Newspaper Column Regularly Featured in the South Coast Herald
Since 2020, this little newspaper column has become a standard feature in the Lind household. It’s an actual newspaper – the kind that rubs off black onto your fingers – publishing our comings and goings here in Oribi Gorge.
Part of the motivation behind it was to give the Lind children something in black and white one day after we get old and don’t remember all the details. The local community here also seems to have enjoyed the offering, which tries to share our story 400 words at a time. A few neighbours and friends have appreciated some of the humour, relatability, family drama, and close encounters with nature. International readers just gasp, wondering why we choose to live in a place where Black Mambas do.
Why Oribi Mom Started
Ambitions to be a journalist in the teen years were short-lived. If you’d asked then whether we’d like to just blog for a local newspaper whenever inspiration hit, it would have seemed inferior to “real” journalism. What a crazy idea.
Fast-forward to about a month before the entire world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to share our experiences felt overwhelming. At eight months pregnant, South Africa’s hard lockdown had cancelled just about everything. Things got complicated, including the smooth, quick route needed to reach the hospital three hours away.
Instead of calming soundtracks and earphones, we had to remember to pack our eldest child’s birth certificate in the hospital bag — just in case. What if the police stopped us on the highway to ask why we were out of our home when the government had expressly told everyone to stay put. We’d even rehearsed the speech to say in between contractions. “Yes, he’s our son. Yes, we had to bring him with us. No, there’s nobody to look after him at home. No, we couldn’t go to another hospital because the doctor is at the one three hours away (another long story).”
We hadn’t found much online about going through a late-stage pregnancy during a global pandemic. Nobody else crazy enough to try it? So, we wrote one. And we’ve never looked back.
“Mist-blanketed rivers with crocodiles have tales to tell, I’m sure.” – Heather Lind.
The mist in Oribi Gorge, just like in the rainforest. PHOTO BY: HEATHER LIND
October 16, 2024
More than a decade ago, we planted a tree in the rainforest. It was one of those last-minute decisions you make when you’re leaving a beautiful place and wonder how you can leave some sort of mark on it.
We’ve always been free souls who preferred to leave footprints and take only memories. I guess it was a sort of ‘ethical traveller’ decision. It’s the same reason we never rode an elephant or went on those boat tours to see the propeller-etched whale sharks they feed to keep nearby for tourists.
We don’t buy curios most of the time unless the mementoes on sale are directly helping a local person earn a living. In this case, planting the tree was the best of both worlds. We were supporting a local business and, at the same time, contributing to reforesting the badly depleted jungle.
That tree also contributes to the oxygen you and I are breathing at this very moment, 11 years down the line. Yes, we understand that this little side business of the place we stayed at was to make money.
Isn’t it okay to feed your family off the money tourists are willing to pay for a tree-planting exercise? You’re making a living and helping the jungle ecosystem. We even got a ‘plaque’ – a little wooden thing painted with ‘Linds’ on it. They stuck it in the thick mud next to our sapling. I guarantee that plaque is not there today. It was the kind you might recycle later for another tourist by painting over it. That’s okay. The tree, though? I often think about it.
I’ve planted many, many trees since then, particularly on our farm in Oribi Gorge. Hundreds of trees. But I still wonder what that tree looks like now. Is it towering over the little wooden huts with the rickety boardwalk? That boardwalk was really the only way to walk from your hut to the place they served food.
The ground was basically just thick mud up to the knee. Thousands of leeches were also just waiting for you to squelch over there so that they could feast.
I’d still go back to see that tree, but we’re older and wiser now, aren’t we? Imagine what else we would notice ten years on. Mist-blanketed rivers with crocodiles have tales to tell, I’m sure.
“You put your money into the honesty box that’s on the table and then go home with your beautiful plant.”
PHOTO BY PIXABAY
September 25, 2023
When you drive up from the nature reserve, there’s a little table of plants in front of a polocrosse field. I often get strawberry plants and other little flowers from there to spruce up my garden. They have labels with a price or just a sign that says R10 or something. And you put your money into the honesty box that’s on the table and then go home with your beautiful plant.
The boys even bought a little strawberry plant the other day for a local Gogo’s birthday. Their dad helped them deliver it to her door, and the next week she had two fresh strawberries in her pot. They also bought me a blackberry bush so that we can grow our own sweet berries to eat. It’s very prickly and I haven’t found a good place for it yet. Didn’t Farmer McGregor have a blackberry hedge that Peter Rabbit hid behind? Maybe I’ll try that.
If I’m Honest, There’s So Much To See In Oribi Gorge
The honesty table even had a geocache by it a while ago! The boys were very excited to spend an afternoon doing that with their cousins and have found all sorts of little treasures in our area here.
Plus, if we drive slowly enough, we can see the ostriches that live at the polocrosse field, a sight that really excites little imaginations. They’re spectacular birds, though it seems odd to call them that.
They’re nothing like mannikins or the lovely sunbird that’s back making her nest on my porch this year again. They can’t soar over the deep gorge and farmlands like the majestic vulture colonies we adore here. And they don’t sit still in the shadows and blend in with the green like the gorgeous Narina trogons, either.
In any case, seeing ostriches in Oribi Gorge shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s a place that takes your breath away for many reasons, including the beauty of still being able to have an honesty box in the neighbourhood.
Don’t forget your R10 notes next time you come up here. You might get a flower or shrub for your garden to remind you of this beautiful part of the world.
Kenya is home to a vibrant throng spanning 42 languages that brings cultural diversity to the forefront of this interesting nation. One such character was Mr. Christopher Odinga.
His sand sculpture of a smiling lion rolling on the sand drew us in to his life story and he happily shared his tale of fortitude. Sitting awkwardly next to his crutches, laid carefully beside him on the sand, he works the sand with his hands and a trowel, paying attention to each groove and surface as he smooths it, fluffs it, cuts it and moulds it. His eyes smile as he talks, vigilant of the waves nearby that will remove all trace of his work in a few hours’ time.
“I am a sculptor now, but I was meant to be a lawyer. I had enough grades to enter law school but that didn’t work out. Now I’m too old and I have a family to take care of – my wife can’t work, she has no education.”
When probed a little more, he shared the story of how he came to be here, a polio sufferer with minimal use of his legs, two small children and far from his birthplace near Lake Victoria on the opposite side of the country. “When I was three, I became sick, but my parents thought it was malaria because many people get malaria in that place. They were illiterate and the walk to any clinic was three days away, so they never took me for any inoculations as a baby. They left me to recover on my own but when I was too sick to move, they made the journey to seek help but arrived too late to help me.”
He looks a little sad as he describes the transition that he was forced to make as a little boy, sent to Kisumu to a ‘special’ school where others like him were educated and looked after by the Salvation Army. Pride for his grades and his hard work despite mounting obstacles, he describes his academic achievements and how he was primed to enter law school and pursue his dream at a time when the newly independent Kenya was growing up. His eyes flash as he indignantly says, “But then the Kenyan management became greedy and corrupt and they took all the money and ran away. Me and many other people like me were left with nothing, no home, no food, no work and no future. That is when I started to move towards the bigger cities, using some skills taught at school to create sculptures and oil paintings to make income.”
Me and many other people like me were left with nothing, no home, no food, no work and no future.
The sand lion has pointy triangle teeth and he seems to be grinning up at the sky, his tail bound to flick up at any moment. Christopher starts to dig a trench around the base, perhaps extending the short life of the grinning lion before the tide sweeps him away.
“It’s okay. I met my wife and we have two children. I make enough money sometimes to buy them clothes and food. But if you have any things you do not want to take home, please give them to me – toothpaste, soap, mosquito repellent for my children, anything.”
His hands stop and he looks down the beach assessing how hopeful his day’s takings look from the number of tourists heading towards him – there are only two. One ignores him and keeps walking, the other looks at the sculpture, smiles and gives him a few shillings.
“I also do paintings.” He rolls out a small canvas from his tatty backpack. It is a scene of zebra in front of Mount Kilimanjaro. “Sometimes tourists can show me their photos and I paint it for them.” He even frames it, he tells me, and the price is negotiable. He will make it perfect, he says. “I paint the picture from memory, in my home, and I will bring it back to you next day. Pay if you like it. I do oil painting. Do you have a photo I can paint for you?”
Yes, we did. Our trip to the Masaai Mara is now forever immortalised by Christopher’s incredible talent – and he mashed two of our pictures to capture our memories in one beautiful piece with acacias, the plains, the wildebeest and the Mara River. What a privilege to be able to support this man who “hates to beg” and takes pride in his work. He may be a masterful storyteller, but he delivered on his promise and the look of appreciation in his eyes reflected genuine gratitude as we exchanged our painting for cash.
Do you have any photographs that Christopher can paint for you? Find him on Facebook next time you are in Diani Beach, Ukunda!
We arrived at Ukunda Airport (Diani) having been warned of blistering heat and humidity; and told to definitely wear shorts and leave the jackets at home. As soon as we landed, however, it started raining and stayed wonderfully cool for the whole two weeks we were in Diani. Daily rain showers kept things fresh, settling the dusty surrounds and covering the landscape in a lather of clouds against the harsh equatorial sun.
The taxi driver kindly took us shopping (at the supermarket) so that we could fill up our grocery bags and then we headed over to Sand Island Cottages on Tiwi Beach.
Surprise! Turtles!
Arriving on the first day at Sand Island in the pouring rain, we were excitedly told that green turtles were hatching, so naturally we ignored the torrential downpour, left our groceries in the taxi, and ran to watch the stragglers, as they tenaciously found their way to the blue ocean in front of our cottages. Drenched and happy, it’s something I will never forget – what a special thing to witness this brave fight to survive against all odds. And it happened twice during our stay!
The cute little creatures had to fight against sand, grass, dogs, birds, a hungry octopus, hunting fish and all sorts of other obstacles to freedom; just so that they could reach the big wide ocean beyond the reef and face the real dangers of life underwater. The survivors of this family will then head straight back to Tiwi Beach in a few years time to carry on the generations of green turtles and the cycle of life.
Nelly the Elephant (Twitter: @Nelly_Says) celebrated as the last baby turtle finally reached the ocean!
Saidi is the turtle conservationist for Tiwi Beach and kept us well-informed about the turtle protection efforts here. Smiling and friendly, he carries a great respect for the turtles and strives to educate everyone he meets about their qualities and needs. The training he received has given him the skills and conservation knowledge he needs to save Tiwi’s population of turtles. He relocates the nests to safer distances from the sea (or from people) and monitors the progress of the nests that are labelled and recorded by Watamu Turtles.
Sand Island Cottages
These quaint beach cottages are a great choice for a quiet getaway and a couple of days (or weeks) of rest. North of Diani, it’s about a fifteen minute drive from Diani Beach and well away from the hustle and bustle of the town itself.
Named for the sand island that appears during low tide, Sand Island Cottages are the perfect location to see the coastline open up as thousands of birds descend of Sand Island to pick up the crabs and sea titbits left exposed by the receding waters. Watch out for the abundance of spiky sea urchins when you walk across the bay!
The self-catering cottages were comfortable, airy and clean, with views of the beach and shady verandahs with soft cushions to nuzzle into a gripping book from their library (all proceeds from the small book rental “fee” go towards providing books for the local schools in the area – initiative I thought was fantastic!) Our friends and family stayed in Simu, Pono and Tewa.
Tiwi beach was clean and pretty much private to those staying at the handful of resorts along the shore – no beach boys or tour operators in sight. The beautiful Kenyan lady at the resort, with her colourful outfits and a smiling baby strapped to her back, kept us in abundant supply of samoosas and ‘mandazi’ when we needed it; and there were people to buy fish or kikois from if we needed.
Mandazi is something like the South African ‘vetkoek’ (fat cake, in English) and is a mouthful of deep fried, doughy deliciousness somewhere in between a donut and a bread roll.
The staff and management were professional, attentive, kind and friendly – it felt like we were part of the family and being looked after with great care. Arty and Cheryl provide excellent service and information about the area, being happily available whenever needed and concerned with bettering both the environment and the community around them.
One initiative we like is the Book Hire system at Sand Island Cottages. There is a library of books available for rent by guests, with a small fee paid and a deposit that you get back when you return the book. The small amount kept by Sand Island goes towards providing books and materials for the local schools in Ukunda that need it the most. So get reading!
Kenyan Hospitality
Running through the local communities along the beach road under the watchful eye of some ancient Baobabs, it was easy to see why the Kenyan people are known for their smiles and friendly greetings. Those commuting to work on their bicycles gave a friendly wave and a happy “Jambo, jambo!”; and there was always singing somewhere on the wind.
There are locals around to lend your support to: like turtle-volunteer Saidi who also has a small wooden boat in which he takes guests to see Starfish Bay. We hired the congenial Ali for the week and he cooked superbly for us, providing freshly baked bread rolls, scrumptious curries and Kenyan-Western fusion dishes. The favourite of the week was difficult to choose, but it was either the hand-pressed coconut milk fish curry with chipatis or the delicious American-style pancakes he whipped out; or was it the daily supply of hot, home-baked bread rolls?
Linapacan is the small archipelego between Coron Busuanga and Palawan mainland. Coron Busuanga, Culion Island, Linapacan and Iloc Island are part of the Palawan province of the Philippines; and it is a truly stunning area.
Off the main drag, Linapacan is not a common tourist destination, especially for those with limited time to explore the more inaccessible parts of the 54 islands in its domain.
Getting to Linapacan
After much research and deliberation on our journey, we decided to try and take a cargo boat from Coron to Linapacan, and if we couldn’t find one at the harbour (because there aren’t always delivery boats every day), we would take the ferry the next day (buying the 800 peso ticket from the pier in the morning). Luckily for us, a friendly trike driver helped us locate a boat picking up goods. The cargo boat eventually left at noon (giving us a solid three hours to get to know fellow passengers as we all waited) and arrived at the island around 5pm. They charged us 500 pesos each. It was worth it not only for the little bit of money saved (no time saved) but also for the contacts we had made on the boat during the journey.
We hopped on to this cargo boat to get to Linapacan.
On the boat to Linapacan there were six passengers and four crew. One passenger turned out to be quite fluent in English and held the prestigious position of Barangay Counsellor (a local government official of San Miguel, Linapacan), which elevated his status greatly in the eyes of the Filipinos here. His name is Monmon (said “Mawn Moon”) and he convinced us to come to his island instead of going to San Miguel (the main city on Linapacan). He said that his friend “had a cottage” where we could stay (price unknown), that there was good snorkelling on their reef and that he would feed us.
Inapupuan Island
Why not? So, of course we agreed and we got off the boat with him at the tiny Inapupuan Island (15 minutes north of Linapacan by fishing boat). The low expectations of our detour served us well and made it more exciting to discover a whole village that was excited to have tourists in their midst. The ‘cottage’ was actually an open bamboo hut on the beach, with a only a roof, a table and a bench. There was also an outdoor ‘bathroom’ where we could wash (in buckets) and use the long-drop under the stars (with some draughty bamboo walls for privacy). The owner of the hut (a 19-year old smiling girl) cooked a huge portion of fish and rice for us and carefully watched us eat every last drop by solar lamp.
CULTURE TIP: It seems that in this part of the Philippines it was expected that we as guests eat first, while everyone watches us and prompts us to eat as much as we possibly can in one sitting. The elders then ate what we left, and then the others tucked in. It was quite something to get used to people literally staring at every mouthful we took and not being willing to let us eat an appropriate-sized portion but insisting on piling up our plates at every meal; sometimes filling our plates for us despite our pleas that we were full to the brim. [Thank goodness we swam for a few hours each day to keep those calories from sewing our clothes smaller during the night!]
This was our ‘cottage’ on Inapupuan island.
We slept on the table in our trusty duvet cover, fighting off only a few mosquitoes, but enjoying the breeze and the bright stars above. Like the birds, we woke up in true island style to the call of the confused roosters (sometimes all night), the dogs and villagers waking up with the sunrise; and the fishing boats returning from their morning expeditions. This area is known for its squid-fishing industry, which are collected between 5pm and 5am every night on boats with about eight lights shining on the water to attract the luminous-spotted ink-makers large and small.
Dried Squid
Inapupuan is apparently famous for dried mini squid (about a hand’s length) and we saw them laying out the squid at sunrise to dry for two days. After this, it is sold to traders in San Miguel (like BRC hotel), who send it on to the Manila markets about twice a week. A kilogram of mini dried squid sells at about 120 pesos, and the large dried squid at about 300 pesos per kilogram (much more than the measly 37 pesos per kilogram they get for the cashew nuts that come in from a few of the islands).
Inapupuan’s main source of income is from the dried squid that they ship to Manila once a week.
The next morning we jumped in for a snorkel (the reef is only 30 metres offshore) and unfortunately met with an array of sparkling jellyfish, which quickly redirected us back to our beach hut nursing a few little stings (nothing major). A great pity indeed as the reef looked amazing through the clear blue water off the boats. Inapupuan, we will have to come and see your reef again!
Patoyo Island
Patoyo Liao Beach
Monmon’s brother kindly ferried us to the next island on his (tiny) fishing boat, as we had read about staying on Patoyo Island (right opposite San Miguel – about 10 minutes on a boat). He dropped us on the beach with our bags and waved goodbye as he took Monmon back to his job across the bay in San Miguel. We followed our noses to a village (called Osun), asked a couple of people where we could stay and secured a spare bed at what we like to call, The Eagle Inn, with Berta and Lito.
Berta and Lito
The bamboo frame is in their front room and was available for 200 pesos per person per night and we gave them what we thought was fair for the generous meals they provided (fish, squid, rice, water and coffee). Two nights later we moved across to new friends on the neighbouring beach.
HIGHLIGHT: Lito has an eagle (that he seems to have rescued from a fishing net) perched on his tree, which eats two fish a day and takes a bath in the ocean every week. An amazing sight to see Lito (a small Filipino fisherman in baggy basketball shorts) lift the huge bird by its body, well away from its sharp hooked beak, dunk it and splash it a couple of times in the ocean, smooth down its feathers and then carry it back to its perch next to the pigs, chickens, cats and dogs.
Lito’s Eagle on Patoyo Island in the village of Osoon
Days on Patoyo were spent lazing on the beach, snorkelling in the awesome reef just off the shore, observing the local fisherman, sleeping in our hammocks and generally loving life in paradise.
The Gonzales and Castolo Families
The next two nights we spent with the Castolo family. Pastor Gonzales met us on the beach, introduced himself and then asked us to come and stay with his employers (he is the caretaker of the Castolo beach). This was another lovely introduction to the true Filipino hospitality and character. There was an abundance of food, laughter, company and an easy air of peace between friends. Since they were all Christians and Catholics, it was an added bonus to be in the company of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Gonzales shimmied up the coconut palm to bring us a drink.
Mrs Gonzales was particularly wonderful, the definition of ‘being clothed in strength and dignity’. Her five children reflect her noble work ethic and her boundless energy to serve put us to shame over and over again. We were so blessed to have met both the Gonzales and the Castolos on Patoyo Island.
Jayar and Mialyn’s Wedding
Jayar and Mialyn’s Wedding
The last day on Patoyo we met another family from San Miguel who were frantically making wedding preparations on the Liao beach (Note: You need to pay the caretaker 100 pesos per person to use this beach). Building, scraping, cutting, cleaning, burning, dusting and a whole lot more transformed this already beautiful beach into an exquisite wedding venue in preparation for the weekend. The bride and groom (and most of their family members, separately) invited us to attend their wedding on Saturday and also gave us lunches and a free ride over to San Miguel when we left Patoyo.
DID YOU KNOW? At a local island wedding in this area of the Philippines, the word gets out fairly quickly about the big celebration. The family expects (and complains about) all the uninvited guests whom they know will just sneak in (after dark) and therefore provides a mountain of food to ensure these strangers are also fed. Our wedding hosts slaughtered six pigs and sure enough after the sun had set and the reception party was under way, the boats started rolling in one by one; bringing crowds of strangers who also wanted some share the delicious food and dance!
The groom’s aunty, Maileen – of The Brinze Kylene boat – helped us find a place to stay in San Miguel (at the BRC hotel), offered us food and gave us boatloads of information about island hopping tours and getting to El Nido from here. Wow, we remember now why we just love the Philippines!
San Miguel
This sleepy little island town is the municipal capital of Linapacan and considered a bustling metropolis by the islanders of its ten barangays. We spent time here before our island hopping trip with the Escultors and used it as a base from which to do some island hopping (close to San Miguel) in small fishing boats. San Miguel contains an elementary school, a high school, two small bakeries, a handful of stores, a municipal office (where Monmon works), a basketball court, a few piers, lots of fishing boats, a big catholic church and bamboo, tin and brick houses. There were a couple of motorbikes, push carts and bicycles, but no larger vehicles that we could see.
A typical day in sleepy San MiguelThe Cabiguens own the BRC hotel and store
Island hopping
You can do an island hopping tour, for example, for 2 nights 3 days of camping (they set up, cook and clean up) with snorkelling for about 6000 pesos (total for the boat and experience for two people, or more). Travelinds did an absolutely fantastic 3 night 4 day island hopping tour with Maileen and Benji on the Brinze Kylene. Check out the details in our Brinze Kylene Expedition post.
GO LOCAL: To hire a fisherman and his little boat from San Miguel for one day costs between 1000 – 1500 pesos excluding lunch (no shade, slow and sometimes rickety) – and what an adventure it is! The cash goes to the fisherman, and by extension his family and community, so it is definitely a good cause and directly supports the local economy.
Robin and his dad took us out for a day to see the islands
There were two island hopping tours that we took from San Miguel – one for the day (with a local fisherman above) to some of the smaller islands in the area, and one with the Brinze Kylene for three nights. The Brinze Kylene dropped us off in Sibaltan for our final week on the Palawan mainland.
Arrival in Coron Busuanga, Palawan awakened a ripple of excitement through the eighty or so passengers on the small twin-propellor plane, as we shuddered over aquamarine bays with beach-lined islands towards the only flat land on Coron Busuanga; the airstrip that opens a gateway to the Caliamanes islands.
Upon arrival the smiling young airhostess kindly requested that we walk around the plane’s wings, collect our baggage and enjoy our stay in Coron. She looked quite relieved to have finished her duties because we had left an hour late due to delays from the Manila air traffic control tower and she had done a lucky draw of some CebGo souvenirs to keep the mood light and the passengers entertained.
What to expect
The first impression of Coron Busuanga was of a desert island; brown, bare mountains all around with dusty roads and a couple of herds of livestock scattered around the shade of the few unburnt trees (even a few Brahmans, Dad!). Where are the islands and the lush green coastal vegetation? Well, it turns out that we picked the hottest time of the year to visit this tropical paradise. Everything is brown, there is enough breeze to keep you from keeling over, but an airconditioned room is a precious commodity and a highly appreciated respite from sweaty streets.
That’s one of the Travelinds pair in the bay below Kayangan Lake viewpoint!
It’s also the most beautiful time of the year for sea conditions (snorkelling in the calm blue ocean!) although in some areas we met with some scary and abundant jellyfish (but were able to swim around the few big box jellyfish easily). As far as island hopping goes, the weather is absolutely perfect under a shaded boat – the breeze keeps you cool along with frequent swims and snorkelling throughout the day. Like a technicolour kaleidoscope that draws the eyes from one amazing sight to the next, the sunlight filters down through the pristine waters and illuminates the beautiful reefs and all therein.
Highlights of Coron Busuanga (the town)
Favourite taxi driver: Erwin was phenomenal. We called him all the time, he found us accommodation on the last night, a boat, contacts and cellphone assistance. Call him on
Favourite snacks: Julie’s bakeshop (around the corner from Xpeditions office) serves fresh bread of all varieties daily. It is possible to buy whole bags of deliciousness for under 100 pesos.
The Coron Public Market where we bought most of our fresh produce.
Xpeditions in Coron
Having done some research online and looking at flyers in town, we decided to go on a tour with Caliamanes Expeditions Ecotours. It seemed like an organised, eco-friendly company that was as careful to preserve the environment as to show off Coron’s best assets. We did Tour E and Tour B and were very happy with both of these tours – despite the slightly commercial nature of the tours (where you quite a few other tourist boats and most do the same routes from day to day).
Xpedition Tour B group for Coron Island
Tuktuk Adventures
Erwin and Ricardo were two extremely helpful tuk-tuk operators during our time here but represented the two extremes of Coron’s (and Philippines) service levels. Erwin picked us up and tried to charge us more than double the amount that our hotel mentioned, then dropped us at a ‘delicious local food’ restaurant (after our request for cheap local food), which had prices three times the amount of the real local hangouts. Needless to say, we ditched him the next day.
Ricardo, on the other hand, was a polite, soft-spoken driver who gave us free commentary, great advice, honest information, and standard prices. He showed us real local restaurants, helped us sort out our Globe/Smart SIM card problems, found us another place to stay when we needed to rebook and also came early in the morning to help us look for a cargo boat to Linapacan.
Coron to El Nido
After four days in Coron, we decided to head towards a new (unplanned) destination on our way to El Nido. Having read up about Linapacan (with its 54 islands), we tried for two days to find out how to get there and what to expect. Tao travel agency in Coron (near the bus terminal) was helpful and found out about the shuttle boats (for mostly tourists) for us at 900 pesos per person, leaving at 7.30am on Wednesday. This was for only one company though, which had limited day schedules (but we didn’t know this until later).
Other blogs had mentioned finding a cargo boat (doing deliveries) to catch a lift for a much cheaper fare (anything from 300 pesos up). We tried to find one on the one day, couldn’t and went to speak to the main pier personnel for more information. They informed us that there were boats most days to El Nido (different tour companies) for 800 pesos (purchase the ticket at the terminal at 7 am on the day).
These trips are not guaranteed, as the weather and other factors can cause delays or even cancellations. As always, one needs a flexible schedule and a positive attitude about setbacks when travelling in the Philippines.
All in all, we managed to catch a boat, explore the islands, meet fabulous islanders, attend a local wedding, snorkel on deserted coral reefs and make a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories. Check out the details in Exploring the Islands of Linapacan.
Palawan Mainland
From Linapacan, we took an island-hopping tour boat to Sibaltan to spend our last five days exploring Palawan island. Arriving on the mainland after four days on an island-hopping boat was like travelling to a different planet.
Sibaltan
At Sibaltan there were buildings, shops, basketball courts, hotels and lots of smiling locals. Since we only had five days left in the Philippines, we made our way from here to El Nido and then to Sabang before catching a flight home from Puerto Princesa.
Spending only one night in Sibaltan, we stayed at the new Bayog Beach Campsite in a tent. The museum also had a cheap room open and there were two other lodges along the palm-lined beach, too. Bayog’s friendly owners organised a van for us to El Nido for early the following morning.
On a bamboo platform, the tent had a comfortable double mattress, a place for luggage, a bug sheet, and good ventilation. We looked right out on to the beach a few steps away. The bathroom (shared) was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly, polite and professional. The tents are placed for privacy from others and a view – with two hammocks, a table, and chairs.
El Nido
El Nido was a totally different place from any we had visited before. It has the beauty of the islands, with the tourism of Boracay and the rugged landscape of Borneo – and a touch of fairyland. An interesting place to keep you occupied, or rested, depending on you. The limestone islands made us think of Krabi, but, it has far more beautiful water colours on the dazzling bays.
We arrived, found a hotel (Tres Verde), explored the town, met a flamboyant Italian with a zest for life called Fabio, joined up with Fabio for a tour (with a local fisherman that we found on Corong-Corong beach), bought corn from a corn guy, bought pork from a pork barbecue on the side of the road (just pieces of pork), walked the town ragged looking for an ATM (and didn’t find ANY WORKING ones), marvelled at the sunsets and then unfortunately, had to leave to see Sabang on the way to catch our plane home!
Sabang
The last stop on the impromptu itinerary was Sabang – most famous for its location alongside the Palawan Underground River – a subterranean river featured on the New Seven Wonders of Nature list. We had already seen Halong Bay (Vietnam), Jeju Island (South Korea) and Table Mountain (South Africa); so it was high up on our list of must-sees while in Palawan.
Sabang is a tiny village whose economy basically revolves around the tourists going in and out of the underground river each day. There is one fancy hotel, a couple of lodges and a few backpackers, small stores, one or two restaurants and a long, sandy beach lined with palm trees and hammocks. As a destination, we would have stayed here even without the subterranean attractions.
Manila Airport
As an aside, this is the first time we’d used Manila airport (April 2016) in eighteen months and we were nervous about our short changeover time between Terminal 3 and 4. Previously it took us a good two hours as we had to exit Terminal 3, catch a taxi (or wait for the 20 pesos unairconditioned shuttle van to fill up) across Manila’s rightly infamous traffic and then rush in to Terminal 4 to do the next three security checks (and that was only if we had our boarding passes already printed). This time was a completely different experience.
We walked through immigration in about three minutes, found the signs (still inside the terminal) for the inter-terminal transfer, picked up a free Globe sim card and drew money at one of the handful of ATMs on the way, signed up at the desk (where she also printed our boarding pass), went through one security gate and waited about fifteen minutes for the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus then took us over the runways to Terminal 4 in about ten minutes and we simply walked in to the domestic terminal. What a breeze!
An amazing end to life on some Philippine islands, our Brinze Kylene expedition took us from San Miguel, Linapacan and ended at Sibaltan on the Palawan mainland. Read about how we came to meet them here.
The Hosts
Our hosts Benji and Maileen were entertaining and hospitable, looking after us throughout our stay in Linapacan, as well as on the island hopping tour. Their service was phenomenal and so much fun. Their crew, Midel and Guerrero, seemed to have limitless energy and kept the boat running smoothly through the whole trip. They cooked for us, put up and took down our tent, found us the most exquisite coral reefs along the way and entertained us each night around an impressively large bonfire.
The Boat
Since we spent most of our time on the boat, it serves that it was rather comfortable and well-equipped for such a simple carrier. Described as a catamaran-style with balancing beams on each side, it had benches, a small cabin, a tarpaulin covering, a ladder to get out of the ocean and a small boxed-in toilet and wash area. Downright luxurious in terms of the local fishing boats!
The Food
Every day in the Philippines is another chance for fish and rice. Different fish, mind you, but fish all the same and rice to fill in the gaps. We loved the fresh seafood and feasted on lapulapu, barracuda, squid, white fish and tuna – all barbecued over a fire and served with a decent portion of sticky white rice. Every now and again we ate the precious commodities called vegetables (cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers) and this was a real treat for the locals and for us as availability is scarce.
The three kilogram barracuda we bought from another fisherman.Lapu Lapu fresh from the ocean.A peacock mantis shrimp that we caught and ate!
And Most Importantly, The Islands
The archipelego of 54 islands is hard to describe because each one is slightly different to the next, sparkly, beautiful, rugged and unspoiled by industrialisation or development. We lost count of exactly how many islands we visited in the end, but managed to go at least 15 islands on during the 4-day trip.
Linapacan is said to have some of “the clearest water in the world” – we believe it! Check it out.
Here was the itinerary:
Day 1: Leaving from San Miguel, to Dimancal (check out Karel’s tent resort here), Bolina, Manligad, Asis and Cagdanao (first island camp spot)
The island across the bay, Balenben, had island huts available for rent at 300 Pesos in a fantastic reef area.
Day 2: Manlihan, Cala-cala (spelt Lacalaca) and Takling (second island camp spot)
Day 3: Calibangbangan and Magransing (third island camp spot – the most beautiful place we have ever seen!)
Day 4: Pical, Mausunon and ending at Sibaltan (mainland Palawan)
Each had coral reefs right off its shores and were almost guaranteed to be completely deserted. Besides, don’t these pictures (from a humble camera phone) make you want to go there right now? Call Maileen and Benji for an adventure on the Brinze Kylene!
Linapacan is well worth your time – wow! What do you think about Palawan?
After spending a week at the Tip of Borneo (Simpang Mengayau), here is Travelinds’ take on the few restaurants in the area:
Ranked at number 1:
Merrimas Villas Restaurant – try the fish dishes (all of them) and enjoy the reasonably priced “set menu” especially the “fish ginger.” Read Travelinds’ piece on Chef Jainnes Apin – the very talented chef at Merrimas whose quality food was most certainly the best in the area.
Contending for overall second place:
Tip Top (Howard’s) against Tommy’s Place restaurant. Both serve a very similar menu, both are priced about the same. Nothing unique about the dishes, presentation or prices but it did the trick.
Last place:
Borneo tip lodge restaurant: A menu similar to Tip top and Tommy’s, but so many mosquitoes, bland food and very, very slow service. Pricing the same as Tommy’s and Tip Top.
Breakfast spot:
Tommy’s Place offered a great breakfast menu (highly negotiable and can be suited to your preferences). We had oats with hot soya milk, fresh fruit, toast with jam, coffee. There were also eggs available (omelettes etc). A much better variety (price and nutrition) than most other places we stayed at in Sabah.
Cheapest beer:
Although we didn’t eat here, we did find that the restaurant that is the closest to the Tip itself (I think it is called Tip of Borneo resort/villas resto) had the cheapest beer out of all the restaurants (RM 5). We went here for the gorgeous sunsets and we enjoyed a beer as the sun went down on Simpang Mengayau. It is on the other side of Merrimas Villas, closest to the Tip itself. Although, if you pick up a bag of trash and do your part in cleaning up the Tip’s long white beach, you can get a free beer from Tip Top Restaurant – so it’s up to you!
In reality, the food is NOT the important part of a holiday to this part of Sabah. It’s a place of such beauty that it is the perfect place to just relax and unwind! But Bon Appetit!
Tip Top restaurant is right on the beach road of Tanjung Simpang Mengayau (the Tip of Borneo). It is also known by the names Howard’s or Tampat Do Aman restaurant.
It has a very relaxed beach vibe; sandy floors, wooden benches, bean bags and some chilled out tunes playing in the background. There are also some books to read and a lot of locals and tourists to chat too. The food is competitively priced with the rest of the area and there are some local dishes to try like ‘Hinava’ – raw fish marinated in citrus juice.
Inside the menu itself, there is a whole stack of information about the owner’s many business ventures, the sustainability focus and many community projects. There are so many ways that you can get involved in projects in the Kudat area through either volunteer work or donations; like turtle conservation, beach clean ups, volunteering in the local community, survival courses etc.
Personally I was very impressed with the detailed explanations of the different projects that are currently up and running in the area. I hope to get involved in some of these in the future.
Tanjung (Beach) Aru is the long, flat beach between the Kota Kinabalu International airport and the Sutera Harbour. It looks out on to the four islands off the coast (Manukan, Sapi, Mamutik and Gaya island).
We spent one morning here just sunbathing, reading and swimming; and then left after lunch. It was a lovely, quiet place, although the sand looked a little dirty (oily) in some patches. The water was surprisingly clear and from the amount of people swimming, didn’t seem to pose any health threats.
There is also a small park with benches and places to picnic. The one or two restaurants on the beachfront seemed reasonably priced and good enough for a lunch on the run.
Getting here:
Take (big) Bus Number 16 from Wawasan Bus Terminal.
MYR 1.50 each, ask for Tanjung Aru beach.
Note: There is a small bus (minibus) 16 that also goes to this area, but it drops you at Tanjung Aru town, not at the beach. So it is about a twenty-five minute walk to the beach from the town bus stop.
The mist in Oribi Gorge, just like in the rainforest. PHOTO BY: HEATHER LIND
PHOTO BY PIXABAY
Upon arrival the smiling young airhostess kindly requested that we walk around the plane’s wings, collect our baggage and enjoy our stay in Coron. She looked quite relieved to have finished her duties because we had left an hour late due to delays from the Manila air traffic control tower and she had done a lucky draw of some CebGo souvenirs to keep the mood light and the passengers entertained.
Erwin picked us up and tried to charge us more than double the amount that our hotel mentioned, then dropped us at a ‘delicious local food’ restaurant (after our request for cheap local food), which had prices three times the amount of the real local hangouts. Needless to say, we ditched him the next day.
From Linapacan, we took an island-hopping tour boat to Sibaltan to spend our last five days exploring Palawan island. Arriving on the mainland after four days on an island-hopping boat was like travelling to a different planet.
