Our first morning in the Philippines finds us refreshed and ready to begin a whole new chapter of Keturah's voyage. There is a nice breeze which makes it possible for us to sail the rest of Hinatuan passage south of Panaon Island. We are on our last few cigarettes and more importantly nobody has seen a cold drink in over a week of motoring in sweltering calms, so we head to a nearby village where also supposedly a school of whale sharks resides.
We arrive in Pintuyan mid afternoon, anchoring near the San Antonio settlement. Once settled, and verified that there are no whale sharks at all (left?) in the bay, we row ashore to pursue a bit of money changing and whatever may come out of a refrigerator. We hitch a ride on some kid?s motorbikes and soon we?re in town. The bank does not change money, and we struggle to find a kind soul to exchange miserly five dollars to shop for basic necessities. At last a shopkeeper agrees to give us some pesos, and with the five dollars we feast on smokes, coca cola, beer, sprite, the works. Pintuyan seems like a small town of old back in some areas of rural Italy: low brick homes siding one single main street with whole families living on the doorstep. We are waved and cheered all the way, elderly ladies staring at us amazedly and coming close to inspect us, grinning and squinting. Guess tourism isn't part of the economy around here. On the way back to the boat I also get to inspect some freshly built local boat, called "Banca" it?s a very pretty double outrigger craft usually powered with Chinese single cylinder motor.
One day motoring by Limasawa island Magellan's first landing in the Philippines- anchored at San Roque. Not much to report except more current streams crossing the channel making strange streaks and eddies in the water. Last stretch to Cebu is done sailing well in a steady breeze up the Canigao Channel, dodging the reef and the cargo ships, while witnessing some dynamite fishing. Canigao reef would be quite stunning had it not been so heavily fished. The few areas above water of it have turned into island-cities, covered end to end by stilt huts and homes, looking like mirages of tropical Venice?s floating on water. We anchor there too one night, wanting to get into Cebu by daylight. The night is calm and quiet, and all around us are the lanterns of the many boats and canoes fishing.
Getting to Cebu at last is a bit of a shock: a real city, real big, last one I've seen being, well, Auckland almost two years ago. We look for our friends from Hamamas, which we think arrived a couple days earlier than us, but they are not in the Marina or the yacht club anchorage, which is where we decide to go in order to leave the dinghy safely and have access to showers etc.
A few days later Cecilia leaves Keturah?at the time an unceremonious farewell after six months of common living, while now in retrospect she is the one most missed from past crew. I get busy with the fabled improvements that should come so cheap and easily in the Philippines. A second solar panel and a new dinghy. The solar panel comes easily enough through a "connection" we got recommended in Palau, while the dinghy, after mucho mucho pesos and anxious waiting turns out to be a complete rip-off, but being warned that in PI murders are committed for a few bucks we think better than to complain and pay up and walk away with a mockery of a badly painted un-seaworthy non-marine plywood bathtub. Fantastic encounter was instead meeting Martin from Hyde Sails: for only about 350 USD he got all of our sails overhauled and made perfect, including the Genoa ripped in the infamous tropical storm we encountered off Tuvalu. At the Yacht Club we also befriend Fernando. He sailed through the Pacific in record time straight from Costa Rica on a mega-yacht owned by an American international pimp. In a few days Cat will arrive from the States, and we want to be ready to go cruising ASAP. Turns out the whole crew on Fernando's boat gets replaces by Filipinos, so he's suddenly unemployed but free from the dreadful fatso whore monger. Feeling sorry for him and not wanting to be left alone with two women, I give him a deal he can't refuse.
We stock up on everything necessary and unnecessary, tidy up the boat and off we go seeing the Philippines!
We arrive in Pintuyan mid afternoon, anchoring near the San Antonio settlement. Once settled, and verified that there are no whale sharks at all (left?) in the bay, we row ashore to pursue a bit of money changing and whatever may come out of a refrigerator. We hitch a ride on some kid?s motorbikes and soon we?re in town. The bank does not change money, and we struggle to find a kind soul to exchange miserly five dollars to shop for basic necessities. At last a shopkeeper agrees to give us some pesos, and with the five dollars we feast on smokes, coca cola, beer, sprite, the works. Pintuyan seems like a small town of old back in some areas of rural Italy: low brick homes siding one single main street with whole families living on the doorstep. We are waved and cheered all the way, elderly ladies staring at us amazedly and coming close to inspect us, grinning and squinting. Guess tourism isn't part of the economy around here. On the way back to the boat I also get to inspect some freshly built local boat, called "Banca" it?s a very pretty double outrigger craft usually powered with Chinese single cylinder motor.
One day motoring by Limasawa island Magellan's first landing in the Philippines- anchored at San Roque. Not much to report except more current streams crossing the channel making strange streaks and eddies in the water. Last stretch to Cebu is done sailing well in a steady breeze up the Canigao Channel, dodging the reef and the cargo ships, while witnessing some dynamite fishing. Canigao reef would be quite stunning had it not been so heavily fished. The few areas above water of it have turned into island-cities, covered end to end by stilt huts and homes, looking like mirages of tropical Venice?s floating on water. We anchor there too one night, wanting to get into Cebu by daylight. The night is calm and quiet, and all around us are the lanterns of the many boats and canoes fishing.
Getting to Cebu at last is a bit of a shock: a real city, real big, last one I've seen being, well, Auckland almost two years ago. We look for our friends from Hamamas, which we think arrived a couple days earlier than us, but they are not in the Marina or the yacht club anchorage, which is where we decide to go in order to leave the dinghy safely and have access to showers etc.
A few days later Cecilia leaves Keturah?at the time an unceremonious farewell after six months of common living, while now in retrospect she is the one most missed from past crew. I get busy with the fabled improvements that should come so cheap and easily in the Philippines. A second solar panel and a new dinghy. The solar panel comes easily enough through a "connection" we got recommended in Palau, while the dinghy, after mucho mucho pesos and anxious waiting turns out to be a complete rip-off, but being warned that in PI murders are committed for a few bucks we think better than to complain and pay up and walk away with a mockery of a badly painted un-seaworthy non-marine plywood bathtub. Fantastic encounter was instead meeting Martin from Hyde Sails: for only about 350 USD he got all of our sails overhauled and made perfect, including the Genoa ripped in the infamous tropical storm we encountered off Tuvalu. At the Yacht Club we also befriend Fernando. He sailed through the Pacific in record time straight from Costa Rica on a mega-yacht owned by an American international pimp. In a few days Cat will arrive from the States, and we want to be ready to go cruising ASAP. Turns out the whole crew on Fernando's boat gets replaces by Filipinos, so he's suddenly unemployed but free from the dreadful fatso whore monger. Feeling sorry for him and not wanting to be left alone with two women, I give him a deal he can't refuse.
We stock up on everything necessary and unnecessary, tidy up the boat and off we go seeing the Philippines!
