I got up around 7. The butchering was almost finished and soon Jovan threw some meat on the grill for breakfast. The meat was delicious and I even tried the liver which was fine but maybe not my first choice.
The head and feet had been ordered by someone and needed to be delivered. We were going to go along but it got a little late and Frankie took it instead.
We headed down to Carmen and jumped a bus to the macaque preserve. The monkeys are fairly small, the 28 year old king is only maybe 2 feet tall. There were also some very small ones and most sizes in between. They were well trained to interact with humans. You could buy peanuts at one of the visitor centers and the monkeys definitely put people together with peanuts. You hold your hand out and they come sidling over for a handful of peanuts. They also could store an amazing amount in their cheeks. A monkey with bulging cheeks would still come get more food. Meanwhile, there were others leaping and swinging and it looked like falling thru the trees but I suppose the falling was actually very controlled. I believe you can spend night at the preserve also. The yellow pin is the road back to the monkey preserve.
We got on another very full bus and ride down the road a little ways to the manmade forest, at the blue dot. There is an area that was replanted by a university to mahogany trees, and it was beautiful. It actually reminded me of the woods up north, with the tall straight trees and fairly open under the trees. There were also a number of tourists along the road taking pictures in all sorts of poses.
We waited a few minutes for the bus to Tagbilaran, but it did come. It was also very full. We rode it to town then caught a multicab to Shakeys pizza. I had forgotten how short multicabs are. My head wasnt so far from the ceiling just sitting, without trying to walk in and out. But it’s all part of the experience!
We ate lunch at Shakeys, a delicious pizza joint that is very similar to American pizza. We got a Cheesy Chicken and the Manager’s Choice, both great.
After lunch we ran across to the mall so Brent could get new flips. His ripped out on Sunday.
This was out next stop, the house of Salvador (Bodon) the fisherman we were planning an excursion with. We visited at their house, then went to the house of a brother who had passed away on Saturday. His casket was in the house and we sat around the room on chairs and sang to his widow, who is an expelled sister. They think he died of a heart attack in his sleep. James’s mom and sister were also along, since they were here for the funeral tomorrow. There is a small congregation there, maybe 8 members or so.
Bodon borrowed a larger boat for all of us because his could only haul 5 Filipinos, not a bunch of big Americans. He spent a little while getting it ready and loading his gear while we sat in the hut at the end of the bamboo pier that leads out to the bamboo rafts where the boats dock.
That spot is Bodon’s house.
This is basically where he took us to.
We left the dock almost sunset, and headed out to this area. When we were at the right spot, he let his net out. It is roughly 400 ft by 60ft and the water was around 250ft. The current carried the net out into a gradual curve. The next step was to wait for the fish so some guys laid on the boat, I stood on the back and admired the stars a while, we visited, and waited for about an hour and a half.
Bodon pulled the net in and by watching it looked like hard work even for him, and he does it every day. I think it would be a gill net, the net just hangs in he water and the fish hit it and get stuck. He pulled in only maybe 20 fish, which would be a poor catch unfortunately. When we got back to the house about 9:45, his wife made us fish and rice which were awesome, and another raw fish dish that was ok, but not as good as fried! Brent liked it tho.
After supper we took a tricycle to the Pantawan Guest House for night to be
ready for snorkeling tomorrow. Jovan and James are also here with us.
restless feet 