The Island of Bohol

Sunday, May 25, 2008--Cebu (Continued)

After the rains ended about 17:00, I went out to find something to eat for the day. The first place I tried had several pots of stews that looked good. But when I asked what each was, the appeal left me. One was heart. One was lung. One was stomach. And on, and on, and on. I went next door, and they had some good looking chunks of pork in a dark heavy sauce. I got a plate of that and a serving of rice. The meat was tender and tasty, but it was a bit salty. The rice was great, so I enjoyed the meal even if it was too salty for me.

From there, I went to pick up my laundry. I arrived about 10 minutes too early, but there just happened to be two processionals passing in the area. Each had a drum and bugle corps. One was already down the street, so I could only see and hear it at a distance. But the other was passing just as I arrived. It had lots of young girls in fancy dresses. And people were carrying arches of flowers over each girl. Not sure what the situation was, but it was fun to see and hear.

My clothes were cleaner than they often are when I get laundry done. I guess they didn't go to the muddy river to do them!

Stayed in the room in the evening and watched the movie 300 about the Spartans fighting the Persions. It got good reviews, and it was an interesting film. I've had trouble with the sound on my TV, though. The music in the background tends to cover up what is being said so much that I often cannot hear the dialogue. But I enjoyed the film anyway.

Monday, May 26, 2008--Cebu to Bohol (Tagbilaran)

I have had a strange dream pattern lately. Normally when I awaken from a dream, I can go back to sleep and any dreams I have are about other topics. But for the past couple of weeks, I have tended to continue my dreams after going back to sleep. I don't think I have ever had that happen to me before. Sometimes, it happens several times that the same dream continues after I become conscious and then go back to sleep.

I haven't weighed lately, but I am tell I am still losing weight. My pants were a little snug on me when I left. Now, they are very loose with the waistband overlapping almost 2 inches (5 cm). It's amazing how easy it is to get used to eating only one meal a day when there is no kitchen to go to for a snack.

I walked to the ferry terminal this morning. Yesterday, I walked that way and decided I would take a taxi due to the heat and the barriers. But this morning it was cloudy. And I had plenty of time. So I decided to head out on my own. It only took 38 minutes to get from my hotel to the terminal. That's not bad since it was 1/3 of the way across town. But I was probably the only one who walked there, I bet.

While waiting for the boat, I couldn't help but think about the ferry disasters that have been rather prevalent over time in the Philippines. But most of those have been on small, overloaded boats. The boat I am taking is a catamaran with assigned seats, so it won't be overloaded.

I arrived in Tagbilaran at 14:00 and was so happy to be here since the boat had been so cold from the air conditioning. I had a problem finding a place to stay, however. Coralandia, where I had decided to stay based on my guidebook and on someone else's recommendation, just wasn't nice enough. It smelled and the room was too dark for me. And they have loud karaoke music until 1 a.m. As I walked back into town, I checked several other places I passed and others I had listed when I did my research. None of them had a single; they all wanted me to take a double which was priced about 300 pesos more per night. I don't know if they are using a bait and switch trick or if they really are full. There seems to be a conference in town, and this is the last week of school holidays here, so maybe the rooms are truly rented. Anyway, I finally settled on the Meridian Hotel, Room 18. It isn't great, but it was cheaper than the others for a double without being too bad. It has cable TV and a/c, so that helps. And the bed seems okay. But the room is a bit dark with dark parquet floors and curtains which only open part of the way. It costs me $5 more per night than the hotel where I stayed in Cebu, and it is a step down in quality, I think. I'm not too excited about staying there for long. Therefore, I will either have to find somewhere else or leave Bohol earlier than I had planned.