Port Barton, I had heard it was nice there but this is really nice, a little paradise well off the beaten track but well worth the effort of getting there.
We were picked up early by Oon who I had arranged to drive us to Port Barton in his 4WD mini van. The significance of the 4WD did not register until we left the sealed road and hit a road which may as well have been a test track for Land Rover. Lucky the road was relatively dry but even so there were many times we were sure the van would get bogged in the deep, rutted and muddy wash aways and we would be out pushing in our sandals! It was rough, unbelievably rough but a hightlight all the same. The track wandered through some of the thickest and mountainous jungle we have ever been in, very few signs of civilisation apart from an occasional patch of flat jungle that had been cleared and was now a deep green patch of rice paddy with a thatched growers hut perched on the edge. We were all hanging on while the van rocked, rolled, groaned and sometimes bottomed out while navigating the tortuous road. It was only and hour and a half but we will remember that ride for a long time.
Then we glimpsed the blue sea through the jungle and we broke through into Port Barton, a sensational village fronting an lovely while sandy beach and surrounded by thick jungle. We rolled up to our accomodation, Summer Beach Bungalows and were allocated a beach facing bungalow each which was in a beautiful lawn/coconut tree area running down to the sand. We were greeted warmly by the manager who Larry had been dealing with on the internet and nothing was too much trouble for her or the other staff. Ken and Larry were expecting the cold water showers but it was a bit of a shock to Rabbit but he became used to cold showers from then on as all subsequent places we stayed only had cold showers. The weather was very hot so a cold shower was welcome apart from maybe early in the morning.
Rabbit had another massage while Ken and Larry explored the beach and surrounding village, chatting to many locals and the odd fellow traveller. This is not a tourist town and has few facilities but was the most delightful place we have stayed in since Phukett in 1972 when it was a backpacker only destination.
Dinner was interesting that night because it was Valentines Day with all the Philippines embracing this tradition and Summer Beach bungalows had a Valentines day romantic dinner scheduled complete with tables decorated with candles and a corsage for the ladies. As we were 3 men, the staff thought it hilarious and many jokes were made about us having a romantic Valentines dinner together! Ken and Rab went to bed earlyish, Larry hooked up with a guy from Sydney and went bar hopping (there were only 2) and chatted with the friendly locals until late. The streets were unlighted, dirt tracks with nipa hut style houses and all the families were outside, still eating, socialising or singing badly on distorted videok units. It was a real experience.
