Busting for Busuanga

My time in the Philippines has gone in fits and starts, like life it’s presented a wide variety of unplanned events that have given about as much back as I’ve been willing to put in. While I can’t claim to be enamoured with Manila, I still enjoyed the time spent there. The plan had been to return to Puerto Princesa once replacing the laptop, but things changed. Instead I took a ferry to Coron Town, in the far north of Palawan. The town itself is busy and uninspiring, but of course I got the hell out of there as quickly as humanly possible. The actual island is called Busuanga, and whilst not being fringed by beautiful white sand beaches hold many delights that the average tourist will rarely get to see. Outside Coron there is nothing except local communities and one or two guesthouses. Most people come here for the diving, and stay in town. No way was I content with that choice, peace and quiet is what I demand. (Photo: Local waterfalls - Concepcion, Palawan)

 (Photo: Enjoying a beautiful sunset - Calambuyan Island, Palawan)

A circuitous route leads you around the island, the local communities are serviced by jeepneys, the ubiquitous vehicles that transport the majority of the local populous wherever you happen to be here. They are far from mere passenger transport though, they ship most of the goods around the island and the manner in which they organise it runs like clockwork, once it’s running. Early every morning the jeepneys leave their home base, heading for Coron Town. They stop at every place of habitation that shows any sign of life, either picking up people or shopping lists. The cost is ludicrously cheap, about £0.70 for the ninety-minute journey. Bearing in mind that many of the locals only earn about £15 a month it’s still a substantial amount of their income to go personally to market, hence the tendency to have your wares picked up for you. On the way into town the jeepneys prove to be quite roomy, if slightly restricted on head space. Which is no problem for the majority of Filipinos. (Photo: Coral beach - Calambuyan Island, Palawan)

The return journey is absolutely chaos, or so it seemed to me. It takes in the region of five hours to gather together the goods ordered along route. Some folks have goods waiting, which are unceremoniously crammed aboard the jeepney. Others have the shopping done by the jeepney operator, or his assistant. As the goods arrive much of it's stacked on the roof, but the inside is chock-a-block with perishable goods. All of which has the name and community of the recipient written on the bag or crate. As the driver’s mate is trying to load an ever-growing stack of goods into and onto the jeepney passengers gather, squeezing tightly into every available space. Every now and again everyone has to get out, piles of goods are forced into the every dwindling space, then an already full compliment of passengers must try and insert themselves back in. Honestly, it’s impossible to move. Once packed in you can’t even move either of your feet, being a sardine is luxury in comparison. (Photo: Joy, Ann & Mike's daughter, with friend - Concepcion, Palawan)

(Photo: Outer fringes of the fishing village - Concepcion, Palawan)

It’s a marvel to watch, huge packs of buns, trays of eggs, crates of drink, sacks of rice, cooking pots, brooms, electrical goods, vehicle parts and almost anything else you could think of is loaded into every nook and cranny. The goods come first really, the passengers are given secondary consideration. Amazingly everything and everyone seems to find a space, some on the roof, hanging off the back or sides, if there is anything to stand, sit on or cling onto someone will do so. Finally, when vehicle is close to bottoming out, they set off for the return trip to their respective community. I guess you could call each place a village, but they’re more like a parish, loosely clustered groups of habitation, they call them Barangays. On Busuanga, outside of Coron Town, there is nothing but little Sari Sari stores. I hesitate to call them convenience stores, they’re little more than a stall selling sweets, cigarettes, booze and a limited number of basic goods. You couldn’t rely on these to buy your weekly requirements from. (Photo: Outside toilet, though I never saw it used - Concepcion fishing village, Palawan)

As the jeepney makes its ungainly way along the broken dirt road it stops wherever required. A simple slap on the side indicates you want to stop, or the drivers mate will let the driver know when a drop off is due. He clings on the back of the vehicle, ready to jump off and put a block under the wheel whenever it stops, there is no such thing as a handbrake. In his little satchel he has a wedge of plastic bags with shopping lists and relevant change for everyone who’s placed an order. Rarely is there any delay, at each stop the goods are quickly found, despatched and change given. I get the feeling the charge for transporting goods is minute, it’s certainly cheaper than going into town yourself. Virtually no-one on the island has a four-wheeled vehicle, and the only road, which they refer to as the National Highway, is potholed, dusty gravel, interspersed with sections of concrete. It’s more dirt road than highway, the further north you go the worse it becomes. (Photo: Girls are far more numerous in the Philippines, maybe why there is such an excess of young women for foreigners - Concepcion, Palawan)

My stopping point was less than halfway along the coast, a small community called Concepcion. It has no beach, though does boast a couple of choices to accommodate the occasional tourist who makes it that far. Along the route are a few high priced dive resorts, of which a steady dribble come to Concepcion for a drink or change of environment. Despite the lack of a beach I’ve really enjoyed my time there, the mixed Danish/Filipina family have been lovely to stay with. I fell quickly into the relaxed way of life there, feeling very comfortable, a part of every day life. All the locals are very friendly, all smiles and obliging welcomes each time I pass them. A couple of days were spent on an offshore island, Calambuyan, where a night was spent, having the island to ourselves as the only other visitors had been brief stop offs on their way back from a nearby dive. The coral is amongst the best I’ve seen in recent years, vibrant colours, profuse variations, and reams of other marine life. You can even watch from shore and see the fish shoaling mere metres away. I had a lovely time there, sleeping in the open, watching the fireflies dance, watching a delightful sunset and listening to the gentle lapping of the water on the shore. I actually considered staying longer, but you have to keep your own stock of food and without refrigeration it would be hard to maintain a decent diet for more than a few days. (Photo: Yours truly, looking industrious - Ann and Mikes Guesthouse - Concepcion, Palawan)

But now I’ve left the wonderful confines of Calambuyan and Concepcion, I’m on my way to Cebu. I’m not sure how long I’ll be there for, I’ve a family of a friend to look up. I’ve a mother and daughter to re-unite, something that appeals to my better nature. The intricacies of the situation are unimportant, for me I like the idea of bringing a bit of happiness into people’s life. But there you go, I’m a sucker for creating a bit of happiness for those less fortunate. (Photo: Bathing beauties, not wasting the washing water - Fishing village, Concepcion)

(Photo: A near perfect last night's sunset - Concepcion, Palawan)