Travel Experiences - Part Two

I admit that I was a little surprised by the rooster who encouraged me to wake up at 4:00 that morning.  But it didn't take much encouraging, as my mind was already awake with anticipation of the coming days.  I was on the other side of the world.  I was in a truly foreign land.  I was in the Philippines.

I had slept well, even thought it was only a few hours.  I had two other room mates who were apparently sleeping deeper then I was -- the rooster seemed to have little effect on their slumber.  Maybe the fact that they were sleeping in proper beds, while I was enjoying the comfort of a mattress laying on the floor had something to do with it.  They didn't have a room with three beds, so the hotel's solution was to throw an extra mattress on the floor.  I didn't care.  It was a bed.  The bathroom looked like something you'd find in a dirt cheap hotel near some truck stop in Ohio.  My readers from Ohio will know what I mean.  But the water for the shower was actually hot, and unlike most of the other places I would visit, this bathroom actually had toilet paper.  No "tabo" floating in a large bucket of water awaited me that first morning.  Even if there had been, I didn't really care.  I was in the Philippines.

The chapel near The Mariner's Court Hotel

After a quick shower and all of the usual things one does in the morning to prepare for the day, I headed down four flights of stairs to the ground floor, camera in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.  The morning air was just as I expected it to be: warm and humid.  The ground was wet from an early morning rain.  There was sunlight creeping over the horizon, although the sun itself had yet to make its appearance.  I explored the grounds of the hotel.  Nearby was a chapel . . . something not uncommon  around seaports throughout the world.  It was locked, but the grates that covered the windows and doors allowed me to peer inside.  The influence of the Catholic church was very evident: the virgin Mary and other characters adorned the walls and stained glass.

I took a few more pictures, mostly of the hotel itself, and then meandered around the block.  Not much to see; some offices related to shipping lines and cargo handlers, a little diner (not yet open), and a few motorcycles and other assorted vehicles whizzed up and down the road.  And the rooster continued to crow somewhere in the background.

The hotel as seen from Pier 1

By the time I had returned to the room, my fellow travelers were up and had taken their showers.  Each reminded the other about using bottled water to brush their teeth, as the tap water was likely teaming with little microorganisms which could easily ruin our digestive systems (and our trip, as well).  We gathered down stairs and then found our way over to the little diner.  The owner had promised our intrepid leader, Ed Thomas, that she would have breakfast available early for us.  It was at here that I was first introduced to "Filipino" time. . .  essentially, "Yes, we will open early for you . . . but when we get to around to it . . . don't be in too big of a hurry."  After waiting nearly an hour, we finally had breakfast.  Eggs over easy, corned beef, a hot dog, and a mass of steamed white rice.  The hot dog looked like a typical American dog, but it was quite obvious that it did not contain 90 percent filler like the variety we are accustomed to.  No, these "dogs" were probably as close to 100 percent meat as one could get.  The rice . . . well . . . if you've ever traveled through the deep south in the US, you will have experienced grits . . . served at every meal, even if you request otherwise.  Rice is the equivalent in the Philippines.  You have it for every meal . . . and lots of it.

After consuming American sized portions of breakfast (I think we wiped out the diner's allotment of food for the morning, leaving  the dock workers with little to chose from), we checked out of the hotel and headed for the pier.  I will keep this location in mind when I make future trips to Bohol.  Although the hotel and diner were not anything to brag about, their convenient and relative closeness to Pier 1 (not the US retail chain) was invaluable to the penny-pinching traveler. The walk to the pier took less then 10 minutes.  After figuring out the system for getting tickets, paying for "usage" fees (there's even a charge for breathing the air I think), and processing our luggage, we found ourselves sitting in the waiting area for the ferry to Bohol.

The ferry to Bohol

I've not been around seaports much.  It's a vastly different environment compared to the high desert plains of New Mexico.  We finally were called to board the ferry.  Since we had paid for "first class" passage, we entered the boat at a different "hatch" then the economy class passengers.  I think our relatively expensive tickets cost us P500  . . . around $25 . . . a huge amount to the typical Filipino.  We found our assigned seats in a cabin that loosely compared to the passenger cabin of an airliner.  I do mean loosely.  There were seat belts, but no one cared if you used them or not.  Instead of seat cushions to be used as flotation devices, we had nets above our heads with bona fide life jackets in case of emergency.  A television at the front of the cabin had a video that showed emergency measures . . . I might have been the only person on board who actually watched it.  Within a few minutes the ferry had pushed away from the pier and we were headed across the Cebu Strait to Bohol.  The ride was reasonably smooth -- more like a bus ride then anything else.  If I hadn't seen the water, I would probably have not guessed that we were at sea.  The water was calm -- only the occasional white cap breaking the surface.  After a short 45 minute ride, we were pulling up to the pier at Tubigon, Bohol.  The first real "adventure" of the trip was over, with nothing remarkable to talk about.

First class accommodations aboard the ferry to Bohol

A private van was waiting to take us to Sierra Bullones.  That ride would prove to be very different than the ferry ride had been.  More about that tomorrow.  It's a little after 4:00 AM here  . . . I'm thinking of getting a rooster or two  . . . seriously.