Examples of Filipino inefficiency are endless. I almost just laugh out loud when I’m riding a jeepney and it stops four or five times in a stretch of 100 yards. Sometimes, we will literally have gone 20 feet, before another person who couldn’t be bothered to walk that far shouts “Para!” (Stop!).
And here’s what it was like to buy headphones at a shopping mall:
Riding twelve miles on the roof of an over-stuffed jeep: $.60
Jumping down off roof of jeep and snapping ankle ligaments: FREE!
Being carried around by extremely tall and strong boyfriend: also FREE!
X-ray in the most dilapidated hospital I’ve ever been to: $2.75
Flirting with hot x-ray tech: another FREEBIE!
Recovering in the Honeymoon Suite for five days: $45
Finally knowing where to direct your rage about the incredibly rude, late-night crashing and banging: PRICELESS.
I’m long overdue! Quirks and quips that don’t quite make a story:
Stamps are “cheap as” here! 120 pesos to send 8 international postcards? That’s about $3. Take THAT, New Zealand! Now I just need to find the time to compose some more.
I don’t have 6.6 pounds (3 kilos) worth of clothing. That’s the magic number: the minimum accepted at laundry joints.
Here’s more reader participation for you:
A species is threatened with extinction at the hands of hunters. You don’t really have enough money to hide this species at your house and give it a good life. Is it better to keep it there anyway, or just let it completely die out?
When we got rained out of the Twin Lakes, plan B was a visit to Centrop — The Center for Tropical Conservation Studies. Sounds fancy, but it’s not.
So pretty, yet so... explosive.
If you had to estimate how many people were injured by fireworks or stray bullets on New Year’s Eve in the Philippines, what would you guess? I’ll give you a few background facts to help you narrow your answer.
I grew up tracking animals through the snowy woods with my mom and dad and across the prairies with my grandparents. I’ve seen deer, turkeys, antelope, coyotes, rabbits and myriad other creatures fall from an accurately-aimed bullet or arrow. My worldview, from a young age, accepted this as simply a part of life. So, I arrived at our Christmas pig sacrifice with a well-stocked psychological arsenal.
The islands around Coron harbor a little secret not obvious on the surface. Pun intended. The Busuanga island group is home to Academy-award-winning underwater scenery. (Obviously I made up the award, but it’s truly deserving!) I spent my precious few days there constantly breathless.
my base in coron!
Thanks to a karmic, pay-it-forward, good-will-to-all platform known as Couchsurfing.org, I was hosted by a local man — M.J.
Is it wise to travel by sea in the wake of a tropical typhoon? No, it is not. Circumstances beat intuition, however, and I found myself an unintentional victim of our unscrupulous Mother Nature.
If the treasure map leading you tell El Nido came with instructions, it would say: Go to Roxas. Take the dirt road north. Keep going. Your first stunning vista will confirm your arrival in the archipelago. Continue until the road ends at the sea.
For five scheduled hours each day, electricity is available in Sabang. Their concrete oceanside pier also functions as a basketball court, community dance hall, and a place for the heavy surf to deposit a quarter ton of rocks every night. Staying in a bungalow on the southern beach runs about $10 per evening. Staying in the random, out-of-place luxury resort on the north beach will suck $250 a night from your wallet (on a discounted week).
Hungry for more? More time? More money? More health? More wholeness?
Hungry for less? Less rushing? Less pressure? Less stress? Less fractured attention?
Please come on in! I’ve been collecting wins and losses for a few decades (and counting). I hope sharing them helps you on your adventure through your one wild and precious life.
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