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'..
A quiet, private place to hang out...until the tide comes in...
Beautiful, delicate sea life in the bay.
...our time in the Philippines is over... heading to the port in our final jeepney ride.
....we hop a fast ferry for Cebu City
...grab a few winks on the way...
Our last Filipino sunset on board our final ferry (out of 15 in total) en route to Cebu City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our time here has been truly amazing....we have met so many wonderful Filipino people...Boyit, Daniel, Annie, Mike, Marilyn, Jun Jun, Ping Ping and siblings, Ed, Popsie, Maui, Bong, Gerard, Dun-Dun, Babette & Will...to name but a few.....generous, kind, welcoming... they represent the best of Philippines' people and give hope to a bright future here....
....and, on the road, and on the beach....the travelers we have shared a beer or a bangka with have been interested in our stories....from all over the globe...Israel, Spain. Portugal, Argentina, England, the US and Canada...they offer hope that the world is truly small and that we can live together... to Or/Shaked, Elisabet, Belinda, Tobit & James, Pedro & Gabriela, Chase & Breanna, the Dornins and many more....it has been a blast...one day, we will show up at your door, or, come see us👍
We hope you have enjoyed this Philippines' blog as much as we have enjoyed creating it.
Hugs, until the next adventure...
Yvonne & Shayne
Additional photos...
Good-bye!!
Baybay!!!
Some observations during our travels here in the Philippines...
- very few cars are used on the islands. Most use motorcycles, bicycle taxis, jeepneys or walk
- umbrellas are often held by motorcycle drivers or their passengers to shelter them from the sun
- karaoke machines are owned by many...so, singing is heard in most smaller towns
- when you go into a pharmacy to buy bandaids or pills, you get the exact number you want rather than a package or bottle of more than you need
- shampoo is most often sold in individual packages like we would get at a hotel
- we are very tall here having to duck to enter most stores or shops. We just laugh and so do they...
- cockfighting roosters are tied to a post or rock in front of a house or road...in preparation for their day on stage at a Sunday cockfight
- very few baby strollers are seen. The roads are often too bad...babies are carried by a parent or are transported by motorcycle
- most structures are built out of bamboo- woven walls, fences, tools, boats
- many wash their clothes or themselves in rivers or streams
- many men smoke. They can buy cigarettes individually rather than in packages
- flipflops are the shoe of choice, even for construction workers
- every town has a huge outdoor basketball facility where they have stands and hundreds of community members come to watch
- most people use 'sweat cloths' to wipe away the sweat in this often 85% humidity country. Yvonne bought one too! Her hot sweats don't help much either!!
- vendors on the street that walk between cars sell hard boiled eggs, cigarettes, gum, dumplings, nuts and more...
- hardly anyone wears bike helmets
- many wear full balaclavas when they ride a bike or work. Seems so hot but many want to protect themselves from the sun
- students mostly wear uniforms- even college kids
- a lot of garbage is burned in yards so lots of smoke at times
- road construction is everywhere! Elections happen in May!
- many sell bundles of wood in front of their homes like we would for our summer campfires
- a sign we have seen in many towns: Be Honest, Even if others are not, Even if others will not, Even if others cannot.
- everyone outside of the city looks at us...then they smile and say hello. Students get so excited to try their English on us!
- most towns have a massive new church
- all schools are extremely well groomed with immaculate gardens
- most drivers do not honk in stress or frustration...they just accept
- most hotels have you order your breakfast before you go to bed. If you say you want to eat at 8:00, it is waiting for you at 8:00
- with so many volcanic islands here, volcanic rocks are strewn about - in the middle of rice paddies, on the sides of roads, too big to move
- extremely large drainage ditches (a metre deep) are everywhere to accommodate the rainy season
- the moon is bright at the bottom rather than at the side like in western Canada
-sign on the road: " Read more, Grow more, Know more"
Baybay!!!
Some observations during our travels here in the Philippines...
- very few cars are used on the islands. Most use motorcycles, bicycle taxis, jeepneys or walk
- umbrellas are often held by motorcycle drivers or their passengers to shelter them from the sun
- karaoke machines are owned by many...so, singing is heard in most smaller towns
- when you go into a pharmacy to buy bandaids or pills, you get the exact number you want rather than a package or bottle of more than you need
- shampoo is most often sold in individual packages like we would get at a hotel
- we are very tall here having to duck to enter most stores or shops. We just laugh and so do they...
- cockfighting roosters are tied to a post or rock in front of a house or road...in preparation for their day on stage at a Sunday cockfight
- very few baby strollers are seen. The roads are often too bad...babies are carried by a parent or are transported by motorcycle
- most structures are built out of bamboo- woven walls, fences, tools, boats
- many wash their clothes or themselves in rivers or streams
- many men smoke. They can buy cigarettes individually rather than in packages
- flipflops are the shoe of choice, even for construction workers
- every town has a huge outdoor basketball facility where they have stands and hundreds of community members come to watch
- most people use 'sweat cloths' to wipe away the sweat in this often 85% humidity country. Yvonne bought one too! Her hot sweats don't help much either!!
- vendors on the street that walk between cars sell hard boiled eggs, cigarettes, gum, dumplings, nuts and more...
- hardly anyone wears bike helmets
- many wear full balaclavas when they ride a bike or work. Seems so hot but many want to protect themselves from the sun
- students mostly wear uniforms- even college kids
- a lot of garbage is burned in yards so lots of smoke at times
- road construction is everywhere! Elections happen in May!
- many sell bundles of wood in front of their homes like we would for our summer campfires
- a sign we have seen in many towns: Be Honest, Even if others are not, Even if others will not, Even if others cannot.
- everyone outside of the city looks at us...then they smile and say hello. Students get so excited to try their English on us!
- most towns have a massive new church
- all schools are extremely well groomed with immaculate gardens
- most drivers do not honk in stress or frustration...they just accept
- most hotels have you order your breakfast before you go to bed. If you say you want to eat at 8:00, it is waiting for you at 8:00
- with so many volcanic islands here, volcanic rocks are strewn about - in the middle of rice paddies, on the sides of roads, too big to move
- extremely large drainage ditches (a metre deep) are everywhere to accommodate the rainy season
- the moon is bright at the bottom rather than at the side like in western Canada
-sign on the road: " Read more, Grow more, Know more"
Awesome! Thanks for the chill pics and observations.
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