YA LEUM.40 — On our way to the clearest water in the world in the Phillipines…We met a family…
Our visit to El Nido was light and magnificent! Wherever you find tourists, you will also find the vacation spirit: the hotels, bars, and restaurants are ready to transport us out of reality. It is good for a while but it always becomes boring quicker than expected.
After El Nido, in the island of Palawan, the most common option is to stop by Coron Island. It is also quite known for its beaches and paradisiac views. The island is oriented towards tourism.
With more than 7000 islands to explore, we thought it would not be hard to find something as beautiful but less touristic.
I was confident in my futuristic abilities, so I looked at the map and found an island relatively close to El Nido and apparently on the way to Coron Island — Linapacan!
It looked perfect! Between two islands, with a relatively big size that was enough to have some movement and it was probably ready to welcome foreigners, considering its proximity with the island of El Nido.
I quickly made some research about it on the internet and the only thing I could found was “the cleanest and clearest water in the world for you to dive”. This is an area with a strong current and water is in constant movement, as if it was inside a washing machine, which explains why the water is so clean.
While at El Nido, we asked the locals about the best way to go to Linapacan. Yet, no one could provide us with the right information. We looked on the internet again but the information we found was of little use. Yet, we were decided to visit it! We continued to ask people about it and somebody gave us information as vague as “on the other end of El Nido, in San Fernando, there is a port from which some local boats leave towards other islands. Probably, you can get to Linapacan from there. Yet, it is a very small port so boats will not be leaving every day”.
That is what the tend and the stove are for! When we were not sure about what we were going to find, the tent and the stove were always a reason to say yes to the unknown.
We rented a tuk-tuk and left El Nido quite early, to optimize our chances of finding a boat to Linapacan. Early in the morning, the sun shines like it is midday and the landscape is always so beautiful that we never stop smiling.
We arrived in San Fernando. We left the tuk-tuk right at the entrance of the supposed port. Yet, we only saw a tiny convenience store and two restaurants that were semi-closed since their owners just lived inside. There were only two average-size boats, canoe-shaped, and supported on each side by wooden posts with an old appearance but well-designed and beautiful. They floated slightly at the entrance of the beach, looking like they were waiting for someone. For me, it was a green signal that it was the Port we were looking for. Yet, it was so early that we could hardly find someone to ask questions.
We sat on the beach and waited.
It was not a place for tourists, we were in a small dormitory village that was just for locals. Thus, we quickly got everyone’s attention.
The Philippinos are always quite caring and educated so those who saw us promptly offered to help: “You can only go to Linapacan tomorrow. The boat only leaves 3 times per week. However, you might be lucky and find a boat that goes there today. Around 2 p.m., a boat will arrive from another island and you can ask the captain if they are going there later, by chance”.
We still had many hours to wait for that boat, so we went to look for a place to sleep that night in case it was necessary.
San Fernando is a village with unpaved roads, near the sea, that moves following a peaceful and cheerful rhythm. Its people make the little streets alive and from the youngest to the eldest, everyone shares the same joy and enthusiasm of spending the days in each other’s company.
We looked for a place for our tent but we did not find anything that convinced us. We talked to some locals to find a place that could cover us from the rain.
While walking, a garden got our attention. Next to it, there was a typical and beautiful house, covered by some tall trees. We knocked on the door and a boy with a timid and sweet appearance opened the door. We explained who we were and asked if we could use the garden.
“I’m going to call my father” — the boy calmly said.
A tall man came from the inside, with a not-so-Philippino appearance, yet equally smiling.
“You do not need to stay outside! Stay inside with us! We have plenty of space. And we have space for you to sleep, there is no need to sleep in the tent!”
Our heart instantaneously smiled. We accepted the offer!
We entered the house of a special family, where a father and his son lived. On that day, the house was full of workers who helped the father with his business, which was about building boats and houses. His son, who was aged 26, was taking care of a small convenience store during the day and, at night, did some drawings and read books.
Everyone was available to help us installing the tent. They were delighted with this couple that transported their house on their backpack.
We returned to the village to buy some food and to ask about the boat, which, after all, would only arrive later. We returned with the little we managed to find, which was still enough for dinner.
We joined the group and we all ate together! The conversation around the table was lively and everyone laughed with us. Finally, It was not every day that a friendly couple installed a tent in their garden…
Later, I joined the son who I noticed he was always sitting by himself, in his corner, reading his books, using his cellphone, and painting.
The son told me how he liked makeup, singing, and the ideas he had about the world. He also told me that his life was lonely there because he could not find many people with similar. Sometimes, when he went to the village, some people laughed at the way he dressed. He wished to live in Manila, where he lived once, but he had to return to help his Father.
The moon was nearly full and the night was pleasant. Mathieu was still on the table with the Father and the workers and I, traveled in the inner world of the Son, a human being that felt misfit inside his own house.
We spoke for hours.
He taught me some makeup tricks;
Read me fragments from a book;
Sang songs from the choir to me;
And told me about a platonic love.
We laughed and whispered.
He shared secrets that lived in his soul.
I listened the best I could.
I smiled with love about everything he told me.
And with him, I left a little bit of me too.
That night it poured strong rain, the dogs barked loud, and I woke up feeling peaceful, thoughtful, and thankful for being comfortable and next to Mathieu.
On the next day, we said goodbye with many hugs and feeling sad to leave. They told us to return whenever we wanted that we would always be welcomed there.
It was like we pressed pause to our plan so we could experience something new and could continue learning about ourselves…
We got to our initial point, ready to finally go to the cleanest and clearest water in the world.
Seeing the boat arriving it felt like a small miracle!
The boat only took 10 people and it was not comfortable at all. They warned us about how the sea was generally rough and that some areas had strong waves and currents.
I have the stomach of a small bird, so it took me 15 minutes to feel seasick.
I forgot to take my seasick pills. So, I was getting ready for one of the worst boat rides of my life.
At first, the waves were not strong but we were going against the current. After some time, the waves increased considerably and I spent the entire trip lying on Mathieu’s lap. He looked better than me and kept saying “I just have to focus on a point and it will get better”. It was one of the worst boat trips of my life… I thought.
I could not imagine that the worst was still yet to come…
December 2017,
Patricia Assis
