Apo island, could this place get any better?

From Puerto Princesa, I headed towards Apo island. Bastian and I continued traveling together, but James opted to stay in Palawan for a while longer. Getting to Apo required even more than the usual Philippine travel hurdles and was to entail 2 tuk tuks, 2 flights, a taxi and a boat, but Bastian and I hatched a very sophisticated plan to get ourselves to Apo in one day. Everything was peachy-keen until we landed in Dumaguete (jumping off point for Apo) and the sea was so choppy that the coast guard wasn't letting the boats go out to the island. So, we stayed the night in Malatapay, within striking distance of the boat pier.

Malatapay turned out to be one of the strangest places I've visted on this trip. The tourist clientele seemed to be of the creepy old European dudes and their significantly younger Filipina travel companion variety (I'm not even going to open the can of worm that is my opinion on this particular subject). We got up a the crack of dawn and headed to the dock. By 6:30 am, the area around the dock was surrounded by a market with a decidedly apocalyptic feel. To give you an idea, imagine this: the sky is overcast, the air is really thick, muggy and choked with smoke, the market stalls are packed, but don't have the liveliness and color of a typical market, as you walk around no one really looks you in the eye, and all the while you can hear animals screaming as they are taken off to be slaughtered (their fates evident by the numerous pigs roasting on spits over fires). Then, two toothless beggars (one of whom is blind) attach themselves to you and start chanting "money, money" over and over. Apocalyptic, no? It was pretty surreal and we were relieved to get on the boat to Apo.

In stark contrast to the "Apocalypse Now" village, Apo was a wonderful place. We stayed in little bungalows right on the beach. They were so idyllic, you could have taken them right off a postcard. The locals who ran the place were kind and welcoming, and the food was to die for (surgeon fish with soy, garlic, ginger, onion and kalamansi juice is one of my new favorite dishes). We me two Canadian ER doctors, Isabelle and Eric, and had a fantastic time hanging out with them (thus increasing the doctor to Julia ratio to 3:1...I felt very safe, and also learned some interesting facts about the Canadian and German health care systems, quite educational actually).

The diving in Apo was world-class. The island has been a marine sanctuary for 30 years (the oldest one in the Philippines), so the corals are pristine and the sea life has flourished. The visibility was good, the water was warm, and each time I put my face in the water, I felt like I was in a tropical aquarium. In my book, the diving at Apo was second only to Sipadan.

One of the highlights of Apo was attending our divemaster's 31st birthday party. It turns out that Kekeen was not only a divemaster, but also an important village figure, so his party was a important community event. Even though we had already eaten dinner by the time we arrived, his family set out a huge spread for us, including a native chicken, which they had roasted just for us. We felt a little like VIP guests. The native rum was also in abundance, so naturally the videoke machine made an appearance. Bastian, the boatman and I "sang" the Bon Jovi song "Bed of Roses" together, which must have sounded truly horrible since none of us even knew the song. My first and last Filipino videoke participation. The party was absolutely fantastic, let's just say that I had so much fun that I skipped the dive the following morning.

-Julia


Airport in Manila


Filipnos take their rooster nutrition very seriously


Apocalyptic market


Roasting pigs


Pleeeeeease get me outta here


The bungalows on Apo


Apo


My gecko roommate


Isabelle and Bastian enjoy a fruity cocktail


Sunset on Apo


Bastian, Kekeen and Kekeen's father enjoying the native chicken


Our Filipino feast


The dancing begins


Kekeen, Bastian and me


Local girls serenade Kekeen