ISLAS Y UN TRUEQUE INESPERADO - ISLANDS AND A SURPRISE BARTER

Tras un mes y medio trabajando y viviendo en Sagada, tocaba despedirse. Nos ofrecieron más trabajo antes de marchar, pero necesitábamos extender nuestra Visa en Baguio, la ciudad que nos acogió durante nuestra primera noche en Filipinas. Nuestra intención era ir directamente a Corón, una isla que forma parte de Palawan, pero el barco que nos llevaría hasta allí tardaría al menos una semana en zarpar desde Manila. Como no queríamos permanecer en la capital durante tanto tiempo, decidimos ir a Vigán, una pequeña ciudad al norte de la isla de Luzón. Vigán parecía un sitio interesante. Es la única ciudad de este país que todavía conserva ese look colonial de la época española. Alguna fuerza sobrenatural debió proteger a esta ciudad durante la IIGM, ya que ninguna bomba japonesa calló sobre ella. El sentimiento fue algo extraño. Una mezcla de Latinoamérica y Asia, un cocktail tropical con un pizca de Cartagena de Indias y un toque filipino.

"…Alguna fuerza sobrenatural debió proteger a esta ciudad durante la IIGM, ya que ninguna bomba japonesa calló sobre ella."
 

It was time to leave Sagada, what had been our home for a month and a half. We even had to recline a job offer before leaving. It was a sad goodbye, but ee are sure that we will come back to this great place in the near future. At that time, our Visa needed extending, reason why we went straight back to Baguio, the city that took us in for the first night in Philippines. With our Visa situation fixed (and quickly), we had some days to kill before heading south towards to Manila, the capital. Vigan sounded like a better option to visit rather than Baguio or Manila. Vigan, being a UNESCO heritage sight, is one of the few cities which still has its colonial look and feel. it miraculously avoided the japanese bombs from world war II maintaining the city center as a great place to walk around. It felt like a mix between Latin America and Asia, the beauty of Cartagena mixed with local asian style eateries and dumpling food stalls. We even had time to see our first Pinoy beach just a few hour away from town. Not bad to kill time if we do say so ourselves.

Salimos hacia Manila dos días antes de que el barco zarpara, tiempo suficiente para comprar los billetes y visitar a nuestra amiga Alicia, una chica de Pamplona que trabajaba allí desde hacía casi un año. Alicia nos enseñó algunas cosas de Makati, el barrio "pijo" de Manila (no tan "pijo" como alguno estarán pensando. Esto es Asia). Gracias a ella, conocimos a varios artistas encargados de un centro/tienda de arte. Habían creado el "SSS" "Small Singapur Show", donde invitaban a diferentes artistas de Singapur a exponer en su pequeño local. Manila, una capital nada apetecible a primera vista, pero donde rebuscando un poco puedes encontrar joyas la mar de interesantes.

After the days passed, we took a night bus to Manila. We had one night in the capital as the boat to Coron awaited us the next afternoon. We were invited to sleep in our friends house Alicia from Pamplona who had been working happily in Manila in the U.N. for almost a year. She was kind enough to show us around and take us to some of her favorite spots in Makati. One place in particular was a very interesting little "shopping/art center". Here, all the young artist had a place to paint murals, exhibit their work in galleries as well as delicious and interesting restaurants. We managed to chill out with a few artists and designers from Manila and Singapore who were setting up the "SSS" "Small Singapore Show". An extremely interesting exhibition with a great concept. A pity we couldn't see it finished and running for its opening day.

A la mañana siguiente, cogimos el barco que nos llevaría a Corón, un viaje de 18 horas que nos hizo recordar nuestras aventuras amazónicas. Se trataba de un barco pequeño, lleno de literas tanto en el sótano, donde nos tocó dormir, como en el piso de arriba. Las literas eran estrechas y algunas de ellas estaban rotas (como la de Julia), haciendo que los pies o la cabeza colgaran hacia la cama de abajo. El motor del barco estaba justo a nuestro lado, por lo que su sonido nos acompañó durante todo el viaje, y tres ventiladores intentaban hacer lo imposible. Como solo había tres turistas en el barco (contándonos a nosotros), la experiencia fue todavía más divertida. Los locales flipaban viéndonos allí con ellos, y probablemente se preguntaran por qué no íbamos en cabina. Al final, niños y adultos cogieron confianza y se iban acercando de vez en cuando para hablar con nosotros. Incluso alguno de ellos nos ofreció alojamiento en su casa y nos invitó a unas cocacolas. Y algunos pensarán… en Filipinas, ¿cocacolas? Pues si, los filipinos son más gringos que nadie. Les encanta lo americano, les flipa el MC Donalds y el helado con Cocacola. Si con los españoles ya perdieron parte de su cultura, con los americanos se despidieron de ella para siempre. Una pena, la verdad. 

"…los filipinos son más gringos que nadie."

The next afternoon it was time to take the boat to Coron in the Busuanga Islands. An 18 hour boat trip, something that brought us back memories from the Amazons. The boat was small and full of bunk beds with their respective passengers. We were one of the few foreigners on the boat something that made the experience even more interesting as locals would feel inclined to talk to us. At one point we were given some soft drinks and were invited to stay at people's houses in the neighboring islands. This goes to show how amazing Philippines hospitality really is. One man Mario even gave us as a "souvenir" his personal expired ID card from the Hospital, were he was working before he retired.

Comida en el barco hacia Corón - Food on the boat towards Coron

Llegamos a Corón al día siguiente, a una hora perfecta para buscar alojamiento con calma y un buen centro de submarinismo. Corón es famoso por los barcos hundidos de la IIGM que descansan en sus aguas. Gracias a nuestro trueque con Ámbar y a los Dive Masters de Seadive pudimos experimentar y disfrutar de cinco de estos grandes barcos. Esta pequeña ciudad no tiene mucho más que ofrecer, aunque el mercado y los puestos de comida lo llenan de vida durante la noche, cuando el calor afloja. Eso si, los atardeceres son espectaculares y la cantidad de pequeñas islas que rodean Corón hacen que la estampa sea perfecta.

We arrived in Coron on the afternoon the next day, a great time to be able to find a decent hostel and a well equipped dive shop. Coron is famous for its wreck diving and that is the main reason why we had come here, with the help of Ambar beer of course. What can we say about this place, it wasn't much of a tropical gem, but an authentic village bustling with life thanks to its diving appeal. The sunsets were also as magical as the wreck diving itself. We were left amazed as every afternoon, the sky would do its magic, a perfect time to drink a coffee and watch the sun go down. In total, we managed to dive 5 wrecks from the second world war, each more thrilling than the other. We have to say that these dive sights have a bit of a danger factor, but luckily the dive masters in Sea Dive were extremely experienced and above all extremely nice. This made our experience two times better, as diving with grumpy a divemaster really kills the fun in diving.

El siguiente barco a la gran isla de Palawan nos esperaba. Al ser la isla más apartada de Filipinas, donde el transporte es extremadamente complicado, pensamos que estaríamos prácticamente solos. Qué error. El Nido rebosaba de turismo y los cazaturistas nos abordaron nada más llegar. Un pueblo pesquero muy pequeño que, en nuestra opinión, el turismo de masas le ha hecho perder gran parte de su magia y su completa autenticidad. Aún así, el paisaje es increíble, rodeado también de multitud de islas y altos acantilados. Durante los días que permanecimos allí, visitamos algunas de estas islas, disfrutando de preciosas playas y un gran snorkelling. De la misma forma, tuvimos la oportunidad de disfrutar de Las Cabanas, un increíble y larga playa a 40 minutos caminando desde el pueblo, con mucha menos gente y esa tranquilidad que andábamos buscando. La verdad es que, de haber conocido este lugar antes, hubiéramos preferido alojarnos allá y caminar diariamente. 

Our next plan was to take a boat to Palawan, an island that is extremely appealing considering it's isolation from the rest of Philippines. While taking an overprices ferry towards El Nido we imagined how untouched and wild the place could actually be. To our surprise, we weren't the only people who had had the same Idea. In fact, the place was bustling with tourists. It seemed to be another Koh Phi phi, an authentic peaceful, local fishing village, turned upside down thanks to the effects of mass tourism. Overpriced guesthouses with blaring techno music, tourists flashing their latest beach looks and locals "hustling" travelers to contract one of their island hopping tours. The place was basically living from tourism, it felt like Cuba all over again. In general, diving and Island hopping is the thing to do here. The water is warm and quite full of life, although dynamite fishing has done it's fair share of damage. Not to mention the thousands of boats full of tourists that throw their anchors regardless of the coral the lays beneath. Luckily, apart from the under water life, the landscapes are still amazing and if you try hard enough, you can still find some pristine, semi secluded beaches. You just needs to leave the main village if you really want to get that "wild Palawan effect." In our case, we discovered Cabanas beach, just 40 minutes walking from El Nido. Secluded, decent accommodation, with a real chilled out vibe, it's definitely a place worth a visit before it's over run by thousands of tourists. 

De allí fuimos a Port Barton, un pequeño pueblo pesquero en la isla de Palawan que todavía no ha sido arrasado por el turismo. Rodeado de la densa jungla que caracteriza esta isla, tuvimos la oportunidad de bucear en sus aguas, probablemente las más cristalinas que hayamos visto. Lo único negativo de Port Barton fue el dueño del sitio donde nos alojamos. Se trata de un expatriado francés que está como una auténtica regadera. Tiene un pequeño hostal llamado Magyela Princess (no confundirse con el hotel Princess Michaela), con tres bungalós a muy buen precio. Recomendamos encarecidamente NO ir a este lugar. Drogas, malos tratos y locura se albergan aquí. El menda lerenda va a buscar a los turistas a la parada de autobús y es fácil identificarlo por los tatuajes de un Buda y de una cobra que lleva en sus brazos. Repetimos, este señor está enfermo y el NO ir a este lugar es uno de los mejores consejos que hemos podido dar en este blog. Aunque, quitando la experiencia del hostal, Port Barton sea un sitio muy recomendable, teníamos ganas de salir de esta isla, por lo que nos dirigimos a Puerto Princesa para volar desde allí a la isla de Cebú, Las Visayas filipinas.

The same we thought about Port Barton. This village is still untouched by mass tourism and is a little gem in the heart of Palawan. Here we met great people like Doris from Easy Divers, a strong German woman with a great character and sense of humor. She had been here for a long time and had even mapped out her own dive sights, if you are interested in diving, she's the one to look for. The only downer in Port Barton was a French fellow who has just started his guesthouse with 3 cottages called something like Magyela Princess (not to be mistaken with Princess Michaela, the big hotel). This french individual is the only person who comes looking for tourists at the bus stop and to be frank, he is a complete nut case. He contradicts himself, is a bit rude and probably has a series of problems that should be looked at by a professional. Maybe rehab would be a good option for him too. Besides him and his food, the village rocks, and a visit is definitely worth it (just don't stay with the french guy). After a few days (maybe weeks) we had to leave Palawan. Getting sick from the french guys food just made us want to get the hell out of there. We managed to make it Puerto Princesa the island's capital and took an extremely cheap flight to Cebu, (flights a day before they leave can be extremely cheap in the philippines).

La pequeña isla de Apo fue nuestro próximo destino, uno de los sitios que más nos gustó de toda Filipinas. La gente es increíblemente acogedora, no hay nadie que no te salude por la calle, y el pueblo respira algo más de cultura filipina y no tan americana. Esta isla es conocida por sus tortugas. Nada más llegar, incluso antes de bajarte del barco, ya hay dos o tres tortugas recibiéndote desde el agua, y el submarinismo es espectacular, probablemente el mejor del país. A pesar de que el alojamiento en los 2 hoteles/hostales que hay en esta isla no sea especialmente barato, hay dos home stays que si lo son. La familia del barquero que nos llevó hasta la isla llevaba uno de ellos, Rono's Home Stay. Cuenta con unas habitaciones y baños muy básicos, pero la familia es un encanto, cosa que convierte tu estancia en una auténtica maravilla. Su cocina era maravillosa y las raciones enormes (lo que se agradece en Filipinas ya que las raciones suelen ser bastante pequeñas). 

We landed in Cebu city, to catch a bus south to get us to Apo Island in Negros. This place was something else. A real fishing village with an extreme laid back feeling, excellent diving and a good range of accommodation. Ronor's Home Stay was the place we chose to stay. She was a great woman, kind and very involved in her little business. Her cooking was above standards and the rations were good enough to keep our mothers happy and at peace. 

Esta familia estaba comenzando a montar otro Home Stay y, tras darles algunas ideas estratégicas para dar a conocer el nuevo negocio, decidimos ayudarles un poquito con el cartel que tenían en la entrada. Contábamos con muy pocos recursos para mejorarlo, y aunque el resultado no fue un cartel espectacular, conseguimos comunicar lo básico y hacerlo infinitamente más legible. Esa noche nos invitaron a una cena espectacular y gracias a nuestra pequeña acción, el desayuno que ya estaba incluido en el precio, fue mucho mejor que el día anterior. No les habíamos pedimos nada a cambio, pero salió de ellos darnos las gracias de aquella manera.

She was also starting up a new home stay with her son, this is were we stepped in to give her a mini hand. In her doorway she had a very illegible sign promoting her son's home stay. After giving her advice and a few little ideas of what she could do to make the new business stand out, we decided to redraw her sign with what little material we had. The outcome wasn't an amazing sign, but a legible sign good enough to communicate the basics. In exchange, she made us the most amazing food. Simple, yet hardy and filling. Thanks to our little action, breakfast, lunch and dinner just got better and better. We didn't even ask to barter the "design" for anything in exchange, she just felt happy for the helping hand and thanked us in her own special way. We can say that the locals here are extremely friendly. On voting day, the whole village got together to cook food for everyone, even us. They were all determined that e sit down with them and have plate after plate of local delights. As we said earlier, Apo is a great place to dive and snorkel as well. The prices are cheap (20€ per dive) and you can get sick of the hundreds of turtles that graze the reef just 10 meters from the beach. Every morning we would just slip on our bathing suit, take our dive mask and swim around the beach to check out the turtles. This place is definitely turtle heaven. But like all good things, they eventually come to an end and after few days, we had to leave this amazing little island. With a little tear in our eye, we thought where to go next… only time could tell.