The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Philippines

Our last long stretch was to the Philippines, and after weeks of travel and hot weather, we were so ready for their world-famous beaches and pristine waters. But, our experience was different from our expectations.

Our first stop was in Manila. I don't want to waste too much time discussing our dismal two days in the capital. We stayed at a really crappy hostel that reminded me of a frat house; it had ants, questionable bedsheets, and Tony's favorite shorts got ruined after he set them on the bathroom counter because of the pure bleach that had been used to clean it (but hey, at least something was cleaned). The most interesting thing that we did in this city was watch the streets flood at nighttime, therefore getting trapped downtown and having to check into a hotel without our baggage. We also saw a historical church and ate some delicious donuts.

Maybe the prettiest thing in Manila.

Palawan

Manila was so unappealing that we decided to get to the airport five hours early for our flight to Palawan, one of the Philippines' most desirable islands. Fortunately, we were offered some empty seats on a different flight that was leaving three hours earlier than our scheduled itinerary, so we enthusiastically hopped on board. We stayed at what I call a hippie hut; it was basically a bamboo hut on the beach at a campground. The good: it was a chill atmosphere that offered a "family dinner" each night with delicious food. The bad: bugs, misleading beachfront, and the dirtiest bathroom we've seen (and we like to camp quite a bit). There wasn't much to do at this accommodation, and the mosquitoes were vicious, so we rented a mo-ped for two days and quickly learned how to drive it. What a blast! We took it across the island (a one-hour drive, impressive for a first-time trip) to a beautiful and fairly secluded beach with crystal-clear water. We also enjoyed snorkeling at Starfish Island (we saw three or four!) and Pambato reef (we saw a gigantic triggerfish!).

The Hippie Hut

View from Starfish Island

Sunrise on the beach

Tony, the mo-ped chauffeur

Cebu

We were really excited to arrive at this last island because a) we were staying at a comfortable Airbnb with a real bathroom and no bugs, and b) we were planning another scuba dive! While staying in the city, we enjoyed looking for nice places to eat, shop, and get coffee. We learned quite a bit about the colonial times and the Spanish influence in the Philippines. I noticed also the influence of the Spanish language on the local tongue, called Tagalog. We visited a church downtown where a simple, but old and famous, wooden cross stands, placed there nearly five centuries ago by Ferdinand Magellan.

Magellan's Cross

On the day of our dive, we woke up early and taxied to the bus station, boarded a 3-hour bus to Moalboal, and took a tuk-tuk to Panagsama Beach. When we arrived just after 1 in the afternoon, the dive shop where we had arranged our dive was quite unprofessional, we decided to cancel, find a different shop, and schedule a dive for the following morning. Now, this was supposed to have been a day trip, but there we were, checking into a hostel without baggage again. But every dollar spent is a vote, and we didn't want to support a business that had made us feel uncomfortable. So we spent the afternoon at the beach, had a candle-lit dinner by the shore, watched a fisherman brutally massacre an octopus by slamming it against a concrete slab, got attacked by a flying cockroach, and went to bed early. You know, normal stuff.

In the morning, we breakfasted and arrived at the dive shop by 8:30, very eager for our dive at Pescador Island. We loved it so much, we decided to do a second one at Sardine Run, famous for its cloud of millions of sardines so thick they literally block out the sunlight when you swim near them. And the most amazing thing of all: we saw three sea turtles! I was so excited I gasped and water leaked into my mouth. One of the turtles swam by me, only a meter from my face! It was incredible. We were happy and sleepy during the 3-hour bus journey back to the city.

This sea turtle changed my life.

A big, fat starfish

This famously huge swarm of sardines attracts divers from around the world.

Our trip to the Philippines was exceptional at times, and deplorable at others. I would never discourage someone from planning a trip to these islands; I simply wish we'd have planned our own trip differently. We would have skipped the capital entirely and chosen a different accommodation and excursions in Palawan. But truthfully, the Philippines was home to some really beautiful nature, and I think that with some work, it could make itself a desirable destination for travelers in the future.