After a first quarter of intensive classes Chinese in Taiwan, we definitely needed a break. Last minute we decided to fly to the Philippines. When we mentioned our plans to our friend Lupi, who is from Manila, her first reaction was, “The Philippines? Why…?! Well, maybe some islands, but skip Manila.” Anyway, we stuck to our plans and of we went. The Philippines is a never-ending bunch of islands. According to the National Mapping authority during high tide there are 7.107 islands & during low tide the country grows to at least 7.641 islands. So, let’s go island-hopping…
Boracay
When going to a country for the first time, we often start with a tourist destination. It gives you time to get to know some of local customs and still find some familiar elements, making the transition smooth and not a complete shock. So let’s go to the touristy island Boracay! In 2018, government closed Boracay to tourists for a solid six months. It was all part of a massive effort to give the island a much-needed facelift, tackling issues like pollution and rampant development. Since there’s no airport on Boracay, we flew into Caticlan Airport (oh this is such a cute & small airport) and then hopped on a boat from there.
We stayed at a Coco Loco Beach Resort at the White Beach. We choose the hotel just because its name reminded us of the old Coco Loco Bar in Gran Canaria, where we have spent (maybe too) many hours. White beach is stunning & touristy. At the side of the beach it’s a never-ending chain of bars, restaurants & hotels. When on holidays we always try the local food & avoid western restaurants. This time it was different. We found out there was a Belgian restaurant 100 meters from our hotel, serving mussels with belgian fries, “Stoofvlees op Vlaamse wijze” (flemish stew) & Shrimp Croquettes, we couldn’t resist.
Boracay is an island of big contrasts. Luxury for the tourists & very basic living conditions for the local people. But the local people know how to make you feel at home. When walking around on the island the contrasts left a deep impression on us, arrogant rich tourists staying in chique resorts (at a price they consider cheap) & friendly local people who live in very basic conditions.
More pictures of Boracay, click on a picture & scroll:
Carabao Island (or Hambil)
Getting to Hambil like the locals call Carabao is an adventure. There’s no direct boat from Boracay, so we headed back to the “main island” & from there take the boat. The sea was rough so we went up & down.
Click here for a youtube video of the boat trip
Tourist accomodation is very limited on this island. When arriving in the harbor people wonder you pay a little tourist tax & locals come to help you out with a transfer to your booked hotel, a smooth tricycle ride to paradise. We rented two days a scooter to drive around the island. Over here no unnecessary contrasts, just happy local people. Stunning sunsets, great filipino dinners.
The “capital of the island” is the charming town San Jose:
Another highlight is Cathedral Cave Rock:
Click Here to see the youtube video of Rob making the jump
We had read somewhere before that there is no ATM on the island. Before we headed of to Carabao, we quickly made a calculation to bring enough money. Although everything is pretty cheap, after a while we became aware that we’re not so good with numbers as we thought. How it could happen, no idea. Was it the heath? Were we confusing currency rates? Anyway, we had planned to stay 4 nights on the island, but because we still needed money for the boat to the next island we left a day earlier. Of course we went to check if there wasn’t an ATM on the island. The only one we found was the following one:
More pictures of Carabao (Hambil), click on a picture & scroll:
Tablas Island
In search for cash we went to the next island. Another fantastic boat trip, taking the boat right on the beach and off we went to Tablas. Everything went on the boat: motorcycles, Filipinos, 25 kg bags of onions, a cock & the two of us.
An important travel tip however, never book a hotel with “seaview” in its name. Our tricycle driver started driving, claiming he knew where the hotel was… It turned out he was heading us to the another hotel. But the weather was great & we had an extra hour of sight seeing on our way to our hotel.
We rented a scooter for 3 days. Compared to Carabao & Hambil, Tablas is a pretty big island. The nature is fantastic, the atmosphere. By driving around the island we could really smell the local culture. On the islands we visited, people aren’t rich, but they are happy, make a living. Life is at a small pace and the people enjoy it.
Pictures of Tablas Island, click on a picture & scroll:
