Move
We arrived nice and early but when we saw the driver pass the other way, we asked what time the bus will go to Tagbilaran. He said 10am. Oh no the bus we assumed went at 9 didn't exist so we had to wait another hour. That is not too much of a problem standing at a bakery so we grabbed some cakes!
Next we went to the beach and saw the locals putting up a huge Christmas tree in front of the municipal building. We watched them hoist a large star on top whilst someone helped from a very precarious position inside the tree. Health and Safety were on holiday that day fortunately! There was a large meeting outside the tourist office. We didn't understand exactly what was happening but we think it was a job fair. Not many jobs exist and most people make a living from selling food, having a convenience store of driving a tricycle or motorbike taxi.
It got closer to bus time so we grabbed a fruit/coconut milk shake and walked back to our make believe bus stop. They don't really have bus stops. You can hail a bus from anywhere and jump off anywhere. Very convenient but they have to stop every 10 metres as another person gets on or off. It takes a while to get anywhere.
Bus arrived. We were whisked off to Tagbilaran. Maybe whisked is the wrong word. We were slowly despatched to Tagbilaran at 10.30 ... As the bus was much later than we anticipated, plus constant stopping it took a lot longer than expected. We had a ferry to catch and time started to look a little tight.
Finally, we arrived but we didn't feel there was enough time to walk to the ferry port. We looked around for a jeepney but couldn't see one so asked a tricycle to take us to the port. Negotiations are always painful. We thought the first price was a little steep so we asked another. His price was less and when we asked for a better deal, he agreed.
Off we sped for the ferry port. The driver was delightful, such a lovely man. He seemed super kind and friendly. We dropped his son at school and talked for the whole journey. We don't think he cared about the money for the ride but just wanted to say hi! Time was once again on our side so we grabbed lunch near the port which was cheap and pretty good. We bought our tickets, having waited in the plastic chair queue and paid the port fee. We then checked in at another counter.
Inside the terminal building we were stopped and our bags taken to load as luggage. When they demanded another fee for the trolley bags, they soon transformed to small backpacks. They gave them back and the security agreed we could take them with us. The ferry is reasonably expensive compared to other boats and boy do they add on plenty of extras too!
Blind musicians played for the ferry passengers. They had great voices and it made waiting time very pleasant. You could also have a massage from one of the blind masseurs whilst you waited.
We heard an announcement and we're sure it was for our ferry. However, having waited in the queue found out it was the wrong one. We sat back down and listened to the band. Our's arrived a little late. We boarded and sat upstairs in the open air. Christine spotted a dolphin and we watched as we passed islands and a beautiful sunset. The sea was calm and the journey pretty quick.
Arriving in Larena was always going to be tricky. There waiting was a huge band of jeep and tricycle drivers ready to take the tourists wherever they wanted to go for a fee! We tried to negotiate the price for 8 of us but none of the drivers would budge. This was definitely an agreed monopoly situation. We gave up negotiations as our hotel was 15km away and all paid up. We were the second drop off and arrived at our little homestay on the beach, Casa Miranda.
At first we didn't recognise the place. Last time we came the main house was a big wooden house. Now it has been replaced by a low rise concrete construction. Bags dropped, room electrics issue solved. The search for food began as it was getting dark and late. We needn't have worried as food was easy to find. BBQs everywhere. We looked to see what had been damaged by typhoon Odette and what had changed since our last visit to the island. We couldn't tell really as it was dark but there were definitely some changes. Great local restaurants had disappeared and new holiday lets appeared in their places.
