Philippines 2013: 4 - Laoag to Tacloban

Friday, May 3, 2013

Laoag is the home city of Fernando Marcos, where he is revered as a national hero. We visited his holiday mansion on a lake, the house in which he was born and his mausoleum and museum, which has his history up to his election as president and then nothing more. Immelda, his wife, still has a mansion next door to the mausoleum protected by the national police. She is apparently in town, likely to help get out the vote for two of the family who are running for office. She is very well thought of.

We visited the Church of Paoay, built by Augustinian missionaries in 1593 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1993. Across the road were small communities of thatch houses on flat land near a river. Our guide, Michelle, says these are squatters, who live there during low water. In rainy season they have to move as high water sweeps the houses away.

We had a fairly good lunch at a nice local restaurant before touring another museum on the way to the airport. We were early for our flight, but appreciated that Arnold had a long drive back to Manila. Scheduled departure was 5 PM, but boarding was not until 7 PM. The airport is small, with folding chairs in the waiting area. All baggage was weighed, and we were forced to check our bags - this became standard on local flights.

A tiny snack bar behind a partition had a few tables and chairs, so we sat there while I did my best to drink them out of beer. As far as I could see we were their only paying customers - they were sorry to see us go after 5 hours

In Manila a driver was waiting for us. We got him to stop at a money changer on the way to the hotel, where we were delighted to collapse into bed.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Fortunately the great breakfast at the Dusit Hotel was available by 5;30 AM, so we ate before Arnold drove us to the airport for our 8:10 AM flight to Legaspi. He arrived from Laoag in the wee hours of the morning.

The airport was a mess. First a line of hundreds of people snaked back and forth in the steaming hot sun - no shade, everyone running with sweat. This was to pass through the first security and scanner check. At the airline counter was the line to check in. The bags were found to be over the 10 kg permitted weight, so it was necessary to go to another line to pay $23 fees and then return to check in. The next line was for security. Finally we arrived at a boarding area swarming with masses of people. Fortunately the flight was on time, but the airport was not. We sat in the plane on the taxiway for almost an hour before being cleared for takeoff, apparently quite normal for Manila. We had an exit row, so my legs fit, but the other seats on the plane have very little space between them.

The flight was 50 minutes, with the approach to the small city of Legazpi passing in front of the 2,750 meter (9,000 ft) perfect cone Mayon Volcano, rising from sea level. We were met by a fellow whose name sounded like June, who was apparently in charge for Donsol Eco Tours, and our guide Choy. June said we were to be back at Venezia Hotel by 3 PM for a briefing on the next day's activities.

Choy was a great guide, with a super sense of humor. He said the first Spanish settlers arrived in Legazpi in 1565, but it wasn't named a city until 1872. We were driven up a hill between the city and the volcano where we visited the Gagsava church built from wood in 1587, burned by the Dutch in 1636, rebuilt of stone in 1724, and buried by lava from a volcano eruption in 1814. Apparently some 200 people sought shelter in the church from the volcano but all died except the priest, who is reputed to have fled the scene. The volcano was close, but cloudy.

The next stop was the big Daraga church, built in 1773, then a stop for lunch and to let Marilynn buy some beauty supplies in the surprising upscale mall. A good lunch was had in the Colonial Restaurant, including very good Lumpia Shanghai, recommended to me by traveler Kevin Hughes. Choy ordered chili pepper ice cream - good taste, but a burning mouth afterwards!

After lunch we drove past the port and along the embarcadero, where bar after bar seemed the only businesses. A lively area at night, I'm told! The fishing boats are all outriggers, and there were many in the bay. We got some great shots with the now clear volcano behind them.

Back at the hotel June didn't show up for his 3 PM appointment, wasting our afternoon, but dinner at the hotel was quite good.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

A different driver picked us up this morning to take us to Donsol, where whale sharks make an annual appearance from March to May. In a country with over 25% unemployment it is usual for available work to be divided between different people.

At the beach there was a welcome centre with a film of what to do and not to do during an encounter with one of these giants. We ordered lunch for our return, received a basket of towels, water and snacks and were driven to where the boats were. An American, Jim Learman, arrived hoping to see the whale sharks but was advised that to hire a boat on his own would be prohibitively expensive so he would be better to wait for a tour group. He is in Legazpi setting up a call centre for a US based company. We invited him to join us, as we have a boat and 4 man crew to ourselves.

The boats are the double outrigger type we had photographed last night, powered by an inboard engine. The engine was started by wrapping a length of thick rope around the fly wheel, and then three of the crew pulled on it. It fired up each time, and no worry about batteries!

The allotted three hours were spent cruising the bay with no sign of a whale shark, so we went snorkeling in an area where coral was making a comeback The water temperature was perfect, the visibility not great and very few fish were around.

Back at the beach we were driven back to where we ordered lunch, which was surprisingly good, accompanied by Red Horse Beer. I asked several people how many times out of 100 they would see a whale shark, and the answer was always evasive - the tourism generated by these creatures is the largest source of local income. I suspect it would not be a very high percentage, but it was fun being out on the boat.

Our driver couldn't understand why we were flying to Manila tomorrow and then to Tacloban. He has made the drive many times, and says it takes about 8 hours including a ferry trip between islands. If we left at 8 AM we would arrive around 4 PM having seen a lot of country. Flying we spent over 10 hours between airports and planes, arriving at 7:30 PM instead of the scheduled 5:30 PM, and of course saw nothing - ridiculous.

We took a taxi to a local restaurant, Small Talk Café, in the evening for a good meal. I stopped at a local massage place near our hotel on the way back and Marilynn continues in the tricycle taxi to the hotel. A one hour massage runs an average of $7. Marilynn had one in the hotel last night for three times that price, but it aggravated a sore shoulder that has been troubling her.

Monday, May 6, 2013

The hotel shuttle took us to the airport where we were frisked and baggage was searched twice, as their 3 luggage scanners were broken down. Once again, the plane was delayed for an hour after we boarded before we could take off, making a 10 hour travel day.

On board flight service provides a package of crackers and tea, coffee or a half cup of warm water - that's it. Nothing cold. Our seat mate was a policeman in the criminal investigation department of the Philippines National Police, on his way to Tacloban to assist the locals in the investigation of a crime. He gave us his card with his cell phone and told us if we had any difficulties to give him a call.

We were picked up in Tacloban, Leyte, by a van from the Oriental hotel along with another 5 people and a baby. There was no sign of our tour company and no message from them as the hotel so we went ahead with drinks, dinner and bed.