“Wait, how
many secret lagoons are there on this tour?” Liz asked our captain, whose
English skills were only slightly better than his boat-parking abilities.
“Two more,
then lunch,” he replied, smiling as the rails of our outrigger tangled with those
of two more similarly-designed boats moored in front of yet another pristine
white-sand beach.
We’d already
visited two highly populated “secret” areas on what was sold to us as a "very exclusive tour" around Bacuit Bay, which it turns out has been featured in Amazing Race, Surivor and the latest Jason Bourne film.
"Exclusive" obviously means just us...and 300 or so of our closest friends.
The scenery and local entertainment were amazing, the crowds were not, so we opted for our own tour, rented a motorcycle, and cruised the island easy-rider style…almost.
After hiring a
bike from Gerardo at RR Tours (he would later save the day...) we took off
for the countryside, far away from the tourists and previous day's incident.
Some 45 minutes and 50 water buffalo photos later...
...sweating in the beating sun, with a gas tank running on fumes, we learned the joy of a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. We were 20 km from the nearest town, we had no water, we didn't speak the language, and we had a broke bike that wasn't ours.
Luckily, Liz
charmed her way into a passing van, got a free ride to town, woke Gerardo from his afternoon nap,
and he drove her on a brand new moto to meet Kip, who was a hot mess with the busted bike.
Crisis
averted, we pushed on toward the ocean. Turns out, it was the highlight of our trip so far. After getting a quick drink from the local 7-11...
...we walked down to the beach.
The pictures don’t do it justice.
With the help of some local moms and kids who were already out on the sand, we even managed to get in our 1 of 7 for the week.
Sometimes even paradise needs a little help from its friends.
On to Puerto Princesa, where we hope to catch a live-aboard dive boat on Sunday out to Tubbataha Reef...just in time to celebrate Liz's birthday...
I think you guys should seriously consider writing a book about this journey. Write as much as you can and take as many pictures as you can. It's fascinating to read about your adventures.
ReplyDeleteAll the best trips have at least one flat tire.
ReplyDeleteHow cute are those kiddos!? I just want to SQUEEZE them!