Loboc - unexpigated!

GROOVESPOOK:
to even attempt to describe a quarter of the last few days of my life in the Philipinnes would take most of the storage capacity of Blogabond so I will try to compact what my eyes have seen and what my body has managed to accomplish, just at Camaguin Island.

The ferry from CDO to Camaguin was really awesome. Thanks to the jumbo sized Red Horse and a stunningly beautiful day. 

Then the ferry landed and again the nightmare (for me) of getting to the next place loomed once more. 

I am slowly getting used to the utter culture shock of getting off any type of transport and being accosted by thirty or so Filipinno drivers of various modes of transport. Thankfully at this point Nuttter brilliantly manages to not only explain where we need to go but how much it it SUPPOSED to cost.  I cower like an utter whimp at this stage of our travels and pretty much dread every minute of it.  My head says "we are literaly thousand of miles from anything remotely familiar and Western and could very well be dinner for these people" were it not for their smiles and good nature that is!

So we get to our hut, meet the obligitory gecko ( if there is NOT one in your room then worry about bugs) and whatch the sun set over the sea on our balcony through palm trunks.

Sucks here.

The next morning we hired mountain bikes and headed for Enigmata, a treehouse art gallery which we rode right past. Twice. In blistering tropical heat. Needless to say it was pretty amazing.  We then (foolishly, we found out later) decided on capigsawan falls. Well, after a 4km ride/walk/stumble/pant up roads so steep that the tricycles were banned, we made it! Just as two German tourists with filipinno girlfiends/daughters/wives motorbiked up there too, arriving about three minutes before.

Our vision of a perfect and private visit shattered, we dipped nontheless into the icy. Fresh water.  After our sweltering ride, a ride that proved that my heart is still able to kick it like a caterpillar engine, diving into that water did make it stop. 

Just for a second.

There is something to be said for gradual changes in body temperature. Wow. So then, miracle of miracles, the germans departed and we were alone.  This pristine waterfall, cascading down about 170 feet, soaking a shear volcanic rock wall infested with foliage that is hell bent on reclaiming  every inch of planet was just picture perfect. Then, as we were thinking of leaving, 28 screaming adolescant Koreans then proved this was a good move.

The mind bendingly arduous journey up, 2 hours that my body is still coming to terms with 2 DAYS LATER, took a magical 9 minutes to fly down.

The next day we jumped on another crazy motorbike filled wih Filipino school kids and jumped on a ferry to Bohol.

The same nightmare scenario of tribesman wanting my flesh to feed thier children got us on a bus that just dumped us on the corner of some street 5 kms from Loboc.  Then an enterprising Filipino named Ta Ta managed to fit us on the smallest motorbike ever and drove us to where I now sit sweating over my iTouch. No internet access again but never Mind. We are in a small hut by the river. This would be idilyc if not for the local tourist boards brilliant idea to place multi-colored spot lights all along the river for the floating restaurants, repleat with cheezy live entertainment, to tool up and down the river.  Lame. But sort of fun too.

Thankfully this is only during lunch so we do get the majority of time listening to nothing but forest and birds and insects. David Attenborough's second home.

written by  Groovespook on July 18, 2010 from Bohol, Philippines
from the travel blog: Nuttter and Groovespook go Philippine island hopping
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