OMG. What a morning so far. I think this is what they call "Adventure Travel".
We had a van take us from the hotel to the airport. While checking in, we found out that we were in the Comfort Class and we had access to a lounge. It was so nice. Good coffee and fruit and breakfast sandwiches. Then we found out that we were in the very first row of the aircraft. Exit Row. And on the plane we got a drink and sandwiches and even cookies and chocolate. Fancy. We didn’t even know we booked such a fancy seat.
Then we collected our bags and took a van to the port. I was baffled because they said there was only one boat and it didn’t leave until 2:30pm. This is weird, because Kati at 3P told me that there would be a boat every hour. Hmmm…
We had these porters take our bags to where we were to board and it wasn’t even 10am yet. WTF? We were supposed to sit in the sun at this concrete pier in the overcast sun for four hours. No way. Then they told us that we could go wait under the open air patio. Which meant going pretty far back. They also said we could leave our bags. That was not happening.
There was a cute Caucasian guy who was trying to get to another part of Romblon too. We chatted with him for a bit. He was more of a backpacker and only had a couple of carried items. He said he was going to take a different route. OK. (He came back a while later and said that wasn’t an option and was going to do something else. Honestly, I couldn’t understand what he was negotiating but I admired his gusto.)
Then something came over me. Things just didn’t feel right to me. And I made the choice to turn on my cellular data for the day (just $10) and to get in touch with Kati. When I did, I realized on the map that we were in the wrong place. Caticlan Port instead of Tabon Plaza/Tabon Port. Gah!! Well, if we went there instead, at least we should be able to get on a boat sooner than 2pm.
The port was such a zoo that I didn’t want to just talk to someone with a van. Instead I went in search of someone who looked official. I found a bunch of police (they looked like babies!) and asked them. They were so kind and told me to get trikes instead of a van. And they said they would get some for us. I don’t know, I trusted these young cops in uniform.
We hired three trikes and went over to the Tabon Plaza/Tabon Port. It was seriously like a Nat Geo trek through jungle puddles and insanity. I was a little in shock. What were we doing? How am I in charge of this?
Then we got to this town center on a beach where people were playing basketball. But there was no sign of a boat to Santa Fe, Tablas Island and no ticket counter. I was so sure we were going to the right place, but this was really sketchy.
I called Kati over FB Messenger, but she didn’t answer right away. Francis started playing basketball with the locals and I asked the trike drivers to stay while we figured this out.
It turns out we were in the right place, it is just that there were gale winds today and none of the boats were going. Waaaah.
I finally talked to Kati and she told us that she had been doing some research and we should just take a big boat to Odiongan instead. Crap. So now, the driver had to take us somewhere else to the 2Go office, where we had to fill out paperwork and buy a ticket. Oh man, between that and paying the three trikes for such a convoluted trip, we were out a bunch of pesos… but honestly, it was still pretty cheap.
We finally made it to the Ferry departure terminal and paid the departure tax. Whew. Now we felt like we were on track. And we even messaged Kati to confirm we were all set. A sense of calm came over me.
And then, Philipp from 3P (Kati's hubby) messaged me over FB. He said that I could always contact him as well. Cool.
And then he called. I told him we were all good and waiting in the lounge. But then he said there was more news. Ooooh Kay….
I put him on speaker so that Pirjo could hear this new information too. By the time we would arrive in San Agustin, it would be too late to make the passage to Romblon (and the seas would be rough). Oh man. So we are going to have to spend the night in at hotel in San Agustin. This should be interesting! At least it will not be very expensive… but we have to pay in pesos. So I am SO glad I hit the ATM last night. In fact I keep thinking I should have taken out even more money. Oh well. At least we already have a driver prearranges by 3P that we don’t need to pay for.
Getting on to the 2Go Ferry was a real nightmare. And of course I have so much luggage, plus an extra bag for all the snacks I have from the hotel and the lounge. First we had to all line up and the customs dog had to sniff everyone’s bags. I have tricks to carry/roll all of it myself but my camera bag kept tilting off of my SCUBA bag. So I’d have to stop and fix it. Luckily there were many crew on the ferry who helped get our bags to the right place.
Then this guy came around offering coffee drinks. Yes please. I got an iced latte. Yum!
We settled into these little bunk beds that we habitate for three hours… from 2pm – 5pm. So cute and vinyl lined so no sheets or anything but so much nicer than just chairs to sit in. It was also air conditioned enough that I felt cold and put on my fleece.
Some guy was in a bunk near us and we got to talking. His name was Ronnie and was a 70 year old Filipino guy who is from Odiongan. He said that he was just on a gold mining expedition and his backpack was filled with gold dust. What!?!?! I asked to see it, but he said that it was still mixed with dirt and needed to be filtered out with mercury. Which is crazy because when we first got there his backpack was just sitting there unattended.
He also said that he was a Lutheran priest and led a church for many years. He was quite a chatty guy and was pretty knowledgeable. He also had very kind eyes. He and Francis got to talking quite a bit.
Then I think we were all tired. This was too much of a morning to handle, so we all got quiet to nap. I drank water and ate a banana but I still felt like my leg might cramp. I opened my bag and took some Advil and it seemed to be better.
Well, we all travel for excitement and a good story to tell. I guess this is one for the ages. I am still pissed that I didn’t verify where the original van was going… and that we went to the wrong place but it really wouldn’t have mattered because no boats were going today from Tabon Port to Santa Fe, Tablas Island anyway due to the gale winds.
I think it is so funny that Pirjo and I are the ones figuring everything out while Francis just sits back and hangs out. He seriously wanted to just play basketball with the locals right up until 2pm when we would go back to the original pier to take the small boat. If we had done that, we would never have left… since the seas were so rough.
I am also wondering if there will be any restaurants near the San Agustin pier and hotel. This should be really interesting. Oh, and we have to take a VERY early boat tomorrow morning from San Agustin to Romblon. At like 4am! I am good with that and so are the Pellets.
The ferry docked and I caved to pay a porter to help me with my luggage. There was a driver with a nice white van and a sign for us. He loaded us up with all the luggage and some other guy in the front seat. It was about an hour drive across the island. The roads were windy with guardrails and there were people and dogs and chickens everywhere. We kept thinking he was going to hit someone or something but he never did. Halfway there, the other guy jumped out and paid the driver. We arrived at the Seashore Inn. OMG. It is a little place right by the boat terminal. We just walk over there in the morning.
We have been told to get there early because as soon as the boat fills up, they leave. Sometimes even before 4am. So we are waking up at 2am and getting over there by 3am. Crazy!
The woman at the front desk checked us in and she only had two rooms left. Mine was a little more than the Pellets even though it was smaller because it has an oceanfront view that I will never see. They took the bigger but cheaper room that faces the back. It’s really no big deal as mine was only 1600 filippino pesos which is like $28USD.
There was no elevator but I managed to get all my luggage up to the second floor with a little help. The Pellets had to go up one more. That’s where Francis comes in handy.
Then we were told to go have dinner at the Daily Project over at the market. We had no clue where to go but then I remembered that since I paid for cell service for the day I can look at the maps on google. That was helpful and we found it. The real name is Deli Project. Oh, that makes a little more sense.
It was fine and I just had a little quesadilla while the Pellets had Japanese pork. We were the only ones in the restaurant.
We strolled back and noticed that some people were spending the night in the ferry terminal. How uncomfortable. There were also some street food vendors.
As we came back to the hotel we noticed this cool jeepney out front.
Wow, what a day. I am excited to grab a few hours of sleep before our final trek to 3P tomorrow.
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