Off to see Sebu
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2008
1
5
8
Trip End
Mar 28, 2008
Lake Sebu,
Philippines
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
We were not sure yet whether we would go as far as Lake Sebu, and I was a bit worried about the accommodation situation there, as Yoong seems to have an allergic reaction to wooden village houses (as we found on our trip to Guizhou in China). However, when we arrived at GenSan, the bus station seemed a bit far from the town centre, it was raining and we were surrounded by tricycle drivers trying to get our custom. There was a bus about to leave for Koronandel (also known as Marbel) so we decided to continue on our way
01 Marbel Town
. It would be possible to do a day trip to the lake from there. It took less than an hour. We went for a walk to see if we could find suitable accommodation and some food. We were told there were no hotels left now, only a pension house. We checked it out - quite a new place, but it didn't appeal to us. We were directed to a "food court" when we asked for a place to eat. It tiurned out to be a kind of cafeteria called "Food Harbour", where we had a decent lunch with some interesting desserts.We were still undecided about whether to continue on to Surallah, or go back to GenSan, but walking back to the Bus Station we passed a jeepney terminal, where we established that we could get a jeepney to Surallah, half an hour away, and connect to another jeepney to Lake Sebu, where, we were assured, there would be accommodation available. We managed to get the front seat, next to the driver, much nicer than being squashed into the back with little visibility.
The second trip was longer as it was over mountain roads and it was dark by the time we arrived at the little T'boli tribal village by the lake. The T'boli people are noted for their colourful costumes, weaving and beadwork - and hospitality.
There was no sign of any hotels, but, when we asked at a nearby shop, we were told there was a resort up the road. We would need to take a motorcycle there at this time of night. Our experience of "resorts" is that they are generally expensive and we said as much
02 Going to Surallah
. The old couple who owned the shop suggested we have a look at the resort and if it didn't suit us we could stay with them. We decided to leave out the middle step and take them up on the offer. We shared a fairly narrow bed - though there was a couch one of us could have used if we got too cramped.Our hosts were Carlito and Heidi. They introduced us to some sons and grandchildren, and showed us photos of a daughter who had married an American (of Russian origin) and was living in New Hampshire. They were in the process of organising passports so they could visit their daughter in America.
Carlito gave us each a boiled egg from a metal drum in front of the shop. But when we cracked it open, we could see there was something very strange about it. It looked black inside, though in the poor light it was hard to make it out. We soon realised it was a baby bird inside the egg - a duckling we were told. Yoong was unable to take more than a small bite, though I made the effort, adding salt and vinegar to make it more palatable. Carlito also gave me a beer to help it along. I couldn't quite make it to the end, aware that I was eating beak and bones and not quite sure how to go about it. Later, various young people came up to the shop and bought these things by the bagfull. It is called a "balot," and is popular throughout the Philippines, but something I have never eaten in my life before, and hope never to eat again.
We went out for a walk to find some food. No doubt they would provide some for us, but we didn't want to rely too much upon their hospitality. We found a little eating house with the usual fish soup and rice dishes. Sure enough, we were asked later if we wanted to join Carlito's family for dinner, which was quite late at night. We declined and settled down to sleep after our full day's travelling.
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