POLLILIO ISLAND PART TWO

    

July 22, 2007 by John  
Filed under John Grant

Well we survived the night in Port Real and we had boarded the little boat that was taking us to Pollilio.

It really was like a banana boat, piled high with coconuts and bottles of fizzy pop and nothing much else. We passengers were more like an after thought that the main reason of transit. But that was fine, it was all good fun and as usual everybody was really friendly, the crew, other passengers so there were no problems.

We relaxed up on deck, watching the mainland disappear from sight and then we settled back, anticipating our arrival at our Filipino friend’s family home.

It was an uneventful boat ride, although very pleasant indeed. We arrived at the port area of Pollilo approximately 3 hours later. We followed the few other passengers over the coconuts, dragging our silly suitcases with us. No one else had more than a plastic bag in their hands so we must have looked a real sight!!

The main town area was a real surprise. To us holiday makers from the West, it was like stepping back in time. There were narrow roads cris- crossing between various different buildings, hardly any vehicles at all, mostly a few peddle tricycles and push bikes. The main road seemed to stretch down from the port, housing on either side of it a couple of tiny little stores which I labelled as “the mall”, also a church, a hotel, the police building and of course the basketball court which appeared to be the centre of everything.

I must stress that all the people of Pollilo were extremely friendly and courteous and at all times we felt totally safe and secure. However we were met everywhere with stares of amazement, fascination and curiosity. It felt like being a film star. People in the street would stop in groups and point, either amazed or smiling. Others would come over to us, call out to us, shake our hands, want to speak with us, it was quite an experience. By no means was it menacing but it was like being under a microscope the entire visit that we were in Pollilo. We could not go anywhere without people following us, staring at us and coming over to us.

It was a pleasure to meet these people. There appeared to be a very simple of way life here but everyone was so happy and hospitable.

Some things took a little bit of getting used to. Mostly the fact that there was a curfew in force each night. By 10pm everybody had to be off the streets and if not you would be put in the jail, as our Filipino friend put it. Also between 6am and 2am every single day the whole supply of electricity was turned off, so there was no power or lights. Worst of all, no air-con. Oh my God, that made me suffer!!!

One of the nicest experiences there on the island was when we took a walk through the town and we visited the main school there. It was around 4pm by then and lessons had finished. The school was open, we were able to just walk in and the children were all coming out of class or playing on the field. We instantly became like the “pied piper”. This is someone in a story who played a pipe and all the children in the town followed him down the street wherever he went. This happened to us. We were swamped with eager, excited, happy young faces, all wanting to pose for our camera and video camera.

We met some of the teachers too, it was a real nice time. Once we left the school grounds nearly 100 children followed us through the town, calling, singing, chatting away with us. Such friendliness to strangers is a wonderful thing, we felt so safe and happy.

We also paid a couple of visits to our Filipino friend’s family home where his parents still lived, about 20 minutes tricycle ride away from the town through the forest. This was a beautiful trip, we rode down tracks and paths, through lush green forest and rice fields and over rivers. We finally came to their place, an amazing little shack of wood and leaves where apparently they worked the rice field and harvested coconuts, taking them into the main town once a week.

It was absolutely simple and beautiful here. Such a different way of life from anything I had ever experienced before and yet our hosts as always were hospitable and so friendly and on our arrival presented us with a platter of freshly caught seafood which looked amazing. They had no real possessions to speak of and I don’t know how they survive out there, but there were no complaints, no feelings of misery, just happiness and delight at our visit. It is always very humbling when you belong to a materialistic “throw away” society and you are treated so well by hosts who really have so little. But I have found the Filipinos gifts of friendliness, hospitality and genuine happiness to look after you is one of the best gifts anyone can receive.

We met people living in the woods and people living in the town. Everyone treated us with respect and friendliness. Pollilo is a very beautiful island too, full of lush greenery and lovely coastline. As always this is complimented by the Filipino people themselves.

Yes it was a bit of a culture shock visiting such a remote place, but I am so glad that I went. It goes to show, if you have everything or you have nothing, you can still have a happy and good way of life if you have the right attitude and frame of mind.

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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.