Philippine Vacation VIDEOS

VIDEOS ARE NOW AT THIS LINK

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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13th

Since we didn't have the motorcycle (see last post) we took a tricycle from the hotel to Tess' parents house.

Tess had her hair straightened while Kim and Bodel took motorcycle rides, like to Punta Cruz, Maribojoc - a church bell tower across the bay constructed over 200 years ago by the Spanish.

Tess' family and friends came to the airport to say goodbye, then we took a 4:45pm flight to Manila.

We departed south then made a 180 degree right turn to head north to Manila. The view of Taglibaran was so good that Kim ignored the "all electronic devices off" and snapped a quick photo. (Still digital cameras don't generate emf and radio signals like laptops and cell phones do.)

We are over Panglao island. To the right is the bridge between the islands, then moving left, Bohol Tropics is just past the big pier/port. Past the end of the runway is Manga Point, and barely visible is the river that we went up.

An hour later we dropped out of thunderclouds to a rainly final approach to Manila, and easily arranged transportation into town. When stopped at a red light some teenage kids approached our van, banging on the windows asking for pesos. We didn't have small change and it would not be safe to open the window anyway. There are so many poor people here living on sidewalks, or in Jeepneys parked on the side of the street.

Our friends from Sacramento are letting us stay at their "second home" condo in Manila. They come a few times per year for business so its convenient for them to have a second set of clothes and furnished household to arrive to.

It's on the 20th floor with a nice view.

We had a good dinner at Cafe Adriatico, but we only brought the cash we would need - and both thought that the other had grabbed the money. When the bill came we had ZERO and no credit card. Kim asked the waiter to bring him a beer so he could at least "look cool" while he waited 20 minutes for Tess to fetch some cash.

Unlike the Manila Kim remembers in 1984 of mostly junky cars, most cars on the road seem newer than the average in the USA, and there were many top-end SUVs parked at the Cafe.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 12th

We planned to relax today and swim in the ocean. We stopped at Judith's store to get some snacks, and they offered to take us up the river in their boats to Bili-Bili. (Kim didn't know what was going on.)

We took two "Pump Boats" (outrigger canoe with motor) up the river, winding past fishermen, and it got narrower with short and tall palm trees lining the shore.

We arrived at Bili-Bili, which had nonstop fresh forest water flowing from pipes where the locals were doing laundry. The river had a cement wall and a higher cement structure that we jumped into the river from.

They then gave us a tour around Tagbilaran shore to Bohol Tropics. The wind had come up and the sea was choppy, making it a wet ride.

We arrived soaked at Bohol Tropics, they tied up the boats and we all had lunch there. Four of them had never been to Bohol Tropics, including the three in the back of the orange boat in the photo. The fish and stir fry entrees ranged from about 150 to 200 pesos - $3 to $4. This was like 1/3 of USA prices, but to them, compared to the price of fish at the local markets, they were hesitant to order because the prices seemed too high. (There livelihood is fishing - normally their boats are out catching fish rather than giving tourist rides.)

I imagined that the weather would be mostly hot and muggy, but was not usually the case. Today there was a breeze and clouds like thunderstorm coming in. In the evening it was a cool breeze. Riding in the boat the ocean water felt like a warm bath water splashing on us. The ocean had aqua blue color.

In the evening Tess went shopping at the mall with her two sisters while Jerry offered Kim a ride for fun on the Sikad-Sikad (bike with sidecar). Kim then joined the guys drinking and talking in the Payag-Payag (bamboo nipa hut) that is on Tess' parents property - between the house and a child daycare center.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11th

On Tuesday Sept 11th we chartered a van for $75, including fuel and driver, which took 11 of us to two views of Chocolate Hills and then to the Loboc River Cruise. The chocolate hills look about like I imagined from all the photos already on the web. Still the drive was enjoyable.

Some parts of the drive had heavy downpour of rain, and some parts of this "main highway" is still a dirt road. The van driver below through a 30kph school district at about 90kph as a policeman went past the other way. I thought "we are busted" but the driver didn't even look in the mirror to see if cop would turn around.

This was one of the locations to see a Tarsier - the world's smallest monkey - that only exists in Bohol and is nearly extinct.

The Loboc River Cruise is a popular tourist destination with several boats operating.

They serve a buffet while it goes up and back down the river for about 45 minutes.

As our boat went by, some kids jumped from a coconut tree at an angle over the river and climbed aboard. Tess' Mom secretly handed one kid a stick of barbecue and sliced fruits. It was unclear whether they were seeking handouts, free food, or just having fun. The river is brown due to all of the recent heavy rain.

Riding in the van gave me a chance to take more photos of traffic. This is what I have been driving in. Oncoming cars - and buses and large trucks - pull out to pass and the motorcyle driver has to be alert to allow them room to pass through in the middle of the road. Many intersections are uncontrolled. The rules are like pushing a shopping cart in a crowded store. So far I have not seen any accidents.

My last traffic ticket in the USA was a "sting" where the principal of an elementary school would step into the crosswalk on the opposite side of the road just a few seconds before I was going through, as the police on a motorcycle was hidden. Here cars keep going and pedestrians have to be agressive to get the vehicles to slow down for them.

Prior to sundown Tess said she wanted to go out at low tide to gather shells. I thought she meant shells for decorations, but she meant shells to boil and eat for dinner. We went out in a small outrigger (Palm Boat) about a mile offshore to a "sandbar" where Tess and her family gathered shells. It was well after sunset, nearly dark, when we returned to dock. After dark Kim and Eric swam in the ocean for about 30 minutes. There is very little "light pollution" here, so many stars and the milky way were visible, and there was lightening off in the distance.

When we returned Tess and Tito boiled the shells and made vegetable soup.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10th

We had an early breakfast at Bohol Tropics. (the website doesn't show the entrance to the resort, so we show it here - back from the motorcycle ride to the beach.)

It was raining and my plan was to go to Manga Point to video the airline approaching from Manila. But it was clear that we would get wet and muddy on the motorcycle. I concluded the solution was to put on our bathing suits and sandals and make the drive.
We splashed through a lot of mud puddles since much of the road is not paved. I got the footage of the airline arrival and the rain tapered off. I took a swim in the ocean while Tess convinced a guy to let her paddle his boat around, like she used to do as a kid.
It is a new experience getting both in and out of water with no chill. The salt made it easy to stay afloat with no effort. There were no waves so by adjusting my height I could see the curve of the earth: At 6" above water the hulls of 2' high boats a few miles out were invisible. But when I raised up another foot I could see the full boat. so I suspect that the earth curve drops off at about one foot per mile.

At noon we transferred from Bohol Tropics to Vest Pension House to save money, then went to Tess parents house. We just caught Maricar (Cop sister), Herman and Lumine leaving to catch a ferry to another island (Cagayan), where they are thinking of settling down.

Around 5pm we hiked up Elly Hill. The top is fenced off and Calixto lives on the site, but it is public land. He charges a small fee to enter the fenced property - after having us read a long religious writing. Tess says he does not own the land, but he says he's lived there for 25 years. He is known for being crucified - nails through his hands - several times.
We then went to Manga Point for the sunset.

After dark Kim tried Eric's bicycle with sidecar with Tess as passenger. It is a dirt road and uphill in places. Eric pushed from behind to make it easier, and everyone we passed thought it was funny.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9th

After having the complimentary breakfast at Bohol Tropics, the plan was to go to Tess' parents house and then visit her aunt and husband at the jail. But it rained all morning so they delayed the visit until the afternoon. so I mostly sat on the porch and watched the rain.

In the afternoon the rain stopped so several of us went to visit at the jail. It was out in the country. It houses about 130 inmates and visitation was outdoors within the high cinderblock outer wall. (Oddly the females were all searched, but I was waived through.) Tess had visited some of jailed policemen when she lived in Manila and said this was much better than the Manila jail.

Tess' father then dropped us off at the Island City Mall to do errands. Since some had not tried Bohol Bee Farm food, we took them to that restaurant.

I stopped at Internet Cafe in the mall and paid for a computer for Eric too. He interrupted me and said "watch this" and i saw an Iranian guy taking off his shirt on the webcam chat. What? Eric said pretended to be a female online to see what he can get guys to do. Well funny enough.

i've learned to ride 2 on the back of the motorcycle (eric and tess) but we see 4 or 5 on a motorcycle quite often.