Day 8 - Palaui Island

We departed the boat for a 'beach landing' on Palaui Island and were greeted by some 'officials' who took it upon themselves to escort us around the place.  Our new friend was Carmela, and she took us to the top of the Cape Engano lighthouse – which was built by the Spanish (even though the Filipinos did all the work) in 1890.  It was quite a hot walk, but we managed to stop a few times and take the shady route by avoiding many of the stairs.  And of course, Carmila insisted on a number of ‘photo opportunities’ along the way.

Once at the top we could see that it once was once and impressive facility and probably housed a number of people and also operated as a fort.  The views were spectacular, especially from further down from the lighthouse towards the water.  And there were more photo opportunities!

The downwards trip was much easier and we took a look at the market the locals had set up just for us . . . mostly trinkets which we didn’t buy.

Then it was time for a swim.  We also snorkeled but the conditions were underwhelming – far too shallow close to the shore and not much to see further out either.  Still the swim was refreshing.

Once back on the boat we had showers and hung our clothes and bathers out to dry before having lunch.  I went on an engine room tour, which I had done on a previous trip.  It was still very interesting - the boat can make 120,000 litres a day (we only use about 20,000 litres), the sewerage is processed to be so clean it can be discharged at sea, we can carry about 500,000 litres of fuel and burn roughly 700 litres per hour.

This afternoon’s lectures were very ordinary.  The ‘Historic Trade Routes in Asia and the Pacific’ talk was piecemeal and all over the place, but I think he was trying to say that trade has been going between China, the Middle East and Europe (and most parts between) for thousands of years.  And the ‘Magic of the Golden Pearls’ was pretty much an advertorial for the pearl company and her and Yogi’s publication business.  Pretty much content free.

 We met some more interesting people for dinner - a couple of Americans who have been pretty much everywhere, including spending six months in Oz.

 

 

Day 7 - Calayan Island

 

It was another reasonably early start this morning . . . but with an altered plan as, apparently, the swell is too great to safely land the Xplorers on the beach in Sibang Cove.  So instead of swimming, snorkelling and ‘hiking’ to Nagudungan Hill, one Xplorer anchored off the beach and those who were interested could swim to shore and then hike.

We chose the other option – a two hour ‘cruise’ around the point and towards a local village.  It was very interesting and we heard some expert commentary from the various experts and locals on board.  Apparently, the locals do not want to rapidly expand the tourism industry.  Instead, they are happy for it grow very slowly.  We saw a ‘hostel’ which costs USD10 per night and there are some home stay places where guests live with families. 

A continuing challenge for this community is the fact at there is no college education and the talented youngsters need to go to the mainland for higher education – and most don’t come back, or if they do it is later in their lives.

We came across a bloke spearfishing in the water – he said he was getting lunch for his family.  Not many of the other fishing boats were out as most of the community were on the beach doing a big clean up.  Plastic rubbish is a huge problem here as it is in many other parts of the Pacific and other places.

Then it was back on the boat, lunch and some more lectures - of varying quality.  Instead I went to the bridge and received a lesson from the captain about how they keep the boat in ballast by pumping water around the many tanks located all around the hull and under the floor.

Dinner this evening was a BBQ upstairs and we joined some people we had met on a previous trip and created the noisiest table on the boat!  The food was very nice and the wine flowed freely all evening.

 

 

Day 6 - Claveria

 

We departed for a beach landing at Claveria, but not in the planned spot as the swell was too great.  Instead, we beached at another location near the somewhat dilapidated and sheltered jetty before boarding the Jeepneys back to the planned landing location.

As we pulled up there were loads of young people in various costumes doing all sorts of dancing to the loud music being played over the PA.  And we were greeted with speeches and welcomes from quite a few people, including the impressive local mayor.  I reckon she will end up in the national parliament sometime soon.

Once the formalities were over were enjoyed some more dancing and music.  To their credit, the youngsters must have put many hours into rehearsing for this event and making their costumes. 

Next we were invited to help bring in a ‘traditional’ fishing net . . . except it went about one km out to sea and was about two km wide – and it started raining.  Nice try, but we all gave up as we were on and agenda.

From there the six Jeepneys were separated into two groups . . . we did a drive around the town of Claveria not really understanding what the guide hanging off the back was saying.  Luckily Lorraine started talking with the young lady in the front seat and relayed the information to all of us in the front of the vehicle.

Our first stop was St Maria Eco Park . . . which was a church and a few historic buildings from WW1 and WWII.  We saw how they made some concoction of cassava and rice into something else – not quite sure what, but it was tasteless.  They also showed us how to make coloured candles from recycled wax, which was not very exciting.

Next we visited a rice field – some of which had been left for us (and other groups) to harvest with a sickle, even though the last crop was actually harvested some time ago.  We were also shown how to beat the rice to strip the seeds – and to winnow the final bits.  It was very interesting, but frankly I would rather use the machine which does all of this without much effort.

Our penultimate visit was a lookout which gave us a good view of the town and the bay – and of course there was another photo opportunity.

The last stop for the day was at a prototype silk production facility.  The Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) provided a complete set of equipment and a production facility to Claveria to develop a sericulture industry in the town.  It has one silk weaving and processing centre, one cocoon processing center, four silkworm rearing houses, and one young-age rearing house.  The three-hectare mulberry farm was already established.  The land was donated by a benefactor Filipino woman living in the USA.

Then it was back to where we arrived on the beach to be farewelled by a big crowd and given some presents.  We arrived back on the boat just after midday and had lunch immediately.

The boat started heading for its next destination while we attended various lectures about this and that - some were good and others note.  Note to self, skip certain 'expert' lecturers.