Bohol (pt 3), PH

Day 3. This was a day spent, for the most part, relaxing and savouring the beach life before returning to the density and activity of Manila. We went to a restaurant just a few feet up the beach from our hotel to try out the American Breakfast that they had on offer. Eggs, bacon, toast, coffee and juice. A great start to the day. The entire morning was spent at that table, waiting for a break in drizzly and overcast weather. We spent our time eating, writing in our journals, filling out a bunch of postcards, and a call to Camille, then another to Mom & Dad E. When the laptop ran out of juice we switched venues, more for a change of scenery than anything else, to continue snacking and relaxing.

We ran into a group of university students doing some sort of “how to talk to foreigners” exercise, in which they were supposed to corner and interview tourists. I think I ended up interviewing them, more than the reverse, so that was pretty entertaining. They got a kick out of Christina not being a real Filipina, and she got to hear some more about how pretty she is. We obliged them with a photo, but only if they took one for us too. This was our last day, so we would have taken the opportunity to go island hopping, or dolphin watching, or snorkling, except that the rain and overcast sky provided sufficient inclemency to keep us at a table on the beach. One of the biggest differences between Alona Beach and White Beach (on Boracay) is the depth of the beach. To stay dry we were set back under cover, but on a sunny day we might have sat at the table next to ours, which actually has waves washing right up to the foot of the seats. The day is very quiet, but there is also preparation for a party tonight. It’s Saturday night, and preparations are underway for a “disco” this evening. We’ll see what that means…

I had been interested in renting a motorcycle to do some cruising around the (relatively peaceful and safe) roads here for a little self-guided touring. The rain put a little dent in my enthusiasm for this, but during a brief break we thought we would maybe try a quick ride. All we needed now was a destination.

During our driving around, both here on Panglao, and Mactan, I had noticed little one-stool barber shops. I had also noticed that the lack of a haircut in the last three months had left me a little shaggy. So that was our destination. We found one that I had noted on our drive to the Bohol Bee Farm, which was two Baranguy‘s away from Alona Beach. We rented a “semi-automatic” motorcycle, which is as manual as they let the tourists have here, for two hours (p150, ~$3) and took it out on the street. The riding was easy, and traffic was light, so there was no problem with cruising around. We did a drive-by and saw that there was a guy inside, sweeping out the joint, so figured they were open for business.

We pulled in. He didn’t seem to understand what we were after right away (looking me up and down, like a non-verbal “are you sure??”), and didn’t speak a word of English. We got the point across, and I sat down. He gave me the scissor treatment, which was fine, and looked good, then took out a utility-style razor blade. I sort of wondered where this was going, then he started using it on the back of my neck, cleaning up like I would expect with an electric trimmer. At home this means you’re nearly done, but it was fully ten minutes of razor blade cleanup and feathering all around the edges, then another pass with the scissors, as he patiently clipped individual rebellious hairs. Finally, a light dusting of baby powder, then a brush off, and I’m done.

It was by far the most thorough and meticulous hair cut I’ve ever received, and looks great. The price was p25. I couldn’t feel right giving him less than a dollar, so I “rounded up” to p45. The rain had increased somewhat while I was under the knife, so we made no bones about heading straight back. The rental guy had said to put a liter of gas in, so we stopped at a station for that before returning our ride.

For dinner tonight, being our last night here, we decided to try out the “choose your own grill” dining option, available at nearly every restaurant.

A display near the dining tables holds the catch of the day selections available for dinner, and you point and choose the ones you like.  In addition to seafood there are beef and pork options as well.

For our meal we selected a couple of juicy looking prawns, and a skewer each of pork with veggies.  I had rice and Christina had a baked potato that came out both mashed and baked.  The food was amazing.  I’m calling it our best meal here in Bohol; Christina is still favoring our lunch from Bohol Bee Farm, so we’ll have to agree to disagree.

Tonight we’ll head out and see what this “disco” business is about, then get ready for our departure tomorrow to Manila. We’re very much hoping for an on-time flight, since our arrival will be right around the time that the Paquio fight starts, and we’re going to want to catch it, even if only in an airport bar.