Me lendasime Palawanile Cebust, l2bi Manila (muuseas, Manila lennujaam on t2iesti kohutav – peaaegu k6ik lennud j22vad hiljaks ja see on seal t2iesti normaalne – meie neljast Manilasse saabunud v6i sealt v2ljunud lennust j2id kolm hiljaks), ning saabusime Puerto Princesasse, saare pealinna. Kui Palawani m6istes oli tegu suure linnaga, j2ttis see Cebu v6i Bacolodiga v6rreldes meile siiski m6nusa ja rahuliku mulje. Meil oli plaanis linnas veeta kaks 88d, et saaksime enne saare p6hjaossa suundumist kylastada l2hedalasuvat kuulsat Maa-alust J6ge.
Seega j2rgmisel p2eval l2ksimegi me Maa-aluse J6e tuurile. Meil oli olnud sellel teatud p2eval plaanis linnast v2lja minna ka teisel p6hjusel – samal p2eval toimusid Filipiinidel yldvalmised. Ja tegu oli t6epoolest v2ga yldise valimisega, kuna yhe p2evaga valiti ametisse absoluutselt k6ik, alates k6ige pisemast kohaliku omavalitsuse ametnikust kuni riigi presidendini v2lja. Kuna traditsiooniliselt kipuvad valimised Filipiinidel v2givaldseks kiskuma (kuigi seda eelk6ige suurlinnas Manilas, mitte maakantides nagu Palawan), otsustasime me kindluse m6ttes asulatest eemal hoida. Tuli v2lja, et seda tegime me ilmaasjata, kuna valimised m88dusid sujuvalt ja ilma probleemideta ning isegi Manilas sai 'ainult' seitse inimest surma. Filipiinide standardite j2rgi oli tegemist eriliselt rahuliku ettev6tmisega.
Ylimalt huvitav on olnud olla v66ras riigis yldvalimiste ajal ning loomulikult oleme me kasutanud v6imalust, et ennast Filipiinide poliitikaga ja peamiste m2ngijatega enamv2hem kurssi viia. Siinne systeem p6hineb Ameerika systeemil, kus riigipeaks on president. Traditsiooniliselt on olnud tegu ka kaksikpartei systeemiga, ent viimastel aastatel on lisandunud ka uusi parteisid. Samas, vaadates k6ikjal olevaid valimisplakateid, j22b mulje et parteikuuluvus ei oma t2htsust, kuna mitte yhelgi n2htud plakatil ei olnud m2rkigi sellest, mis parteisse kandidaat kuuluda v6iks. Ja veel yks asi, mida Paolo siinse poliitilise systeemi kohta luges (peale siinse fantastilise korruptsiooni) on see, et kampaania peale kulutatud summad loetakse avalikeks kuludeks ja kandidaadid ei pea seega tegema minutitki rahakogumist, vaid saavad r66muga maksumaksjate raha kulutada s6na otseses m6ttes miljonite plakatite peale, mis seej2rel absuluutselt k6ikidele vabadele pindadele kleebitakse. Peale plakatite kulutatakse raha ka linnades ringi s6itvatele minibussidele, mis k6laritest popp-muusikat lasevad ja oma kandidaati promovad (v6imalik, et siinsed valijad valivad oma kandidaati nende muusikamaitse j2rgi?), ning 50-peesoste (umbes 1 euro) rahat2htede peale, mida t2navatel m88dujatele nende h22le eest pakutakse. Seet6ttu on valimisperioodidel tihtipeale suur 50-peesoste rahat2htede p6ud, ning meil oli mitmel korral probleeme t2pse raha tagasi saamisega. Igal juhul, taoline kombinatsioon korruptsiooni ja kampaania k2igus avaliku raha kasutamise v6imaluse vahel t2hendab loomulikult, et iga valimisperiood on Filipiinide majandusele suureks l88giks.
Kirjutamise ajal on valimistest m88dunud rohkem kui n2dal ning tulemused (ja tulemuste potentsiaalsed tagaj2rjed) on nyydseks selged. Peale t2iesti uskumatu fakti, et Ferdinand 'Bonbong' Marcos valiti peaaegu asepresidendiks (ta proovib praegu tulemusi kahtluse alla seada) – tegu on ju tyybiga, kelle isa varastas oma 21-aastase autokraatia k2igus riigilt yle 10 miljardi (MILJARDI) dollari ning ei saanud kunagi selle eest karistatud – on mees, kes presidendiks valiti t6eliselt hirmu2ratav. Rodrigo Duterte, l6unas asuva Davao linna pikaaegne linnapea, on nyyd j2rgmised kuus aastat Filipiinide riigipeaks. Tegu on tyybiga, kes on lubanud oma ametisoleku esimese kuue kuu jooksul 'mistahes v6tteid kasutades' lahendada Filipiinide krimi- ja narkoprobleemid. Nende v6tete hulka kuuluvad – tema ametliku poliitika j2rgselt – surmanuhtluse taastamine, v2idetavate kriminaalide (kelle hulka v6ib otseloomulikult arvata keda tahes) hukkamine ilma kohtuotsuseta, ning politseiyksused kellele antakse luba tapmise eesm2rgil tulistada. Sedasorti asi on tema kodulinnas Davaos juba pikemat aega toimud, kus salaja kohaliku valitsuse poolt toetatud (ent pealtn2ha omakohtu k2igus tegutsevad) 'surmatrupid' kutsutakse kohale, et nood v2idetavad kriminaalid enne politsei kohalej6udmist 2ra tapaks. Nagu arvata v6iks, ei usu Duterte ka inim6igustesse ning tal on olnud tuliseid s6navahetusi rahvusvaheliste inim6iguste gruppide ja organisatsioonidega, kes on teda varasemalt julmuses syydistanud. Mees on yhtlasi ka p2ris ropp – eelmisel aastal kutsus ta Paavst Franciscust 'hoorapojaks' kui tolle Filipiinide kylastus Manilas liiklusummikuid p6hjustas. Ma ei saa aru, kuidas talle selline asi siinses sygavalt katoliiklikus riigis rohkem probleeme ei tekitanud. T2navu varem tegi ta nalja ka 1989. aastal aset leidnud austraallannast misjon2ri v2gistamise ja m6rva yle, 8eldes, et tal kui linnapeal oleks pidanud olema 'esimene 6igus'. Kuritegu leidis aset Davao vanglas toimunud pantvangikriisi ajal, mil Duterte oli juba Davao linnapea ning osales vangidega l2bir22kimistel. Hiljuti toimunud kampaaniaralli ajal meenutas ta tollast olukorda ning ytles, s6na-s6nalt: “Kui laibad v2lja toodi, olid nad kinni m2hitud. Ma vaatasin ta n2gu, raisk, ta n2gi v2lja nagu mingi kaunis Ameerika n2itlejanna. Raisk, milline raiskamine. Mis mulle p2he kargas, oli see, et nad v2gistasid ta, nad v6tsid j2rjekorda. Ma olin vihane, et ta v2gistati, see oli yks asi. Aga ta oli nii kaunis, linnapea oleks pidanud v2hemalt esimene olema. Milline raiskamine.” Et siis jah, sellise mehe on filipiinlased endale presidendiks valinud. Kui ta oma hirmu2ratavad ettepanekud ellu viib, on Filipiinid ilmselt diktaatorlusest yhe sammu kaugusel. Samas suudan ma m6ista ka impulsi, mis paneb toetama kedagi kes n2itab ennast kui korruptsiooni-, kuriteo- ja narkovastast karmi k2ega 'karistajat' ja lubab k6ik riigi probleemid kiirelt lahendada. P2rast aastakymneid kasutuid ja korrupteerunud poliitikuid, kes pole rahva jaoks mitte midagi teinud, on Duterte veetlus tavap2raste kodanike seas arusaadav. Kahjuks aga ei ole tavap2rasel kodanikul (kus tahes maailmas) yldiselt just eriti head arusaamist maailma ajaloost, sest muidu hakkaks igalyhel Duterte-sugust poliitikut n2hes sisemine alarm t88le. Kokkuv6ttes on seega meie kui v2lisvaatlejate jaoks olnud v2ga huvitav sel ajal Filipiinidel olla ning kindlasti j2lgime me tulevikus (turvaliselt kauguselt) huviga seda, mis riigist Duterte valitsuse ajal edasi saab. Kohalikel pole aga valikut ning nemad peavad aktsepteerima k6ik selle mis tulemas on, nii hea kui halva. Ja suurema t6en2osusega on tulemas pigem viimast.
Igal juhul, nagu 8eldud, samal ajal kui filipiinlased valimistel k2isid, l2ksime meie Maa-alust J6ge kylastama. Puerto Princesast paaritunnise s6idu kaugusel asuv Maa-alune J6gi asub teisel pool saart, keset suurt rahvusparki. Nagu nimigi ytleb, on tegu j6ega, mis voolab maa all – v6i 6igemini, m2gede sees. Miljonite aastate jooksul on vesi oma teekonna ymber uuristanud muljetavaldava koobastiku. Tegu on yhe maailma pikima maa-aluse j6ega, olles yle kaheksa kilomeetrit pikk, millest omakorda ainult pool on paadiga s6idetav. Turistidele n2idatakse aga ainult esimest kilomeetrit. Et koopa avauseni j6uda, pidime me esmalt (p2rast minibussis6itu) s6itma mootorpaadiga m88da rannikut edasi kuni j6udsime yhele kaunile v2ikesele ja eraldatud rannale. Sealt jalutasime me m88da metsarada kuni laguunini, kus paadid meid juba ootasid. Igasse paati mahtus kuskil kymme inimest, pluss giid, kes paati juhtis ja koopa sees huvitavaid elemente meile taskulambiga valgustas. Maa-alune J6gi ja tolle hiiglaslikud koopad on oluliseks 8kosysteemiks tohutule arvule p22sukestele ja nahkhiirtele, ning viimased eriti on tundlikud igasugustele h2irivustele, eelk6ige myrale, kuna see sekkub nende kajalokatsiooniga. V6i p2eviti ehk, kuna siis nad magavad, v6ib myra hoopis nende und segada. Seet6ttu leidus k6ikjal hulganisti silte, mis manitsesid koobastes vaikne olema ja kysimustega tuuri l6puni oodata. Enne paatidesse ronimist pandi meile k6igile k6rva uhked audiogiidid – ilmselgelt rahvusvahelise koost88 tulemus – mis lylitati paadis6idu alguses sisse. Audiogiid oli super h2sti tehtud ning sealne informatsioon oli p6nev ja h2sti esitatud. Lindistuses r22giti Maa-aluse J6e ajaloost ja huvitavatest seikadest, ning paadis6idu edenedes seletati koobastes parasjagu m88duvate huvitavate osade kohta. Kahjuks aga kogu see t88 (st audiogiid ja vaikusele manitsevad sildid) oli 't2nu' meie paadigiidile t2iesti ilmaasjata. Paadigiidi t88, nagu audiogiidis selgitati, oli vaikselt paati juhtida, ja audiogiidiga synkroonis huvitavaid elemente taskulambiga valgustada (ning, eeldatavasti, teha kindlaks et k6ik reisijad vait oleksid). Selle asemel ta aga r22kis VAHETPIDAMATA ja kui tal parasjagu midagi tarka 8elda ei olnud, vilistas ta niisama v6i laulis laule. See tegi audiogiidi j2rgimise v2ga raskeks (kuna klapp oli vaid yhes k6rvas) ja, palju hullem, tyhistas k6ik koopaelukate rahu kaitsvad v6tted. K6ik paadigiidid olid ylimalt l2rmakad ja suurtemates koobastes isegi huilgasid (?!). See ajas mind korralikult vihale, eriti kuna paadigiididel polnud isegi midagi tarka 8elda. Kui audiogiidi lindistus r22kis yhte k6rva parasjagu igasugust huvitavat teaduslikku infot, juhtis paadigiid reisijate t2helepanu individuaalsetele stalaktiitidele, mis tema s6nul n2gid v2lja nagu kas kurgid, v6i baklazhaanid, v6i mis iganes muu pikliku kujuga juurviljad. Ja tipp oli see, kui me yhel hetkel m88dusime koopamoodustisest, mis v2idetavalt sarnanes uppunud Titanicuga, alustas paadigiid Celine Dion'i 'My Heart Will Go On' t2ies esituses laulmist. Hurraa. Ilmselgelt ei l2inud selline asi pimeda koopa maagilise ja mystilise atmosf22riga kohe yldse kokku. Hea n2ide sellest, kuidas hea tegevusplaan l2heb hukka, kuna kohapealsed t88tajad ei hooli asjast absoluutselt.
Kui tyytu paadigiid v2lja arvata, oli aga reis l2bi koopa t2iesti imeline – ja midagi mida ei Paolo ega mina polnud kunagi varem kogenud. Kui p2evavalgus koopasse sisenemisel tasapisi seljataha j2i, olime me pimedas ymbritsetud tuhandetest siia-sinna lendavatest p22sukestest ning k6ikjal koopalagedes oli lugematul hulgal pisikesi magavaid nahkhiiri. Paaril korral sisenesime me hiigelsuurtesse kooparuumidesse, mis olid ylimalt muljetavaldavad, eriti yks nendest mille lagi oli nii k6rgel, et sinna taskulambivalgus ei ulatunudki. Stalaktiidi- ja stalagmiidimoodustised olid fantastilised ja neid leidus k6iksugustes vormides ja suurustes. K6ige lahedam oli aga sygaval maa all koopas olemise tunne ise. Tegu oli kindlasti yhe meie Filipiinide reisi parima kogemusega.
J2rgmisel p2eval s6itsime me Puerto Princesast minema, et saare p6hjaosa uudistada. Palawani k6ige kuulsam turismisihtkoht on El Nido, mis asub kaugel p6hjaosas, ent tee peal leidub ka teisi kauneid, ent v2hem arenenud kohtasid. Kuna El Nido on Puertost kaugel, olime me otsustanud peatuda San Vicentes, yhes nendest vahepealsetest kohtadest. San Vicente ise on t2iesti tavaline pisikene kyla, kus pole midagi vaadata. Koha t6eline atraktsioon on hoopis Long Beach (“Pikk Rand”), mis asub kyla l2hedal. San Vicente Long Beach on 14 kilomeetrit pikk, tehes sellest Aasia pikima ranna, ning kogu ala on t2iesti arendamata, pakkudes kylastajatele pikka, puhast, valge liiva ja palmipuudega 22ristatud vaadet. Meie jaoks polnud just raske otsus sellist kohta kylastada. Eriliselt vedas meil aga kohaga, kus me 88bisime – Turublieni kylalistemaja. Tegu oli bungalow-stiilis majutusega otse keset Long Beachi randa. Sealne l66gastumisala koos v2ikese baari, toolide, laudade ja v6rkkiikedega asus otse ranna ees, aga majutus ise – suur, bambusest ja muudest kohalikest materjalidest ehitatud 10-toaline maja – asus teisel pool j6ge, mis voolas paralleelselt rannaga natuke sisemaa suunas. Et majutuseni j6uda, pidime ronima v2ikese kanuu peale ja ennast kaabliga teisele poole t6mbama. Ja maja taga oli ainult suur, tihe ja vaikne mangroovimets. Kogu kylalistemaja majandas ainult yks tyyp, Alex, koos oma t2dipojaga, kes m6lemad ka kohapeal elasid. Kuna peamine turismihooaeg oli juba m88das, olime me terve oma sealviibimise aja (neli 88d) kylalistemaja ainsad elanikud. Meile jubedalt meeldis seal, nii m6nus oli sellises kohas olla, kindlasti parim paik kus me oma reisi jooksul olnud oleme. Me ei teinud palju peale ranna nautimise ja l66gastumise, aga sellegipoolest oli seal ylimalt nauditav.
Yks v2hem meeldivam kogemus juhtus kolmandal p2eval, kui Alex meile teatas et m6ned 'kohalikud' olid kylalistemajja tulemas. Me eeldasime et tegu on kas grupi noortega v6i mingi perega ja kartsime veidi, et uustulnukad on v6ibolla l2rmakad, aga palju me selle peale ei m6elnud. Suur oli aga meie yllatus kui hilishommikul, kui me olime v6rkkiikedes peesitamas ja lugemas, marssisid randa j2rsku yle kymne t2ies ryys s6durit, k6igil automaatrelvad k2evangus. Meie jaoks oli selline asi loomulikult ylimalt rahutukstegev. Alex tuligi ruttu meile selgitama, et muretsemiseks pole p6hjust, tegu on s6duritega, kes on niisama oma ylemust randa saatmas, ja et nad olid juba mitu korda varemgi sinna tulnud. 'Ylemus', tuli v2lja, oli niisama mingi tyyp kes t6i oma kaaslanna ja pere p2evaks randa grillima. Miks tal oli kymmet relvastatud s6durit sele jaoks vaja, ei oska arvata. Rannas polnud ju absoluutselt mitte kedagi (peale meie). Meie endi jaoks oli m6nus rannaatmosf22r relvastatud meeste poolt paraku rikutud, ja me l2ksime oma tuppa hoopis filme vaatama. 6nneks oli 'ylemus' randa tulnud ainult paariks tunniks, ja hilisel p2rastl6unal pakkisid nad oma asjad kokku ja lasid jalga, ja me olime ylimalt rahul, et saime 'oma' ranna tagasi hah. Kogu see seik oli eriliselt kummaline ja n2itas h2sti seda, kuidas k6rgematel positsioonidel olevad inimesed oma v6imu siin 2ra kasutavad. Ilmselgelt ei olnud sellel tyybil vaja k6iki neid s6dureid turvakaalutlustel, tegu oli ainult show'ga. See oli aga k6ik ilma asjata, kuna rannas ei olnud mitte kedagi, kelle ees sellise asjaga eputada, ha!
Ainus teine ebameeldiv asi Long Beachi juures olid liivak2rbsed. Kumbki meist ei olnud varem nendega kokku puutnud, ja nende olemasolust saime me teada ainult p2ev varem Maa-aluse J6e tuuril kahelt norra tydrukult, kes olid k2rbsehammustusi t2is. Aga sellegipoolest ei osanud me neid eriti karta. Tuli v2lja, et tegu oli eriti vastikute tyypidega! Liivak2rbsed on imetillukesed pisikesed putukad, kes elavad (nagu nimigi ytleb) liivastel aladel, on aktiivsed terve p2eva, aga eriti varahommikul ja p2ikeseloojangu ajal. Kuna nad on nii pisikesed, ei m2rka sa neid enne kui sa hammustusi t2is oled. Hammustused ise on eriti vastikud ka, tunduvalt hullemad kui s22sehammustused, eriti arvestades kui pisikesed liivak2rbsed ise on. Ja nad sygelevad ka tunduvalt hullemini, ja k6ige jubedam on see, et sygelemine l2heb p2evade m88dudes aina hullemaks. Long Beachil oli tuhandeid liivak2rbseid ja nyydseks on m88dunud juba n2dal sellest, kui me hammustada saime, ja pole veel m2rkigi, et asi paremaks l2heks. Nagu ikka on Paolo veri kuidagi eriliselt maitsev, ja tema on hammustustega yleni kaetud. Minul l2ks v6rdlemisi h2sti, mul on ainult paarsada hammustust ilmselt. Vaene Paolo :( Me lugesime ka, et paranemine v6tab jube kaua aega, seega saame me ilmselt oma hammustusi ka oma perele n2idata kui paari n2dala p2rast tagasi Euroopasse j6uame!
Long Beachil oldud viimasel 6htul l2ksime me koos Alexiga kylapeole. V6i 6igemini, tema l2ks kylapeole, ja me l2ksime niisama kaasa, et n2ha mis seal toimub. Mina, suur peoloom nagu ma olen, ei olnud just eriti vaimustatud sellest, et rahulikult ranna 22res olemise asemel peaksime oma viimase 6htu veetma l2rmakas ja rahvarohkes kohas, ent kultuurilise huvi t6ttu pidin nentima, et peaks ikka minema vaatama, et kuidas kohalik kylapidu v2lja n2eb. Ja huvitav oli ta kyll, lahe oli vaadata kuidas v2ga noored ja v2ga vanad koos tantsup6randal meelt lahutasid (kohalik spordihall oli selleks puhuks peosaaliks muudetud), aga yldiselt ei olnud tegu just minu jaoks eriti l6busa olukorraga. Nagu arvata v6is, oli muusika parajalt 6udne, ja pealekauba sattusime me olukorra n6udel (kuna me olime ainsad v2lismaalased) r22kima yhe keskealise prantsuse mehega, kes oli sinna tulnud koos oma verinoore filipiinlannast tydruks6braga (muuseas, siinkandis leidub k6ikjal vanu valgeid mehi koos noorte kaunite filipiinlannadega, p2ris 66vastav). Tydruks6ber ei r22kinud s6nagi, ent prantslane oli yks k6ige ebameeldivamaid ja rumalamaid inimesi keda ma kunagi n2inud olen. Seega ei j22nud me sinna kauaks, j2tsime Alexi tantsima ja hakkasime l2bi kyla ja m88da randa tagasi kylalistemaja poole jalutama. Ja t2nu taevale, et me seda tegime, sest sellest jalutusk2igust sai yks meie k6ige uskumatumaid kogemusi.
Esmalt, kui me rannani j6udsime (ja tuletan siinkohal meelde, et tegu on inimestest ja elamutest t2iesti tyhja rannaga, mida 22ristab ainult palmimets), saime me n2ha superkaunist kuuloojangut. Kui me aga m88da randa, lainete sees jalutasime, tundus Paolole j2rsku nagu ta oleks vees midagi helendavat n2inud. Esmalt m6tlesime me, et tegu oli lihtsalt peegeldusega ja k6ndisime edasi, aga m6ne aja m88dudes, kui me veidi sygavamas vees k6ndisime, n2gime me et t6epoolest, vesi helendas! Absoluutse r66muga saime me aru, et me olime oma silmaga n2gemas helendavat planktonit (v6i fytoplanktonit) – st vees elavaid mikroorganisme, mis, sarnaselt jaanimardikatele, helendavad kui neid h2irida (ma olin seda fenomeni juba ammu tahtnud oma silmaga n2ha, ent polnud selle peale tulnud, et me seda Filipiinidel n2ha v6iksime). See annab efekti justkui vesi ise helendaks tuhandete v2ikeste valgust2ppidega kui tas k6ndida (v6i ujuda). Me olime avastusest t2iesti ekstaasis ja sumpasime r66muga vee sees, vaadates oma jalgade ymber toimuvat valgusm2ngu. M6ne aja m88dudes otsustasime me et vaatamata sellele, et aeg oli hiline ja meil polnud ujukaid kaasas, me lihtsalt PIDIME ujuma minema, et sellest potentsiaalselt ainukordsest elamusest viimast v6tta. Seega v6tsime me riided seljast ja jooksime paljaste persetega inimtyhjas, pimedas rannas ujuma. Ja t2nu taevale, et me seda tegime, sest see oli yks eriliselt uskumatu ja t2iesti fantastiline, maagiline elamus – tuhanded v2ikesed valgused justkui plahvatasid k6ikjal meie ymber, nagu helendavad mullikesed. Yhel hetkel Paolo sukeldus ja ujus vee all, ja seda vaadates j2i mulje, nagu ta ise yleni helendaks. Ja kiirelt ujudes oli su ymber palju-palju-palju v2ikeseid valgusi, aeglaselt liikudes aga oli neid v2hem. Kui vee all aeglaselt s6rmi edasi-tagasi liigutada, siis j2i mulje justkui tuleks mu s6rmeotstest endist v2ikeseid valgusmulle v2lja. Kogu ujumise aja ei suutnud me uskuda seda, mida me n2gime ja irvitasime me nagu lollakad. Tegu oli t2iesti vaimustava elamusega, ja milline l6pp meie Long Beachil veedetud ajale!
J2rgmisel hommikul 2ratasime me suures pohmellis oleva Alexi et talle v6tmed tagasi anda, ja me naljaga pahandasime temaga, et ta meile polnud fytoplanktoni sealset olemasolu maininud, sest paljud inimesed maksaksid (ja maksavadki!) suurt raha, et sellist asja oma silmaga n2ha. P2rast seda j2tsime me Alexi ja kauni Long Beachiga hyvasti ja l2ksime minibussi peale, et El Nidosse s6ita. Minibussid on Palawanil reisimiseks h6lbus, ent mitte eriti mugav vahend. Ebamugav on ta saare teede olukorra t6ttu – kui teed just parasjagu l2bi m2gede edasi-tagasi ei voori, siis on teepind ise nii konarlik, et s6idu ajal hyppad koguaeg yles-alla. Kui sellele lisada see, et enamus juhte s6idavad nagu maniakid, siis on tulemuseks eriliselt adrenaliinirohke s6it kus ei saa lugemisest v6i magamisest unistadagi.
Meil oli plaanis El Nidos veeta kaks p2eva, millest yhel minna yhele kuulsale saartetuurile, et n2ha El Nido lahes olevaid kauneid v2ikeseid saari, ning teisel p2eval rentida motikas et sisemaad veidi uudistada. Paraku aga j2id m6lemad meil haiguse t6ttu tegemata :( Esimesel p2eval oli mul k6va k6rvavalu, mis on mul tegelikult juba pikemat aega tulnud ja l2inud (ilmselt on syydi pidev ja rohke ujumine) ja me otsustasime motikatripi 2ra j2tta ning panime ennast saaretuurile j2rgmiseks p2evaks kirja. J2rgmisel hommikul aga oli meil 2rgates m6lemal k6hugripp ja palavik. Seega olime sunnitud oma tuuri 2ra j2tma ja toas olema ja ennast ravima. 6nneks ei kestnud haigus kaua ning j2rgmiseks p2evaks oli meil enesetunne juba piisavalt hea, et saime siiski minibussiga Puerto Princesasse tagasi s6ita. Siiski ei olnud just eriti m6nus tunne hella k6huga viis tundi yles-alla hypata, aga oleks alati v6inud halvemini minna! Seega oli meie El Nido tripp paraku ysna m6ttetu kuna me kylast v2lja ei saanudki, ja El Nido kylas endas ei ole midagi vaatamisv22rset (ja sealne randki pole eriti ilus).
Vaatamata viimaste p2evade pettumusele oli meie Palawani reis kokkuv6ttes super, ja me tuleks sinna kindlasti tagasi, kasv6i ainult Long Beachi p2rast. Paraku aga ei j22 Long Beach kauaks selliseks nagu me te teda n2gime, kuna arendajad on enamuse rannast juba 2ra ostnud ning San Vicentesse ehitatakse parasjagu rahvusvahelist lennujaama, ja sellest on kyll v2ga kahju.
Nyyd oleme me teel tagasi Cebusse (hetkel ootame Manilas oma lendu, mis on juba kaks tundi hiljaks j22nud, haha), kus veedame oma viimase p2eva Filipiinidel, misj2rel lendame me Jaapanisse, oma suure reisi viimasesse sihtpuhti, p2rast mida tulemegi juba tagasi Euroopasse. Kuidas aeg lendab!
(PS. Jutu yleslaadimise ajaks oleme me juba turvaliselt Tokyosse j6udnud.)
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I am happy to say that our first days on Palawan island more than made up for our dismal stay in Negros. Palawan is on of the most remote large islands in the Philippines, situated well to the west of most of the archipelago, and is noticeably less developed than the other islands we have visited.
We flew to Palawan from Cebu, via Manila (what an awful airport in Manila btw – nearly all flights are delayed, and that is the normality there – out of the four flights that we took to or from Manila, three were late), and arrived in Puerto Princesa, the island's capital. While it was a relatively big city, at least by Palawan's standards, it felt quite relaxed and quiet in comparison to Bacolod or Cebu. We planned to stay in the city for two nights, so that we could visit the famous Underground River near the capital before heading to the north of the island.
The next day therefore we went on a tour to the Underground River. We had planned to go on a tour on that day, away from the city, also for another reason – it was the day of the general elections in the Philippines. And it was a very general election indeed, since everyone from the most menial council clerk all the way to the president got elected on that same day. Since traditionally elections have been known to get a bit heated and occasionally violent in the Philippines (although, to be fair, this has mostly only occurred in the capital Manila, and not in a small rural place like Palawan), we decided to be on the safe side and get away from any centre of population. This precaution turned out to be unnecessary, since it all went smoothly, and even in Manila 'only' seven people were killed. By Philippine standards, that was amazingly peaceful.
It has been an interesting experience being in a country during such a big election, and obviously we have informed ourselves on the main players and Philippine politics in general. The way it all works is based on the US system, with the President being the head of state. It has also traditionally been a dual party system, but apparently new parties have popped up in the recent years. Although, when looking at the absolutely countless election posters everywhere, party affiliations don't really seem to matter, since no poster we saw made it clear which party the candidate belonged to. Oh, and another thing that Paolo read about the Philippine political system (other that it is fantastically corrupt), is that campaigning funds are counted as public spending, and candidates therefore have no need to do any fundraising, instead joyfully spending taxpayers' money on the literally millions of posters that get plastered absolutely everywhere. Apart from posters, money also goes to little minivans that drive around cities, blasting pop music and promoting a particular candidate (I guess voters choose their candidate by their taste in music?), or small denominations like 50 pesos (about 1 euro) are randomly given to people on the street in return for their votes. Because of this there is always a huge shortage of 50 peso notes during election times, and we had problems getting the right change in multiple occasions. Anyway, the combo of rampant corruption and allowance of public money to spend during campaign times means obviously that each election period is a huge blow to the economy of the Philippines.
When writing this, it has been over a week since the elections, and the results (and the potential ramifications thereof) are clear. Apart from the absolutely mind-boggling fact that Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos narrowly missed being voted in as Vice President (he is currently still contesting the results) – I mean, we are talking about the son of the guy who, during his 21-year autocracy of the Philippines stole about 10 billion (BILLION!) US dollars from the country for his personal use, and got away with it – the guy who got voted in as president is scary as hell. Rodrigo Duterte, the long-time mayor of the southern city of Davao, is now set to be the leader of the country for the next six years. This is a guy who has promised to solve the country's crime and drug problems within six months, 'by whatever means necessary' – these means include, as part of his official policy – bringing back the death penalty, executing alleged criminals (which, obviously, can mean anyone at all) without a trial, and police forces with 'shoot-to-kill' orders. This kind of thing has already been taking place in his home turf in Davao, where secretly government-backed (but outwardly vigilante) 'death squads' are called in to kill supposed criminals before police forces arrive on site. Unsurprisingly, Duterte does not believe in human rights, and has had beefs with international human rights organisations who have accused him of cruelty against his populace. The man also has quite a mouth on him, having last year called Pope Francis a 'son of a whore' for causing traffic jams in Manila during the religious leader's visit to the Philippines. How he got away with that in this devoutly Catholic country, beats me. Earlier this year, he also joked about the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary, saying how he should have had 'first rights' to her. The crime had happened during a hostage crisis in a prison in Davao, which Duterte was already mayor of at that time, and he had been involved in the hostage negotiations. Recalling the incident recently, when speaking about his stance on crime in general, he said, and let me quote: “When the bodies were brought out, they were wrapped. I looked at her face, son of a bitch, she looks like a beautiful American actress. Son of a bitch, what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up. I was angry because she was raped, that's one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste.” So yeah, this is the kind of guy the Philippine people elected for their leader. If he implements the scary policies that he has promised, the country could be one step away from a dictatorship. At the same time though, I can understand the impulse to support someone who paints himself as an anti-corruption, anti-crime, anti-drug 'punisher' and vows to fix all of the country's problems, and fast. After decades of being cheated by corrupt politicians who have done nothing for them, I can understand the appeal of someone like Duterte for the average citizen. Unfortunately, the average citizen anywhere in the world is unfortunately not very knowledgable about world history, because if they were, alarm bells would go off when seeing someone like him. So it has been a very interesting time for us, as outside spectators, to be in the Philippines, and we will be fascinated to follow (from a safe distance) what will become of the country under Duterte's leadership. The locals though have no choice but to accept whatever is to come, good or bad. And it's more likely to be the latter.
Anyway, as I said, while the Philippine people were voting, we were off to visit the Underground River. A couple of hours' drive from Puerto Princesa, the Underground River is situated on the other side of the island, in a large national park. As the name states, it is a river that runs underground – or rather, inside a mountain range. In the eons it has been there, the water has carved an impressive cave system in its path. It is one of the longest underground river systems in the world, running a total of over eight kilometres, of which just over four kilometers are navigable by boat. And they let tourists into the first kilometer or so. To arrive to the entrance to the cave, we first had to take a boat along the coast (after having driven in a minivan for a couple of hours) to a small beautiful beach, from where we walked into the forest along a wooden pathway, which led us to a lagoon where small boats were waiting. Each boat took about ten people, plus a guide to paddle the boat and illuminate the interesting features of the cave. The Underground River and its massive caves are a very important ecosystem to a huge number of bats and swiftlets, and the former in particular are very vulnerable to disturbance, particularly noise, since this would interfere with their echolocation. Or during the day, since then they are sleeping, it's more likely to disturb their sleep. This is why all signage told us to stay very quiet, and leave any questions to the end of the trip. Before getting on the boats, we were all fitted with state-of-the-art audio guides with earpieces – clearly the result of an international conservation effort – which switched on as the boat journey began. The audio guide was very well done and the information in it was fascinating and well-presented. It recounted the story of the Underground River as the boat journey progressed, noting and explaining certain features as we passed them. Unfortunately though, the effect of all of this (the audio guide, the signs asking to keep quiet) was completely useless, thanks to our boat guide – whose job, as explained by the audio guide, was to paddle the boat and illuminate the features in the cave with his torch as they were pointed out in the audio guide, and, presumably to ensure everyone stays quiet. Instead of this, he kept on talking ALL THE TIME, and, when he had nothing to say, he whistled and sang songs. This made it very hard to follow the audio guide (since the earpiece was in only one ear), and, much worse, made all the precautions to ensure wildlife is not disturbed completely useless. All the boat guides were being super noisy and hooting in the larger caves – WTF!? This was something that seriously pissed me off, particularly since the guides weren't even saying anything interesting. While the audio guide was recounting a wealth of interesting scientific information, the boat guide was pointing out stalagmites that resembled cucumbers, or aubergines, or any other kind of elongated shape they could think of. And when we passed one formation that apparently resembled a sunken Titanic, our guide went on to sing Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' in its full rendition. Yay. Needless to say, it kind of ruined the magical feeling of being in a deep, dark, silent cave. Talk about a good plan that falls short since the people on the ground just couldn't give a flying fuck.
Other than the annoying boat guide though, the journey in the cave itself was wonderful – and something neither Paolo or I had ever experienced before. As we entered the cave and the daylight gradually faded, there were thousands of swiftlets flying around us, and the cave ceilings were full of tiny sleeping bats. A few times we entered absolutely massive caves, which were an awesome sight, particularly one where the ceiling was so high that the light from the torch didn't even reach it. The stalactite and stalagmite formations were fantastic, and came in all shapes and sizes. But the feeling itself of being somewhere deep in the belly of the Earth was the most impressive thing. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to the Philippines.
The following day, we left Puerto Princesa to go to the northern part of the island. The most famous tourist destination in Palawan is El Nido, in the far north, but there are other places that are less developed but also beautiful along the way. Since El Nido was a long way away from Puerto, we had decided to stop in one of the places on the way – San Vicente. San Vicente itself is a small, nondescript town, where there isn't anything really to see. The real attraction there is the Long Beach, near San Vicente town. San Vicente Long Beach is the longest beach in all of Asia, and with its over 14 kilometres of nearly pristine, development-free beautiful sandy beach, it was a no-brainer to visit. We were particularly lucky with the place we stayed at, Turublien Inn. It is a bungalow-style accommodation in the middle of Long Beach itself. The little bar and tables/chairs/hammocks that make up its relaxing area are straight on the beach, while the accommodation itself – a large, elevated 10-room house, built entirely of natural materials like bamboo and palm leaves – was situated across the river that ran parallel to the sea just behind the beachfront. To reach the accommodation, we had to take a small canoe across the river, moving it by pulling on a cable that was installed between the two banks. And behind the house there was nothing but wild mangrove forest. The whole place is managed by just one guy, Alex, with help from his cousin, and they both also live there. Since apparently it was already low tourism season in the Philippines when we arrived, we were the only guests in the place for the whole duration of our stay – which ended up being 4 nights. We absolutely loved being there, since it was so quiet, wild, and the beach and the sea were amazingly beautiful. Swimming there was exceptionally pleasant, the best we have experienced during our whole trip. We didn't do much apart from enjoying the sea-side and relaxing, but had a great time nonetheless.
One less pleasant experience was on the third day, when Alex told us some 'locals' were coming to the hotel. We figured that this would be either a group of young Filipinos or a family, and were a bit scared that we might get noisy neighbours, but otherwise didn't think much of it. So imagine our reaction when in the late morning, while we were lounging in the hammocks on the beach, suddenly over 10 soldiers walk up to the beach in full army gear, and with machine guns. This to us was obviously highly alarming. Alex quickly came to us to explain that there was nothing to worry about, that these guys were just accompanying their 'superior' to the beach, and that they had come there many times before. Turned out that the 'superior' was just this guy who was taking his girlfriend and family to the beach for some barbecue and swimming. Why the hell would he need ten armed soldiers for that, hell knows. There wasn't even anyone else on the beach (apart from us). Having lots of guys with machine guns on the beach kind of ruined the atmosphere for us, so we retreated to our room to watch some films instead. Luckily, the 'superior' had only come for the day, and the whole party left in the late afternoon, after which we were exhilarated to have our beach back lol. That whole episode was weird as hell, and highlights the abuse of power of people in situations of influence here so well. Obviously the guy didn't need to have those soldiers with him for safety reasons, it was only all for show. Unfortunately for him, there was nobody on the beach to show off to, ha!
The only other less pleasant aspect of being on Long Beach were the sand flies. Neither us had ever experienced this before, and had only heard of them for the first time the day before, during our Underground River tour, from two Norwegian girls who had been severely bitten a few days before. But still, we weren't really worried. But they turned out to be nasty little buggers! Sand flies are teeny-tiny little flies that inhabit sandy areas (obviously), so they are abundant on beaches, and they are active throughout the day, but particularly during dawn and dusk. Even so, since they are so tiny, you don't really notice them nor their bites until the next day, when you wake up covered in little red bumps. The bites are extremely nasty, particularly in relation to the size of the insect – much worse than mosquito bites. And they itch much more too, but the worse part is that the itch only gets worse as the days go by. On Long Beach, there were tons of sand flies, and by now we are a week in to having been bitten, and it's not looking a lot better. As usual though, since Paolo seems to have the more delicious blood of us two, he is literally covered in bites. I am much better off in comparison, with only a couple hundred bites probably. Poor Paolo :( We also read that the bites take ages to heal, so we'll probably be able to show them off to our families once we get back to Europe lol.
The last night of our stay on Long Beach, we went with Alex to a village party. Well, he went to the village party, and we went along just to check it out. I, being the party animal that I am, wasn't that excited about the prospect of sacrificing a quiet night on the beach to go to a crowded and noisy place, but out of cultural interest, conceded that it would be a good thing to go. And that it was, it was cool to see the very young and the very old getting their groove on on the dance floor (a local sports hall that had been turned to a party venue for the night), but otherwise it wasn't really my idea of fun. The music was quite awful, as expected, and, due to being the only other white people present, we got stuck talking to an older French guy who was there with his extremely young and beautiful Filipina girlfriend (btw, old white guys with very young Filipinas are absolutely everywhere here, and it's pretty gross). The girlfriend didn't speak, but the French guy was one of the most unpleasant and ignorant people I have ever met. So we didn't stay very long, left Alex to his dancing, and started the long walk through the village and along the beach to go back to the bungalow. And I am glad that we did because that walk turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had in my life.
First, as we reached the beach (which, remember, was completely empty of people and houses, lined only with palm trees), we were treated to a gorgeous moonset. But as we were walking along the beach, in the surf, Paolo thought he saw something flicker in the water. At first we dismissed it as a reflection of the stars, but after a while, wading into deeper water, we realised that indeed, the water was glowing! To our absolute joy, we realised that we were witnessing bioluminescent plankton (or phytoplankton) – which is to say marine microorganisms that emit a glow when disturbed. This has an effect that the water itself seems to glow in thousands of little lights when walking (or swimming) in it. We were over the moon to be experiencing it (it has been something that I have always wanted to see, but it didn't occur to me that we could see it in the Philippines) and went on to splash in the water up to our knees, staring at our feet, amazed at the light show. After a wee while doing this, we decided that despite it being night-time and us not having swimwear with us, we just HAD to go swimming, to experience this potentially once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon to the fullest. So we stripped and went skinny dipping in the empty, dark beach! And thank heavens we did, because it was the most sublimely magical experience I can recall having, with thousands of little lights bursting all around us, like little glowing bubbles. At one point, Paolo dove down into water and swam around me, and it was as if he was glowing himself. And if you swam fast, you had lots and lots of little glowing lights, but moving slowly, there were fewer of them. Slowly wiggling my fingers in the water, it seemed like little lights were flowing out of my fingertips. Throughout the swim we were both just constantly giggling like mad, in absolute awe of what we were seeing. It was the most exhilarating experience, and an absolutely amazing end to our stay on Long Beach.
The next morning, we woke up a hungover Alex to check us out of the hotel, and we jokingly berated him for not telling us (and not mentioning in his marketing) the existence of the phytoplankton on Long Beach, because people would (and do!) pay tons of money to go see this in other places in the world. After this, we said goodbye to Alex and beautiful Long Beach and took another minivan to go further north, to El Nido. The minivans are quite a convenient means of travel on Palawan, if not that comfortable. The latter is due to the condition of the roads on the island, which is to say that when they are not winding back and forth between mountains, the surface itself is so bumpy that you are jumping up and down at all times. Add to this the fact that most drivers drive like maniacs, and you have a proper rollercoaster of a ride, where you can't read or write or do anything apart from holding on to dear life lol.
Our plan was to stay in El Nido two full days, and to take one of the famous island-hopping tour to see the many beautiful islands off the coast there on one day, and to rent a scooter on the other day, for some inland exploring. Unfortunately though, both of these plans had to be cancelled due to ill health :( The first day I had a bad earache, something that I have had on and off during our trip in general (due to the amount of swimming we do here, no doubt), so we decided to skip the scooter trip and booked our island hopping for the following day. The next morning though, we both woke up with a stomach bug and a fever. So we were forced to cancel our trip and stayed in our room for the whole day, trying to get better. Luckily it didn't last too long, and we were more or less OK for the following day, when we had to take the 5-hour minivan drive back to Puerto Princesa. Still, it wasn't a brilliant feeling having to rock up and down for that many hours on a tender stomach, but it could have certainly been worse! So unfortunately our trip to El Nido was quite a failure, since we couldn't get out of the town, and in El Nido itself there's nothing really to see (and the beach and the sea are not that nice either).
Despite the disappointing final few days, our stay in Palawan on the whole was brilliant, and we would definitely come back, even only for Long Beach. Unfortunately it probably won't stay as we saw it for long, since developers have already bought up most of the seaside and they are building an international airport there too, which is a big pity.
Now we are back on our way to Cebu (currently waiting for our flight in Manila, already delayed by two hours lol) for one final day in the Philippines before flying to Japan, which will be our final destination on this trip before heading back home to Europe. Time flies!
(PS. At the time of actually uploading this, we have already safely arrived in Tokyo)
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| Sisenemas Maa-alusesse J6kke // Entering the Underground River |
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| Pimedas h2id pilte teha ei saanud, aga meeleolu annab natuke edasi ikka // Couldn't take any nice photos in the darkness, but this shows the mood a bit |
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| Ja pimeduse rypest v2ljudes //Exiting the dark caves |
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| Meie isiklik paat ja kai Long Beachil // Our personal boat and landing in Long Beach |
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| Meie elamine // Our accommodation |
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| Inimtyhi rand // Empty beach |
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| Paolo paadis6idul // Paolo riding the boat |
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| L6putu Long Beachi rand // Endless Long Beach |
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| Vaade meie toast // View from our room |
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| Mangroovimets // Mangrove forest |
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| K2isime v2ikese kanuuga niisama s6idul ka // We went out with the little canoe as well |
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| Paolo oli see kes aerutama pidi // Paolo was the one who had to paddle |
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| Yhel 6htul ei olnud elektrit ja valgustuseks oli kyynal paberkotis, yllatavalt elegantne lahendus // One evening the power was out so the light came from a candle inside a paper bag, a surprisingly elegant solution |
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| El Nido rand // El Nido beach |
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| Yhel hommikul avastasime et keegi putukas oli meie laua peale sellise kuhja munasid munenud. Loomulikult oli mul vaja sellest l2hiv6ttes pilti teha :D // One morning we discovered that some kind of insect had laid a huge pile of eggs on our table. I obviously had to do a closeup shot of this :D |
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