Puerto Galera
With Alain and his wife Janine (plus their kids Aline and Felix) I spent a nice week-end in Puerto Galera, which is the northern tip of the island Mindoro. The resort (http://www.cocobeach.com/) offers very simple accomodations (like bungalows) but at a very fair price, and the nice things are:- There is no access road to the hotel. It can only be reached by boat or by foot. It is totally quiet at night. Only the waves can be heard. And of course the rain.
- The resort is directly at the beach.
- The resort is operated in a sustainable way by having so called "host families" who are local families living inside the resort area. In your bungalow you have a wire (see picture below) which you can pull to signal a need to your host family. They will promptly show up and assist you for any need.
And here is the resort (the mark shows my bungalow):
Alain and I did two nice dives. We could even spot a sea turtle. But I found out that my analog depth gauge which I bought as a back-up to my dive computer does not function correctly. I will have to visit the dive shop once again.
The trip back to Manila took a full day as there was rough weather and the regular small ferry boats could not operate anymore. We had to drive far to grab a larger ferry and ride all the way back again on the ferry.
Cebu
With Chary, a friend, I spent two nice and sunny days in Mactan, Cebu. We stayed at in a resort which has its own waterpark. The waterpark was not too large, but it was fun. The room we had was very big and brand new. Very nice design.I was surprised that the taxi ride to Cebu City takes nearly 45min. It looks so close on the map.
About honesty
Most Filipinos are truly honest from the depth of their heart. Funny things that happened to me recently:- When asking a shop assistant in a take-away shop if their Pizzas would be tasty, the shop assistant answered "No, sir". I'd better have a sandwich instead.
- At a stall in a food-court, I asked what the difference between the combo meal and the single platter would be. They answered "The price, sir". :-) I always knew it....!
Rain season
August is definitely rain season here. I have to acknowledge that. One of my condo walls is leaking some water. The technicians are looking at it right now. But there seem to be leaks in many places of the building. And not only my building. Even in shopping malls and any building you go, you will see buckets on the floor with all kind of funny constructions to collect the dripping water.My housekeeping helper even said that in her 2-storey house, the ground level has water up to the waist. So I better stop complaining about my little leak....
I hope the dengue mosquitos are not going to breed too much around in Manila.
