May 1, 2011 Wind came through for us overnight and we made excellent progress, looks like we’ll definitely make landfall later today. And then it’s gone; maybe we spoke to soon. We lose our wind around 9 a.m. With 45 miles to go, we crank up the motor and continue our journey.
We have gained 2 hours by heading west, so at 3 p.m. local time we arrive at East Bucas Island. All in all, a honeymoon passage from Yap to the Philippines. We enter a bay by the fishing village Consolation and anchor in 40 feet along the edge of a coral reef. 009° 41.4 N, 126° 00.2 E
Aribal and his step-father stop by to meet us. Aribal speaks some English and we ask him if there is a bank/atm in town. No, but you can buy beer here, he says smiling. Either beer is very important to them or other cruisers have arrived in the past and the first thing they ask is, “Where can we get beer?” I’m putting my money on our fellow cruisers addictions. We tell him that’s ok; we don’t have any money (Philippine pesos). No problem, he says that there is an ATM in the next town over; I could paddle you there in my canoe, it is only 7 kilometers away! We politely decline. But I am beginning to think maybe the rich yachty getting beer is important for them. Beer for everyone, on me! With Savannah and ourselves put back to rights after the passage, we sit down in the cockpit to enjoy our first evening in the Philippines. A first for us is motorized outrigger fishing bancas. These are your basic standard wooden canoe with a 5 hp motor dropped in the middle. The prop shaft is welded to the crank. Start the motor and go! They zip past us and are super loud without any mufflers on the exhaust pipe. We can also hear music blasting from the bar on shore. It's funny hearing so much noise after only hearing the wind and the sea for days and days.
May 2, 2011
May 3, 2011 A short 15 mile trip around the corner of Bucas Grande Island to the far side of the island brings us into Sohutan Bay around 3 p.m. We then proceeded to search for nearly 2 hours trying to find a place to anchor. The chart depths are not accurate and the steep underwater terrain made it difficult to find a safe spot far enough away from shore to swing in a complete circle. We finally locate a spot in the far north corner of the bay: 009° 36.8 N, 125° 53.8 E The landscape surrounding us is picturesque with steep cliffs and small white sandy beaches dotting the shoreline. A nearby family has built a fish farm enclosing a small bay inlet and we watch till dark as they go about their business.
May 4, 2011 We left Sohutan Bay early this morning, just after sunrise and a cup of coffee, for the 30 mile trip through the Hinatuan Passage to Surigao City.
We are cruising through a series of closely grouped islands here in the Philippines. This marks the first time that we have had to deal with tidal currents within an island group. We catch a northward current in the morning and hit slack tide around 10 a.m. By 11 a.m., the current has reversed direction and is now running against us. This was not a big deal till we entered the final bottle neck of the Hinatuan Passage on the final 8 mile approach into Surigao. Our progress began to slow until the boat was ultimately going 1 knot forward while 5 knots of current ran past the hull. We decide to pull off to eat lunch and reassess. We stop and drop in 90 feet directly adjacent to a reef that extends off the shoreline. One thing for sure is that we can’t stay here. After lunch Jodie suggests we cross to the other side of the channel to see if things were any better. And it is a bit better as we find a counter-current running along the far shoreline. We keep our eye on the ripples on the water; they show tell-tale evidence of where the fast moving current lies. Small whirlpools form along the edge of the current line and we keep to the outside.
At this point we are across the channel but a quick check with the gps shows we are not going forward or backward, our engine just keeping up with the flow of the current. Jodie suggests rolling out the headsail to see if we can get a little extra push forward from the breeze coming from behind us. It seems to do the trick and Savannah slowly starts crawling forward up the channel. Then what little breeze we had dies and we’re forced to roll up the headsail, losing our forward momentum. As the current continues to get stronger, we are now being pulled slowly backward. I grab the chart and find a place we can duck into for the night, a small mangrove about 3 miles from Surigao. We pull off to the side and work our way into the mangroves. For once the chart depths are accurate and we drop anchor in 15 feet of mud among a nipa hut water village. 009° 46.1 N, 125° 33.2 E Nipa huts are traditional houses constructed with bamboo and covered with a thatched roof using nipa leaves.
May 5, 2011 We are up early this morning to take advantage of the incoming tide and make the final 3 miles around the corner into Surigao City.
009° 46.7 N, 125° 30.2 E A young girl named Graclyn arrives in her outrigger kayak wishing to sell us pearls. We take a quick look but explain that we have no local money, she agrees to return later in the day and will bring a larger selection of her jewelry. After a quick breakfast we drop the dinghy in the water and head into town. We’re anchored just off the navy pier and we approach them to see where the best place is to leave our dinghy. A man on one of the navy ships, cleaning a large 50 caliber deck mounted gun, tells us we can tie up along the navy pier. This is a secure port and we must go through a gate with guards to exit/enter. We try to explain the best we can to the security guard where we are from and the location of our dinghy so we won’t have a problem re-entering the port without a ticket for the ferry. All he got out of our explanation was that we were with the Navy. Good enough for me. I’m am now a contractor for the Navy. Out through the security gate we find ourselves on the busy streets of Surigao City.
They say people will buy
We head to the nearest ATM but find it not working. We ask a woman passing by where the next closest bank is. She says it is too far for us to walk and kindly gives us money (14 pesos, about 30 cents usd), so we can catch a tricycle taxi (a motorcycle with a passenger carriage attached). Money in hand we walk through the public market that is just across the street from the bank. Jodie is stopped by all the women to chat. We pickup some fresh veggies along the way and manage to make it through the market and explore the surrounding area. We treat ourselves to lunch at one of the nicer seafood restaurants and are shocked to see the prices on the menu. Menu items are really inexpensive! Back at the port we find the same security guard and have no problem entering. When he sees us he smiles and says “Navy man”, and waves us in. Mind you, I’m wearing flip-flops, board shorts and a t-shirt, but I’m the Navy Man. Go with it. Graclyn returns and we buy some pearl necklace/bracelet/earring sets from her. She is so happy and gives us a sailing ship made from shells as a gift.
May 6-7, 2011
As we’re sitting below one afternoon, we see a small boy climb up onto the side deck. I quickly go outside to see whats what. It’s an older man and his young son (grandson?), hoping to sell us pearls. We decline, doing our best to explain that we have already purchased some from Graclyn. But he is adamant in showing us his inventory and after several firm “No thank you’s”, he gives up trying to sell anything and just asks for money. We give the little boy some hard candies and usher them away. It’s always a tricky balance when dealing with the more aggressive locals. You don’t want to be rude, but it’s time to go.
May 8, 2011 We’re off to Bohol Island very early today. We’ve got more than 50 miles to go, and not sure what to expect from the wind and currents. We have a rough ride around the tip of Mindanao Island, where the fetch has a long run of twenty miles of “open” water. Once we make it past Mindanao things begin to smooth out.
Friendly people, shallow waters and fish traps. Welcome to the Philippines!
Then shifting winds and wind shadows behind Leyte Island give us troubles as we try to get past. We have scoped out three different anchorages to stop at along the shoreline of Bohol. Despite this high level of planning on our part, it doesn’t look like we are going to be able to make any of the three anchorages we had scoped out. We will instead head over to an open bay and stay the night at Lapinin Island off to the northeast of Bohol and will continue on in the morning. We weave our way through a maze of fishing traps and as far into the bay as we can mange to get out of the swell. All in all, it turns out to be a very comfortable spot despite the wind and waves from the south. 010° 07.1 N, 124° 35.9 E
May 9, 2011
Things go much better day today as we make our way through the shallow waters around northern Bohol. The water depths tend to be either very deep or very shallow here in the Philippines. We arrive in Talibon town on Bohol Island near noon and drop anchor off the wharf in 17 feet. 010° 09.5 N, 124° 19.9 E Talibon came to the limelight when a native son, Carlos Polestico Garcia became the 4th President of the Philippines. Once a silent and sleepy town, it evolved slowly into what it is now, a thriving silent and sleepy town.
Farming (rice, corn, copra, banana, and more root crops than one can imagine) and fishing continue to be the major industries in Talibon, however it is becoming a haven for retailers and wholesalers, boasting a mall near the waterfront. Local folks are also into seaweed farming, the making of fish traps, hats, and pottery. Silica, gold, clay, diorites, sand and gravel abound and quarrying of these minerals is big business at present. Interesting factiod: The name Talibon is said to come from the word ‘talibong’ which means bolo or spear, an instrument used in gold mining.
After anchoring, we drop the dinghy in the water and head into town for a bite to eat. We check out the Talibon Cathedral Most Holy Trinity Church, built from blocks of coral rock hauled from the sea. The church sits on a slightly elevated plain overlooking the wharf.
We also caught some type of dance performance of young children inside the school gymnasium.
Umm, seriously. I can't imagine what the High (Secondary) School production looks like.
Walking back towards the waterfront, in search of ice cream before heading back to Savannah, we meet Stephen and Karina. They are on a sailboat just around the corner, anchored off Joa Island and tell us we should move over there since the area where we are currently anchored can become quite lumpy if the wind picks up. Rarely would we move after so short a period, but it is only a mile away and it has been a while since we have been around other cruisers. So we decide, what the heck, and move to Jao Island. Anchored in 8 feet: 010° 09.9 N, 124° 21.7 E Stephen seems omniscient when a mighty squall hits us late at night.
May 10, 2011 A relaxing morning today. Yesterday Stephan and Karina had invited us over for afternoon tea, so around 4 we jump in the dinghy and motor over. Stephan says they’re about to go up the small river nearby, which is only accessible at high tide. We follow them upstream to view birds, a fish farm, many friendly locals.
May 11, 2011 We have a day sail over to Cebu today, a distance of 30 miles. The water becomes cloudy as we make our approach, a sad sign of a large civilization center. We enter the busy Mactan Channel and it is not clear at first where the yacht club is located, but we soon spot three other sailboats. 010° 19.7 N, 123° 58.4 E
We have a great view of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, locally known as the “new bridge”, which spans across the Mactan Channel connecting Cebu Island to Mactan Island. The new bridge opened in August 1999 to decongest the traffic from the older Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, known locally as you guessed it, the “old bridge”. The bridge is one of the widest and longest bridge spans in the Philippines. The bridge was constructed with the help of the Japanese Government. It was named after Senator Marcelo Fernan, a political figure from Cebu City.
May 12, 2011
We’re off to SM City today in Cebu - a massive 4-storey mega-mall and our first mall since Panama City over a year ago. We’re on a hunt for a new laptop battery and a charging unit for Jodie’s notebook. The conductor of a jeepney is typically a guy who hangs on the back, calling out the route and getting passengers to ride on his jeepney. He will yell out the destination to passersby’s and generally get you to get inside whether they are going your way or not. Kidding, but you better double check with passengers to make sure they are heading the right way. We opted for the taxi today, since we have no clue how to navigate the jeepneys, much less where the mall is actually located. It’s a fair distance away, but the fare ends up less than $5 usd for the trip. No luck getting the battery/power cable, but we were able to determine that we need both. We also had a great day exploring the air conditioned mall.
May 13, 2011 I had to clean out the generator exhaust elbow again. This time I knew exactly what the problem was and had it fixed in no time. Still on the search for aluminum bar we head out today with this as our mission. There is a small marine supply store here at the marina so we stop there first to see if they might have any or possibly know where we can find it. They give us a list of places with directions on how to get to each. Very helpful, and then they proceed to call each store to see if they have any in stock. At some point one of the boat yard workers comes into the office and he says he can make us some from scrap metal in the yard. He tells us to come back in a few hours and he will have it ready. We catch our first jeepney to the public market in Lapu-Lapu City. It takes about 20 minutes with the frequent stops and costs a whole 18 cents (usd) per person. While exploring central Lapu, we find the Virgen de la Regla shrine, the city's patronessa and take peek inside.
Back at the Yacht Club we pickup the aluminum bar from the boat shop. Time to get to work.
May 14-17, 2011 Quiet days aboard Savannah while we repair the dinghy. We purchased some special glue to re-connect the pontoons to the hull and I bent the aluminum bar at a 90 degree angle and connected the stern and floor. Everything is very solid now and hopefully the repair will hold.
The city is great! The anchorage blows! We’ve decided it is darn near impossible to get both a great town and anchorage in one location.
May 18, 2011 Jack from Zorana came over this morning for some of our dinghy glue (we have lots now) and to share with us info about Malaysia (our next destination). They have been sailing back and forth from Malaysia to the Philippines for many years and his knowledge is incredibly helpful to us as we prepare to venture into one the busiest shipping areas in S.E. Asia. Later in the morning we head into Old Town Cebu City to see if we can track down sewing needles and thread, for the next time we have to do a sail repair. Cebu City is the second largest city in the Philippines (after Manila) and the oldest city established by the Spaniards in 1565. While we’re downtown we do a bit of sightseeing. Our taxi driver drops us at Plaza Sugbu, home of Magellan’s cross. An octagonal building decorated with murals containing a large wooden cross commemorates the Portuguese conquistador Ferdinand Magellan who planted the cross upon converting the original inhabitants to Christianity in 1521. The actual cross is said to be encased in a tindalo wood shell, to prevent devotees from chipping away at the monument. However some historians say the original cross was reduced to firewood by local inhabitants when the Magellan fleet headed elsewhere.
Lots of walking around trying to get directions and find those darn needles and thread. Eventually we get everything we need and get to see much of old town Cebu.
Our final stop for the day: SM City to see Thor in 3d at the IMAX Theater. Civilization does have its perks.
May 19, 2011
May 20, 2011 Way overdue for a haircut, I go into town this morning to a nearby barber shop we saw while we were out yesterday. The price of a haircut here is a whopping $35 pesos (81 cents)! Me being the big tipper, I gave the guy 50 pesos. That brought the cost up to $1.16 usd. Jodie said it was one of my best haircuts ever! We have also tracked down a techie who will look at our broken inverter. I dropped it off to a middle-man yesterday and told him I wanted a quote for repairs. Today, I find out that the repairman has already inspected the inverter and has ordered the parts! What about my quote? $2,000 pesos ($46.50 usd) will cover the cost of parts and labor. I agree to the cost, what else can I do? The guy has got my inverter. I feel the cost is a bit high, local wages are about $10 usd a day. Mactan Island is best known for two things, the death of Magellan and guitar-mandolin-ukulele production. There are several manufactures on the island and we jump into a cab to go check them out. We heard that the guitar shops were out of town, but that didn’t prepare us for the cabbie that took us on a wild goose chase. As best as we can determine, the cab was returning from dropping off a previous fare on Mactan and was en route to return to Cebu when he stopped to pick us up. This guy had no knowledge of the island and would keep stopping and asking for directions along the way, ensuring us that we were heading the right direction. For the most part, he went the right way, but there were times when he had to backtrack after stopping for more directions. We considered jumping out and bailing at more than one intersection! When we did finally arrive, I paid half the fare amount and he seemed ok with that. He offered to stay and wait for us, but I sent him on his way. Mactan has a long history of locally handmade acoustic guitars, mandolins, banjos and ukuleles. Two of the largest manufacturers, Alegre’s and Susing’s, which are family-owned enterprises, have been passed on from one generation to another. Both of these factories are happy to take you on a tour while their woodcarvers, assemblers and painters demonstrate their craft. The guitar-making industry in Lapu-Lapu City started when the Spanish friars assigned in Cebu needed to repair the guitars they were using. Instead of waiting for the guitars to arrive from Mexico, they commissioned the townspeople of Opon village in Mactan Island to make new guitars and repair the existing guitars they had; thus began the guitar industry in Cebu. Generation after generation, guitar making in Cebu eventually became an industry involving many families, the most prominent of which is the Malingin family, particularly the three siblings: Susing, Lilang & Quirico. We stop at Suising’s first and the owner brought us back into the factory behind the showroom. The wood is cut and dried anywhere from just under a year up to 6 years. Most of the production is exported to Hawaii and Tahiti under different brand names. The inner body plates are carved and/or wood is added in various patterns to create unique sounds. Different types of wood also produce distinctive sounds. We find a ukulele at Susing’s that we really liked with a hand crafted body made out of solid mahogany, but at $16,000 pesos ($372 usd) it’s a bit out of our desired price range.
We catch a Jeepney back into town for 18 cents usd. Total cost of today’s adventure is less that $5 usd! Water has been an issue with us lately. The polluted water is no way a candidate for running through the water maker. And there has been little rain of late. When it has rained, the duration is too short to allow for the rain to wash the boat down before collecting any run-off. So we have been making covert runs into the marina after dark to acquire 5-10 gallons ever couple days. The marina wants to charge us for water even though we already pay a daily fee to enter. We don’t feel that’s fair, and that our $5 usd per day should include water, as it has everywhere else we’ve been.
May 23, 2011 Another short walk into town to get our clean laundry and repaired inverter. The close proximity to shopping and services helps make the horrible anchorage somewhat bearable. I pick up the inverter and will test it aboard before paying any money for the repairs. This turns out to be a godsend because when I test it out the darn thing only outputs 90 volts! I remove it and return it to give the guy another crack at repairing it. My go-between assures me that if the tech can’t repair it correctly, there will be no charge. Life seems to revolve around eating here in the Philippines, and the streets come alive at night with food stalls. We venture out for dinner at one of the many Lechon Manok and Puso stands (chicken and rice). In addition to barbequing just about everything one can imagine, Filipinos love rotisserie meat as well. Barbeque and Lechon (the Philippines version of rotisserie) stalls can be found on almost every street corner as darkness descends. Lechon manok (rotisserie chicken) is prepared by stuffing the chicken with a variety of herbs and vegetables, such as lemon grass, garlic, onions, ginger, and so on.
Our dinner tonight: 1 lechon manok + 12 puso packets + 2 sodas = $200 pesos (or $4.65 usd)
Our mascot outside the squatters village.
May 25, 2011
May 27, 2011 Songda is moving off but big winds continued today. We didn’t leave the boat but did take advantage of the wind to fly the kite. Pagos, a British boat with a couple kids aboard, follow our lead and launch a kite off their stern as well. The kids from the village shout and holler at our colorful airborne toys.
May 29, 2011 Winds have finally calmed down and we head ashore. A quick trip to the local mall, where we discovered a big grocery store on the basement level. Afterwards we walked down the road to see a few of the guitar shops. Quality was lacking, it seems that there are a few locals jumping on the “make a guitar” bandwagon. We wanted to see what prices were like compared to Susing’s and Alegre’s. What we found were inferior quality at high prices. Jodie really liked the one we saw the other day at Susing’s and we would like to get something similar for our souvenir from the Philippines (we try to get at least one souvenir per country). At this point, we are still not sure what a reasonable price is, so we decide to do a little internet research. We grab a bite to eat (pizza!) with an excellent thick crust (Jodie’s favorite) and then jump in a jeepney to head back to the marina. We get on the internet to begin our research on ukuleles and find that locals are able to purchase them for about half the quoted prices at the factory. After searching for a while, we find a possible lead on a ukulele through a local with a craigslist style advert. The ukuleles listed look suspiciously like the ones we saw at Susing’s but for half the price. We shoot off an email and will see what happens as the listing is a bit out of date.
May 30, 2011 We’re off to find the butterfly sanctuary today. On our way out of the marina we run into Adrian and Sue from Pagos. They are headed to SM City Mall and then downtown to the fabric stores. We get to talking with them about getting to SM City via jeepney and find out that we can catch a jeepney from the marina all the way to the mall, no additional stops. This is probably the first and last jeepney ride to SM City for us. One, I don’t quite fit in the back; two, it’s a long hour ride in an open air “bus” (about 15-20 minutes longer than a taxi), and three, no air conditioning! We grab a quick bite to eat and find a taxi to take us to the Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary. Once again this would be a perfect jeepney trip (not far to go, I can sit stooped over for a little while) but we have just the vaguest idea of where the sanctuary is located and have no clue which jeepney to take. The Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary is a private museum, an art gallery and a nature reserve run by the Jumalon Foundation. Established in 1974, this is the country’s oldest butterfly collection with specimens dating back to the 1930's and some of the most wanted butterflies in the world can be found here. Originally, this establishment served as the residence of Dr. Julian Jumalon, a late Cebuano lepidopterist, whose passion was the reason for this to come to existence.
When we arrive a young girl takes us on a short tour of the gardens and the art gallery, which displays paintings and art works of the late Dr. Jumalon. Her English is only slightly better than our Tagalog so communication is pretty much non-existent. The garden is adorned with brightly colored sponges drenched with specially formulated syrups aimed at keeping the butterflies healthy. A short time later one of Dr. Jumalon’s son, Julian, arrives and proceeds to give us an animated history of the sanctuary. He is an enthusiastic character, carrying on his fathers’ legacy. His father amassed a vast collection of butterflies throughout his travels and by trading local Philippine species with foreign ones. Jumalon's fascination with Lepidopterans did not just end in having them preserved and framed. He wanted the local butterflies to thrive, especially the more rare ones. He caught live specimens and released them in his garden. To encourage more butterflies to come, he planted his residence with hundreds of butterfly friendly plants. He knew that butterflies are specific to a particular plant for both eating as well as laying their larvae. If a plant becomes extinct or scarce, it will also mean the existence of that particular butterfly is threatened. His mission became to propagate these types of fauna around the Philippines for the benefit of the butterfly. Today around 50 local and foreign species of butterflies reside among these plants. Some of the more rare species are kept in captivity, but the remaining species are allowed to fly freely within the garden.
We catch a Jeepney back to the mall by walking the short distance back to the main road. After doing mall stuff we grab a taxi back to Mactan.
May 31, 2011 I retrieve our still non-fully functioning inverter after our repair techs second attempt to fix it. Seems that it is beyond his expertise, but true to their word, they didn’t charge me for parts or service Around this area of town there are several (legit) massage spas. Their banners hang from buildings advertising cheap Thai massages for $150 P. Were up for a bit of soothing relaxation and we venture into one for a session. The one hour Swedish massage is a bump in price to $250 P ($5.81 usd). My massager was excellent; Jodie didn’t get so lucky and had a less experienced masseuse, with a head cold. Overall, it was hard to complain at less than $6 usd. After our massages we make a stop at the grocery store before heading back to the boat and a very odd thing occurred. On the store PA system, a (we can only assume) prayer was read/spoken. Everyone (and I mean EVRYONE) stopped what they were doing to pray, while Jodie and I looked around bewildered. Then after a chorus of amen’s, shopping resumed. It was a bit surreal.
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