Thursday 30 April 2015

29th april - Lamagon Island - 30th April - Masapelid Island - power line peril - (photos to follow shortly when internet stronger)

Wednesday 29th April 2015

9 degrees 45.512N
125 degrees 35.785E
Lamagon Island
15m depth

Another very cruise-y day, going WITH the current, with a  calm flat sea and not much wind at all.  We reached our destination – a small group of islands, just north of Mindanao, reputed to be very lovely and worth a day or two.

It absolutely pelted with rain for the last few hours, which we always like – for one thing, it cleans the decks.  And also it cools us down and fills our water buckets.  So it is a bit overcast but…very lovely indeed!

There is a little coral reef here, right along the little white beach.  But – alas and alack – I am not going in to explore.  My feet are healing very swiftly, with the strong drugs I am taking most religiously.  But they are still just a bit…ghastly…so I will leave them to heal up just a bit more before I go back into the sea.

As for Oslob…that was on our list of Must See Places, because it is possible all year round to swim with whale sharks.  But…Pete talked to an Australian man in the bear at the Cebu Yacht Club, and he was very disapproving of the Oslob Experience.  The reason the whale sharks are there all year round, and not doing their round-the-world migration, is because the tour operators feed them.  This a bad thing on many levels… I still think that, had we gone to Oslo, we would have very happily frolicked with the tame (captive…) sharks.  But I would prefer a more authentic experience, and will be quite happy actually just looking at other people’s photos as an alternative.

Thursday 30th April 2015

9 degrees 42.120N
125 degrees 38.258E
Masapelid Island
16m depth

It poured with rain all night, with the odd burst of thunder and lightning.  I think the South East monsoon has finally come upon us.  The rain is very welcome; the heavy humidity when it is NOT raining…not so much…

The water at our anchorage was so very clear we found ourselves gazing longingly into the depths, where we could see…coral, fish, beauty… Pete hasn’t been in the water for many months, because of the operation on his hand, so he was very happy.  And I bandaged up my feet, put on protective socks, and I too was very happy.  It was a lovely reef, along the beach, with large expanses of beautiful coral, and many (small) fish, including a most enchanting one, black with white decorations, and wavy fins, which neither of us had ever seen before.

At about 2pm we decided to move a bit towards our southern destination.  It is a beautiful part of the Philippines, with many  lush green islands, and not much population.  We cruised happily down the channels between islands.  I, very fortunately, went up to the bow to look for a rock we could see on the charts.  So I was able to avert what could have been a disaster – low slung power lines across the channel, from one island hilltop to another…Pete went as close as possible to shore, where the lines were higher, and I …held my breath… I don’t think there was much to spare, between the top of the mast and the lines…maybe six inches…

We came into our next anchorage very cautiously, looking out for rocks, reef…and – yes! Another set of power lines, even lower…We are REALLY going to deserve our G & Ts tonight!!


Tuesday 28 April 2015

28th April - Cebu Island to southern Tacloban Island - Captain Pete's birthday

Tuesday 28th April 2015

10 degrees 07.680N
124 degrees 50.699E
South of Tacloban Island
Depth 5.5m


We are anchored under a big statue of Mary, in what looks like a neat and tidy little town.  Our charts show us that we are at the south of Tacloban Island, but we can’t find a name for the town, at all.  It might be Maasin, or even Macrohon.  But…not sure…



Pete said I should take a zoomed photo of what he thought was a town sign – my camera zoom is better than the binoculars.  This is what I came up with…very helpful; I think not!



Our trip today was very beautiful.  The sea was calm and smooth, and there were occasional clusters of fishing boats.



I was thrilled to see flocks of birds – we have hardly seen a bird, in the Philippines, thus far.



Tomorrow we will have a longer trip; I hope it is as calm and peaceful as today…

My only complaint it – it is VERY hot.  In the cabin it is 41 degrees and it feels even hotter outside.  Fortunately we have enough power to run a very small fan inside (thanks to the new solar panel set up.)  The water looks very inviting and I am grieving because…I am not getting into the sea again until the wounds on my feet have healed up.  I am swallowing strong antibiotics every four hours and there is already an improvement –thank GOD!!!

So…we are sipping G & Ts, with REAL and plentiful ice (Pete bought it from the yacht club last night, very providently,) to celebrate…


Captain Pete’s Birthday!



Sunday 26 April 2015

27th April - Port Carmen to Cebu City - Mactan Island - yacht club - carnival

Monday 27th April 2015

10 degrees 19.383N
123 degrees 58.672E
Next to Cebu Yacht Club
Mactan Island, Cebu City
Depth 4.1m

No #1 bridge from Cebu City to Mactan Island - with the solar panel gap visible
Yes!  After a whole week near the drydock between Danao and Port Carmen we finally lifted the anchor and cruised gently down the coast of Cebu Island.

Our first attempt at finding an anchorage was slightly fraught… There were people walking across the narrow channel leading to the waypoint I had marked on my navionics chart…at high tide.  Presumably at low tide it is a causeway!  So we gave that a miss and cautiously made our way towards the big bridges spanning across from Cebu City to Mactan Island.  We tried to get into the very nice little marina at the Yacht Club but – no room at the inn. We are now anchored right next to the yacht club, very close to a row of stilt houses.


Near to the boat is a large paddock full of rubble and goats.  I have a sinking feeling that there are whole families living on this site, in tiny tents constructed from old rice sacks.  There is a lot of poverty here…


That is why everyone said BEWARE of thieves in Cebu City.  But so far…all we have seen is cheerful, smiling faces.  Not that we actually expect to set eyes on sneaky thieves…surely they can just slither out to 2XS and creep onboard while we are gently snoozing down below.  But…they haven’t!

Pete was filled with joy when we went in to shore.  Just next to the yacht club is a large chandlery.



He spent a very happy hour in there, and emerged with two new stainless steel bolts and a new bung for the dinghy (the current one is a wine cork…)

The solar panels are all in place on the splendid new tilting frame.  But…there is a gap!  Today’s challenge is to find a new panel to fill this gap.  The last panel Pete bought was the perfect size and configuration.  He found it in the main street on Culion Island…the old leper colony, where there is hardly anything to buy at all.  And now we are struggling away with the search, in the second biggest city in the Philippines, with no luck yet.

It doesn’t help that today is a public holiday…(There are LOTS of public holidays in the Philippines.) 

Yesterday after our happytime in the chandlery we decided to go into town in search of some different bolts, and the elusive solar panel.  We were directed to the main road, where we could catch a mini-jeepney into town.


It wasn’t as easy as it might have been…Apparently the main road was closed off, for CARNIVAL.  We squeezed into a jeepney, along with about thirty people, and off we went.  It was OK because there are no windows – the air can flow freely. 

We had to walk a  few blocks to find the HomeBuidlers Depot – Pete’s Mecca – and when we got there…


it was closed.


The whole road was closed, for several kilometres. 

CARNIVAL!


We walked alongside one of the dancing troupes for a kilometer or so, then they merged into the melee.  The carnival proper probably didn’t start for quite a few hours but it was all GO in the street.  Sound stages, food stalls, people finding good positions from which to watch, paraders having finishing touches to their costumes .  All very cheery.



In normal times we would, of course, have stayed for the spectacle, but we really didn’t want to leave 2XS alone in the dark.  So we walked, and walked, and walked to the end of the closed off highway.  Large complaint coming up…it nearly killed me!  Both of my feet are extremely painful.  I am not going to be so unkind as to take a photo of my wounds; suffice it to say there is one big sore on the top of my right food, and an equally large one on my left ankle, and…they are ghastly!  I am doing all I can to prevent infection, blood poisoning, ulceration, and I am sure I am winning the battle.  Bloody tropics!  Both of them started off as very minor scratches – I get itchy feet, literally, and I think maybe I scratched them with a bit too much enthusiasm.  So now I limp and I hobble and I complain. 


I am no going into town with Pete this morning, much as I would love to have another jeepney trip, and anther chance to have a look at this large, noisy city.  I am going to lie on the couch with my book, and dab hydrogen peroxide on my wounds.  Oh the fun!

Saturday 25 April 2015

26th April - leaving Port Carmen - heading for Cebu City

Sunday 26th April 2015

Approaching Zeke's bar and "marina"
Our Anzac Day lunch at Zeke’s bar was all very pleasant.  Everyone had brought some sort of salad and some sort of meat for the BBQ.



Last week there were only people at the regular Saturday event; yesterday there were about thirty, pouring in from – boats, nearby, goodness knows where.  There was enough food for everyone, one way or the other.

And the BarCat was very well satisfied with the pickings.



We spent a happy time with Campbell


and Jenny, who are getting ready to sail to Japan and then to Alaska, across many many miles of vast empty ocean, in their 40’ yacht.

And we also enjoyed the company of Mel and David, who will cruise to Japan in their trawler-style boat, Night Owl II, next year.  (But not to Alaska – too cold!!)




Everyone had helpful advice – be careful of thieves in Cebu City; go swimming with whale sharks in Oslob.  And most important of all – take antibiotics Pete!!  (Thank you Nurse Jenny; he did listen to you and the blood poisoning has receded completely.  I am eternally grateful!)