Malcapuya Island

A relative of the Mayor of Coron bought Malcapuya Island in the 1970s or so and developed it into a tourist recreation area. Now for a modest fee of 200php, members of the public can visit for the day and enjoy the beach. Kayaks are available to rent and there's a public rest room and snack shop. A rock outcrop affords a nice view of both the smaller side beach and the big long beach. The core of the island is currently inaccessible due to packs of wild monkeys, but there are apparently plans to make walking trails so visitors can glimpse birds and wildlife.

Sun, Sea and Sand eco-tour to Malcapuya Island, Palawan.

The "White House" where the island's owner lives.

View from the outcropping.

The Philippine national bird: the Eagle.

Our group daytrip with Al Linsangan's eco-tour company was 950php and included boat rental, island admission fee, and lunch. Lato salad, assorted meats and fish, lobster, and roast chicken were served. There was also chop suey veggies for me as you can request a vegetarian option from Al the day before. As a bonus, the island's caretaker shared with our group some freshly bbq'd free-range chicken that one of our group members had been drooling over as it was cooking.

Rupert and lunch.

After lunch I had a busy agenda of napping, inspecting the giant clams and corals off shore, and wandering down the beach. Truly an exhausting schedule!

Best place for sunburn recovery.

Ocean offerings.

A nice place to walk.

 Unfortunately the day ended too soon to squeeze in a kayak rental but it was cooler to jump right in the water and swim out to the coral area. This time I wore a shirt to protect my burned back. The snorkelling fins and mask sets that Pet had bought in Paris for us really came in handy and saw lots of use.

Return home.

This was a most enjoyable day and a good chance to rest up for our Thursday of kayaking and mountain trekking. We found that we could do our own trip for less than the eco-tour, which would be more expensive with only two people and no one else seemed to be signing up for the more adventurous tours. Everyone just wanted to lie on beaches and snorkel.

For 400php, we got a local tricycle driver to take us to and pick us up from Kingfisher Park, a 30 minute drive from town. We bought our own lunch but ordered a big breakfast from Momita's. Then the kayak rental, guide and park admission was only 600php each. So for each, the excursion cost was 800php plus food.

A sturdy little transport machine.

 When you arrive at Kingfisher Park, you have to phone the caretaker who will meet you along the dirt road leading to the dock, a long wooded affair of loose planks. No kayaks were on the shore so we had to take a boat out to a resort facility built in the middle of the lake, a beautiful place, with spanking clean comfort rooms! Hey, such things leave an impression! Pet got his own kayak, the only one-seater available, so I had to share with Mark, our 16-year-old guide for the day whose mom was the cook at the resort. But I insisted on sterning. We ended up powering across the lake toward the mangroves and frequently rested to allow Pet to catch up.

Epic dock!

Pet the paddler.

Kayaking through mangroves.

Nivahat trees among the mangroves.

Mark is an excellent guide and paddler.

The mangrove forest reminded me of paddling along the La Salle River in La Barrier Park just south of Winnipeg. Except instead of beavers and deer, there were iguanas and wild boars. I only saw one big dead iguana (malaking bayawak = big iguana), and Mark told me the game trails we saw leading away through the mangrove roots were from wild boars. Only at the very end did we see a large exotic bird - Mark pointed it out, but it flew off before I could get a good shot.

The wind had picked up when we exited the mangrove area and we had whitecaps to cross to return to shore. Mark and I steered cutting the waves and quickly left poor Pet behind but he managed well and did not tip.

Next up, hiking up Mount Lunes Santo ("Holy Monday"). We followed the dirt road back past farm and grazing land, then deked off into a residential area, winding through pasture and farm houses made of bamboo. We crossed a small running stream where a woman was washing clothes on a rock, and passed through someone's back yard where a rope swing hung from a tree. Then we entered a forested area which took us finally upwards.

That high and dry, it was strange to see pitcher plants along the path. These I see usually paddling through swamps in the Whiteshell, not on mountain ridges in the Philippines!

The summit afforded a nice view of the lake we'd just paddled on and hints of the ocean beyond. Pet took some stunning black and white shots and I attempted some video. Getting up took an hour and a half. We were down by 2:15pm and our driver wasn't expected until 3pm. We had a chance to rest at a small shop along the highway and Pet visited with Enzo and Mark, the caretaker and our young guide, while I took pictures of plants and fruits growing in a nearby garden.

Summit shot with my fellow paddler.

View from the top. Lower left is the resort in the middle of the  lake.

Philippine forest - flip flops mandatory!

Garden flowers.

Next chore: deciding what to do about Friday. Once again, no one - for some bizarre reason - wanted to sign up for the eco tour to the Leper Colony at Culion Island - FORMER Leper Colony! After some discussion and gentle arm-twisting from me, Pet agreed to just go for the higher price that was required for a group of two. There was no way to do it for cheaper on our own since boats weren't available to the general public - only through the tour companies. For what we ended up getting, it turned out to be very worthwhile. But more later. Time to wander out to Makati and buy a map and tour book. Only one and a half weeks left here and I don't want to miss a thing! Tonight is a practice and small acoustic set at Gweilo Bar (C. Palanca St. Makati) with Clemen Castro of The Camerawalls. Music starts at 9 pm but we have to practice. Never a dull moment!

Tuesday in Coron

Tues. Jan 24 was our first eco tour with Al Linsangan's company. We chose the snorkelling and island hopping day trip that took us to Kayangan Lake, Twin Peaks Reef, Twin Lagoons, Atwayan Beach & Coral Gardens and CYC Island (650php). I'm including costs of things for those who might want to head this way as well. Prices also available on the website at www.corongaleri.com.ph

We had so much fun we forgot to reapply sunscreen throughout the day - and also were trying not to kill the corals with our toxic human chemicals. The end result is that my back currently looks like that of a burn victim and is peeling most grotesquely despite constant post-burn marination in baby lotion.

Here's a few shots of our destinations on Tuesday:

Kayangan Lake (freshwater)

Twin Lagoons access: you have to swim right under the wall!

Atwayan Beach lunch stop.

Snorkelling at Twin Peaks Reef

The mayor of CYC Island. She'd just bitten a small child before we arrived...provoked maybe? and was a bit testy.

CYC Island's other resident. The first flea-free cat I've seen yet in the PH.  Seemed to get along well with the monkey but may have been abandoned, poor thing.

Our new friends, returning to the boat. Clear, warm water, but lots of garbage on the beach. Al Linsangan likes to send tourists to CYC Island even though there's not a lot there to keep an eye on things and discourage locals from polluting its beautiful beach.

Our daily routine after Tuesday became like this: Get up, either eat at Momita's or grab something down the street from Al's (there's a great little place that serves traditional Pinoy food including the chocolate-rice porridge called Champorado); confirm our activity for the morning, walk to the port to board a boat for an island eco tour; return around 5 or 6pm, shower, wander to Al's and pay him for the daytrip, then wander around town filling our water bottles at Water for Less in the town plaza (5php for one 1L bottle, 8php for two - don't let the kid cheat you by charging 10. His sister caught him one time because she knew I'd been there earlier and knew he rate. He was SO embarrassed!). Then we usually ended up eating at the same place next to Water for Less in the Plaza. Not sure of the name of the place but Pet found out from the owner's wife that they met in the market of Coron Town - she was on vacation and he followed her home to Manila. Then she followed him back to Coron. They serve a ton of traditional Filipino dishes so Pet got to try something different every night while I stuck to the Veggies and fried noodles. Hey, i like fried noodles! I tried spaghetti one night but it was too el dente and was penne, not spaghetti, and the sauce tasted like ketchup. Win some, lose some.

Wednesday we nursed our respective sunburns on the white sandy shores of Malcapuya Island but that's a story for another day. I'm bagged from a day of Mall Ratting at the Power Plant in Makati while Inna hung out with her high school girlfriends. There are unlimited numbers of Zara, Top Shop, and Starbucks in Makati! I'm out-latte-ed today!

An actual vacation

I don't remember the last time I lay on a sandy beach and did nothing for a few hours. The concept is totally alien for someone trained from birth to always keep busy and out of trouble. Though there's a beach located an hour's drive north of my home town, I travelled thousands of kilometres across the world, and took a tiny bamboo boat across Pacific Ocean waters to get here:

Malcapuya Island in the province of Palawan, Philippines. It's one of the many Calamianes Islands accessed through the resort town of Coron.

On Monday, January 23, my trusty travel companion Rupert De Jesus and I caught a 45 minute flight from Manila to Busuanga airport on the island province of Palawan. From there we took a 30 minute shuttle ride (150php) to Momita's Lodge, an ancestral family home of the friendly but shrewdly businesslike owner, Momita. A small misunderstanding of our room confirmation was quickly resolved as luckily there were other rooms available. For our five-night stay we ended up in comfortable, air conditioned multi-bed rooms. The comfort rooms were clean with water buckets and dippers. Momita's is central, a block from a bakery, the central plaza, shops, and one street over from the Calamianes Xpedition Eco-tours run by Al and Mae Linsangan.

Rupert had heard about Momita's and the Eco tours through friends who had been to Coron before, so we had investigated them before we arrived. All we had to do when we got there was figure out which tour we wanted to do and when.

Got to run out momentarily for dinner in Makati with - of all people, Ron Cantiveros and Larry Vikars of Winnipeg who were here to build a village in the south. So here's a brief run-down of my week with Rupert in Coron:

Turn your head sideways to view the summit cross since I can't rotate  this photo. Deal.

Monday - arrived, settled, hiked up Mt. Tapyas. No big feat. Stairs lead all the way to the paved summit where stands a huge cross that lights up at night. Pathways lead to two pagodas, one affording a nice view of the sunset.

Found a nice place to sit on Mt. Tapyas overlooking Coron Town. Photo by Rupert De Jesus.

Sunset in Coron.

Next...Tuesday. So little time to blog!

To Market to Market, Jigetty Jig!

Anyone remember that old nursery rhyme? The Baclaran Market has absolutely EVERYTHING. This morning I found a malong - a tube of fabric used as a sleeping blanket, a wrap, a shawl, you name it. My kind of gear - it has at least three uses. Cost 300 pesos, about $7. Next I found a small suitcase that would fit my snorkelling fins and all my other gear for the week in Coron. Initially the vendor said 950 pesos but when I hesitated he asked "what's your budget?" We settled on 750 pesos since I was down to my last 400 but didn't want to ask him to discount it to that amount. Alfie chipped in for the rest and I paid him back later.

This market wasn't as crushing as the one Inna dragged us through yesterday. There was more room on the street here but there was still beggars and people carrying racks of totally useless things getting in your face offering it to you as if it was the most important thing in your life: "shorts, ma'am. shorts", "long sleeved shirt, ma'am, long-sleeved shirt. The shorts in question were boys' basketball shorts. The shirts were men's soccer jerseys.

One whole alley was devoted to gorgeous Philippine gowns and traditional pineapple fibre shirts. Sadly, none fit the big, burly Canadian girl. You have to get to the market in the morning as people tend to close up after noon. Inna was looking for shirts for herself and clothes for her kids for their next bout of visiting relatives. They had all brought only three shirts each with the intention of buying cheap clothes here. Good point too, because it's so hot and the clothes here are made for the weather.

We ate at Jollibee, the Philippine McDonalds, and then caught the LRT back to Libertad station where we hopped a Jeepney to Aurora Street.  Once home Inna and Alfie had to go visit some more relatives so I just stayed home and packed for Coron. Baby Liam and Melanie were in the air conditioned room with me and Liam kept trying to climb into my suitcase. It was the cutest thing. Then Melanie kindly cooked a simple dinner of scrambled eggs and rice for the two of us and we had a great conversation about our family members - she speaks very little English and I have barely a word of Filipino. But we understood each other perfectly!

The family came home just in time to turn around and head to band practice. This was the most difficult one for me since I didn't know most of the songs and most had specific tunes the violin is supposed to highlight. I am in worried mode. I'll be gone to Coron for a week and back in time for a preview gig on Jan 28th. Hoping I can pull off my part and not embarrass the band.

Off to bed with a plane to catch tomorrow morning!

Green peace in the big city

There isn't any! Unless you pay big bucks for it, but even in the one and only greenspace between Makati and Pasay City there's bits of string stretched along the stone walkways of the Greenbelt shopping complex park preventing anyone from sitting under a coconut tree and reading a book. I got in a bit of reading at a Thai curry place at lunch, but the skinny kid serving me was making me nervous by standing 3 feet behind my chair so I had to engage him in conversation about Jose Rizal and his life and writings. The kid said everyone has to study him in high school and read the novels. He recommended I start with Noli Me Tangere since El Filibusterismo is the sequel. The kid said the Spanish executed him not for his revolutionary acts but purely because of his writing - they felt threatened by a weapon of mass destruction: his pen.

I walked this morning from Facundo Street in Pasay City despite everyone's moans of "it's so far!" Four kilometres. I do that twice every day to and from work - granted, though, it doesn't involve Jeepney-dodging and stepping over piles of garbage, poop and children. There are so many children, cats and dogs running around in that area. You don't pet any, of course - all flea-bitten and skinny, foraging for food. Yes, children included. Cute but sorry, I'm not giving you my change, dear, as it would involve digging into my bag and then being swarmed by a million more of you. What I witness daily just walking down the street speaks volumes about overpopulation and the Church's continued active discouragement of birth control in this country. Sorry, but it's a fact.

So I walked here in the heat and got sucked into the Greenbelt Mall complex looking for a park. I found Top Shop and Zara. There's also Banana Republic, Escada, Marc Jacobs, Juicy Couture, and every brand name that appears between the glossy covers of Vogue. Such a contrast after my walk through Pasay City.

Tomorrow evening is my last practice with the band before departing for Coron with my friend Rupert (Pet). Today, trying to find something other than shopping to do - I can't go many places by myself because as a foreigner I'm a target so the other option is to stay home and listen to the three-year-old scream. Sweet kid most of the time when he gets his own way but dare to cross him and hoo-boy! Back to locate some green space.

Ayala Museum and Improvisation

Thursday was my first time riding in a Jeepney, a modified WWII jeep that seats 14 and costs 8 pesos per 4 kilometres. I wanted to go to the Ayala Museum (built and financed by the Ayala family that made it rich investing in swamp land that then became prime commercial real estate - kind of like modern-day Medicis). As every day, I ended up doodling away the morning but caught a ride to the Makati-area museum with my host, Ramil, who had to go to the office anyway. He kindly showed me how to get from the Museum to the Jeepney Terminal, which happens to involve walking through the same series of Malls that I have now become familiar with: Greenbelt, Landmark, and Glorietta. We found a Power Books store and I was able to buy Joze Rizal's two novels.

Ayala Museum has a display of early Philippine gold artifacts. The ancient peoples would bury their dead with orifice covers and face masks made of finely-hammered gold, and used it for many decorative and religious things. Another gallery featured great Philippine artists including Juan Luna (19th Century), Fernando Amorsolo (20th Century), and Fernando Zobel (late 20th Century). Lastly was  series of 60 dioramas depicting the main historical events in Philippine history. Much was bloody and full of oppression and occupation by other nations. The story of Jose Rizal was included along with those of other revolutionaries. Ninoy Aquino, the beloved senator who was assassinated, was prominently featured.

After a tiny bit of shopping (I did arrive in the PH with minimal clothes and have found it a bit of a pain) I made it to the Jeepney terminal and hopped aboard. Ramil had told me which stop to get off at: Aurora, and which Jeepney line to take: Pasay Road to Libertad. Not a problem. I'm getting used to the crowds and the traffic - not that I like it but you adapt.

Made it home just in time for a shower and a bite before we had to catch a cab to practice at Infinitif Studios. This time, a run through of last rehearsal's songs and then right into new stuff. Most I had gone over with Alfie in Winnipeg, listening to Half Life Half Death's CD and making notes of what to do where. Then of course he had to throw at me some new stuff I'd never heard before. Sure, no problem, bring it on! After we had a few minutes to jam and I grabbed Joel's accoustic guitar - we launched into a bunch of Cult, Cure, and Modern English tunes, plus some other randoms that I've never heard before. So much fun!!

Today, Friday, Inna, Alfie and I did the Fort Santiago where a facebook friend of Inna's, met through an online New Wave radio station, works as the Curator of the Jose Rizal museum and shrine. Zarah personally showed us around and answered all our questions. She's in charge of dealing with all media inquiries, event planning, and public relations for the museum, plus research and other coordinating related to the museum. It was really an honour to have her to ourselves for a little over an hour. Now I have a much better appreciation of what Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero, means to this country. at the gift shop I bought a copy of his poems, a biography, and a collection of his letters and essays - most necessary purchases!

Then Inna led Alfie and I on a madcap search for the famous market, Divisoria. She jumped a Jeepney, then dove into a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd wending to a cathedral, Jesus de Nazarene or something like that. Mass was under way and a huge line extended out of the church awaiting communion. We all gripped our bags close and stayed close when we made purchases. Ultimately, the crowd was not the Divisoria we were looking for and we never got there because I needed to get back home in time to change and get ready to meet Ali and Sumek for dinner at 6pm at Harbour Square. Also, it seemed like it would be a bit of a hunt to find the elusive marketplace.

Once home I had just enough time to shower and change and then walk down the alley that is Facundo Street in my fancy heels from Salzburg and my silk dress made by Guru clothing in Winnipeg from recycled Indian saris. The cabby I hailed turned out to be an honest, hard-working gentleman who charged a fair rate and knew exactly where to take me. Fare only 85p but I gave him a tip.

There was just enough time to have a snack and a huge latte at Starbuck's (yes, there's a bunch even in Manila - so wrong - but it makes an obvious meeting place). Ali and Sumek arrived in decent time and we ate at a Korean resto called Crazy Pan. The food was spicey (set poor Ali sneezing), and plentiful beyond our stomach capacity. We made it to the Cultural Centre right across the street and had lots of time before the show. Rain's two boys sat with me and the other Winnipeggers and Rain managed to find a seat in the same row further down.

The program included a small 5-movement piece by Dvorak, then a trombone concerto by Rimsky-Korsakov, and finally Symphony No. 5 by Carl Nielson, the 20th Century Danish composer. After the show we waited around for autographs from the trombonist, and I finally got to meet my new facebook friend, conductor Olivier Ochanine. More on the concert later since I'm dead tired - again!!

Rock n Roll n History

Jose Rizal was executed by firing squad as a traitor for trying to fight for freedom against oppression of the Filippino people - much like Manitoba's Louis Riel. Bagumbayan or 'new city" was the site of his death and where today stands a huge memorial and park. Rizal apparently knew a ton of languages, was highly educated, and wrote several books including the novels "Noli me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo". Upon learning of Rizal's story from my personal tour guide and rock guitarist incroyable, Pet, and further learning about the tumultuous history of the Philippines at the Ayala Museum, I bought both novels in English Translation.

Back to Wednesday - Pet and I walked the length of Manila Bay and all through Rizal park, then had to wait out a massive downpour. A big dark cloud had been building inland the whole time we were walking up the bay from the Cultural Centre and I kept noting, "It's going to pour. Storm's rolling in." Pet replied, "Naw, it won't." It's one of those things here - it always looks like it but you never know what will happen. This one dumped buckets of heavy rain for about 30 minutes during which time we waited it out with about 50 other people crammed into a small stand of snack shops in the park.

After we were able to step through puddles to see little tree arrangements with strange little stone sculptures. The park was beautiful. At one end was an example of a very old Manila house from before the War. Can't remember exactly but must have been from Spanish times. Little squares were made of seashell which was a plentiful building material at the time but is now of course rare. We ended up in what once was the Red Light district of Manila but which was shut down...not sure when but it became a ghost town after that. Now it's all restaurants. We ate at a decent Chinese restaurant, small and grimy outside, bright and spacious and sparkling clean inside. The service is amazing most places. The people are very attentive and customer-oriented in delivering service - a lost art in North America.

Now, headed back to the same area to explore the historical Fort Santiago.

Mall-Ratting in Manila

This trip is definitely more about visiting with friends and family rather than being a tourist. Usually when travelling, I make a list of all the sites I want to see and try to do everything on the list. This trip, I didn't make any such list. We have been sleeping in, having a nice breakfast with Ramil and Lovelle, Alfie's mother, and Melanie. Then we hang around, planning what to do the rest of the day and sometimes Alfie and I will go over a song.

A quiet morning where Alfie and his mom get to visit, after not having seen each other for many years.

Facundo Street: our home for the month.

Alfie's favourite breakfast food is Taho: soft tofu with tapioca and hot syrup. Delivered right to the door by this gentleman!

Tuesday, Alfie, Inna and I picked up her three other children at their grandmother's place and went to Greenbelt Mall in Makati.The girls wanted Forever 21 but ended up not buying anything there. I found a huge poster of Chris Sharma climbing some stinking hard overhanging route, advertising some kind of fancy watch. I got alfie to take a picture: me spotting the great Chris Sharma.

The malls are no different from Winnipeg only they're bigger and have security guards at each entrance checking bags and purses for bombs or suspect objects.

How to shop when you're three! Evawwen finds a good deal.

The girls are still shopping but the boys have had it!

After mall-ratting there was barely time to drop the kids back off and head home for a pizza dinner and then Ramil drove us to Infinitif Studios to practice.

Finally what we came for - a reunion with the gang in full performance mode. It was amazing how they all just plugged in, tuned up, and launched into a song - they knew how each other rolled so perfectly. I was also impressed at how easily they welcomed me and the violin voice into the lineup. Exhausting but satisfying. After practice we all went out for food and visiting.

Rupert and Joel in action at Infinitif studios.

After an exhausting first practice. Yes, that is a guitar pick stuck to the middle of Rupert's forehead. L-R back: Ramil, Bebet, Carol, Alfie, Aldrin, Joel. L-R front: Rupert, me, Rain.

Wednesday I wanted to get out and do something but ended up waiting until after noon when Pet arrived to take me for a walk. I needed to pick up symphony tickets at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines so we walked to around the Libertad LRT and caught an airconditioned version of the Jeepney up the main drag to the CCP. From there we walked past the Manila Bay area that's under construction after a huge storm made waves that destroyed the waterfront.

Rupert shows me his former elementary school: St. Mary's Academy just off Pasay Road near Facundo Street where I was staying.

Manila Bay.

Hotel Manila and Olympic sculpture.

Statuary of Philippine national symbols including the Caribow across Paseo de Roxas from Rizal Park.

We ended up at Joze Rizal park, the site where the national hero of the Philippines was executed - his story reads much like that of Louis Riel. More on him later as I've just got back from Thursday's practice and am dead tired...zzz

Pathetic fallacy: a huge rainstorm moves in on Rizal's execution site and final resting place.

Filling in the blanks of this post with some photos...

When it doesn't rain, it pours. Caught in a sudden downpour in Rizal Park, Rupert and I sought refuge in a small canteen along with about 50 other people!

A small sculpture hiding under some topiary in Rizal Park.

A prime example of a 19th Century Spanish house: stone first floor, wood upper floor, with inlaid shells on the window shutters.

The entire Philippine islands in relief at Rizal Park.

After wandering through the park, we had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Lunetta, the former Red Light district that is now full of interesting shops and restaurants.

Rupert, kankong (a type of spinace with fried garlic and coconut), and buko juice: there's a whole litre of the stuff in one coconut.