Da Trip Page 15

By this time I had to have a little talk to Maricel who was constantly worried about getting a tan. White is better she says, and she was fighting a loosing battle not to get tan and it made her very unhappy. I tried to tell her that tan in the US is good and not to worry you will loose it soon enough but the alcohol rub with cotton for 2 hours at night continued. The only way to get to the Nipa hut hotel was to go on the beach. The back way was through the jungle with an overgrown path. So the bike had to go real fast so not to sink in the soft sand. Sometimes the beach was the only clearing on the Island. On the beach was a Marine base and young marines would make their rounds with M-16’s around the town and through the jungle to keep the place safe. Their was no police as I could see. The Marines had a tour of duty for about 8 months and back to there home base in Manila. The town of about 4 sory, sory stores had a Karaoke bar run by an East German lady who moved from another resort coz of no tourist. Her husband who we didn’t meet was Pilipino. She ran the Karaoke bar like a storm trooper but was friendly. Songs were free but had to buy a drink. What, you don’t drink beer only sodas? “What kind of German are you” she said to me. So when the marines came in I bought them all a couple of rounds of beer and everyone was happy. The beach was nice but not as good as Boracay. Soft and sandy and no reefs off the beach like in Boracay. We met Peter, a Belgium who was nap-sacking around the island. He just came back from running through the jungle with the natives. He said they were naked no shoes. They hunted for him cooked the hunt and he ate with them. They lived deep in the jungle and did not want to be in civilization. They charged for his tour and they use the money to buy knives and tools for hunting. Some had guns and rifles bought from the money they earned to aid in their hunting. Peter said they averaged about 6 children per family and 2 were expected to make it. The tourist’s beau rue has a friendlier tour for 10,000 peso. Peter went directly to the natives and paid 1700 peso. Peter said they moved so fast through the jungle in their bare feet he couldn’t keep up with them in sneakers. Peter had the red raw marks on his armpits from months of backpacking. He would stay in a nipa hut one day and the next camp on the beach for free. He was a policeman in Belgium and was allowed to take a one year leave of absence one time in his life with half pay. While we were there a man from the village was missing. They could see that he was collecting coconuts and a place where he went to the toilet. But he disappeared and wasn’t found while we were there. They suspected a big crock but no one knew for sure. You have to purchase a permit to enter the National Park 340 peso for both of us and then 500 for a boat ride to the underground river. Wow, wow, wow I was impressed with this underground river. Cathedral ceilings bats and black birds that flew in the dark, the ones they make bird nest soup out of the nests. No end the dark underground river. We got on a paddle boat, [all fiberglass and unsinkable] and a car battery and a hand held light was given to the one sitting in the front [me]. I couldn’t get enough of it I never in my life seen anything so beautiful. There was a stag light that resembled the virgin marry holding a baby I had to look at that one a long time it was amazing. On the way to the underground river there is a stopping station to wait for the paddle boats. Monkeys would hang out looking to steal anything they could get a hand on. You were not allowed to feed them so they learned how to steal. Big monitor lizards with tongues like snakes were also looking for free food. Back at the nipa hut the hostess made a great dinner of fresh fish and rice. To be continued: page 15