Boracay, Philippines...
....on our last full day on this party playground, we head out on a sailboat trip around the island.....
like all things we've done....seemed like a good idea at the time....
....assured by the 2 young guys that sail this simple hull craft with its bamboo outriggers, the white caps we see off shore will be "No problem"...yea, right...heading out along the protected coast, we fly along in the growing breeze...
....rounding the point, we were immediately hammered full on by the strong winds, along with the rolling, breaking seas...for the next hour we are sailing, as waves crash into the boat and over us...
...we are perched on the outrigger, seems more as paid ballast, to keep the boat/outrigger from rolling past an occasional 45degree tilt...yea, once again...what are we thinking? Yvonne does well on the ocean ...(see our archived Cuban blog from May, 2014)... .
We start the trip wearing lifejackets, as required by regulations - blah, blah, blah...but, on the open, spray-flecked wild side, we have them off and use them as seat cushions on the nylon line netting...
Eventually, we arrive safe 'n sound, no worse for wear around the far end and pull ashore at the other famous stretch of sand...Puka Beach.....after that we head out to...
...our final stop on a small offshore reef, with plenty of small fish to snorkel through...
...we leave Boracay and return to Kalibo to fly out to Cebu City.....
Masses of wires hang precariously everywhere, even sometimes at hand height. We were warned by locals not to touch them as many are live!!! Yikes!
Rice fields are seen everywhere in this region.
...a pretty quick 45 min flight lands us in Cebu City, then a hop, skip and a jump from airport, to taxi to long haul bus for the approx 3 hr ride down the coast to Moalboal.
...the town of Moalboal is ramshackle cute, with really only a block or 2 of dive shops, vendors and small hotels...it is the home to freedivers - those crazy people who like to descend to 30 + metres on one breath, a billion+ sardine school that sits just 50 metres offshore, and a center for extreme adventure like canyoning/waterfall jumps...
....fresh catch of the day (squid) will find its way on the menu for dinner.....
Our home for the next few days, Pacita's, for $1200 pesos, is perfectly located away from the main beach, secured, easy beach access, a convenient bar and steps to the snorkeling...
The snorkeling is pretty deluxe, lots of fish, color and coral...the shore shelf extends about 50m to the Wall, where it drops away....we spend several hours a day snorkeling, checking out the incredible undersea world...
One amazing event that occurs here is the massive sardine run that seems to have taken up semi-permanent residence just on the shelf's edge...literally billions of the tiny, silvery guys bunch, swirl, twirl in unison...
they form whirlpool shapes, black holes and those tunnel like shapes seen in sci-fi movies when spacecraft go into hyperdrive...
We swim over this school for minutes, diving down, floating, watching the dance mere metres below...
After that, back to our beach for some sun, beer and massage...a bit of paradise....
Locals here are great, food is awesome, while travelers are varied, interesting, from all parts of the world...there's even a White Beach here (seem to have them everywhere in the Philippines), just a few minutes away by tricycle.....
.....the local town beach had most of their sand vanish in a typhoon...
We've even applied for jobs at a beach side bar...at this rate, we might not get back home...Haha
After a few days of sun, rest and lots of swimming, we are restless and find out there's a tour that takes one into the canyons, rivers and waterfalls deep in the local mountains...
Brochure makes it sound so nice....jump safely into cool, flowing waters, float along in the gentle river while admiring the towering canyon walls, sloosh down some short, smooth rock slides and hike securely through the serenity of the canyon paradise...
Organizer assures us that 'we' can do this and anything we don't want to do, can easily bypass....
We take a company jeepney with 3 staff and 7 others who've signed on....
We get outfitted with all the gear and descend into the canyon and .....the madness that awaits us....
Holy S#$&t! We look at our first entry into the water...an easy 4m jump from a slippery rock perch into a tiny portion of river...I can barely balance on skis....and all of this is done while avoiding other tours bobbing and jumping in....
...somehow we all safely jump in, without rebounding off the opposite canyon wall or landing on another random floater...
From then on it is all downhill, OK, there are a few climbs to get to the 6, 10, 12 and 13+m waterfall jumps...
....we do this for over 6 hrs in our wetsuits, helmets, lifejackets, all the while scrambling up muddy, steep trails, clinging to roots and branches or desperately trying to find toeholds/handholds as we inch our way along narrow rock ledges or on slippery, unsecured bamboo bridges...
.....we seem to be constantly one step away from plunging off our delicate perch and bouncing off the rocky canyon walls into the water below.....
....especially when one is 13 m/40 ft above, the river looks pretty narrow and small...and the toehold would fit a Filipino sized foot way better....
Yvonne and I have so many WTF??? moments over the course of the canyon adventure....
...we assure each other that it can't get any worse, dangerous or more laugh out loud funny...but of course it does...
The final jump is about 14m, we all declined a 20m jump earlier, esp when our guide remarked that the water level looked low...
This last jump towers over a great pool...locals eat picnics, swim in the waters, jump from lower surrounding hills or float on a giant bamboo raft, paddling it into the waterfall...
...spectators gather, float on the water's edge, expecting some carnage, while the rest of us look down, nervously glancing at the bamboo raft that is floating perilously close to our entry point... Splat? or Splash? which is it to be?
The setting for this last jump is pretty damn dramatic and spectacular...cascading falls, surrounded by high canyon walls, while vines, roots of the towering trees snake and twine their way down the face looking for secure anchor spots...a most certain Shangra-la!
......Legends of the Falls.....
One by one, the group takes the final jump. We all take that final breath, say our prayers even if we don't usually do so and hope for one more successful jump. Helmet secure, glasses tucked away, hold lifejacket and jump... As the oldest in this group we are pretty proud of ourselves!!! Unfortunately we do not have photos of those bigger jumps....
We celebrate later with our team with food and drink before we head back to town.
In the end, a pretty good day was had by all. We faced our fears in the canyon!
The 'just do it' mantra rings loud and true.
Adios for now.....
Shayne y Yvonne
Upcoming.....Cockfights...( yea, I know what a lot of you are thinking - keep your mind out of the gutters...) It is UFC! ...and we swim with the gentle giants - Whale Sharks!
Additional photos...
