Holidays in the Philippines

Ok, so I know I am on some kind of super-extended holiday. But the 'holiday season' was extra awesome as I spent it with my boat family in the Philippines, which is actually a great place to be for Christmas in particular. Petrina and Madara are the two fantastic crew who often get mistaken for real sisters and of course Brian, who is commonly referred to as 'Grandad' when I speak to strangers.  

We started off the season with the boat's very first Christmas tree (well it wouldn't be Christmas without a tree!), complete with a roaring log fire (on DVD at least), mince pies and air con.

 Brian spent Christmas eve afternoon visiting the local hot springs before getting a new tattoo ("Make your dream your story" in ancient Philippino script around his ankle). We attended Church on Christmas Eve - Brian took his 'girlfriend' and sat at the front to repent for all of his sins in the last year. Petrina had fun singing along to the evangelical tunes which didn't really mention Christmas whilst Madara and I played outside with the kids (we got kicked out for talking by Petrina). 

Christmas morning started with a group activity (my present to everyone) which involved a tricycle ride to a remote barangay to rebuild a families' home after it was detroyed by typhoon Haiyan. I was even luckier that they agreed to my harebrained scheme - of allocating money for presents to a much more worthwhile cause: the Glorio family, residents of barangay Balolo - a 20 minute ride from Coron town.

Typhoon Yolanda devastated the area in which they live. Trees are down everywhere - it's incredible to look at the size of them and wonder at the forces required to flatten them. Unfortunately, the Glorio house itself was another victim of the disaster - completely leveled by the winds. They were in a neighbor's house when it happened, around 10pm on the 8th November 2013. I'm glad they had the foresight to stay with the neighbour - not knowing whether their basic shack was strong enough to withstand the gusts of winds that went up to 200mph. 

Petrina was lucky enough to find snow!

With Tomas working every day (and earning a pittance) the family were forced to continue living in their neighbors' house, whilst weeds and insects adopted the remains of their own building. On Christmas we arrived with supplies and spent the day carting usable materials like pieces of wood from the old house to the new frame that Tomas had built in his free time. He'd been unable to progress further on the build because of a lack of materials - especially nails. The frame which he'd already built was held together with twine. Brian proved his worth by instantly getting busy with the hammer and helping to match the vertical support beams and put them in their places. The girls and I learnt how to make traditional thatched roofing from leaves and bamboo canes - although this was a pointless gesture, as Brian kindly paid for the roofing materials to be delivered the next day. We played with the kids and did all we could to help them for the day.

Christmas lunch was very simple  - although I'd stayed up late the night before making sure I cooked enough for everyone to eat, most of the pasta remained uneaten as the kids (we had a head count of 20 at lunch) didn't like it! (It was the first time most of them had eaten pasta - the sweetcorn in it was also something they were unsure about!). Although we were tired, hot, sunburnt and sweaty, this was one of the most satisfying Christmas lunches I've ever eaten. 

On the way back to Coron we stopped at a waterfall and enjoyed splashing around in the freezing waters, which was a perfect way to cool off after the build. 

Being in a Christian country for Christmas is pretty nice...last year the only stranger who wished me 'Merry Christmas' was a call centre worker - the 25th December is a normal day of business. I actually heard it on the radio too - 'Happy Merry Christmas!' which was pretty funny. This is unlike the Philippines, where if you walk down the street and meet anyone they will immediately say, 'Merry Christmas!'. Although they tend to celebrate more on the 24th rather than the 25th - everyone goes to Church (and there are many to chose from), has a late dinner with their family, stays up until after midnight and opens their presents then. 

For new years I left the boat to travel to Boracay and meet up with Petrina and Madara since they'd already left the boat. The travel in itself was pretty awesome. It started with a 4.30am blind underwear kayak ride (the boat was at Busuanga Bay, and I had to catch a ferry at 7am). I've never seen it so dark out - the electricity must have been off in the area as all three resorts were in total darkness. There was no moon and clouds covering what little light the stars would have given me. I met a prearranged motorbike taxi (after getting dressed) which got me to Coron in an hour! Waiting for the ferry, I met Luz, a beautiful spirited Filipino lady. She had a contagious laugh and energy - after offering me a cracker, by way of introduction, she told me that I was never going to be able to forget her. I think this is true: the first hour ride of the long ferry journey she gave me an amazing massage! Unfortunately the rough waves got to her (along with everyone else on the boat) and she spent the next 8 hours lying on her belly and puking her guts out. 

Mary-Jane's emergency, travel-friendly charger.

I think I must exude the right combination of stupidity and vulnerability which gives strangers the idea that unless they take care of me, I'll walk abruptly off the edge of the nearest cliff as soon as they lose sight of me. My new found ferry friends, Luz, Ninia and Mary-Jane ushered me into a tricycle as soon as we docked and took me to several bus stations until I got three seats on a minivan heading to Roxas. The van waited for Petrina and Madara to arrive, and got us all safely and speedily to the port town, just before the 10pm ferry. 

Which we missed.

Intentionally.

As we'd all done some serious travelling that day, we'd decided to get a real meal, and a couple of hours sleep in a hotel as the ticket office PROMISED us there was a ferry leaving at 4am. Apparently having a ferry schedule is too much like organisation in the Philippines - the ferry left at 2am while we were sleeping soundly in our beds.

The whole of the next day (new year's eve) was spent hanging around waiting for news on when the next ferry would go. Finally, we boarded at around 6pm. The travel gods must have been with us because it was the best disaster that's ever happened. For a start, we met the twins Paul and Andy who hung out with us for the next 3/4 days, but way cooler than that (sorry guys) there was some music playing on speakers on the ferry:

 A couple of Pinoy guys were walking by, looking like they knew what was going on so I asked them: 'Where's the party at?'

 And it just so happened that they were having a NYE party on the boat! The top deck was cordoned off to passengers for the staff party. They had a massive sound system, disco lights, whisky, beer and food...and all they needed was a couple of whities to get things going! Of course, we were only too happy to oblige...

I think this may actually have been the best (and most unexpected) part of my NYE night. I danced for literally the entire ferry ride (around five hours). The best thing about the dancing was the waves were pretty rough - as the boat swayed with the motion the whole party slid a couple of metres to one side. Everyone would carry on, and slide back a couple of beats later. There was also an incident with setting off fireworks (on a moving boat, off course it was bound to be a disaster!) where it exploded on the deck (next to the lifeboats) but luckily no one was injured. The captain made a few appearances with an airhorn to compete with the music and to have his share of whisky...

When we arrived at Caticlan (not even our final destination!) the Captain tried to convince us to stay and party the rest of the night away with them, but we knew our next stop already. 

6 adults + baggage basically in the sidecar of a motorbike

ANOTHER boat ride got us to Boracay, where it was...raining. Fortunately the rain stopped some time after midnight (we watched the fireworks through the rain and joined with a street parade en route to our accommodation) and were ready to go out by around 2am.

Boracay is a great party place. With one of the most perfect white sand beaches I've ever seen (and I've seen a few!) it's also an incredibly beautiful place, if overrun with tourists. We stayed out every night until at least 7am. I am slightly ashamed that the only times I went swimming in the admittedly dirty water (lots of boats running around everywhere) was at the end of a night out. Likewise, the beach was most enjoyed during the night while we were dancing with sand between our toes. 

My break was over too quickly, but of course the way back was full of excitement too! Luckily the helpful friends I'd made kept me posted on the ferry delays (back to Coron from San Jose). Which meant I got to spend a whole extra bonus hours in Boracay. I made the most of them. 

Back on the boat I met Harpa, our first Icelandic crew member and Matilda, from Sweden. Both of them are fun and awesome girls who are more creative than me - arts and crafts until 2am quickly became an established tradition. Matilda is a gifted napper who has an uncanny ability to wake up as soon as the arts and crafts come out! As I'm writing a bit behind the times, Harpa has already left us (although I'm excited to meet with her again very soon in Thailand).

 I have so much to be grateful for this past year. The last ten months on the boat have been fantastic with adventures and explorations in five different countries with 30 crew members on the boat who have all become good friends. I can also report that I have done my 100th dive...naked*!

As the song goes, it truly has been 'the most magical time of the year'. I hope that you have had a similarly excellent holiday season and wishing you all the best for a fantastic 2014! 


If I were to have a new years' resolution, it would be this:

To make sure that I am always at the secret party on the top of the boat enjoying my last moments while the Captain-less ship steers into rocks and crashes.  

*although some very rare photos exist, none of them will ever be on this blog.