Gone sailing!

The flight from Bali via Manilla to Coron went just as it is suppose too, not any problem at all with Cebu Pacific Air. I am stressing a bit on the airport in Manilla to get out money, since I am going to a place without ATMs again, and the 2 first atms I find doesn't work. It might be an atm in Coron, but it for sure isn't any in El Nido, so I like to bring along as much money at I think I will use the next 2 weeks, diving in El Nido not inkluded, since I can fix that with PayPal.

I stayed at an simple cheap accomodation in Coron town, at Patrick and Tess Guesthouse. I got a small room with fan, not any AC, cold water in the shower. Nothing fancy, but it is just fine for the 3 nights that I have in Coron. The house is at the end of a pavement strething out over water as many of the houses do in the Coron around the waterfront. Btw, it is a sweedish run guesthouse. I was not doing much the first day, long breakfast and long lunches and long dinners, reading and surfing the net. On day 2 in Coron was I doing 2 dives on some wrecks, good dive with penetration of the wrecks. We went pretty deep on both dives, and also went into deco on both dives. Have never done that, but it was not a problem really, since it all cleared on around 9 meter on the way back up, still, one is not diving into deco on purpose when one do not have the education for it. I had thew briefing for the sail trip at the Tao office straight after the diving, and the boat was back late, and so was I to the meeting. I meet a big group, 22 other sailers, a few more than expected. Talked to a few of them before we splitted up to meet again the next day.

My night before the trip turnes out to me a bit unpleasent, since I once again get sick before a boattrip, this time I most surely have a bad stomac, since I puke during the night. Still get some sleep, and manage to eat a small breakfast in the morning before I go with a tri-cycle to the Tao-Philippines sail boat. I am not feeling to good the first half day or so on the boat, and I find some spot with shaddow and just lay down being unsocial, just do not have the strenght for it. Not happy about it, since this first day is a get to know each other day, but is is the way it is. After a small lunch, I sit up, and get to talk to a sweedish couple, and Allan is making me drink some glasses of icetea, and that really helps, since I am pretty dehydrated since the water dosn't taste me any good. I skip all snorkeling and swimming this day, I do not have anything to do in the water. We are camping on a beatyfull island this first night, and we all get a small hut, or bed, with roof a bit over the ground, where we lay our matress under a mosqito net. Just great! I tell some of the peoples of the group that I are a bit sick, so I sort of give an exoplonation for why I am being so passive and quite, since it must look a bit strange that someone seams so unintristed to get to know the others on the boat. I am affraid that I do not make a good first impression. I hope I made up for it during the trip.

I have slowly being better during the first day, and on the morning of day two I feel a lot better, and I have had a good night sleep as well on my great outdoor bed. The rest of the trip I feel good, even if my tummy is not a 100%, but I can eat and drink as normal, and be normal social. The group is good, just a bunch of nice strangers traveling together and get to know each other on the way. Life on the boat is good, and very relaxing, some snorkeling or swims is breaking up the days on the boat. People are accepted as they are, some talk all the time, some talk less, read, listening to music and I got the feeling that everyone is just going with the flow and have a good time on their own terms, without making anyone unconfortable. I, well I must admit, are not one that talk a lot, but I get a good connection with some of the people, or some more than others, and I am also changing my first impression on some and find them to be really great and interesting people to talk to, and I have good days on the trip. Nice, fun and social.

The accomodation is good, but simple, since we basicly sleep outside, even if we have a roof over our head, it is on a thin matress under a mosquito net. On 2 of the island we also have to swim to/from the boat since the boat cant go into the beach beacause of corral reefs. I find it fun, I have never had to do that before. Our stuff and food and everything else that we need for the night is the crew transporting on kayaks. I belive I have some of my best sleeps on my trip on the islands, and since it isn't like a daily experience to sleep like this, it is good fun as an experience for some nights. Last time I sleept under some simulare condition was in the jungle on Borneo back in 2010, so it was about time. The crew was amazing, and they where very good organized in their work. It took them about 1 hour to get everything we needed for a night on the islands from the boat to the island, that meen our personal stuff, food, drinks, matresses, cooking eqipment and most likely more than that. And they where always in a good mood, making fun with each other and us, impressive.

 

Food, is always important. Last time I was on Palawan I could not figure out the food, and I did not find the Philippines food any good, or I got good food, just that is was more internatinal food. But the food on the boat, or on the islands in the evening has been amazing. We have been served crabs, calimari, grilled baby pig, fish, all fresh. The pigs have been killed the same day we have been eating it, some of the fish have been frozen, since it is hard to get fish close to the islands at the moment, because of overfishing most likely. It have all been amazing, and it have given me back my hope for the local cooking, and the chef on the boat was just amazingly good. When it comes to a different breakfast, I must mention a coconut (a hole one) with poridge, cooked bananas and some condensatet milk, and it was good. Not anything I will eat at home, but nevertheless.

After 4 nights and 5 days traveling from Coron to El Nido are we getting into El Nido around 17.30 on Tuesday in the Easter week. About 20 of us meet up for dinner later at the same night, and we are all pretty tired, and no of us want to hit the town for partying after dinner. Several are staying in El Nido for some nights, and I will most likly run into some of them the next days, but I do not have any appointments with anyone. See what happends.

My room for the week in El Nido is small, it is a single room in a hostel, but there is almost no floorspace around the bed. But I do not need much, I got AC and the toilet and showers are clean and working good. I do not have much planned out for my week, and I will most likely do some diving with Submariner. I have booked diving for tomorrow, and I told them that I will do 3-5 days of diving. See what happends. I tell you later. :-)

 

 

 

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