A TRIP TO POLLILIO ISLAND PART ONE

    John

July 19, 2007 by John  
Filed under John Grant

VIDEO LINKS WITH MUSIC AT END OF THIS BLOG

I have a very good friend who has just graduated as a qualified nurse in Manila after 4 years of work and study. He and his family originally come from Pollilo island. YES its HAROLD I spoke about last week.

So it was really nice to be invited on a trip with him back to his family home last year. It would be an opportunity to see the island and explore and to visit his family home in the woods.

My English friend and I were invited and we really did not know what to expect. I have written this piece with “tongue in cheek” but all details are fact.

The three of us left Manila in the afternoon and took a long drive to Port Real in Quezon Province. Here we had to stay the night to catch the boat early the following morning to Pollilo island.

My friend and I are English and we were only really used to hotels or Resorts or even comfortable pension houses. But this experience was something else!!!

Don’t get me wrong, the Pollilo island trip was wonderful, a truly amazing experience, but it was not what we expected and it did push our boundaries a little. Only because as Europeans we were not used to the way of things though.

At Port Real we were literally dropped, cases and all in what looked like a builders yard. It apparently had been or was going to be a Resort (I am still not sure which). I think the place had been torn apart by storms and flooding and mud slides that had occurred a few months previously.

So here we were, 2 English men and our Filipino friend, standing in a mud bath looking around us at dilapidated, run down buildings, trying not to drop our bags in the swamp, looking around for someone to help us. Where were our rooms? Where were our beds? Where was the reception area? Where were the staff? Where the hell was the bar??????

Everywhere was deserted except for one or two locals dressed in very little clothing, peering at us from a hut or two near the thicket of trees on the outskirts of the muddy area we were standing in.

“This is nice and picturesque” I murmured, admiring the overbearing trees all around blocking any view of anything. There were some buildings in front of us and to one side but we could not tell what they were. Not really sure what to do, my friend and I turned to our Filipino companion and we said, “You are in control, what do we do now?”

Bless him, he went wandering to look for somebody to aid us. By now it was getting dark and the wind was picking up quite fiercely, making the trees thresh around wildly above our heads, giving a very spooky atmosphere. This night was going to be real fun.

Eventually we were accompanied by someone who appeared to be quite shocked at our arrival and seemed not to know what to do with us.

He did find 2 keys from somewhere and took us across the quagmire to a building with 2 doors in it and barred windows. This apparently was our accommodation.

Excitedly we went inside, looking forward to our creature comforts, a hot shower and a comfortable bed to lay on.

Silly silly Englishmen. There was no water, kitchen, no food. There was one room with a bed in it with damp sodden sheets. Bare floor, no furniture except for a mildew ridden armchair that was in a state of collapse. I wont describe the CR (bathroom facilities), but I think there was as much wildlife inside as out in the forest.

I totally understand that many people live in the Philippines in very poor conditions and this description here is by no way a criticism of the way of things. I am purely writing this from the point of view of an Englishman who had no idea of what to expect and this is a light hearted summary of events.

We are used to comforts and free running water and clean sheets and lighting, air con and room service. This taught me a well needed lesson.

Well we settled in as best we could, but our next dilemma was, what are we going to eat and drink? I didn’t really fancy tramping around the forest area in the dark trying to snag myself a wild rabbit or deer or whatever I might find roaming out there. I am not very good with killing things and making them edible. I have to have it washed and wrapped and made presentable so that it does not resemble anything living whatsoever.

So, seeing as I was not going to find a deli counter in the middle of the forest, we turned to our Filipino friend again and said, “no pressure on you, but can you go and find us some food and drink please?”

He disappeared into the night on the search for sustenance. For one brief crazy moment I wondered if we would ever see him again.

Well now, we settled down in our luxury accommodation in the woods, wrapped in wet sheets, armchair barricaded against the door, playing with the bugs and insects, waiting for our friend to come back from the hunt.

Bless him, he did return an hour later with fried chicken, French fries, burgers and some beers. How he did this I don’t know but he did mention something about a long long walk down the road in the dark, down the hillside to a little eatery.

We were so hungry and so grateful we cheered and patted him on the back and then munched into our gourmet meal, raising our bottles of San Mig Lite in a toast of thanks for what we were about to receive.

We actually slept quite well that night despite my more than vivid imagination running wild all night as I lay there, listening to the sounds of the night in the forest.

In the morning we learned indeed that the Resort had been devastated by weather conditions which of course are beyond anyone’s control. We were fine and had stayed safe and well throughout the night. So we were then ready to head to the Port and catch the boat to Pollilo island.

It was an unexpected and fun start to our little trip. By no means am I complaining about what happened. It was a lesson learned and definitely something I wont forget.

The people we did meet along the way, especially at the Port where we caught the boat were friendly and happy as always, if a little surprised at seeing these white men with their suitcases struggling onto a boat that was full of coconut sacks and bottles of coca cola and beer.

But as is always the case in the Philippines, whether we are in the heart of the city or out in the heart of the countryside, everyone was wonderful to us, helpful and cheerful.

It makes exploring different parts of the country such fun.

So we caught the boat in the morning, and set off from the mainland on our 3 hour ride to Pollilo island.

More to follow soon…………………… HAVE YOU BROADBAND THEN CLICK BELOW

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About the Author:  John is always finding something new to share with the readers here. John is from Great Britain where he has a background in Retail, Banking and other endeavors. John is a member of the Gay community and writes for gay blogs in the Philippines.