We leave Camiguin, Mindinao with a handful of days remaning before we need to be on our flight home from Manila...
....so as usual, we have some rough plans of where to go and what to do...and, with crappy/non-existent WiFi around Camiguin... we are traveling old-school, like we did 40 yrs ago...little info about what's ahead, where to stay, flight schedules etc...so, what could go wrong?
...we are on the quiet ferry from Camiguin heading to the big island of Mindanao... almost empty, with a mere 20 passengers....
....we talk, plan and come up with some vague idea of finding some sort of beach side spot to enjoy the last days here....
...our packs have served us well these past 2 months....like a faithful pet, they handle everything thrown at them....always eager to climb on our backs and go....they've been durable on the trikes, jeepneys or navigating the broken, narrow concreted roads and sidewalks...never straying far from our side, these little Sherpas carry their weight.... or as much as Shayne sheds while away for 2 months...Yvonne wishes it would be more for her...
....we disembark on Mindanao port to gloomy and cloudy weather and start a 90 min bus ride to the big city Cagayan de Oro (CDO).....
....we see no coast line here to stay....
....in CDO, we grab a bite and look to move on....find a van heading along the coast to the airport...and the driver is willing to stop at some beach side places...
...1st stop is full, 2nd stop is rundown, 3rd stop is padlocked, 4th stop is down a dusty, rutted road to a 'resort' that has several palapas and not much else....
...on the fly and in the van we make a decision to head to the airport with the driver and see about flying out north to another spot..
....we love the freedom of changing our minds midstream.... it's so nice to be flexible and not locked into a hotel or schedule so that we can change and go in any direction, if needed...
...however, this laizze-faire approach does have the odd drawback here and there.....we must eat an already bought flight and buy another for Cebu...from there we've decided to head to the Camotes Islands....
......we have come to enjoy the uncertainty, the flexibility of making last minute, on the fly decisions .....keeps us young!
...north of Cebu City, we hop on a 2 hr ferry ride to the quiet islands of the Camotes...between Cebu and Leyte.
A comfortable open-air ride...
...we grab a trike and head to our resort...
Small stores everywhere, if needed.
Our view from our room...wow! Santiago Bay.
....sunsets
great beach...quiet...our resort/hotel
...Beach side ...
...and a Reggae Bar....yeah for Bob Marley!
A neighbouring beach we walked to...
...imagine a beautiful low-key group of island approx 2 hrs by boat from a major city with millions...
....anywhere else, the islands would be full of city-folk, many beach retreats and traffic... not here, while development is happening, it is slow and small scale....
...the perfect way to spend our last weekend in the Philippines...
....best view in the lovely cove for the waterfront gravestones. Most cemeteries seem to be built at the seaside here.
A nice view for the departed - all built above ground as the limestone is too hard to dig into.
...local kids swim, jump...
The graves peak out from under the trees asking us to visit...
A view back to our beach...
....we manage to wade back in the rising waters...'native-style'..
