I slept in, at least, that’s what I tried.I woke up a little after 6 in the morning.. no hurries for tody so I snuggled back under my blanket enjoying the cool that the airconditioning brings. My book and I have become good friends.
After a lovely breakfast in the garden I packed my daypack for a 2 day trip… I can leave my luggage behind and pick it up when I come back to Cebu on Friday… So the I plan for today is get to Malapascua. At 9 I leave the hotel and grab a cab to the Northern bus terminal. Everything is well arranged so I get unto the bus and wait until it leaves. Next to me is a Swiss gentleman who has been working on the southern Islands for the Red Cross. We get talking and I learn a little more about the conflicts in the south.
The bus drive is about 4 hours… all the windows are open and I’m seated just behind the driver, which means I have a great view. The bus stops everywhere where there are people who wasn’t to get on… or it just passes them if the bus is full…. Or half-full. I don’t really get the system but I’m comfortable and have no reason to complain. The 4 hour drive sets me back about € 3,20. Which I like. The journey makes me sleepy and I doze off… the surroundings are stunning and green, the villages small and authentic, there’s much to see but since I’m not driving it feels different from behind the glass.
We get to Mayan port, the end of the line and in the distance I can already see my destination, Malapascua Island where I hope to do some diving. We get onto the boat an within the hour I’m in paradise. Finally, the white beaches that were promised. As I only carry a light backpack I walk around in seasrch of a place to stay. The place I chose online is booked… So I walk into another resort and check out the rooms. The lady calls her price but I don’t like the room that much,nor is breakfast included. She tells me she has a better room for the same price and will throw in breakfast, since I will be diving with them.
The next room actually has an ocean view and is a little more to my liking. I check in while the lady cleans my room (the other people tjust checked out). After a quick shower I walk around the island a bit, the sun is almost setting and I love the atmospehere. Just past the tourist shops are little Philipino settlements and I enjoy walking around where there are kids playing in the streets, chickens and roosters everywhere… dogs chasing cats and huge pigs that lie in the mud. On my way back I find a local place to eat (they have schnitzel on this Island, but thast just feels wrong somehow).
When I walk back a guy asks me where I bought my drybag (a waterproof bag). We talk for a second and I ask if he want to get a drink… He tells me he still needs to get something from the shop but he’ll look for me in the bar’s on the main road (on the beach). I walk back to my hotel, sit down on the beach and have a drink. Tomorrow the alarm will wake me at 4 AM so I decide to go to bed. Just as I decide to walk to my room I hear shouting from the street… I have forgotten about the guy and we sit down and have a drink.
This 25 year old Malaysian guy lives in Cebu and works there, he travels around on his time off. The conversation is great, we talk about happiness and how it is achieved… about spirituality and enlightment. I wonder again, why do I always think that 20 something people hardly use their brain? I enjoy the conversation as it deepens and we become facebook friends… so we can message each other tomorrow and have another drink.
And now I’m back in my room… getting ready for bed and all the impressions of the journey are running through my mind… the little villages, the cock pit arena, how people live in these tiny houses and how they seem happy with their lives. It’s the inspiration that I always cherish when travelling… but now it’s time for bed… tomorrow morning I will be diving with thresher sharks! So hopefully there will be some good footage.
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