The visa situation was easily solved in Iloilo city. The whole process took about 70min and we had brand new visas stamped in our passports. With the visas we also recieved A4 that stated we are not in the black list and we can safely leave the country when needed. Then a quick breakfast, packing and then to airport our fingers crossed; we made it to a flight to Cebu by noon. Cebu city felt interesting and a contrast to what we experienced by far- metered taxis that do not scam you, people wearing helmets on scooters and motorcyckles, clean environment, greenery. Then a boat trip to Tagbilaran and straight ahead a car ride to Panglao where we were quite lucky to find reasonable accommodation.
After arriving in Panglao, we have been thinking a lot about tourism.
About what happens to places after they are exploited and is there still something to see or experience? What there will be for crowds or will there be crowds at all? Does any of you know if there is somewhere an tourist attraction that used to be a place to be and then simply forgotten. Nothing there anymore? Will there be still people who go there and stay, at least for few days? I suppose so.
The world population is still increasing and there will be more and more still people hungry for adventure...especially those who are from former third world countries and now getting more money to put on goodies or to travel, and who are beginning to be interested about what is beyond the borders of their own country. First came the Westeners, then there is an explosion of the new generation Chinese groups, who (I was told) do not really know how to behave in the outer world, and that seems to be a problem to some (I talked to) who work in tourist industry.
But who determins if one is a tourist or who is a traveller? I like to say I am a traveller, but then, do I really take different routes from the others? I have not yet been the only white person in any pIace, not in Andaman Islands in India or in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. In Cuyo, we were also there, making paw marks, making the place to become more like a 'typical' destination for kite surfers, when Boracay was already too commercial or filled with all possible desires. Then again, also in Cuyo the westeners seemed to like the comfort to stay in the same spot, never too far away from the Beach front. Also, if I am not a tourist, why do I then go to Alona Beach? And then try to avoid hearing a conversations in Finnish or panicly change the bar if someone of my own breed moves closer? And why I feel embarrassed to commit where I had been last week to a family who has spent their days in much traveller suitable destination? And why did I feel confused when another tourist asked me why I had not been to Boracay?
Boracay, was the place to be, according to some people we overheard on Manila airport before New Years eve. I was adviced not to go, because I was not to like it and it was said to be more or less the "Mallorca" or "Canary Islands". This was proven true by some of our new mates from Cuyo. Then again, we ended up here, Alona Beach, which according to THE BOOK (This time the Rough Guides, which really has been a disappointment, I used to think that the maps were more accurate than in LP) is enjoying the growing popularity. This sounded bad, but after the boat waiting days, all I needed was a strip of sand close by and connected to airport strip, with a ROAD or a BRIDGE. Good diving was the big bonus, and I thought not to mind about the increased expenses, the local 'man and the guitar'- combinations or the sun glasses salesmen.
To my surprise the place was less crowded than I ever imagined. It was also quiet. Most of the action was over by eleven pm, and only a handful of bars was open after that, actually only one untill 01am. Maybe it is then the charm of a high end destination with expensive resorts, what makes it possible. We found a place (Aquatica, rooms and restaurant with reasonable prices and it was populated a lot by people from Go Scuba Dive Centre) on the beachfront for 1000PHP a night, which was very reasonable compared to what the prices were. My dive buddy told me that he had the limit on 750PHP, since he travelled by himself, but for that price he first found a room that was like a toilet, but after searching a bit, he found better place, also on the beachfront. Food was expensive, compared to what we had before (but not as expensive as in restaurants that you find in big SM malls in here) and we also found quickest internet there had been during out trip, thanks to the German expats.
Then also, one reason why I could go back there; the food in restaurant L'Elephant Bleu!! What a treat! I think I had one of the best dishes ever in there one evening! It was also nice to treat yourself in different places on Alona Beach with an espresso and a latte after the normal local 3 in 1 instant coffee experiences.
Alona beach is filled with Dive shops. I did a bit of asking and decided to do 2 dives with Alona Divers for 1100PHP per dive plus a bit extra for equipment. The reason this time was that there was only 3 divers on board, all advanced. We went to dive in THE destination, Balicasag island, 20 min boat ride from Panglao island. J took snorkeling gear with him and joined us on the boat. The reef was fantastic! The corals were in vivid colours, we drifted through " Black forest" during our 1st dive and the second was "Rudi's Rock". The sea was crowded, many green turtles, numerous of fish species, all kinds of nudibranches, yellow frogfish, corals in excellent condition...but also many, many dive groups in the same place at the same time. One thing I felt that was missing, was the good breefing and maybe a slightly more social/active dive guide, which is strange, since we Finns do not like the hype or fuzz. J was very happy to be on the boat with us, saw his first turtle and also witnessed some spear fishing performed by the boat guys and they cached an octopus. There is a conservation fee 100PHP for diving and 50PHP per a snorkeler per person per day, that is collected by authorities from the boats.
The following day we took a boat trip to see, if we had any luck to see some dolphins. There had been many sightings, but after I saw the boat armada that criss crossed the sea to find any glimpse of the bald heads...no way! I mean, I guess some people must have been very depressed not to see them, but come on, whale sharks in Oslob are feed by the tourists and keen on food and visible, but dolphins will be miles away when they hear that amount of boats near by. The day was not too bad though. First the boat armada docked on Balicasag island where you needed to pay extra 150PHP (after a negotiation) to a paddle boat to take you out to snorkel. Hmm. Also, I guess they need to pay the snorkeling fee to the authorities. And the snorkeling was excellent where the coral wall started. The rest of the beachfront was pretty much destroyed because there are people snorkeling who cannot swim and just step on corals. Also, one annoying thing was that after people started to feed the fish, they become greedy bastards. The fish started nibbling and biting our feet and arms in hope of food. The best way to get rid of them was to escape to the blue where the coral wall slope started. Things to see were again the turtles, nudies, parrot fish, anemones and anemone fish in many colours, morey eel, box fish of many kind. I guess we were easy persons for the boat boys since we snorkeled maybe 200m on our own and I stayed in the water for more than 60 min before I got cold and there was no need to keep more an eye on us, except where we were at times.
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