Tarsiers and Chocolate Mountains

 January 16th – Cebu to Bohol

My alarm goes off at 4:30 and after pulling on some clothes I go next door to check on John. He has made it home and stumbles to the door and asks if he can go back to bed? I give him the bad news that we need to leave in 20 minutes and ask him if he had a good time on his date and what time he got back home?  “Yes….I had a good time and I got back about midnight; I’ll tell you about it later…please can I go back to bed?”

The Cebu Harbor at Dawn

Waiting for the Ferry

Cebu Ferry Terminal at Dawn

Our Seats on the Ferry

We catch a 5:00 A.M. taxi to the port terminal. Joe buys our tickets, regretfully buying the cheapest class seats for the two hour trip to Bohol. ($400 pesos each or about $9)  We check our luggage, go through security and listen to blind musicians perform for the waiting passengers. What is it with blind musicians and blind masseuse’s in waiting room terminals? They are reasonably talented and their favorite song seems to be John Denver’s, Take Me Home Country Road. We tip them as we board the ferry and head upstairs to find our seats; at the rear of the ship above where the diesel exhaust puffs out and across from the toilets. It’s not an ideal combination on an empty stomach. At the front of our rear section is a door leading to the enclosed business class section with cushioned reclining seats and a television. Although I wonder what the ticket price is for business class, I don’t asphyxiate on the exhaust and the two hours pass quickly as I catch up on this blog.

The ferry docks at 8:00 A.M; we disembark, collect our luggage and see a guide holding up a sign printed with Shoshuku Bobroskie.  We follow our guide, Kathy, to the waiting van and begin our tour with a stop at the Blood Compact Shrine, a memorial of the friendship between the Spaniards and the Fillipinos. We are hungry and more interested in the adjoining upscale hotel and restaurant and we ask Kathy if we can take time for breakfast before continuing on our tour? John, Joe and I order  simply; coffee, eggs and toast but Art orders an egg(s) benedict which takes a very long time to cook and although delicious and beautifully presented is egg benedict singular, not plural.

Breakfast in Bohol

Egg Benedict

We drive towards the tarsier reserve that is supposedly open 364 days a year, but for some reason it is closed today so our destination is the Tarsier conservation center instead.  Bohol Island is beautiful and pristine and not yet overrun with tourists although Joe, who visited ten years ago, tells us that most of the construction is new. We drive through secondary forests of bamboo and red mahogany and past ever so green rice fields, fringed with banana and coconut palms. The traffic is relatively light, although there are the usual scooters, jeepneys and buses frequenting the road. We arrive at the conservation center and walk a misty pathway where a dozen tarsiers are on view on their private platforms tucked into the trees. They are not chained and are solitary nocturnal creatures. We are cautioned to be quiet so as not to stress these tiny, wide eyed and alien fingered Tarsiers. 

Tarsier, Marty's Photo

Do Not Pet the Tarsiers

Tarsier, Conservation Center Photo

Tarsier, Marty's Photo

Our next stop on our tour is the Butterfly Farm. Throughout my travels, I have visited countless butterfly farms with jeweled chrysalis’s and alien looking caterpillars on view. This one is not much different except for our personable guide who allows me to hold a prickly, sticky footed caterpillar. Butterflies flit from flower to flower decorating the breeze with colorful flashes. Our guide positions me a few feet in front of a large glass pannel embossed with butterfly wings and standing on the opposite side holding my camera, he tells me to jump and snaps a photo, resulting in a photograph where I am inches off the ground and wearing gossamer butterfly wings. Quite fun! 

Caterpillar

Red Torch Flower

Picture Perfect

Marty takes Flight!

Bohol is most famous for it’s Chocolate Hills, an unusual geological formation of rounded hills, seemingly hundreds of them, extending as far as I can see like oversized gopher mounds. We drive to the visitor center and climb the crumbling cement stairway up to the view point. During the rainy season, the Chocolate Hills are “mint flavored,” covered with lush green foliage. In the summer, they are reported to be a golden brown.

Bohol Chocolate Hills

Art, John, Joe and Marty

It is lunch time and I am looking forward to our scheduled jungle river boat cruise but when we board a tourist laden barge with an electric guitarist for entertainment and a picked over buffet I am disappointed. The food is passable but I was expecting a serene commune with the river not a rockaous party boat.  The river is wide and a muted emerald green color with lush palms and ferns growing along it’s banks. To me, the color of the river seems beautiful but John leans over and tells me that water color is because of fertilizer contamination. We do not see any wildlife, except for what is on board our party boat. Half way through the “cruise” we stop at a recreated “Pilippino Village” an extremely politically incorrect presentation consisting of drumming natives and dancers in grass skirts. I take one photo but am too embarrassed to take more.

Bohol River

Art, Bohol River Cruise

Party Boat, Bohol River Cruise

Native Village Embarassment

I’m not sure that we needed to stop at the Bohol Reptile Zoo, but we do and wander the sad facility of caged reptiles. For a price, one can pay to have the 12 foot albino python wrapped over one’s shoulders, but I  decline recollecting a story my friend Tabra told me just last week. The grounds keeper at a resort hotel in Bali rushed to the screams of several guests when they spotted a large python slithering across the manicured lawn. He calmed the guests and to prove how harmless the large python was, picked it up and draped it around his neck and shoulders. The python strangled him on the spot.

Albino Python and Reticulated Boa

Art as a Tarsier

Our final stop for the day is the historic Baclayon Church and museum.

Baclayon Church Bohol

Jo and John lighting candles 

We are staying at Flushing Garden Resort Hotel, on Panglao Island and the just the name sounds promising. The hotel is a thirty minute drive from Bohol and is at the end of a gravel road overlooking a pristine beach. My first impression is hopeful but our rooms are at the back of the property behind the tennis court and they are dark and without a view. The layout of the hotel is odd with a confusing network of pathways and terraces and there are life size dinosaur sculptures on the grounds. I am mildly amused by the dinosaurs but there are no other apparent guests. (Perhaps the tyranosaurus has eaten them?) Art rests, John dives into the very pretty hotel pool and explores the beach in front of our hotel. Joe and I settle down at the open air hotel restaurant and relax. It’s been a long and full day and we are all tired and there seem to be no other restaurants or hotels in our vicinity so we have drinks and dinner as prisoners in our beach resort hotel. Mark is our waiter and gives excellent service but the food is mediocre. Dinner and drinks for the four of us come to $2600 pesos (about $35) and Art miscalculates the tip and leaves just $115 pesos. (Tomorrow, he will make amends and hand Mark an additional $200 peso tip.)

I read a troublesome e-mail from Alisha; Show Off, our sweet and funny 13 year old bearded dragon is not well. It is hard to fall asleep, worrying about Show Off and wishing I could snuggle and comfort my sick lizard. I sleep poorly.

Celebrating 98 Remarkable Years!

Your 98th Birthday Party at Casa!  5/1/2015 - Happy to be all together!

Dear Daddy,
Your family wishes you an especially Happy 98th Birthday!! Here are some photos to remind you of our last weekend's celebration together to commemorate your special day. Today, May 12th, is your actual birthday and we wish we could be with you today!

Below are many photos to keep us close together, in our hearts and memories, today and always.

Last weekend, May 1-2-3, 2015; your extended family gathered together to celebrate your 98th Birthday!

Celebrating your 98th Birthday! 5/1/2015

Marty and her Father, 5/1/15

Molly & Great Grandpa

Day out at the Santa Barbara Zoo, 5/1/15

John C. John B. Alisha M. Scott and Shari Macklin. 5/1/15

John C. and John B.

Grandpa's 98th Birthday!

Sterling, John C. John B.

Happy 98th Birthday from all of us!

Happy Birthday....With Love,
Marty, Art, Alisha, John, Molly, Sterling, Scott and Shari. xox

Coconut Pirates and Date Night

January 15th – Island Hopping off of Cebu Island.

We actually get to sleep in until 7:00 A.M. and during  breakfast, John tells us he has a date tonight. To recap: John met three young women at the mall last night and was charmed by one in particular and they exchanged Facebook information. It is our last night in Cebu and I ask John about his plans for meeting? They want to meet at the Alyana Mall, at the railing where they met the night before. Although I am surprised, this will work well. We can all take a taxi together to the mall again for dinner tonight and John can meet up with Hana, take her to dinner and return by taxi on his own.   

After breakfast, our prearranged driver picks us up for a 1.5 hour drive to Mactan Island the departure point for todays island hopping and snorkeling.  We take a large and private catamaran out to three different snorkeling spots; Talima,  Hilutungan  and Nalusuan, off of Olango Island.

Island Overview

Mactan & Olango Islands

  

Our first snorkeling stop is reasonably good, the second very good and the third one amazing. I wear a life vest, more for the coral protection than for my own.  With a life vest to keep me buoyant, I will not be tempted to stand up and possibly damage the coral with my fins. We snorkel just a few feet above huge islands of stag-horn coral with luminescent pale green and blue damsel fish swimming in synchrony, like leaves blowing in the breeze. Bright orange damsel fish add to the underwater symphony and luminescent orange anemones, each with their own species of clown fish, undulate in the current. Brain coral, table top coral, ribbon and stag-horn coral abound. Dr. Seuse could not have imagined a more magical underwater garden filled with brilliantly colored parrot fish, trigger fish and angel fish. It is remarkable and heartening to see this fragile and remarkable ecosystem thriving.

Catamaran to Mactan and Olango Islands

Motoring out to Mactan and Olango Islands

Tying up to the Buoy 

Motoring Back

Shortly before lunch, a small boat pulls along side of our catamaran and three men climb aboard. We are not quite sure what they are doing here and feel a bit uncomfortable. Although our crew seems to know these men it feels as if we have been boarded by pirates. They hang back by the motor and watch us. I don’t want to go back in the water and leave our valuable unattended so I tell Art and John that I will rest onboard awhile. Art remains onboard as well and it soon becomes clear that the islanders wish for us to “order” coconuts from them for the exorbitant price of $4 each. They speak an island dialect and little English but Art manages to communicate and negotiates the price down to $2 each and they motor off back to their nearby island, presumably to climb a coconut tree to procure the coconuts. The men return thirty minutes later, Art pays them and we sip the sour, rather than sweet juice. In the meantime our crew has fired up a rusty grill and barbecued a surprising good lunch of grilled chicken, pork, squid and fresh mango. For lack of vegetarian options, John and I eat the chicken, rice and mango. 

Coconut "Pirates"

Lunch Onboard

In 2008, Art, John and I traveled to Komodo Island and spent two days onboard a tiny wooden boat motoring between Komodo and Rincon Islands where the dragons roam. We slept one night in the open on the wooden deck of our boat and were surprised and somewhat frightened when two small boats pulled along side ours; village men selling souvenirs. One of the men was missing an eye and we felt vulnerable, anchored off shore of this remote island. John and I purchased a teak carved Komodo Dragon sculpture and several bone and shell necklaces from the men. In retrospect, our night time visitors were one of the highlights of the trip.

Night Time Visitors, Komodo Island, 2008

One Eyed Komodo Villager, 2008

We are tired and salty when we return to the dock for our return drive to our hotel in Cebu. We all shower quickly and change and it is a little after 6:00 P.M. before we all climb into a taxi to drive to the Mall. Traffic is terrible and John checks the time on his phone anxiously. Last night it took only 20 minutes by taxi to reach the mall but it takes us nearly an hour tonight. it is nearly 7:00 P.M. when we arrive and John’s date is at 7:00 P.M. and we leave him standing at the railing waiting for Hana. I tell him I will check back in 15 minutes in case she stands him up but when I return a few minutes later, John is no where to be seen. 

The Terraces, Alyana

I want to have dinner again at the Siam Restaurant but John is planning on taking Hana there and we don’t want to intrude.  Art, Joe and I wander the terraces reading the posted menus until we settle on a Japanese restaurant. Because both Art and Joe were raised in Okinawa, Japanese food is always a draw. We sit outside on the patio overlooking the public garden space below. Dinner is disappointing and I am worried about John. He is 22 years old and a seasoned traveler but I am still anxious. Will he remember the name of our hotel if he looses the hotel card and I think of worst case scenarios and how we could find him if he doesn’t return to the hotel?  Eventually I relax into the evening, glad that we have Hana’s contact on Facebook.  

A Birthday Spent with Whale Sharks

January 14th - Swimming with Whale Sharks at Oslob

Today is my birthday. We are up at 5:00 A.M. and Art, John and I eat breakfast at the restaurant next door. The young waitress who served us eggs and beers last night is still working. Her 12 hour shift is  7:00 P.M. – 7:00 A.M. and we order more eggs and rice but instead of beer, wash these down with coffee (pre-sweetened Nescafe.) I order an omelet which has been cooked in rancid oil and I hurry to the toilet and spit it out. Unfortunately, Joe is still ill, but the swim with the whale sharks is high on everyones list so he is going anyway. The morning is not starting out as I would like. 

We are picked up at 6:00 A.M. for what is supposed to be a 2.5 hr – 3 hr. drive to Oslob, the whale shark park at the tip of Cebu Island. Unfortunately an hour is added to the trip, driving the opposite way across town to pick up a young Australian couple staying at the very upscale Marco Polo Hotel. The traffic is terrible and our driver extremely aggressive and he passes motor bikes and pedestrians with inches to spare. I am not overly concerned for our safety but fear for the safety of the others. 

Whale Shark Orientation Area

About Whale Sharks

We arrive at the whale shark “park” a little after 10:00 A.M. and are ushered to a staging platform where we listen to the orientation. We will have 30 minutes allotted time to swim with the whale sharks. No sunscreen is allowed, no touching and we must keep 3 meters away from them. (We will soon realize that the whale sharks have not listened to this orientation because they swim within inches of us, gaping mouths open and it is impossible to keep our distance from these gentle giants.)  The 6 of us (Australian couple included) climb into a small wooden outrigger boat that takes us a few hundred of feet out to where another 15 – 20 boats float idly.  Dozens of snorkelers bob in the water all wearing orange life vests. (The three whale images immediately below below are borrowed from tour company web sites.)

Whale Shark and Outrigger Canoes

Oslob Beach

Swimming with Whale Sharks

Gaping Whale Shark Mouth

I slip on my mask and lower myself over the side of the boat and come face to face with two whale sharks. Their immense toothless mouths slurp in gallons of water with each swallow. They have white spots speckling their black skin, patterned rather like snowflake obsidian. The spot pattern on each whale-shark is unique, like a fingerprint and is how scientists identify and track them. They have five gill slits on each side, tiny eyes and their immense bodies glide through the water effortlessly.  Although we have been cautioned not to get within 12 feet of them, it is an impossibility, because they swim within a foot or two of me, and often two or three at a time. They are 15 feet to 20 feet long and slurp in the chummed krill through big gummy toothless smiles; the krill tossed to them by the crew onboard the outriggers. Our 30 minute swim passes all too quickly.  I think a whale shark will be one of this year’s new designs.  

We shower and change in a mixed sex bath house with just a few stalls and proceed to the restaurant next door for the included breakfast. It is an unusual breakfast of mango and a Japanese style sticky sweet rice flavored with cinnamon. There is no coffee but instead a thick hot chocolate is served to us in an espresso cup. I am quite satisfied with the breakfast, a huge improvement over this mornings rancid omelette.

Tumalog Falls

Pool Tumalog Falls

Bathers at Tumalog Falls

Tumalog Falls

After breakfast our van drives us 10 minutes down the road, turns inland and drives further up to the road leading down to Tumalog Falls. The road to the falls is too steep for vehicles and there are half a dozen enterprising young men with motorcycles ready and waiting to ride tourists down and back up. I appraise the trek, appraise the motorcycles and choose to walk. The road is extremely steep but nothing compared to the treks we made recently in Banaue and I fell like the exercise.  The cascading falls are several hundred feet tall, broken into multiple fan-shaped sprays by outcropping rocks and trees.  (Even with the help of Google, I cannot find the exact hight of the falls.) The mist and spray from the falls drenches us and I can only take a few photos for fear of damaging my camera in the spray.  John goes swimming under the powerful falls and I manage to take a few photos before escaping for higher ground and making the slow trek back up to our waiting van.

Lunch in Oslob

The View from our Table

Lunch is included in our tour and we stop at a tiny beachside restaurant. The family style lunch is all meat and rice and I request something vegetarian and they bring John and me a reasonably tasty plate of stir fry vegetables. It is a three hour drive back to our hotel in Cebu and our aggressive driver passes vehicles at unsafe speeds,  playing chicken with oncoming trucks and jeepneys. He clears within inches, scooters loaded with entire families and children playing precariously close to the side of the road. 

It’s 4:00 P.M. when we are dropped back at our hotel and after quick showers, Art, John and I walk up to the old part of town. All of Cebu is preparing for their annual Sinulog festival which will take place this weekend. Colorful pennant flags are strung along the main streets and countless market stalls selling colorful Sinulog T-shirts. We watch young men silk screening them on the spot and other entrupernal young men sit on the pavement and for a few pesos, paint “Henna Tattoos” on arms and bare legs. They are talented artists but the “henna” is actually just paint applied with fine brushes and I wonder how toxic and difficult it is to remove? Art and John play a ball toss gambling game in the square, John confident that he can beat the odds. He comes out a few pesos ahead.

Festive Flags for Sunilog Festival

Sidewalk Cell Phone Repair

Silkscreening Sinilog T-Shirts

Ball Toss Gambling Game

Because it’s my birthday, I get to choose the restaurant for dinner. My guide book recommends a number of restaurants at the “Terraces” a section of the Alyana mall and at 6:30 we catch a taxi to take us there. Twenty minutes later we are deposited at the elegant circular drive entrance and after a security bag check we enter the mall. It’s an immense and beautiful mall, especially in contrast to the polluted, grimy and chaotic city beyond. I locate a directory and punch in the names of the several recommended restaurants.  Most of the restaurants are located on one of three outdoor terraces overlooking a large public garden and event space.  The “Terraces” are lovely and remind John and me somewhat of the outdoor restaurant area at the Dubai Mall. After much debate and menu checking, we choose “Siam Restaurant”, where after a game of musical tables, we settle ourselves down for dinner. The cocktail prices are extremely reasonable and we order drinks and vegetarian appetizers. The drinks are excellent and the spring rolls and coconut encrusted tofu delicious. We share plates of Pad Thai, curried vegetables and pineapple rice and enjoy it all.  After dinner and a second, (or was it the third round of drinks?) Art pulls a plastic bag from his backpack and passes it to me. Inside is one of Tabra’s beautiful leather bags crafted of thick chocolate leather, embellished with an iconicely Tabra; jaguar, fish, moon-face, carnelian and dinosaur bone pin with lovely embossed metal beads decorating it’s long rounded straps. This bag was a prototype for others she plans to design and she carried this bag personally when we visited her in Ubud Bali just last week.  I’m thrilled to have it and I will carry it often as a reminder of this trip, my husband’s generosity and Tabra who for the past 35 years has inspired and influenced my life in so many ways.

The Rough Guide to the Philippines

Siam, a Recommended Restaurant

Curried Cauliflower

Brotherly Love

After dinner the four of us wander to the edge of the terrace and lean on the railing overlooking the terraces below. Many other people are gather along the railing enjoying the warm evening and John strikes up a conversation with three college coeds. Since English is a primary language spoken in the Philippines communication is easy.  All three of the girls are attractive and all going to the University but John is charmed by one in particular and before long he has become Facebook Friends with her.  We follow the three young women out to the taxi station and wait for 20 minutes in a quickly moving line as taxi after taxi swoop in and swallow up the exiting mall patrons. It is soon our turn to pile into a taxi for the return ride to our hotel.  

Joe, John and Art at the Terraces at Alyana Mall