Miss~Mureena---Miss~Moray: impressions

Showing posts with label impressions. Show all posts

2013-01-15

Land of waiting, and waiting for the boats

Two nights ago after dinner we arrived back to our lobby and it was full of people. Some our friends plus some others were spending the quality time of waiting the ferry to leave. The Milagrosa ferry was supposed to leave that day to Puerto Princesa...and it might leave later or the next morning. No one knew. The normal schedule was supposed to be the ferry leaving Tuesday 15th at 3pm. Then at 6 pm. Then... no one knows. The hostel staff started preparing rooms for everyone again.

We got our information already the night before. We had spent a nice evening having barbeque at Coco Verde, taking propably the bottom time driving the scooter there (30min) and back taking even more time. So, we came arrived home kinda late and our friends and the staff from our hostel had been worried and made a plan to rescue us. By the time we got back at 10 pm, all the people still awake were pretty drunk, singing videoke and playing pool and I can just imagine how our rescue had been pulled out.

Anyway, our ferry to Iloilo had never left from Puerto Princesa to this direction because the engine had broken down. There was also a very strong wind and the storm alarm might have happened any minute, then the boats definetely will not move. Ok. We were also supposed to be departing on Tuesday afternoon. it is now Thursday and the boat is not anywhere near here. And again, it might leave today from the origin. We will anyway miss our flights to Hong Kong (scheduled tonight) since the next possible boat might arrive in few days. The news are, that it will be leaving tonight at 6pm from there and arrive here by noon tomorrow.

The next step will be to try to do something to our visas in Visayas, which will be another wait, because it is weekened when we arrive...and decide another place to go. All in all, we have been 'trapped' here the for 3-4 days. It is also a bit intimidating since our pockets will be empty soon from the cash we put in there at departure from Coron. We should have left on Monday, when the ferry was going on time.

Oh well, I am still happy that we were not trying to get back to Coron. The ferry we took here has been here almost our whole stay. It finally left last night. By now, it should already have been back from Manila once already. First delay was due to bad weather, low pressure etc, but we were also told that if there is not enough passengers or cargo, it will not leave soon. Just another week when ferries are not moving for no reason a all.

I feel sorry for those people who just came from party capital Boracay through Iloilo to get to Puerto Princesa and were stuck in here for 24 hours, in the Cuyo city party capital.

2013-01-11

One morning in Coron

2013-01-08

Cock of Coron

2012-12-28

Good bye Finland

Leaving was hard this time ,and that has never happened before! More stress than normal but also the normal last minute packing-cleaning-getting ready routine in a house that was filled with someone elses stuff as well. Now sitting in a bus, trying to breathe, hoping I have everything. Backpack weight was less than 12kg and I also have all my diving/snorkeling gear in there, fins even. Not bad. Of course I am now wearing my multi-layer travel outfit (known by many as 'this did not fit in my bag'- outfit) which happens to be multicoloured too.

Yesterdays news said the main airport (where we are heading now) was suffering from a computer problem and heated up with crouds waiting to check in. Yesterday we also saw news about the new typhoon in Philippines now passing Coron, Busuanga island in Palawan, which is our first destination.

The bus just passed by a spot where 2 guys were climbing an ice wall next to a big road. Only in Finland?

Writing here in bus with my phone and 3G connection reminds me of my first interrail I did in Europe. It was February, not the season for an interrail and it was also a bit out of fashion already. But in the beginning year 1995 there were no low cost airlines, definitely not web resources about hostels or other transport and of course no way I had a mobile phone. Contact with hostels was done by a pay phone (coins or card) at the destinations railway station hoping you had copied the right number at home from a hostel guide, with local currency...a different one in every European country.. And what to do when you did not see your friend waiting you at the station in heavy rain in Paris? Call home, because your friend had called Finland to tell my mom to tell me she was late. After two hours the rain and panic was gone and the friend was there. I also remember having a lot of thought what c-cassettes to bring along for they took such a major amount of space in my bag. Real maps, no navigator and that is the same way I like it now and I hardly ever get lost. And the last, the most precious thing: my dads old system camera with real film. I could only afford one 36 pictures colour film to be developed afterwards, so it was only 36 pictures during the one month rail trip. Plus extra nervousness waiting if they all were good enough (sharp, lighting correct) to be shown in an album.
Now, wireless working, I will soon check the typhoon situation in Palawan, send this to bit universe and maybe play a game of Scrabble with a random player somewhere in the world, or take an old fashioned travel favorite- a pocket book- to my hand and enjoy the rest of the ride to the airport.