A double ferry ride adventure to get here, but worth it. I put myself back into a dorm which worked out great because I immediately started talking to people again. I could tell that I needed it. A bunch of us from the hostel went out for dinner and drinks. It was great to indulge in a little bit of narcissism, talking about myself, my travels, jobs, etc. It was nice getting to know a few others as well. One thing that's nice about talking to travelers is that, the more you do it, the more apt you are to just let your guard down and talk honestly. We had a good chat about traveling with someone versus alone and how hard it can be when you team up with someone. Those of us that did it didn't anticipate how hard it would be. It was just another case of "you're not alone". Much like my initial breakdown when I came back to Oz just after Christmas, it was comforting to know that other people had similar experiences.
I sort of wish I had a bit more time here, but I (foolishly?) prebooked my hostel in Cebu city. It's definitely a great place to travel solo. Every night I managed to hang out with people from the hostel for dinner and drinks. Every night we acquired someone new as well. The hostel I stayed at was pretty good. The air con wasn't quite the best, but it did the job at times. Also, free breakfast where I could make myself peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for later when I would go out exploring.
The first full day there I wandered around and explored. I booked myself a day trip out to Balicasag Island for the next day and checked out some of the beachside shops. I had a bite too eat at The Rockaway... I would not recommend the gyros. I almost psyched myself into getting food poisoning and throwing up, but managed to get passed it. I was delighted to be back in live music mode. After a little afternoon siesta, I went out for dinner with some of the hostel crew and enjoyed an acoustic set while eating dinner... or rather dessert. I had a late lunch and didn't really want much to eat, so dessert for dinner it was. We had some flyers for free beer, so we moved locations. I only made it halfway through mine and nipped off, exhausted.
The next day I headed out for two dives on Balicasag. The first dive was pretty good, the vis wasn't that bad. There were heaps of turtles and we even came upon a patch of garden eels. After a bit of a break and snack we were back in for dive 2 at a different location. The vis was reduced to about 5 meters here. We did a wall dive and you couldn't see too far out into the deep water. I was getting ridiculously bored, so I started chowing down my air as I attempted to make rings with the bubbles from my regulator. I was mostly unsuccessful, the exhaust valve is almost too efficient for this. I started swimming upside down and keeping tabs on everyone else. It made me realize how much I need a task while diving. Whether it's guiding, teaching, or perhaps one day welding, I need a task as fun dives aren't really doing it for me anymore... unless they are purposeful i.e. thresher dive, wreck dive, etc. Still, a dive is a dive and it went pretty well. However, I did notice once I got to the surface that I had been skip breathing a lot and had a decent headache upon surfacing. However, some coffee and a lie down helped.
A couple of people from the boat who were staying at the hostel went out to lunch and I joined them. I was able to let my gear dry out at the shop and picked it up later in the afternoon so it could finish drying in the room. We also had a brown out that day that I was unaware of. Yeah, they don't call them black outs, they call them brown outs. The power was supposed to come back on around 6 pm. It came back on around 8, just as we were heading out to dinner. We all ran for the showers instead before heading out. Most of us just got beads of water, but some were able to get a couple of streams before calling it quits. We had a nice diner again, and afterwards went out for drinks. I didn't order anything, I was exhausted from diving, and needed a coffee or sleep. But, still, I went with to some upstairs club. I was fascinated the whole time by one of the bouncers. He looked like a mix of Billy Bob Thorton and Sean Connery. Most amusing. Eventually we all headed back.
I was loving this being back on my own, it was great. The next day I decided to rent a bike and head up to the Chocolate Hills and Tarsier Sanctuary. There was a guy in our hostel checking out and going to Tagbilaran. He also wanted to check out the sites so I told him I'd drive him up so he could drop off his stuff and rent a bike. We frog hopped with each other on the way up. We passed Loboc river, drove through the man made forest and eventually came to the Chocolate Hills. I had low expectations since many people had been underwhelmed by them. It was neat. But all I really needed was to go to the lookout point, take pictures, look for a moment, and then I was good to go. Glad to have driven myself instead of having to wait for others on a tour.
It was time to retrace steps most of the way with a slight detour to the Tarsier Sanctuary. We actually saw a few of the tiny guys and they were quite fascinating to watch, even if we only did so for a short while. With that done, we thought about grabbing some food, a late lunch/early dinner. I had heard that the Bohol bee farm was good, so we went there... after getting bit lost on a side road. The food was probably the best I had in the Philippines and wasn't too expensive all things considered, especially as it was all organic and grown there. I had ribs with an awesome lumpia (think spring roll type thing) stuffed with cheese, cilantro, lettuce, avocado, and other deliciousness I can't remember. And, of course, homemade ice cream for dessert. Afterwards, the two of us went back to our respective hostels. I snuck in a bit of a nap, wandered the beach and headed back, content to have an early night. I caught some of the people from the hostel on my way back, and they persuaded me to go out with them. We had dinner and drinks and I excused myself so I could pack up and not annoy everyone in the room the following morning. It would have been nice to stay an extra day, but I was due back in Cebu city to get things settled before heading off to the Maldives.
