Our next destination was the island group of Visayas. We chose the more remote island of Sibuyan as our starting point. We left Donsol hoping to catch a boat to Masbate city, on Masbate island. From there we could take another boat to Romblon, we hoped. Only a two hour boat ride away we arrived in Masbate, only to be told that there is no boat. We would have to drive in a minivan to another city, Mandaon, to catch a boat the next day. Easy, right? After two hours of stunning drive through the island we arrived at the pier. A coast guard told us that there was only a boat on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. It was Wednesday evening now. Shit! We had just missed it. The friendly guard made some phone calls, and found out that there was a boat tomorrow to Roxas, a bigger place on Panay island, with better boat connections. We would have to take the 5 am minivan to the Milagros crossing, and from there we could take a tricycle to the pier and we should make it to the boat. Quite early, we thought, because it was already 7 pm. We hadn't eaten anything all day, simply because we couldn't find a place to eat. All we had was some crackers and soft drinks. It was time to find a place to eat and sleep, fast. The guard saved our asses again, pointing us towards a guesthouse. Or so we thought. We checked in, had dinner, and by the time we got back in the room, ready for bed, the whole room had been taken over by a cockroach colony. They were everywhere! Usually we are not so worried about a few insects, but these things were all over the place, coming from under the doors, from the sink and from the hole in the shower room. They had taken over the backpacks, so we had to repack everything and chase the things out. There were so many that we couldn't sleep before we had taken all of them out and closed the holes with tape and carpets. We went to bed just to be awake all the time with something crawling on our faces. We ended up leaving for the 5 am minivan without any sleep. What a great start for the day.
The lucky thing was that the minivan was actually at 5:30, so we had time to grab a few bread rolls from a bakery which for some reason was already open. We also found a banana and water. At least this day started with breakfast! And again we took the same beautiful road! Enjoying the early morning rural life with pigs, goats, chicken and dogs running around the streets, we made it to Milagros in a bit more than an hour. Someone grabbed our luggage, and carried them to the boat. We tipped him a 50, and after buying tickets he took us to a coffee shop where we spent a while drinking instant coffee and watching tv with the not so talky owner. Next door was a little restaurant, where we could get food. Great! Food! That was something new. We knew the bangka ride would be at least six hours, possibly more, so we were happy to get something to eat before the journey. It was only 7 am and we were already eating rice and warm food. And they even had a vegetarian option for Anni! We had plenty of time, the boat was supposed to leave at nine.
As soon as we saw the boat filling up, we thought it would be wise to go reserve seats. First come, first serve, applies to the boat rides in the Philippines. As soon as there is no seats left, it doesn't mean that the boat is full. It means that the last people sit on the outside space, in the sun. That's exactly what happened to us on the last bangka to Masbate. That was okay, the ride being only two hours, but we thought six or seven or eight or whatever it was going to be, would be too long for that. So we waited another hour in the boat, watching the motorbikes, pigs and goats being loaded on the boat, before it actually took off. Leaning on the backpacks or lying on the little space outside in the sun, half covered with tarp, we managed to get a few hours of sleep before we arrived in Roxas.
We were happy to find out that we could take another bangka to our final destination, Sibuyan island, tomorrow morning. Finally! The constant moving was coming closer to an end. We were exhausted and checked in to the first and only hotel we could find. We ended up paying way over our budget for the "only available room", a junior suite, for 1500 pesos in Midtown Hotel. We were too tired to care. Nobody seemed to know of any other place. So we just got dinner and went back to the room. At least the beds were soft and the shower was warm. Little luxuries count for a lot after such an exhausting journey.
The 8 hours of sleep and a shower were much needed. Still tired, we took off again for the last boat ride. It was going to be another 5 or 6 hours to San Fernando on Sibuyan island. We got there about half an hour before the bangka took off and because the boat had a covered rooftop and the last rides had been nice and calm, we decided to sit on the roof. Theoretically a good idea, just the waves were huge this time and everything and everyone ended up being soaked. At least we had rain covers for our backpacks. Once during the trip we managed to climb over the roof to the toilet on the other side of the boat, the second time never came because it was too scary. But we made it to San Fernando alive! We checked into a home stay called Sea Breeze. We were ready for bed, again.
We never realised how slow moving in the islands could be. We had been constantly hungry, tired and uncomfortable for days. We knew we were moving too fast, but with the limited time and huge amount of interesting places to see, we had no other option. Also, getting food seems to be a problem. There simply are no restaurants. All they sell are fruit, mostly bananas, and sweet stuff, like cookies and sweet bread. Another option is meat. You can always find grilled meat or chicken, but Anni is vegetarian and it just is not an option for her. Finally, we were where we wanted to be, in a guesthouse where we could use the kitchen, and we didn't have to go anywhere in a few days. We were happy.
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