Leaving Siargao

For the last week we have been trying to leave Siargao Island and explore the rest of the Philippines, but we can't seem to get ourselves to move on. We know we need to see as much of this country as we can in the next two months, but we have come to feel very much at home here. Our first setback to leaving was our friend Neil's birthday. He wanted to kill a goat ("My friend back in England came to the Philippines on his birthday and killed a goat and drank the blood"), so his girlfriend indulged him and bought a goat in the village and brought it to the resort on a rope. Peter helped by sharpening the knife and sure enough Neil killed a goat right here on the resort lawn. I was recovering from two days of the stomach flu but managed to witness the whole thing, though I did not feel well enough to partake of the goat curry feast that was had later that night.

A few days later it was Neil's girlfriend, Nikki's, birthday and we had to stay for that one too. There have been a lot of birthdays lately and we are getting used to the five o'clock serenades a few mornings a week. We have gotten attached to our British friends and all the characters here but have finally decided to move on for a bit. Another reason for our hesitancy is the amount of luggage we have had to bring with us because of our flight from China. We are used to being very light travelers and this country with all its motorcycle cabs and jeepney rides is hard to navigate with large duffels. We have decided to leave our big bags here for a few weeks and do some lightweight island hopping. We will return to our beloved Siargao at the end of the trip.

We have had a great six weeks here, highlighted by boat rides to tiny outlying islands, low-tide explorations of the nearby mangrove swamps, surfing and surf-watching, and buying tuna and mahi mahi from the fishermen and grilling them up with the local boys in their outdoor kitchen huts. One night after eating grilled fish we had a sing-along, which is the more laid back expression of the Filipinos propensity for karaoke. It involves a guy with a guitar and a hymnal-like book of tab and lyrics for every Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Beatles, or other love song you can imagine. We sat with the books open in our laps and everyone sang along to songs we wouldn't be caught dead knowing the lyrics to at home. It really is a great life, being on an island where singing and dancing are integrated into daily life and the party starts early so everyone can get up at sunrise and surf or fish or lay around enjoying the cool.