to narrow it down to one blog... here are a few more.... read more

It was really good to be waking up late on our last morning at Uncle Tan's Wildlife reserve. The big group that arrived the morning after us (we were small in comparison, only 7 of us), were already off on their morning boat safari, so everything was particularly peaceful. We didn't have any 'programs' on this day and it was nice to be able to chill in our hammocks, and watch the monitor lizard and wild pigs doing their thing. There was a giant squirrel (Darrell thinks it might have been a lemur) just above me, and the Macaques are busy destroying the kitchen. One of the other girls and I tried to scare them away, but the alpha male ended up being the one doing the chasing and we were the ones being scared away... ... read more

The Journey With the sun starting to set on our time in Philippines, we made plans to get back from the beautiful paper-white beaches of Boracay to the Metro capital of Manila in time for our flight. Since the tiny planes making the inter-island hop had already filled all their cheap seats, we opted for a uniquely Philippino way of travelling. Taking the Ro-ro means boarding a bus, which drives across the islands, and onto ferrys for the crossings between them. Aside from air travel, it's the most direct route across a country made up of 17,000 islands. While travelling in Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, we've found the night busses a great way to get around. You get on, fall asleep, and wake up in a different place. And your accommodation and transport are paid for ... read more

Leaving Palawan For a while we were wondering whether we were going to make it off Cacnipa Island. With the threat of a typhoon coming through, we'd had to make peace with the fact that we may not get back to Puerto Princesa in time to catch our flight to Cebu. There are worse place to get stuck... As it turns out the wind calmed down enough for us to escape paradise, and at 6am we were on the banca surfing the waves back to Palawan. The bus schedule from the port town of Saint Vincent does not run according to time, but instead had simply a list of the order in which the minivans would be leaving. They just wait around until the van is full and then leave. We arrived pretty early, and settled ... read more

My usual question, unanswered by these -- by most -- travel books, is: How did you get there? Even without the suggestion of a motive, a prologue is welcome, since the going is often as fascinating as the arrival. -Paul Theroux, To the Ends of the Earth And, in our decision to try and save a few pesos, this was truely the case in getting to **** Island. There were 2 options to get to the remote island from Sabang. 1: We could take a 2,5 hr boat ride for P1000 if there were more than 2 of us, or we could hire the boat for P4000. 2: We could take a jeepney to Salbation, and then catch the Jeepney from Salbation to Port Barton, and from Port Barton, so the boatmen in Sabang said, it ... read more