YA LEUM.38 — An unexpected stealing in a hut in the Philippines…
In the previous post we spend amazing days in a paradisiac beach in Bohol, in our tent, all alone!
The island of Bohol is painted with a tropical green. Nature is dense and it fills entirely our vision field. It is as if we are constantly inside a postcard.
We spent a few dream days in a beach just for us, but we felt that we wanted to further explore Bohol.
We went to the capital, Tagbilaran, to visit a couchsurfer. We ended up planning a dinner together with our old and current couchsurfers, so that they could exchange contacts.
During one of our nights at the capital, while having dinner at a restaurant, a woman got closer to our table to talk to us.
She sat next to me, saying: “You are a good person who wants to do what is right but you are always worried”.
I was not expecting that. I looked at her and smiled.
“If you want, once your dinner is over, I can make you a massage. You do not have to pay, I’m offering you” — she smiled, with a maternal look.
At first, I refused her offer, saying it was not necessary and that I was quite thankful for her offer. Yet, she insisted. And I love to be massaged!
She sat next to us, eating, and we start to talk… The conversation was always calm. She told me that her job was a mix between being a nurse and a masseuse. She explained that in the clinic where she worked, the role of the nurse or the masseuse depended on the complaints of the patients. It made sense!
After the dinner, she massaged me as promised! In confidence, she shared with me that she lived alone and was a solitary woman but she was looking for love, for someone she could take care of.
Then, she looked me in the eyes and, nicely told me that if I knew someone who could be a companion or a lover, I could give her number to that person.
We hugged each other and a little bit of my heart remained with her.
During this trip, I tried to understand the concept of love according to the people of the world. I wanted to explore how they feel, live, and express it.
What brings us apart is minimal compared to what makes us so alike. One of those things is the way how we want to feel love. In giving or receiving, love is the common denominator that makes life rolling anywhere in the world.
I am grateful for the opportunity of watching it with my eyes and not having to share the stories that someone told me.
We continued our trip hoping to further explore Bohol… and its people.
We found a German couchsurfer who lived in a village in the municipality of Loon, in the north of Tagbilaran.
Our host gave us his address, which sounded to lack some clarity: “Once you get to the second bus, tell the driver you want to stop in front of my house. You just need to tell him my name”. We were traveling for 8 months now and this type of instruction was given to us several times. I was not surprised… although it was a rural area with a small population, I felt somehow anxious: “What if the driver does not know who he is?”.
Everything worked out as planned. Like always!
Despite the fact that the municipality of Loon is the second biggest in Bohol, the village where they lived did not have more than a few hundred people, which had to catch the bus every day, between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., to get to their workplaces.
We arrived at sunset. Our couchsurfer and his wife seemed to be waiting for us for dinner. We entered a beautiful house, located on the beach, with a garden that touched the sea.
The table was ready on a veranda, the night was pleasant, and a delicious chicken, among other small Philippine dishes, appeared on the table to be shared.
We talked for hours, sitting around the table. Our hosts told us the story of their lives and we shared many traveling experiences.
After all, our German host also backpacked during his youth. Today, being nearly 60 years old, he was offering his house to travelers from all over the world so that he too could continue to travel through the travelers that were staying in this house.
Thus, it is fair to say that the conversation was between travelers.
He showed us the maps, photos, and the memories from the times in which he too traveled the world, backpacking, with no ticket to get back home, just like us.
He made us feel at home and the conversation lasted for hours.
When it was time to sleep, we went through his garden and got to a small hut that had direct access to the beach, right behind the main house.
I was awestruck! A house near the sea, on a paradisiac island, with the sound of the waves and a tropical shadow.
It was a dream house!
As it was still early, we stayed on the veranda, talking. The moon sometimes enlightened the sea and we could see the waves splashing. The night was amazing and we felt like we were on holiday, resting from our holidays.
Yet, at 3 a.m., we woke up with our door open. We could feel the sea breeze entering our beds.
The German shepherd that guarded the house was already gone. I thought it was the wind that opened the door.
Yet, once I got back to bed, I noticed that my backpack was not in the same place…
I immediately woke up Mathieu!
We had been robbed!
Our bedroom was empty, the only thing left was one of the bags, which was nearly untouched.
Mobiles, passports, money, clothes, the camera, tripod, laptop… everything was gone!
Yet, once we got to the garden, I found Mathieu’s backpack, turned inside out, and all his belongings were on the floor.
Since we had direct access to the beach, we thought it had to be a fisherman… Mathieu saw a fisherman near his boat and went to talk to him. Yet, nothing indicated he was the person who did it.
We decided not to wake up our couchsurfer… It was not going to solve anything at that time of the night, we thought.
Yet, as we went around the garden, we started to find more of our belongings.
First, we found Mathieu’s laptop, then the passports, our ATM cards, the camera, then we found my mobile, and the charger in another spot…
Our belongings were spread all over the floor, on the walls, near the beach… we managed to recover nearly everything.
Only a few things were missing: Food, a penknife, and 30 euros.
Strange!
How could someone who wants to steal take only food and a penknife with so many other things to take?
On the next day, once we saw our hosts, we told them what had happened.
They could not believe it!!! They were quite disturbed and kept apologizing.
“We already hosted so many people in our house and nothing like that ever happened”.
We had already processed the nocturn events and answered: “These things happen sometimes. It is just bad luck. It is not your fault and we are not worried at all. After all, it was just food, a penknife, and 30 euros.”
We noticed how disturbed they were but we truly relativized the situation! Our couchsurfer talked to the community to try to understand who did it…
We continued our day as if nothing happened and ended up having a great day. Our host showed us the nature around us, took and opened coconuts from his tree for us, and we continued having excellent conversations.
On the next day, after a peaceful night of good rest, our host called us and, looking quite embarrassed, said:
“We know who stole your belongings. I am really sorry. I want to return you the money you lost! This person has integration problems in the community and it was his birthday… and someone saw him buying beer in the grocery store. And the food… well, as I told you, he is not integrated into the community. I apologize, once more!”.
We simply thanked him for having us and sincerely asked him to not think about it any longer!
“Such behaviors are truly criticized in our community! As Philippinos, we feel ashamed of these manners within our own community”.
To me, this was simply another lesson.
Everyone carries their own backpacks, often full of things we should not carry any longer. It is important to remove the heaviest weights to make the journey of life, just a little bit lighter…
November 2017,
Patricia Assis
