Chillin' out in Puerto

Our arrival at the Abanico Yacht club in Puerto was celebrated with both Rubicon Star and Gadfly, 2 boats we hadn’t seen in a while. After discovering the most economical way to enjoy a beverage was to buy the bottle, things got a little out of hand with Tim on the drums, Amanda & Gini on the dance floor and Trevor well… just on the floor.

Once the merriment was out of the way we settled into grocery shopping, buying all the treasures the Philippines has to offer while also taking advantage of the on street air conditioning. 

An interesting thing to come out of this was that Amanda got charged the same for her bottle of water as Michelle did for her 3 bottles of rum. 

Braving the public transport system a trip to a nearby waterfall was planned. Turns out ‘nearby’ was not so nearby.

After almost 4 hours of sitting on what felt like bricks we emerged from the bus safely and incident free.

The waterfall although popular with the locals had a large area free from swimmers where we could spend a few hours cooling off before beginning the trip back to town.

With a few more last minute supplies we packed Michelle and her rum into a tricycle in the pouring rain for her trip back to freezing New York and began our trip south to Kudat.

We’ll be back...

At home in Bonbonon, Negros

At first life in Bonbonon was filled with jobs. Amanda getting the local goss from the other women at the nearby well over the washing and me working out how to tie 2 crates of red horse to the motor bike. By the way the gossip mostly consisted of who was getting it on with the Hubble Hubble driver. (For those not in the know a Hubble Hubble is an extended motorbike that can take up to 5 paying passengers. In English Hubble Hubble translates to pigs copulating… I wonder why?)

We did fit in some sightseeing checking out the damage caused by tropical storm Sendong and snorkeling out the front of the anchorage where we came across a colorful Moray Eel.

After 2 weeks our crew Michelle from New York (previously on the Andamans trip) turned up via 2 planes, motor tricycle, bus, peddle tricycle, Hubble Hubble, dingy… and then we headed south.

For all New Zealand readers we hit pay dirt with local whitebait that tastes like the real thing and costs less than cat food at $1.50 a kilo. Even Sloop was impressed.

Michelle fell victim to the Karaoke bug. I would like to say the fans went wild but that was probably largely because we had no change and put credit for 10 songs on the machine.

Being proper tourists we went and checked out the abandoned copper mine made interesting by the different modes of transport to get there and back and by the people we meet along the way.

Next stop Panay.

Exploring Bohol & Siquijor

Wanting to explore the cave in Antequerra further we talked Trevor and his crew Wilson into an up river exploration trip with a local guide, which included the cave. Properly equipped with flashlights we headed up stream in the dark cave for around an hour before coming back. The cave system runs for miles and branches here and there but we could only go as far as time and the bats allowed.

Stopping at the old wooden bridge for lunch we finally reached the waterfall around 3pm with the following on trail slip stats – Amanda 3, Trevor and Wilson 2 and me 1.

With gas, fuel and groceries sorted we headed south to Siquijor. Our first anchorage was a small port that we got kicked out of (restricting the movement of ships) so we headed another 10 miles around in a stiff breeze and by chance anchored near an old wreck. The resident sea snakes spent quite a bit of time trying to climb aboard ignoring Amanda’s shoo shooing.

A local venture “Fortune Metals” was cutting the wreck up for scrap. They were only to happy to let us hang around and watch even offering us a breathing hose to hold in our teeth to extend our bottom time. It takes a bit of getting used to but is doable.

With only 20 miles between us and Daryl on ‘Matana’, the decision was made to duck over to Dumaguete for a visit before his departure to Aussie.

Farewell Dinigat - hello Mantas & Tarziers!

Our new technique to find the whale sharks might have impressed the tourists however it did have its problems being the inability to avoid any stray jelly fish.

In the end it was the local spotters that came up with the goods and we got to swim with the whale sharks again. We did however go one better than them with a swim with the manta rays we found a few miles further on. We were told that as they are edible they are extremely rare.

Managing to sail most of the way to Bohol we passed under the power lines safely except for Amanda’s wobbly knees and anchored in Basiao Passage. The next morning after Sop I Pea (Chilean dish shared by Christian and Mane) while preparing to depart to town for supplies, the discovery of my missing wallet that Amanda was last in possession of resulted in a trip to the internet to cancel credit cards etc. While heading down the west coast of Bohol a few days later it turned up. The Red Horses had hidden it in the wardrobe.

The main town of Tagbilaran was a good spot to hire motorbikes for some inland travel. Unfortunately ours broke down an hour into the journey. We abandoned ours and borrowed Pontus’s machine, which we were on for 1 minute before it got a flat tire.

Eventually we did manage to see the Tarzier’s and the Chocolate Hills that are still quite green with all the rain.

After finding Tagbilaran through all the cooking smoke that blanketed the whole island at dinner time and accidentally traveling up 1 way streets the wrong way, we parked up our machines for the evening and went out for dinner to celebrate our survival. The next day we rode to some closer waterfalls on quieter roads.

We also found a cave that we attempted to explore using the camera flash as our source of light. With better equipment it is possible to go into the cave for 1 hour before it disappears.

With Robin and Pontus scheduled to depart soon for Japan, we headed south to Pacmilijan Is for a sail and snorkel and even managed to rendezvous with Gadfly mid ocean. With coral reef around we were unable to anchor but a small Banka kindly tied all 20 tonne of us to his bamboo outrigger – even towing us when the Banka up the front actually on the mooring headed off. We enjoyed a good sail back, where a farewell and birthday party was planned.

Caves on the Camotes & Bilaran

Our stop over on Gigantangan to find the snake cave proved to be a fruitless adventure and finally when we came across a pile of rocks in the middle of nowhere with an old cross sticking out of it we took the hint and turned back. Amanda and Sloop had the right idea staying aboard.

Pacijan Island (part of the Camotes Island group) further south on the other hand had plenty to see with underground pools, caves and inland lakes.

Poro Island where the boat was anchored had waterfalls that you could swim under and more caves.

The fresh water in these caves changes depth with the tide.

Once our bikes were safely delivered back to there owners we grabbed a few supplies, and stopped at one of the many Karaoke bars for Robins benefit on the way back to the boat. These 3 bars are all located almost side by side and the trick is to pick the one with the loudest speakers.

The allusive Whale Sharks is next on the list of must sees, so with our spotters we headed off to southern Leyte.

Catbalogan, Leyte and the return of the Swedes

Catbalogan, a city on the island of Samar was where we were to pick up our old crew Robin and Pontus. Amanda again attempted unsuccessfully to find more clothes that might fit. Nearby the local brigade was trying to put out a fire... A fire sale?

Pontus who for the last 3 months has resisted a haircut seriously gave it some thought, but decided that a 50 cent cut might not be his style. Robin was recruited for the task of cleaning pig intestine for a batch of Beef and Guinness sausages.

Bilaran is an island covered with steep hills, rice terraces and waterfalls. We went against the recommendation of our motorbike taxi driver to take a guide and headed out alone after receiving directions by way of a mud map (a map drawn in the mud by someone with no English). Our 10-minute walk turned into a 1.5 hour slide through muddy jungle. Yep we got lost.

We did get there eventually after finding some farmers who pointed us in the right direction.

Knowing the way back to town we decided to walk. Along the way a truck stopped, I guess to offer us a lift? Once we all jumped on they would have realized we wanted a ride if that’s not the reason they stopped!

Snake cave is our next destination.

Charmed by Romblon town

Romblon being the home of marble made me think perhaps I could replace our cracked bathroom basin with a marble model. It was removed from the boat and taken to David an English guy running a deli in town. He gave it to a lady who gave it to someone and work was started.

The kids around the port area were making themselves lilos from plastic bags filled with scraps of polystyrene washed into a corner of the harbor.

We passed the time at the close by diving board held down with lumps of marble and checking out the quarry’s where the marble is chipped out by hand and sculptured in to everything imaginable.

After about 3 days when the weather settled we managed to get in a dive at the Blue Hole (see notes below) on the northeast side of Tablas. The film crew from the Filipino TV show ‘Born To Be Wild’ was also filming at the same time so we are going to be on TV sometime around the middle of February. Their host who is also a star of their survivor series filmed in Thailand. Lucky they were not filming in NZ as there is no way they would have survived, they thought the water was cold!



Our basin was to take 3 days to make but after a week we decided to move on and made plans for it to be shipped to the next Island, Sibuyan. Marc and Renate after spending 3 weeks aboard ventured into the mountains for a 2 day climb of Mount Gunting Gunting. Pretty much as soon as they would have started their hike the heavens opened up for the first time since we have been in the Philippines and it rained …and rained. We were thinking of you guys. Before the rains started we managed to visit some of the local attractions a waterfall and river.


Next stop the cows (and maybe beef) of Masbate.



The Blue Hole
Is a vertical tunnel or chimney which you can enter at about 5m. It’s about 6m in diameter and you can descend into the hole until you exit onto the reef via a cave entrance at about 27m. It’s a great spot to dive as the visibility within the hole is good allowing you to explore the marine life within the crevices. From the mouth at the bottom you can sit and watch large pelagics and turtles swim by. We saw large dog tooth tuna and green turtle. A few days earlier a shark was seen at the cave entrance. We did the dive with the 3P’s – Ducks Diving who we found to be incredibly relaxed and friendly. The film crew of Born to Be Wild were also incredibly welcoming and fun to be out with. A few days before we dived some geologists were taking samples and confirmed it is not volcanic, but formed during the last ice age similar to a blow hole which over time has hollowed out enough to let us enjoy diving through it!

Cruising around El Nido

Surviving New Years Eve celebrations, a trip up the coast by motorbike to see a nearby waterfall sounded like a good idea.

After cooling off we headed back passed a curious local who kept a close eye on Robin.

The hot springs was to be our next stop however we were told the water Buffalo also swim here and the warm water assisted them with there bowel movements. The plan was changed to lunch near the beach. Here Robin almost found a replacement for his size 13 flipper and the chickens were also dining on the sleeping puppies fleas.

The now famous caterpillar was demonstrated to the kids on the beach but their attempts had them landing face first in the sand.

After relaxing over the drink, we packed up the boat and headed out to the islands to where we visited an abandoned church and bbq'd on the beach. The night turned into a bottle of 15-year-old Tanduay and drum beating on Rubicon Star, Amanda wisely heading home with Sloop.

After a painful trip in choppy conditions where we wished we all went home early (except Amanda), we finally anchored. Our anchorage found us in front of a hill in Halsey Harbor. This time it was Pontus who sensibly declined the hill climb. We slashed our way up the first part, Amanda deciding to wait while Robin and I completed the rest of the trip mostly on all fours.

Pontus brought over one of the best tasting Red Horses ever for a cool off once we arrived back at the beach.

Tomorrow we head towards the wrecks in the Calamian Group.

West to East - off to Borneo

The Islands out this side of Malaysia were a very pleasant surprise. After Palau Sibu we headed off in search of the waterfall rumored to be on Palau Tinggi. A couple of anchorages later at a few villages we met with success.

On the way back to the boat we stumbled on a small eating-place. Once seated they brought out a really nice fish curry, veges and a few other things. With no menu to gauge the cost we keep asking, “Berapa?” (how much) but with no clear answer, Amanda headed into the kitchen and after much discussion was eventually told 70 Ringgit ($25). A far price would have been 15 Ringgit so we pointed this out, paid for our drink and made moves to leave. Obviously embarrassed a local rushed over claiming he had paid for our meal and not to leave. Local workers were arriving so I suggested that they would appreciate such a lovely meal and we headed back to the boat for lunch.

Next stop Palau Aur, I thought this was going to be my favorite but was yet to visit Tioman. Crewmember Josh decided to climb the closest rock to spice up his afternoon.

A snorkel sounded like a better idea to me.

We tore ourselves away heading to Palau Tioman our clearing out spot. Hard to believe, but it was even better here. The water visibility here was 25m+. Crewmember / dive instructor Josh got roped into a trade doing Amanda’s advanced ticket and changing my dive tickets over to Padi and that involved mostly an exchange of beer. We hired 9 tanks and 4 sets of gear and headed out for a few days of diving.

Of course diving really worked up a thirst and the friendly guys at the Pirate beach bar (Tioman Cabana) helped us out with this problem. Things got a little messy on our last night when they ran out of beer. Feeling bad we were served really discounted Tequila which ended up with me leading the locals and the bar in a Haka rendition at about 1am.

With still 400 miles to go we set out at 7pm the following evening still recovering from my hangover. The weather treated us nicely with everyone except Sloop happy to be motor sailing for the first day.

We all practiced our safety on board skills but fortunately it was 3 uneventful days later that we entered Malaysian waters again to be greeted by the coast guard.