Philippine beaches

Wow, the Philippines are wonderful. Yesterday I went snorkeling of the coast of Bohol Island to a protected area called Belicasan. We went to a couple of different places around the island looking at the fish and corals. The last place had dark brown coral with iridescent fringes that blazed in the sunlight. there was brain corals, enormous plate corals that expanded out from a narrow base like huge flowers. All the time the fish were gnawing on them - for miles around making a spooky chirping sound like birds and monkeys in the jungle. It was unforgettable.

 

The first thing i noticed about the Philippines were the jeepneys. They are the most funktacular vehicles in the world. The skeletons of them are world war II era U.S. jeeps that have been modified to be uncomfortable passenger buses. They are painted extremo colors and are often covered in metal artwork. Most have a collection of antennas and as many horns as a tractor trailer. They look exactly like something out of Low Rider magazine, except dirtier. Each one is overwhelmed with a pile of people hanging on for dear life.

 

The Philippines is a devoted Catholic country, every town has a patron saint who is worshipped accordingly. The cathedrals are old and stunning. It is holy week soon for Easter and sadly I'm going to miss quite a party. It is a 5 day national holiday. The Philippines is poor but people are incredibly friendly and curious. They seem to have enough food to eat and are quick to smile and joke around. At no point did I ever feel unsafe. The poor neighborhoods that I visited were clean and always had a park nearby that was full of youths playing soccer or basketball. American style flag football is also very popular. One of my hosts took me to a tournament game that his friends were playing in. The league was only 1 year old but it had no shortage of players, both male and female teams. They were playing to go to Manila and play for the National Championship. There are a lot of athletic people in the Philippines and even though some are tiny compared to the other players they are natural athletes and have no fear. It was an American who organized the Cebu flag football league but he had left a few months earlier.

 

I went to famous Boracay beach near the end of my trip. It was much like Alona beach in Bohol but a lot more people. It was not a problem because there is plenty of beach to go around - about 4 miles of powdery white sand. The parties were more wild in Boray but be careful how much you party - Beware the ladyboys! No kidding, they are men who dress to look like women - sometimes with surgery for that. It was obvious to me who the real women were but I often saw a totally drunk tourist talking to one of them. "Hey my friend" I would say, "You know that's man right?" The (real) local women are hard to miss, I had no idea that Filipinas were so beautiful and had such attractive, fiery personalities. I love that.

 

I was having coffee with a new friend, she pointed to a ladyboy who had a sparkling wig on. She said that he had been caught by the police and was suspected of stealing from a tourist. The police immediately shaved all his hair off and then had to let him go for lack of evidence…You have to watch out for that coconut justice!

 

The overall weather was fair during my 12 day trip. It was overcast a lot of the time, especially at the beginning and end of the day. At one point I was caught in a downpour that ruined my digital camera. The locals can make more money if it's clear because tourists will go sailing and watch the sunset. It's pleasantly breezy at sunrise and sunset on the coast. Here's a tip that you won't find in the guidebooks; In the case of Boracay, when you go to that island (actually it's the tip of a peninsula but you must take a boat to get there) don't take the regular ferry from the Caticlan city center. Algo is about a 30 minute walk or $0.25 taxi ride further down and where many local workers have their own sailboats to commute to Boracay. They will be honored to take you instead. You can also avoid paying the terminal fees that way. These people have been sailing for a long long time and they have a strong passion for it.

 

I stayed with two different people that I met on a hospitality website called couchsurfing.com. The Philippine people are famous for their generosity and warmth. They both provided me with a place to sleep and regroup as well as tips about travel destinations and local neighborhood hangouts. I only stayed a few days at either place. It was incredibly convenient and a pleasure to meet them. The first night, in Cebu city, a guy from Poland was also staying at the house. He had been traveling for about 8 months in Southeast and central Asia and had a lot of stories. I met up with him a day or two later on a different island so we hung out for a few days. He first planed to be in the Philippines for a few days but was already going on 2 months and had no plans to leave anytime soon. It was fun to meet so many cool people.