Relaxation and another island :) (Day 149 + 150 of the world trip)

January 31 + February 1, 2020

Yesterday, almost nothing happened^^

In the morning, we were briefly nervous when the scooter was picked up by the landlord :p Was there an accident? "Not really," said Sascha, and so the landlord drove away with the scooter. However, we later found out that he sits on the city council here, and since the accident didn't happen too far away, he might still hear about the two white people lying in the ditch 😄😄

But there was nothing wrong with the scooter - except for the scratches that were already there BEFORE us. It seems like it has fallen several times before ;-) But if we are directly addressed, we will of course stand by it. However, Sascha mentioned that these landlords like to take advantage of this and demand overpriced "repair costs". There won't be any repairs, but cash for the landlord :p

We'll wait and see :)

After the scooter was gone, we did some laundry. The water pump was running loudly and after two hours, the laundry was finished. We hung it up on lines between PALM TREES. Who can say they've done that before?^^

The rest of the day, we spent at the beach and in the evening we had the delicious dinner one last time <3

For our onward journey the following day, we still needed transportation to the city of Lazi, from where jeepneys run to Larena, from where we would take the ferry to the island of Bohol. It departs daily at 12:30 p.m.

Sascha and Robby have a tricycle driver who would take us to Lazi, but he was in the city of Siquijor and didn't want to make the long trip. An alternative was a habal-habal ride.

Our hosts also have a fixed partner for that, but unfortunately, these partners had appointments on Saturday and were not available either.

Well - our accommodation was great but also very remote^^

In the end, Robby found a buddy who could take one of us at 9:00 a.m. and the other would have to ride with Robby on the motorcycle. The thing looks like it's from a motocross race or something, but oh well. You take what you can get :p

This morning, we got up at 6:00 a.m., had breakfast, and even received a small snack pack of peanuts from the garden <3

At 8:30 a.m. sharp, Robby's buddy showed up and we set off.

Unlike when we arrived, neither of the two vehicles was a real habal-habal, so transportation for two people, each with a large AND a small backpack, was not really intended :p

The small backpack went in front of the driver, and Jonas and I carried Kalle and Törki in the back. Jonas rode with Robby, and I rode with the buddy, and well...it was quite an adventure 😄😄

Jonas especially didn't have much fun on this machine with a nearly 20 kg backpack, and I also felt very insecure because the backpack often pulled me backward. Since half of the route consists of broken, potholed roads, it was quite cool when we finally arrived in Lazi^^

There was already a jeepney waiting, but it was going to Siquijor and not to Larena. Both cities have a port, but our ferry departs from Larena^^

The jeepney to Siquijor goes "left," passing through the west of the island, while the jeepney to Larena goes "right," crossing the east of the island.

"Up" the two cities Siquijor and Larena are not that far apart.

Robby and his buddy asked the jeepney driver what time the next jeepney to LARENA would leave, and he answered 10:45 a.m.

Oh! The journey takes a little over an hour, and you never know if he will actually leave on time ;-) Plus, even then it would be tight because our ferry departs at 12:30 p.m. and we haven't even bought a ticket yet :O

The three men had a brief discussion, and finally, Robby suggested that we should take the jeepney to Siquijor and then from there take a tricycle to Larena. That way, we wouldn't have to wait for almost 2 hours here in Lazi^^

So be it :)

With our four backpacks, we squeezed into the jeepney and started driving. Initially, there was plenty of space since it was quite empty, but more and more people got on, and it became quite cozy^^

After about an hour, the jeepney stopped again. "Transfer to Larena," he called out, and that was our cue 😄 We didn't realize that the jeepney would stop somewhere where we just had to transfer. Wow. Real luxury^^

Outside, another shared vehicle was waiting for us, we got in, and we were driven to the port in Larena. In the end, we were the only passengers, so it was almost a private ride but for a lower price :p

Arriving at the port, we then bought the ferry ticket - from Oceanjet, the provider with whom we had originally wanted to travel from Dumaguete to Siquijor. But this time it went smoothly, and we even got assigned seats ;-)

After buying the actual ticket, you go to the next window like in a drive-in, get your ticket, and then walk across the yard to another building with several windows. At one of them, you pay a port fee, and then you can walk the 5 minutes to the actual waiting area^^

Just as Jonas was stowing away the money, we encountered some costs again: just like on an airplane, you can only bring carry-on luggage :O The large backpacks were checked in as baggage, for a fee^^

It was only 10:30 a.m., but since it didn't look like there was much to do outside, we already sat down in the waiting area and did some brain training on our phones 😄😄

At some point, there was an unpleasant scene to observe -.-

Next to the waiting area, there's a kind of "sickroom" with a bed and a wheelchair. Three teenage girls (locals) had made themselves comfortable there to chill. The port staff didn't seem to mind. Although I personally didn't think it was right, we didn't say anything, of course.

But then, a real wheelchair user (a tourist) arrived, and when he saw the girls in the room, he got mad immediately. He became quite loud and sarcastically asked them if they had a disability and if not, what were they thinking occupying these places.

He also asked if they even had a ticket and were allowed to be here, and even though he was unnecessarily upset, I found it quite cheeky that the girls took photos of him.

Not surprisingly, this made him even angrier. The three of them had this "He has nothing to say to me" attitude, and they lived it out. He wanted to educate them, and these two attitudes naturally collided :p

The wheelchair user became louder and angrier, and at some point, other waiting people intervened to admonish him. He couldn't be appeased, and after several minutes of discussion involving more and more people, a security officer finally arrived.

The wheelchair user had probably hoped that the officer would reprimand the girls again, but he had apparently been called to "remove" the actual troublemaker, the wheelchair user himself. He was "allowed" to wait elsewhere, outside, and so finally, there was peace 😄

The whole thing lasted easily 10 minutes and even after the man disappeared, it remained the number one topic of murmuring 😄😄

Over time, the waiting room filled up more and more. Many tourists even sat on the floor because there were no more seats available, and interestingly, many of them were wearing face masks!

So, Jonas and I have of course heard about the Corona virus and also that there have been cases in Cebu and Dumaguete, where we have already been, but it is not a reason for panic because our immune systems are quite good :)

But of course, one is always cautious.

When it was time to board, I was happy to see that this time it was a larger ferry, and it looked quite "comfortable" 😄😄 I actually really like boating, but a little comfort is always a plus :p

Our seats were on the covered deck upstairs, and I was lucky that we had a seat by the aisle, so we could put our backpack there. Yay! So, it was still a bit cramped, but personally, it was much more comfortable for me than our previous ferry rides ;-)

The crossing lasted about 2 hours, and when we arrived, I watched with amusement as the surely 100 or more checked-in pieces of luggage were thrown onto the jetty, and the passengers searched for their belongings in a wild and hectic manner 😄😄

After Jonas and I were able to hug Kalle and Törki again, we left the port on foot. By now, we know that it's not advisable to take a taxi or tricycle directly at the port!

Because there are fixed prices, and if you get in at the port, the price is almost double compared to walking five minutes into town and taking a tricycle from there ;-)

That's what we did, and in doing so, we fended off all the recruiters again, who wanted to rent us motorcycles or were taxis or tricycles themselves 😄

The tricycle we chose in town took us at a fair price directly to our accommodation - Kali's Home.

Kali is a dog (I don't know enough to name the breed, but he has smooth white fur and black spots, but he is NOT a Dalmatian, I think :p 😄😄) and the accommodation is a homestay :)

The family lives downstairs, and the mother, our (main) host, was very warm and energetic in welcoming us <3

Actually, Jonas and I had booked two beds in the 6-bed room, but our host asked briefly if we were a couple, and when we affirmed, we were upgraded for free to the double room with a balcony! :O Wow!

She prepared the room, explained a bit more to us, and after the actual check-in, we went to the mall, a 5-minute walk away, to get some food 😄

The mall already looked quite nice from the outside and very modern. Outside there are several huge parking lots, and there are also taxis and habal-habals everywhere in front of all the entrances 😄

The mall itself was quite cool actually. It feels like 50% of it is food offerings - restaurants, cafes, donut stands, etc. - and otherwise, it has the typical stores: clothes, electronics, and several hairdressers.

After walking through everything once, we decided on a kitchen in the food court. It had exactly ONE vegetarian dish, and we had it with rice^^ Normally, you order around 5 little pots with different dishes, but since our selection was limited, we only got one each :D

It was nice as an appetizer but not so fulfilling, so we looked for our next input. At the entrance, we had seen a restaurant selling vegetable spring rolls, so we tried them there :)

Unfortunately, the spring rolls were the only thing they offered without meat :D :D So, we had a few mini spring rolls and a drink, and yeah.

Still not satisfied, we made our third and final stop - at the donut stand :D :D

Everyone treated themselves to two super delicious donuts, and after devouring them and feeling somewhat full, Jonas decided to get a haircut.

This time, communication went better than in Vietnam, and Jonas is also satisfied with the result! :)

Before we headed back to the accommodation, we quickly stopped by the supermarket to buy some toast and fruit. The supermarket was huge, and it's crazy how the Filipinos shop here :D :D

The shopping carts are filled to the top, and the package sizes are ridiculous :O For shampoo, you don't buy a bottle but sealed packs like in a hotel. Then there are 20 packs of instant soup per shopping cart and yeah...

With our few items (somehow cookies also found their way to us^^), we almost felt out of place, but we observed the hustle and bustle with interest :D :D

At the checkout, it took soooo long! Just like in the USA, there are "packers" here who pack everything in bags, paper bags, or even cardboard boxes. Ei ei ei...

The woman in front of us, for example, had bought so much stuff that she sat down on a bench behind the cash register and texted on her phone. We were already wondering if she was calling her husband or something because we couldn't imagine how this small, petite woman was going to transport all that stuff :D :D

Other countries, other customs^^

Back at the accommodation, we were greeted warmly again, and when asked, we briefly mentioned that we had a little trouble finding vegetarian dishes.

That lit up our host's eyes, and she was happy to help! Until today, she had a Dutch guest who was also a vegetarian, and a German who had been here before always looked for meatless options, so now we have a few tips for tomorrow night.

What I found particularly cute: We also immediately got a tip that you can do yoga and meditation nearby. That seems to be a thing for vegetarians, our host said 😄😄😄

When you stop eating meat, you get put into a drawer right away :D :D

Although it is only 7:00 p.m., I'm already looking forward to bed, and tomorrow we will probably explore the island by bus. It is much bigger than Siquijor, so let's see where it takes us tomorrow :)