I am in Boracay now and it is amazing. ...have I overused that word yet? A lot of traveling to get here. Buses and jeepneys and boats..oh my.
Rewind back to Sequijor..
The 4 of us spent another full day in Sequjior. We rented motorbikes again and drove to the mountains where we found the The Cambugahay waterfalls coming off the Po-o river...yes po-o river. We spent the afternoon swimming and frolicking in the pools below the falls in what can best be described as a whimsical faerie land. Lush and green and magical. We got back off the mountain after sunset and treated ourselves to a nice big room in a resort where we sat on the deck overlooking the ocean and drank margaritas. I slept in the hammock outside. It was perfect. the next morning we took a ferry back to Dumaguete. From there Mattias went back to Apo Island and Zoe left for Bohol. And then there were two... Alex and I.
Alex and I planned on just staying one night in Dumaguete and leaving for Palawan in the morning. In the morning we got up and packed and headed for the bus station but about halfway there we decided to stay in Dumaguete and see some of the sights. We checked back into Harold's, rented a motorbike and dove up the mountain to Valencia. From there we walked down 350 steep stairs to the Casaroro waterfall. It was worth the hike. The water was freezing though! It amazed me that in a place this hot there could be water that cold. Brrrrr.
The following morning we were up at 7:30 and on the bus to Bacolod by 10am. The bus ride was 5 hours which translates to 7 hours in Filipino. It was an interesting 7 hours. The bus was not air conditioned and about 35 people and one rooster over max capacity. It's ok...I quite enjoy flying around sharp curves at 70mph with a Filippino man in my lap and a rooster in my ear. We made it to Bacolod 15min after the last ferry to Iloilo. We had to stay the night. Turns out that Bacolod is a pretty cute and happening little town. We called a taxi from our hotel and payed 70Php to go downtown only to find out that it was walking distance.... After eating some street food Alex and I went to play some pool...we have a sort of competition going...who is less terrible. At the pool hall while we were waiting for a table I ordered a rum and coke. The man behind the bar mumbled something about going downstairs and disappeared. He was gone for a long time. Just when I was about to give up on my rum and coke and order a beer, the man appeared with a bottle of Tanduay rhum and handed it to me. I explained that I just wanted a rum and coke so he poured the whole bottle of rum into a pitcher and topped it off with a bottle of coke. I'm not even really sure what to say about that except that I drank the whole thing and it was quite good :).
The next morning we were up early and caught the ferry to Iloilo. I have never been on such a boat ride. I am pretty sure it was going 250mph. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. We made good time though. Off the ferry and into a taxi to the bus station. Another 6 hour bus ride to Caticlan. Someone should tell the bus drivers out here that they are not driving sports cars. It's like they are unaware that they have 60 passengers in the back. My butt left my seat several times as we caught air over bumps in the road.
Off the bus and on another boat to Boracay! Took a tricycle to Friendz Resort and checked in. Walked down to the beach..Set on a pillow on the beach and ate Mongolian grill while listening to live music. Perfect end to a long long day of traveling.