Return Home and Final Thoughts

We made it safely back to DFW after a grueling flight that started when we got up at 2:15 am Monday morning and ended at 11:15 pm Monday night when we arrived home. That doesn’t sound too bad, but figure that our start and end times were not in the same time zone, but had a 12 hour difference. Our bodies were awake from what to them was 2:15 am Monday morning to 11:15 am Tuesday morning. We missed a night of sleep after having only gotten about five hours of sleep Sunday night. We had a two hour flight from Manila to Hong Kong, then a five hour layover there. We were flying Cathay Pacific Airlines; however, a company called DragonAir had the neatest looking paint job, red dragons on the tail section. I can’t tell you what Hong Kong looks like because the airport was almost fogged in. About half the departing planes were delayed. Fortunately, ours was not one of them. If you ever travel thru the Hong Kong Airport, bring your own snacks. $4 for a 500 ml bottle of water, over $60 for a small breakfast for the three of us – coffee (one cup of brewed, nothing fancy) was $5. The airport did have free internet kiosks scattered around. Phillip and I used them to check our emails and the weather forecasts. Our plane left Hong Kong on time and we then endured the 13 hour flight to Los Angeles. Mom was pretty tired by the time we were almost there, so Phillip asked the flight attendants about a wheelchair for her and they were able to call ahead and have one. We were glad they could arrange it, as she would have had difficulty with the LAX customs line and long walks up and down ramps to get to our next boarding location. As it was, the wheelchair came with a staff person who took us to the special lines. Mom doesn’t use a wheelchair at all here, but even she admitted that Phillip’s idea for her to have one then was the correct way to go. At 91, she needed this particular perk at this time. We had another 5 hour layover in LAX. When we got to DFW, we very happy to see my brother-in-law, Terry, almost as soon as we made our way to the baggage area and sat Mom down in a chair.

Our Philippines trip is now over and it was great. Mom took her film and had it processed yesterday, so I have copies of her pictures. While she was at Burt’s, he and Linn had a party for the family members with birthdays in March (I think there were 5 of them). Linn had it catered, complete with a roasted hog and huge birthday cake. Burt said that Mom was dancing at the party, and I believe him. The party was on the beach near his house. Linn and I went there to pick up shells for a game board I bought called Sungka. I saw it at our hotel in Puerto Princessa and want to learn how to play it. Sounds like Internet search time for the directions and hopefully a video.

Phillip and I will return to the Philippines in a future travel year. We enjoyed our adventures and appreciate the education system of the country that teaches English in school. That is a legacy left from when the Philippines was part of the United States, a territory like Guam and Puerto Rico still are today.  The clear blue water with coral reefs teeming with fish rival that of Thailand. The volcanic rock composition clearly visible in some of the smaller islands is fascinating. To think that eons ago, volcanoes in the ocean spewed lava to form the islands, then time changed the volcanic rock into soil in which plants can grow is a nature lesson at its basic. Regarding food, the Philippines comes up a little short. Although we enjoyed the chicken and pork adobo, we found the food to be rather bland for such a tropical climate. Thailand and Ecuador had better tasting native dishes. To be fair, we never tried the balot – and that could have been great. I doubt it, but maybe. Phillip and I agree that the mangos of the Philippines are the best in the world. We had never bought them because they are smaller than the ones we buy, but the taste is stronger and fruitier. And a well-blended mango shake is unrivaled to provide relief from the heat. The people of the Philippines are friendly and welcoming. They easily engage in conversation, especially if you ask what they think of the Chinese. (China is trying to claim some of the islands, even though the disputed islands are over a thousand miles from the China coast and within Philippine’s recognized border.) The Philippines is composed of over 7000 islands. Considering the island-hopping tours and our overnight stays, we’ve seen about fourteen of them. Plenty more to visit! So, to quote General McArthur, “I came through and I shall return!”

Our time on the island of Samar

Our three days on Samar included a lot of visiting with my brother, Burt, his wife Linn, and family; shopping in Calbayog; and attending a cockfight. On Friday, Burt, Phillip, Mom, and I went into Calbayog, the town of 147,000 about 8 miles north of Burt’s small town of Santa Margerite. I took Mom to the beauty shop to get her hair washed. She decided on a haircut as well. So, for 120 pesos, Mom had a haircut, shampoo, and blow dry. Less than $3 and the haircut was perfect. Because of the sun, Mom kept her hat on, so I don’t have a picture of it. While we were waiting for Burt to conduct some business at a bank, I couldn’t resist the nearby street food vendor. (I’ve yet to get sick from street vendor food, as I only buy from one that is swarmed with locals). Pancakes made in a rounded-bottom muffin tin-looking cooker. The vendor cooked them, them flipped one on top of a second so you end up with tall pancake. Tasty, with a sweet corn flavor, it needed no syrup.

Burt and Linn don’t have a vehicle, so all our traveling on Samar was by motorcycle taxi or on foot. This cityscape of Calbayog shows the motorcycle taxis, bicycles, and pedestrians that were more common than cars. Although she had a little trouble getting out of one or two, Mom rode the motorcycle taxis without complaint. I usually rode in the back passenger compartment where I had a great position to get pictures as we passed items of interest. We frequently saw tarps covered with rice along the side of the road, the rice drying in the sun. Burt said that although it dries quicker there, the rice will end up with small stones that you then have to pick out before you bag it or cook it. The person he buys rice from dries it away from the road, so no rocks in their rice!

I’ve posted a picture of Burt, now time for one of Linn. She is so sweet, and so happy that we came to visit with Mom. Linn knows everybody in their area and is related to about half the people. She enlisted one of her relatives whenever we needed anything. A ride to town after dark? Her nephew Elmer has his own motorcycle taxi, so she sent for him. Mom needed a pedicure? Her cousin does that. She always had some relative with whatever skill or resource was needed.  Linn always had food or drinks for us, making a coconut drink one afternoon, a mango drink another. Linn didn’t go with us Saturday afternoon to the cockfight. The local arena is just about 500 feet from Burt’s house. The main activity of a cock fight isn’t the roosters, it is the betting. Phillip and I had front row seats, at rooster-level to the raised, caged arena. The “cristos” who took the bets were behind us, screaming during the betting period. These two roosters haven’t fought yet, but are being evaluated by the betters. It was an interesting cultural event, not as bloody or gruesome as I had thought. It’s not something I’d do, or probably even go see again, but I saw the agility, strength, and single-mindedness of some of those roosters, and they were a sight to behold. Almost every motorcycle taxi in the area was parked on the road for the fights, but they didn’t all belong to Linn’s nephews!

This morning, we boarded a Philippines Air flight in Calbayog and flew to Manila. Not even a set of roll-up stairs was needed for this plane. The ride, only an hour long, was basically one of those up then down flights. We are at the Miramar Hotel, the same one we stayed in when we arrived to the Philippines. Lots of hot water and Albano, the talkative, friendly security officer/doorman. We get up tomorrow at 2:30 am to catch the first leg of our flight home. Manila to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to LAX, LAX to DFW.

Philippines "Cruise" and Samar Arrival

We ended our time at Tipolo Beach Resort and have been to Cebu since my last post. We really liked our stay at Tipolo. This picture, of me downloading the pictures from our cameras, says it all. This little unstaffed gazebo in the center of the U formed by the cabins was a great place to sit and type. To my left, just out of the picture, was a water jug, the kind we see in offices in the US. We were encouraged to refill our water bottles there instead of buying more plastic bottles. A good idea to save on the trash.

Instead of riding in another overcrowded van to return to Cebu, we hired a car and driver through the hotel. A Toyota model, bigger than my Camry, arrived at 9 am to drive us to Cebu. Much more comfortable for our 3 hour ride (2 hours shorter than the overcrowded van had been!) and our driver stopped at the pier for me to buy the boat tickets. It briefly seemed decadent to me to have a car and driver, but the memory of that last van ride wiped out any hesitation. Cebu R Hotel, where we stayed for one night, was nice, clean, and modern, with a uniformed and efficient staff. Our highlight in Cebu was finding Ice Cream Giant. It’s an ice cream restaurant that sells huge bowls of ice cream. We did not order one of these, but Phillip had a sundae and I had a (much smaller) bowl of mango ice cream. Even the locals who ordered the specialty bowls were amazed. Cebu is a fairly large city, not as large as Manila. We were not near any points of interest, so we just walked around, ending up at a small Robinson’s Mall where we bought a microfiber beach towel (Daniela had used one and I liked it).


All day Wednesday before we left for the pier, I checked the weather on the hotel computer. The

newspaper had a story about Peipah, a tropical depression headed for the Philippines. Fortunately, the storm slowed down and hopefully headed in a different direction, as it hasn’t hit yet. We arrived at the pier in plenty of time. The terminal area was nicer than many airport terminal areas. Plenty of seating and stanchions to basically keep the passengers in an orderly line to board the buses that took us to the boat. This is a picture of our “cruise ship.” I don’t have a better picture because freight was being loaded onto the boat when we boarded, so stepping away to get a  picture was not an option. I’d have been run over by forklifts.

I had booked a cabin, but the ticket counter lady said it was a six-person cabin. Once we found our room, it was actually a four-person cabin with a porthole. Two bunks, a TV, and a sink. We left our luggage and walked around the boat. In the terminal, we had heard and seen the roosters that were to be passengers with us. We wondered if they had a special hold for them. Nope, they stayed, in wicker satchels with air holes, with their owners in the economy class bunk area. Five classes of service: the cabins (there were six just like ours), business class (about 16 bunks in a

small room with each bunk having a curtain and room to place luggage at the foot of each bunk) and the three dormitory-type classes. This is the tourist class. Another large room had the economy class, similar to this, but the bedframes were metal pipe and the beds were narrower. Tourist class is air conditioned, as is business class and the cabins. Economy isn’t, but it does have a wall with windows. We saw another set of bunks on the level above us. They were covered, but had no wall. Those folks would be getting wet if the rain blew during a storm. We figured that was the super-economy class.

Except for sleeping, we spent most of our time in the cafeteria, playing gin rummy. No steak and lobster on this cruise. Phillip and I shared a bowl of instant ramen noodles. Water, beer, cookies, and Ramen noodles. The extent of food available for purchase. Next time, we’ll bring food on-board. We saw a lot of folks doing that. Notice the yellow machine in the cafeteria picture. It was a karioke machine. We had entertainment! Two women did sing and weren’t awful. Not great, but not awful. We did have to leave a few times when a particular song was really loud and grating. The only place to go, however, was outside along the railing. We were amazed at the lack of boat motion. This cruise, motion-wise, was better than some of the real cruises we’ve taken. Cokaliong is a shipping line that takes passengers, so the bottom half of the boat was full of goods, giving a lot of stability to the boat. Our cabin was in the front of the ship, so we had no engine noise. It was a perfectly fine cruise and we would travel this way again. We had our cabin to ourselves as no one had booked for the other two bunks.

We were two hours later than scheduled on our arrival at the Samar pier. The pier in Calbayog is being repaired, so the boat actually docked about 30 km north of where we thought it would, in another town. A motorcycle taxi took us to the Calbayog office where Burt was waiting for us. He had sold his truck a few years ago, so we rode a motorcycle taxi about 8 km to his house. Mom was glad to see us. She looks fine and has apparently been eating enough. Burt’s wife, Lin, is the sweetest person in the world. She fussed over us and had a huge lunch waiting for us. After lunch, Burt took us across the road to see his roosters. Phillip and I thought that fighting roosters would be mean and jump at us, but that is not the way it is. His roosters are actually

quite tame with people. He petted them like they were a cat or dog. He had young (two month old) roosters and then roosters at various ages. He had one that had been injured but not killed in a fight that he uses for breeding – kinda like putting a good racehorse to stud after his racing days are over. And I thought all fighting chickens were black and red. Nope, depends on the genetics. Burt has a line of these white and gold chickens that are sturdy scrappers in a fight. Since none of the roosters puffed up and got aggressive with us,

Burt showed us how they do that by getting a rooster (a younger, less strong one) out and moving it near another rooster. The roosters we had just been petting  saw each other and turned into different critters. He didn’t let these two fight, but you could tell they wanted a piece of each other! As soon as he put the one in his hands back in the cage, they both settled down like nothing had happened.

Today, we are going to walk around Calbayog with Mom and Burt, perhaps do some shopping. I’ll get pictures of this hotel (our first with a swimming pool!) and of Mom, Burt and Lin for my next post. Tomorrow, Phillip will go with Burt to a cockfight.  

Kawasan Falls Adventure

No San Miguel yet today, although two are chilling in the minifridge in the room for us when I complete this blog posting. Instead, we made the trip to Kawasan Falls, a point of interest and beauty in this area. About 10 am, we walked a bit down the road to where the motorcycle taxi drivers congregate as they await passengers. We announced that we wanted to go the Falls and several drivers stepped forward, so we just chose the one closest to us and agreed upon 700 pesos to take us, wait for us, and bring us back. The Falls are about 15 miles away, so our driver gassed up before we left the area. Yes, that is a one liter Coca-Cola bottle. He put three liters of gas in his motorcycle via the Coke bottles, not from a gas pump. And then off we went… a basically paved road to get the 4 km to Moalboal. The road from Moalboal to Kawasan Falls was all paved; however, in one location to slow vehicles before a bridge, they had installed rumble strips. Our driver slowed way down, but the strips were still quite the rumble. I couldn’t read what size engine the motorcycle had, but the driver had to downshift quite a bit to make it up some of the hills. Looking at the picture of the passenger compartment of our taxi, you’d think the seats were padded. You would be wrong. Other than the noise of the straining engine and the lack of padding, the ride was great – we could see and smell the countryside. The earthy smell of decomposing leaves (this farm girl loves that smell), the roasting meat as we passed roadside restaurants, the acrid smoke of burning piles of palm leaves.

Our driver turned into the parking area for Kawasan Falls and we paid his 50 peso parking fee. He stayed with his motorcycle taxi as we walked to the Falls. The walkway to the first waterfall was almost all like this, only more shaded in most areas. It had a slight incline but not enough to cause us any grief. About 5 minutes in, we came to the attendant where we paid our 10 peso per person entry fee. The river was immediately to our left for most of the walk, except where a bridge took us to the other side for about 500 yards. At both the bridges, kids were playing in the water. We would occasionally come across an occupied house, like the ones you see near this bridge. Most of the time, however, it was just the river, trees, and plants. The river isn’t particularly deep, nor is it rushing terribly fast. After about 20 minutes, we came to the first waterfall. Food vendors and tables for resting were next to the pool created by the waterfall, but it was still beautiful We liked that they had rafts for families to rent. The rafts would take the folks right under the waterfall. Is is unspoiled nature? No, but it was a wonderful place filled with the laughter of kids and families enjoying themselves. I think that it was more special because it is enjoyed by local folks, not just tourist types like us. This is the first of three waterfalls. We found the steps to go beyond this one, so we started up them. I must have found the only sunny spot to photograph, as those steps were generally shaded, moss-covered, and damp. This set took us to the top of the first waterfall. I stayed in a flat area while Phillip went over and took some great video looking down from the top of the waterfall. Caution signs and safety railings are not found in the Philippines. The steps leading further up the side of the mountain were more narrow and steeper, so we decided that seeing the first, biggest of the Kawasan Falls was sufficient. We turned around and walked back the way we had come. En route back, I took critter pictures. Almost all the houses we passed had some type of animal outside. A person was sitting on the porch of the house with a pig tied out, so I didn’t get a picture of him, but the goats and roosters were unattended. The rooster could get off his perch, but he seemed to enjoy sitting there, watching the people go by. And the trees… they just grow out of the side of the rock that is the mountain. These are tree roots that could not penetrate the rock, so they grew down on top of the rock. Smaller, feeder roots made their way into the rock fissures, but the bulk of the tree roots along the path were visible like this. A lot of ferns grew on rocks in the river. In the areas where the river pooled and didn’t flow fast, moss covered the submerged rocks.

Back at the entrance, our motorcycle taxi and driver were waiting for us. As soon as he saw us, our driver, who had been laying back on his motorcycle, jumped up and helped us back in the passenger compartment. Back on the road for the return trip. I think our driver would have talked to us, but his motorcycle was too loud for any of us to hear anything but the engine. I could say he was a safe driver and didn’t do crazy passing maneuvers like the van drivers did, but I think the reason he didn’t pass a lot of other vehicles is because his motorcycle needed a serious tune-up. We did pass some vehicles, mainly these on the right – bicycle taxis. We did go faster than the bicycle taxis. Our driver took us back to exactly where we had hired him and we walked back to our hotel. The first order of business upon our return was to have a mango shake. After that, we decided to go for a swim. The tide was going out (so were any jellyfish) and other people were getting in the water. We didn’t rent snorkels or  vests as the sand slopes gradually out and we just wanted to get wet. I took my underwater camera, but the battery died before we saw the school of small fish swim around us. I was able to capture a picture of the underwater plants. They tickled our legs, so we stayed pretty much in the sand-only areas.

I hope our San Miguels haven’t frozen as Phillip moved them to the freezer compartment! Tomorrow we head for Cebu to spend one night before we take the overnight boat to Samar. We arranged with our hotel here for a private car to take us to our hotel in Cebu, so no repeat of that last van experience.

Chillin’ by the beach

We are now in Moalboal, actually at Pangswana Beach, on the island of Cebu. However, I have a story and pictures from Palawan and some details of the trip to get here to relate before I describe how wonderful this place is. Our last evening in Puerto Princessa, we walked back down to the celebration on the Bay Walk after I made the previous blog entry. We hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we were fair game for the sales pitches from the various food vendors. We went with the one who had a full meal for two for 300 pesos. She allowed us to substitute more barbecue sticks for the squid that came with the meal (neither of us are fans of squid). I took several pictures as just when I thought they had brought all our food, they brought out more. Even this picture isn’t complete as after we dug in, they brought a grilled fish! Clam soup, barbecue (pork) sticks, boiled shrimp, two crabs, rice, four different vegetables including okra (Phillip’s hand covers it in the picture), an Asian spinachy veggie, a grilled eggplant topped with diced tomatoes and onions that resembled salsa, and some vegetable (just north of the barbecue sticks) that looked like little balls on a stalk. They popped in my mouth when I ate them, but they were a vegetable. It was all placed on several banana leaves laid out like a tablecloth. Including out bottled water and tip for the waitress, our feast came to the equivalent of $9.30. Very much worth it!

The next morning, after breakfast, I messed around with my pictures and Phillip walked a few blocks to the bank to gets funds for our next destination. Moalboal has not ATMs and our hotel there does not take charge cards, so cash is the order of the day. Before I leave the description of Puerto Princessa, I have to include a picture of the worthwhile cause for which we were asked to donate when we checked out. Robin, notice the logo of the cause… The World Wildlife Fund. Or, as Phillip called it when you were a member, “Save the Mutts.” And we did donate, with funds going for elementary school eco-programs.

The Puerto Pension staff provided a free transport to the airport (we would definitely stay there again!) and we were on our way to the island of Cebu. The airport was a little bigger than the one in Manta, Ecuador, but not by much. I will say that airport administrators could use a lesson in orderly queing. People would inadvertently cut in line because there really were no lines. Oh well, we had plenty of time and eventually made it to the counter to check our luggage and get our ticket. The plane ride was totally uneventful. Up to 35,000 feet, then descent to Cebu. About an hour from gate to gate. The Cebu Airport is a modern airport with international flights and real ramps, not stairs. Then a taxi ride to the bus terminal; however, we needed to be a few blocks away at the van terminal. That was a bit frustrating for me, so Phillip took the lead to get us out of the bus terminal. I will say that the van ride from Cebu to Moalboal ranks in the top five of our most miserable transportation experiences. Just a brief description: overpacked van, ineffective air conditioning, our luggage beside me and charged as a passenger instead of under the seat, several coughing fits by me (leftover from inhaled salt water during snorkeling) and terrible traffic (even the he-shes sitting in front of us told us this was unusually bad traffic). And FYI, “he-she” is not a disparaging term. It’s what the transvestites call themselves here. And we’ve come across several, not just at the hair salon. Enough about the van… we are here at the beach and it is great!

We had an understanding motorcycle taxi driver for the 4 km from Moalboal to this beach where the resort is. He waited for us to cool down from the van ride and spoke to us of the activities in the area. The price he quoted us was actually less than what I had read it would be, and he knew exactly where he was going. Our room is the closest of the ten rooms to the water. Air conditioning, a comfortable bed, friendly staff. I had only paid one night’s rent as a deposit when I booked this one, and Phillip tried to pay for the other two nights when we arrived, but they said, “No worries, pay tomorrow or maybe when you check out. It’s good.” And good it is indeed.

From the corner of our private porch, we have an excellent view of the water. This morning, we walked a little bit on the beach during low tide and saw two fisherman in a very small boat, like a skinny canoe, come to shore. One of them ran to the hotel restaurant staff and brought her to the water’s edge to inspect their catch. She bought this tuna from him for the equivalent of $1.90 a pound. I’m thinking a tuna steak for dinner tonight or maybe a dish called kenlau that a guest here from Switzerland told me about this morning at breakfast. And speaking of breakfast, I ordered pancakes with bananas. what I received was even better than American pancakes. It was actually three rolled crepes covered with banana slices. I had locally harvested honey to drizzle over the top. Phillip had a ham and egg omelet. Not nearly as special as my “pancakes.”

After breakfast, we decided to just walk around. The “road” in front of the hotel is more like a hard-packed wide sidewalk, easily navigable by the motorcycles and motorcycle taxis, but a bit difficult for the occasional van. We walked in both directions from the hotel. I bought a banana (short, stubby, and green looking, but very sweet) from two little girls who were walking with two tubs of them for sale. They wanted to sell me a bunch for 20 pesos, so my 5 pesos for one was actually more than she was asking. She was very happy with the sale. Once back at the hotel, it was time for… mango shakes! This picture is for Eddie Wells, as Phillip said he was holding one for his dad. These mango shakes were very smooth and creamy, the smoothest we’ve had. We could hear the blender and it sounded ferocious as the staff made them. A final picture from the grounds of the hotel… If you look carefully. you can see Phillip sitting on our porch.

Tomorrow, we may try to go to Kawasan Falls, or maybe we’ll snorkel, or maybe we’ll just have another San Miguel while sitting on our porch listening to the surf….

Underground River

Other travelers that we have met here in the Philippines identified the Underground River as a “must see” for any visit to Palawan. We went yesterday and are now in the ranks of those who encourage anyone we meet to go see it for themselves. It was great, and although we have pictures and video, they don’t really do it justice. It was named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011 and a UNESCO World Heritage site about ten years prior to that.

Our trip started with a van ride, but only about 90 minutes of actual van time with two stops. The Underground River is nearest to Sabang, about 50 km northwest of Puerto Princessa. When our van arrived, we had a buffet lunch before we went to our boats. The “good china” here isn’t paper plates, it’s banana leaves. That’s a small helping of chicken adobo, rice, and two veggie dishes on my plate next to a bowl of tasty chicken broth soup.

After lunch, we loaded in groups of 8 aboard these boats, similar, but a little smaller, to the ones we used for island hopping in El Nido. Also different from El Nido, the water was not smooth, but rather choppy as we weren’t in a bay. Needless to say, the boat ride to the river entrance was my least favorite activity of the day. Not seasick, just anxiety as I did not like the sensation of the boat movement. Fortunately, after about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the entrance where we gathered with the rest of our tour and waited for our turn to get into the canoe. Our tour guide warned us to mind our possessions as the inhabitants of this area are known to be thieves and can open a zipper. She was talking about the monkeys. Only one sauntered thru our waiting area, sat and posed, then wandered off into the trees. I arrived as she was leaving to get a picture, but Phillip videoed her entire visit. After a brief wait, we walked thru a forested area on a raised plank walkway to the canoe landing. We were issued plastic hardhats with visors. Our guide advised us that if we look up while in the cave, please keep our mouth shut. What may fall on our face could be dripping water or it could be from the bats. This is a picture of the underground river opening as seen from the canoe landing area. 10 people to a canoe were loaded and our canoe guide (different from our tour guide) began talking and paddling toward the river entrance. The cave is actually called St. Pauls Underground River Cave and is more than 15 miles long. The cave contains the 8.2 km (5.1 mi) long underground section of Cabayugan River. The river winds through the cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. The tours only go 1.5 km into the Underground River, as boats can’t navigate very much further in it. The cave includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. And bats. At first, I thought I was hearing cave crickets, but then I noticed the bats. Not a lot of them, just an occasional one flying across the beam of the light or hanging above us as the light was turned upward. I couldn’t get a picture of them, but got pictures of the rock formations. The rock contains some deposits of manganese, that’s the black stuff that looks like tar but isn’t. All different shapes and textures of rock and salt deposits, and bat guano deposits! We saw an inscription carved into the rock by some folks who explored the cave in 1937. Our canoe tour guide’s spiel was pretty dated. He likened one shapely looking rock to Sharon Stone. Somebody needs to write them some new material. His banter, however, did not distract from the awesomeness of the river. We are so glad we went. When we came back out the entrance, the guide paddle us back to the canoe area and we walked back to our motorized boats for the trip across to the area where our van awaited us.  The van trip was actually fun because of our tour guide, Celia. She was funny and bantered back and forth with Phillip and several other passengers. The van delivered us back to our hotel. Dinner and two San Miguels followed, so I’m writing this blog today instead of yesterday.

This morning, our fruit at breakfast was a banana. Bananas are better when they aren’t shipped halfway around the world. These guys were pretty darn tasty. Phillip gave me his to eat. Today, we just walked around town. Phillip wanted a haircut, so we went into a hair salon that advertised haircuts for 50 pesos. The stylist who cut Phillip’s hair, an older male, had a black, pink and orange upswept hairstyle. We didn’t turn around and leave because… it was an adventure! They actually did a fine job, and Phillip looks just the same as he does after a US haircut, so no picture. I decided to get my hair washed and blow-dryed (100 pesos). My stylist, a younger male, only had one pink streak in the long mowhawk-ish top of his hair. He too did a great job, better than I could ever do. I will say that Phillip and I spent our time with the stylists trying to figure out the gender of the salon manager. Now, back to our room for picture downloading and blog-writing. Tomorrow, we fly to Cebu, then ride a van (again!) to Moalboal for our next 3-night location.