Philippines - Take Two

And we're back in the Philippines.....

We had to send our passports back to the UK to get our visas for the next phase of our trip and decided that the Philippines were the best bet to travel around for a few weeks while we waited as there was so much we didn't get to the first time round.  We shipped our passports off and started our extra three weeks adventuring.  (For three weeks is how long it would take to get the visas processed and back to us...more on that later).

First stop was 'oop norf' to the rice terraces of Banaue and Batad.  I know I may have previously expressed a dislike for traipsing around rice terraces as the last time left me with another scar to add to the growing collection on my knee, but a gal can't ignore a World Heritage site now, can she??

We took the first of many many loooong bus journeys up to Baguio where we stayed the night and then pressed on to Banaue.  We spent a day trekking through the 2,000 year old terraces of Batad (through the midday sun, again) down, down, down to a lovely waterfall.  The walk was gorgeous and breathtaking - the only downside was realising that what goes down down down must go up up up. 

After spending a few days up where all placenames begin with a 'B' we made our way cross country to Vigan; opting for jeepneys and bumpy, twisting roads rather than aircon buses and straight highways.  Part of the journey was spent on top of the jeepney where you can feel part of the surrounding scenery and get sunburnt all for the same price as being cooped up inside.  Unfortunately as I was getting down, my sunglasses picked a fight with a massive lorry and despite early promise, got pummeled.

Vigan is a lovely place - very Spanish influenced with horsedrawn carriages, cobbled streets, haciendas and courtyard evening dining.  We spent a good couple of days wandering around in the blistering heat but most noteworthy was my first earthquake!  Woke up in the middle of the night due to my bed jumping all over the place...very weird experience.  Nothing too serious though, mum, before you get worried.  After Vigan we headed right to the tip of Luzon: we had heard about a nice beach called the Blue Lagoon, which sounded sufficiently tropical and a girl needs a bit of sunbathing in her life every now and then. 

Leaving the beach entailed another fun looong bus journey; I am officially OVER night buses.  We wanted to head straight down to SE Luzon but were stranded in Manila for a few days as everyone in the country had the same idea.  Easter sees a huge mass exodus down to the 'provinces' and we couldn't get booked on a bus for a few days.  Another night bus journey (ARGH!) got us to where we wanted to be: Donsol. 

Whale sharks whale sharks whale sharks whale sharks whale sharks whale sharks whale sharks.  Brilliant.   One of the best things I have ever done.  We headed out with four others bright and early in a little boat to find ourselves some whale sharks to snorkel with.  Minutes after setting off, we were ordered to jump into the sea and had our first glimpse of the butanding.  The visibility is poor as the water is teaming with plankton, which is what attracts so many whale sharks in the first place.  After the first sighting, we were all grinning like 5 year olds, but the best was to come: we saw six in total and got really close - the biggest one we saw was 9-10 metres long.  A few times, I had to move out of the way pretty quickly as I always managed to end up right in its path.  One of the images that will stay with me forever is of a massive mouth coming at me from below: due to the visibility the sharks seemed to just appear out of nowhere, which caused the heartbeat to hammer a few times!  Another is seeing a fin appear on the surface of the water and then jumping in.  Although they are massive, they are very docile and a few of them let us swim alongside them for what seemed like ages.  Brilliant brilliant brilliant.  I don't have any pics underwater, but this gives you the general idea.

After Donsol, we needed to make our way to Mariniduque, a little island off the coast of Luzon, which is famous for its Easter 'Moriones' festival.  Another 12 hour bus journey, followed by a 3am boat crossing got us there in time for breakfast.  We arrived on Good Friday and spent the next few days feeling the festival vibe.  The men in all of the villages dress up as Roman Centurions and all make their own costumes - apparently they keep the masks a secret so that no one knows who anyone is.  The festival's alleged origins: a roman centurion stabbed Jesus with a spear while on the cross, got some blood in his eye which cured his blindness causing him to proclaim his belief in Jesus leading to his being chased and beheaded by his fellow centurions.  Lots of pretend fights, chasing and mock beheadings were had by all. The weirdest thing we witnessed was a group of men engaging in a bit of self flagellation - they cut themselves with razors and then hit the wound with a whip made from bamboo.  [side note: the Philippines is very catholic, but ritualistic with it.  In one town this Easter, somewhere in Luzon, 27 men were actually (by choice) nailed to a cross for a few hours although the government and church try to downplay this tradition and encourage people to find different, less violent ways to show their faith].  The chaps on Marinduque were keen to be photographed and were drinking beer and smoking cigarettes behind the scenes - all very strange...

After Marinduque, we headed back to Manila as we were expecting our passports to be back all newly visa-fied in time for our flight on 7 April.  Alas, this was not to be and as I write to you now, I am still without passport.  Due to various factors beyond people's control we are experiencing a serious delay in being reunited with our documents.  Latest update is that we now have the required visas, but a certain volcanic ash cloud is impeding their return journey.  Still, the Philippines isn't the worst place to be stranded and so we went back to our guide book to find somewhere new to play.

Somewhere new to play turned out to be Mindoro and its beaches.  First stop was puerto galera, which was nice but too noisy and crowded so we made our way south to find something more tranquil.  Something more tranquil is called North Pandan island, off the coast of Mindoro, and a blissful few days were spent lolling around the beach.  The island doesn't really have electricity - just enough solar power to keep the beer at an acceptable drinking temperature!  After Mindoro, we headed back to Manila via Lake Taal and more volcanoes, where we wait in hope for our passports to be returned.  Hopefully they come back soon so that we can get off to Hong Kong and China to start the next part of the adventuring - cross your fingers. 

New pics are in 'More Philippines'.  Can't believe it's been six months already....