Cebu To Catbalogan By Boat
Another lovely experience!.
I took the 'slow boat' (in the past this was called 'barko', nowadays it's called 'RORO') from Cebu City to Catbalogan City - if only for another feel of "how it was" traveling inter-island, in the good old days of our forebears. Aba oy, malapit nang mawala ito!
Mawawala? Ah eh, I'm just predicting, due to the advent of the "fastcrafts"!
Also too heavy and cumbersome to handle, if I took them on a fastcraft, connecting to a series of UV Express rides with no luggage space. Thus, a ship was my best bet.
Buti nga at salamat naman meron pag ganito these days!
Sounded ideal. But it took me 16 long hungry hours.
Well, in summary, I can say: I learned many things :)
Tip: many people usually travel anywhere from Friday to Monday.
Good that I had the presence of mind to ask the taxi to wait for me - since I knew it's still far (probably 2 kms), and you walk on city streets - with lots of 'informal settlers'.
That's something to consider when riding the big boats (barko or RORO): their ticket offices are "not actually at the pier". I don't know why "they are unlike the fastcrafts".
As to the "walking at the pier", I've done that (when I had no luggage). It is not really as if me masamang mangyayari sayo hehehe. But you get apprehensive somehow!
Even if you ride the jeeps, it's the same - para kang 'kakatayin' sa mga tingin ng mga aleng maritess, mga manong walang t-shirt at mga batang nakatutok sa phone mo!
Basta! Ganito na lang: remember it is still far!
If you are not aware of this yet, the present system of riding ships in Cebu is: you go to Pier 1, whatever ship you are riding and to wherever, but your ship won't be there.
Do not panic naman. Chill ka lang! Look for the boarding gate of your ship. Its name and voyage number will be written on a gate somewhere. If none, mag-panic ka na!!
Ahehehe! Ask the authorities (the port staff).
Important Note: Listen and Look!
Passengers boarding your bus are not necessarily boarding the same ship as yours.
When a bus stops in front of a ship, staff or the driver will shout out the ship's name and destination/s. Before jumping out, look outside to check if it is indeed your ride.
Orderly di ba? Hahaha bahala you!
At 6PM, boarding started, and I was first to hop on the bus! See? No other people!
Well, there were two passengers up front. That guy standing is a port staff.
But I'm not sure now, if that couple were also destined for the same boat as I was. I can't recall because I just attended to my own business. Andami kong dala eh hehe!
When the bus departed, I took a quick snap (kaya blurred) of where we came from.
Those are the boarding gates (numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.) where buses pick passengers.
It's starting to look a lot like at airports, 'no? Hmm, wala nga lang aircon hehehe!
Eto, as we approached my barko, the now aged "Blessed Stars" of Roble Shipping.
That is her back facing the port by the way. Yes, many ships (RORO) are sometimes berthed that way - since both their front (bow) and back (stern) can be fully opened.
On this RORO, I saw 2 small trucks as load. Note though, that such boats with no, or less 'land vehicles' as load, is trickier for us madlang pipol to walk on, while boarding.
Cargoes (in huge crates) are being moved around (in a rush) by forklifts that seem to have 4th or 5th-gear speed heheh! Drivers won't easily see you behind those crates.
Good I think if there are lots of passengers, as forklift drivers would spot and yield if a stream of people were boarding. With only a few humans walking, di mapapansin.
Eh kung sa likod ka pala ng dambuhalang crate naglalakad? Hiyay! Ma-forklift ka! It is also noisy with engine and steel clanking sounds. Di maririnig ang mga tili mo oy!
Therefore, walk only where the ship's crew tell you, and make it fast.
Greatest of course, if you have a respectable phone, better if a professional camera, that knows how to capture a night scene! As for me, mag-antos - click lang ng click!
Why so? Ahw, even if my photos are horribly horrible, when I see them at a later date, my memory is re-activated, of/at how the scene looked exactly. Nostalgiahin pa rin!
Almost all inter-island ships (called barko or RORO, not the fastcrafts) have departure schedules set at around 7PM. It's always a lovely scene of many vessels sailing off.
The whole Mactan channel gets wonderfully dotted with their lights. It becomes like a busy maritime hub na mala-Singapore or ala-Rotterdam in a mini version. O di ba!
I am not sure though, why 'at around that time', they leave the Cebu piers altogether (yes plural as in ports called Pier 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) Their lights adorn the channel anyway!
In the past, since somebody told me, I thought the reason was: "so that passengers only sleep the whole voyage at sea". True naman, but I think there's more about that.
Yata. Sige sige, saliksikin yan!
If you're headed somewhere north, northeast or northwest of Cebu, you get to pass under the 2 Mactan Bridges - an interesting 'photo op' especially for young travelers.
Don't judge the scenes via my pics. Point and shoot cameras aren't good at night.
The man in striped shirt was a fellow passenger. He was trying to watch the evening news on those TVs far on the wall. All others you may see were not real passengers.
Not real? Ano sila multo? O eh, buti pa nga ang multo, tahimik!
They were/are students. Apprentice sea farers, or probably those who're still on the "observation tour" stage, because I did not see them working. And they were NOISY.
Not just boisterious laughter, nagsisigawan, nagmumurahan, meron pang takbuhan passing by us the real passengers - as if they were just at their own school grounds.
I overheard, they were once reprimanded by that man in stripes. Tumahimik sandali. Yet when their other companions would come from somewhere, sigawan nanaman.
Note that in terms of voice, size, build, they are not anymore boys and girls but men and women - na di ko alam saan iskwater pinulot. Aside from the sigawan takbuhan habulan, meron pang balyahan of their double-deck beds and hampasan ng kutson.
Eh adults na ang mga iyan. If you were a foreigner, iisipin mong me nag-aamok.
I NOTED: their language was Tagalog, I didn't hear Cebuano, Waray or Ilonggo.
Naisip ko, aren't they trained on proper decorum before being let loose into the public?
Aba, eh kung me mga rabis ang mga ***dot na yan?
Anyway...
Even the hallways were loaded with crates and boxes of whatevers. Heavy pa rin oy!
I said I think I know what these are: at some hallway areas, I saw boxes like these:
The contents made me smile. I think those are called "day-old chicks". Many of them were softly chirping, as if begging. Others were probably complaining of discomfort!
Ah hehehe! I think some others were just wailing for the sake of wailing.
Their cute cacophony sounded like sweet soothing music to my ears!
Kesa naman yung ingay ng mga apprentice!
Other chicks were silent, seemingly oblivious of what was happening outside...
I think they were asleep, or already tired of chirping/complaining to no avail hehehe.
I propped my lens on one of the holes, and it looked like those other cute ones were snuggling up with one another, for a more comfy overnight snooze. Buti pa sila 'no?!
Shhh, hwag maingay, I have a secret to share... I went back to the boxes with noisier more active little chicks, and poked one finger on one of the holes, as if to pet them.
They started pecking on my finger and it tickled hehehe hihihi!
Hush lang, bawal kasi yan I think. They could become contaminated or infected with bacteria from my human hands, that they're not yet resistant to. Kaya, shh lang kayo!
Sekret natin yan!
But come to think of it, the 'quality reviewer and process-improvement expert' in me realized upon arrival, they shouldn't anymore be called 'day-old chicks'. 2 days na di ba!
Cup noodles were selling fast, so I asked for one (out of the 5 cups remaining).
I turned around to see where passengers who got cup noodles were seated. Hiyay, I instead saw some of the apprentices (male & female), about a dozen of them or so.
They were the ones occupying the few seats of the canteen - kulang pa nga, since 4 or 6 lang yata yun! Passengers went straight back to their beds (I suppose)
But all of them had rice on a plate or lunchbox. Argh, where from?!
So, while waiting for my cup noodles I approached them to ask "why can't I have a rice meal that they all had?! Haruuy, most of those were their "baon" (yep, they brought those from home). Others said the kitchen staff cooked it for them in their onboard rice cooker. When I asked why I couldn't buy some, their quick reply was "for crew only". Argh!
These boys and girls (well college students, they're already "men and women") are apprectices on this ship, many of them coming from a maritime school in Batangas. Being so, they are like "crew" on this ship - the "cook" is one of them, an apprentice too.
The envious part ("irritating" actually) was: they ate at tables where passengers should eat. They had rice meals, they were happy even, boisterous, and I/we the passengers had nothing. Syempre inggit ako, so I thought, the very least that they should do is eat somewhere so that I/we the passengers don't die salivating of envy and real hunger.
Hah, let's make that no-"dinner" story short. Together with my very hot cup of noodles, I got two skyflakes crackers, a tiny little pack (6pcs) of dice hopia, and a can of coke. Well okay, after I devoured all of those, I got 2 cans of Red Horse and brought them to my bed - if only to make me sleep the hunger away :(
Hey, I did wonder what 'procedure' or 'technical requirement' this is...
Did you notice the mattresses are pulled down at the 'foot end'?
Easy to recognize if you look at the 'head end' which is in the middle of the bed. Look...
And I really had to look for someone to tell me why is it so! Now I know! Do you?!
Alright... all those I said above happened before 9PM. Why do I say that? Because it is already 9:17PM as I write this sentence... and I don't have anything more to say. I am constantly glancing out into the sea, as if I can see anything other than the pitch black darkness of the night. I hope the red horse is taking effect. I hope I will fall asleep now and wake up in the morning when this boat is already docked in Catbalogan...
09:58AM / 28FEB2014 Update
My gaaash I am still at sea and I am so hungry I could eat a firetruck!
I woke upabout 5AM, so if let us say I slept at about 10PM last night, then I have at least been able to "slumber" for 7 hours. Or somewhere therearounds since I know I woke up about past midnight, looked out into the 'nothingness' in the darkness of the night of February 27, and dozed off again probably some minutes after that.
No I did not set an alarm for 5AM. I was just startled and awakened by the crowing of so many roosters I did not even know were on board. The cute little chicks in a box I saw last night yes, but OMG so many 'tandangs' started crowing at about 5AM. Yes, they were/are my fellow passengers, and listening to their "tuk-tu-ga-ok" (that's in waray) they are situated just about everywhere around me!
Here are two of them I saw while walking around the ship a few minutes ago...
Ahm, I think only the one at the back is a culprit, right? A rooster. This one in front, I think, is a hen. Ugang, right?! Natugaok ba an ugang? Hahaha! These two are some kind of "privileged" since their owner let them out of their boxes and fed them... water!
All the MANY other manok, are still in their individual boxes (some are cramped at 2 in a box). Just the same, since 5AM all of them were crowing (yes 'tugaok'ing) as loud as they could, sometimes altogether like in a chorus, sometimes as if playing in a counterpoint melody! To the extent I observed, they crow in different tonal and/or melodic styles!
Me ganun? Yes there is haha! There are even "rooster"lings - yung bata pa ba, but not considered "chick" anymore hehe - (called "tarin" in waray I think) who also attempt to crow or croak their throats away! Comedy relief, at least!
I think this is what they were so crazily crowing about...
Sunrise behind some islands as the boat "crawled", slower than a tricycle, on a calm sea!
A new day has dawned on the Philippines Islands...
Am not sure, but I think that is Maripipi Island. Only one thing was sure: I was hungry!
From that time on (5AM), I have been sitting, standing, walking, taking pictures of what I see outside. But how come we are not there yet? They said this is an 11 to 12 hour travel, eh its been 14 and a half, I do not see any hint of Catbalogan yet! Magutom na!
2:15PM / 28FEB2014
To continue my story, the boat finally arrived Catbalogan at 11:20AM kanina. I am writing this final update now that I just finished lunch! Haay Salamat naman!
Anyway, the approach to Catbalogan was some bit of 'spectacular' that it had me forget my anxiety of when the ship was arriving. That is when we were passing by the islands - especially Sierra Islands. Under the morning sun, they were beautiful to look at...
I said to myself 'there must be something or many things wonderful in those islands. I should visit any or all of them one day'. Yeah, I should.
Adi pa... circling the boat so I could take more photos, I saw this other hallway...
Yeah, more boxes and boxes of cargoes bound for Catbalogan, and probably the rest of Samar. Of course, even on this side, there were still more boxes (two, can you see?) of my favorite load on this ship - the day old chicks! They were my only "entertainment"!
At 10:52AM, bow side, I saw those 2 crews preparing...
That gave life to my weakened joints and grumbling stomach!
11:06AM, I happened by the aft side, this dude was also getting ready...
Yeah, I noted that the views on approach were wonderful. Though my mind was busier remembering that I was about to die of hunger! Ganun ka-tindi!
I could even already identify some of those houses!
Yeah, I'm familiar with many people and places in Catbalogan. Those are the houses you pass by when going (leftwards) to the Catbalogan Airport (that has no commercial flights yet), or to the white sandy beaches of Buri! Or even further on a road trip to Calbayog or Manila!
11:14AM, I finally saw the Catbalogan Port! Oh, formal name is "Port Of Catbalogan"!
Yes, but that is commonly called "Pier Uno" (Pier 1) by the locals. Further to the left (not seen in picture) is "Pier Dos" (Pier 2), and I have good memories there as a child!
Docking operations... yes, red shirt is a "she", and part of the crew - the apprentices...
The boat turned around so that its 'behind' is the one that touches the pier.
By the way, hungry as I was, I opted not to disembark first, because...
I wanted to see / estimate how many passengers were on board this ship. I saw many of them getting off ahead of me, and I would say around 30 or less. Yeah, that few :)
And a final glance at Blessed Stars... reminiscent of this...
But in my mind I was saying...
"panulay ka kahinay mo waray pa pagkaon madidismayo na ako kagugutom hin duro"!
That final glance and final shot was at 11:28AM. Noontime!
I took the 'slow boat' (in the past this was called 'barko', nowadays it's called 'RORO') from Cebu City to Catbalogan City - if only for another feel of "how it was" traveling inter-island, in the good old days of our forebears. Aba oy, malapit nang mawala ito!
Mawawala? Ah eh, I'm just predicting, due to the advent of the "fastcrafts"!
Why Ride A Ship?
Actually, I was carrying a lot of "baggage" - books, references, handouts and printed materials of many kinds - too delicate if I checked them in on a plane to TAC or CYP.Also too heavy and cumbersome to handle, if I took them on a fastcraft, connecting to a series of UV Express rides with no luggage space. Thus, a ship was my best bet.
Buti nga at salamat naman meron pag ganito these days!
How Long Is This Trip?
I was told this was going to be an 11 to 12 hour night ride, departing at 7PM, where I supposedly would just sleep on the boat and wake up arriving in time for breakfast.Sounded ideal. But it took me 16 long hungry hours.
Well, in summary, I can say: I learned many things :)
How Did It Go?
Diary-worthy? Pwedeng "adventue story" for future generations. Here's how it went:Buying A Ticket
About 5PM I went to the Roble Shipping main ticket office near Cebu's Pier 4 to buy my ticket to Catbalogan. Not many people were lining up. Well, it was a Wednesday.Tip: many people usually travel anywhere from Friday to Monday.
Ticket Office to Pier 1 is far!
The ticket agent told me I had to 'go now to Pier 1, as boarding will soon commence'.Good that I had the presence of mind to ask the taxi to wait for me - since I knew it's still far (probably 2 kms), and you walk on city streets - with lots of 'informal settlers'.
That's something to consider when riding the big boats (barko or RORO): their ticket offices are "not actually at the pier". I don't know why "they are unlike the fastcrafts".
As to the "walking at the pier", I've done that (when I had no luggage). It is not really as if me masamang mangyayari sayo hehehe. But you get apprehensive somehow!
Even if you ride the jeeps, it's the same - para kang 'kakatayin' sa mga tingin ng mga aleng maritess, mga manong walang t-shirt at mga batang nakatutok sa phone mo!
Basta! Ganito na lang: remember it is still far!
Boarding Gates!
Imaginin mo na lang na parang sa airport "bus gate" ito. And this is "to any ship".If you are not aware of this yet, the present system of riding ships in Cebu is: you go to Pier 1, whatever ship you are riding and to wherever, but your ship won't be there.
Do not panic naman. Chill ka lang! Look for the boarding gate of your ship. Its name and voyage number will be written on a gate somewhere. If none, mag-panic ka na!!
Ahehehe! Ask the authorities (the port staff).
Boarding is via a BUS - always!
On boarding time (parang sa airport din ang announcements), you will be ferried via a free shuttle bus going to where your ship is berthed - usually malayo at another pier.Important Note: Listen and Look!
Passengers boarding your bus are not necessarily boarding the same ship as yours.
When a bus stops in front of a ship, staff or the driver will shout out the ship's name and destination/s. Before jumping out, look outside to check if it is indeed your ride.
Orderly di ba? Hahaha bahala you!
At 6PM, boarding started, and I was first to hop on the bus! See? No other people!
Well, there were two passengers up front. That guy standing is a port staff.
When the bus departed, I took a quick snap (kaya blurred) of where we came from.
It's starting to look a lot like at airports, 'no? Hmm, wala nga lang aircon hehehe!
Eto, as we approached my barko, the now aged "Blessed Stars" of Roble Shipping.
Actual Boat Boarding - Be Alert!
While port management and the ship's crew ensure people can safely walk from bus to boat, be aware that the place is full of heavy moving things - obscuring us humans.On this RORO, I saw 2 small trucks as load. Note though, that such boats with no, or less 'land vehicles' as load, is trickier for us madlang pipol to walk on, while boarding.
Cargoes (in huge crates) are being moved around (in a rush) by forklifts that seem to have 4th or 5th-gear speed heheh! Drivers won't easily see you behind those crates.
Good I think if there are lots of passengers, as forklift drivers would spot and yield if a stream of people were boarding. With only a few humans walking, di mapapansin.
Eh kung sa likod ka pala ng dambuhalang crate naglalakad? Hiyay! Ma-forklift ka! It is also noisy with engine and steel clanking sounds. Di maririnig ang mga tili mo oy!
Therefore, walk only where the ship's crew tell you, and make it fast.
Departure
As said in previous stories, its great to look outside during departures from Cebu.Pushback Scenes
So many boats starting to "float away" from the Cebu Port are worth capturing.
Why so? Ahw, even if my photos are horribly horrible, when I see them at a later date, my memory is re-activated, of/at how the scene looked exactly. Nostalgiahin pa rin!
Almost all inter-island ships (called barko or RORO, not the fastcrafts) have departure schedules set at around 7PM. It's always a lovely scene of many vessels sailing off.
The whole Mactan channel gets wonderfully dotted with their lights. It becomes like a busy maritime hub na mala-Singapore or ala-Rotterdam in a mini version. O di ba!
I am not sure though, why 'at around that time', they leave the Cebu piers altogether (yes plural as in ports called Pier 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) Their lights adorn the channel anyway!
In the past, since somebody told me, I thought the reason was: "so that passengers only sleep the whole voyage at sea". True naman, but I think there's more about that.
Yata. Sige sige, saliksikin yan!
Mactan Channel Scenes
Good night views too, while a boat navigates between mainland Cebu and Mactan.
Don't judge the scenes via my pics. Point and shoot cameras aren't good at night.
The Voyage - On Board Experience
Not many things happen on these kinds of barko with more cargoes, few humans!Not the engines were irritatingly noisy
As I said above, on this ship, M/V Blessed Stars, there were very few passengers. In Tourist Class (upstairs, non-aircon), only 4 of us passengers amid hundreds of beds.
Not real? Ano sila multo? O eh, buti pa nga ang multo, tahimik!
They were/are students. Apprentice sea farers, or probably those who're still on the "observation tour" stage, because I did not see them working. And they were NOISY.
Not just boisterious laughter, nagsisigawan, nagmumurahan, meron pang takbuhan passing by us the real passengers - as if they were just at their own school grounds.
I overheard, they were once reprimanded by that man in stripes. Tumahimik sandali. Yet when their other companions would come from somewhere, sigawan nanaman.
Note that in terms of voice, size, build, they are not anymore boys and girls but men and women - na di ko alam saan iskwater pinulot. Aside from the sigawan takbuhan habulan, meron pang balyahan of their double-deck beds and hampasan ng kutson.
Eh adults na ang mga iyan. If you were a foreigner, iisipin mong me nag-aamok.
I NOTED: their language was Tagalog, I didn't hear Cebuano, Waray or Ilonggo.
Naisip ko, aren't they trained on proper decorum before being let loose into the public?
Aba, eh kung me mga rabis ang mga ***dot na yan?
Anyway...
Some cargoes are alive, though not noisy!
Although there were only a few passengers, cargoes occupied everywhere else.
I said I think I know what these are: at some hallway areas, I saw boxes like these:
Ah hehehe! I think some others were just wailing for the sake of wailing.
Their cute cacophony sounded like sweet soothing music to my ears!
Kesa naman yung ingay ng mga apprentice!
Other chicks were silent, seemingly oblivious of what was happening outside...
I propped my lens on one of the holes, and it looked like those other cute ones were snuggling up with one another, for a more comfy overnight snooze. Buti pa sila 'no?!
Shhh, hwag maingay, I have a secret to share... I went back to the boxes with noisier more active little chicks, and poked one finger on one of the holes, as if to pet them.
They started pecking on my finger and it tickled hehehe hihihi!
Hush lang, bawal kasi yan I think. They could become contaminated or infected with bacteria from my human hands, that they're not yet resistant to. Kaya, shh lang kayo!
Sekret natin yan!
But come to think of it, the 'quality reviewer and process-improvement expert' in me realized upon arrival, they shouldn't anymore be called 'day-old chicks'. 2 days na di ba!
There's NO DINNER on board!
About 8PM, I was hungry, so I visited the canteen to look for dinner. OhMyGino-o ko! No meals! Junk food only + cup noodles + some crackers. At least me coke in cans.Cup noodles were selling fast, so I asked for one (out of the 5 cups remaining).
I turned around to see where passengers who got cup noodles were seated. Hiyay, I instead saw some of the apprentices (male & female), about a dozen of them or so.
They were the ones occupying the few seats of the canteen - kulang pa nga, since 4 or 6 lang yata yun! Passengers went straight back to their beds (I suppose)
But all of them had rice on a plate or lunchbox. Argh, where from?!
So, while waiting for my cup noodles I approached them to ask "why can't I have a rice meal that they all had?! Haruuy, most of those were their "baon" (yep, they brought those from home). Others said the kitchen staff cooked it for them in their onboard rice cooker. When I asked why I couldn't buy some, their quick reply was "for crew only". Argh!
These boys and girls (well college students, they're already "men and women") are apprectices on this ship, many of them coming from a maritime school in Batangas. Being so, they are like "crew" on this ship - the "cook" is one of them, an apprentice too.
The envious part ("irritating" actually) was: they ate at tables where passengers should eat. They had rice meals, they were happy even, boisterous, and I/we the passengers had nothing. Syempre inggit ako, so I thought, the very least that they should do is eat somewhere so that I/we the passengers don't die salivating of envy and real hunger.
Hah, let's make that no-"dinner" story short. Together with my very hot cup of noodles, I got two skyflakes crackers, a tiny little pack (6pcs) of dice hopia, and a can of coke. Well okay, after I devoured all of those, I got 2 cans of Red Horse and brought them to my bed - if only to make me sleep the hunger away :(
Hey, I did wonder what 'procedure' or 'technical requirement' this is...
Easy to recognize if you look at the 'head end' which is in the middle of the bed. Look...
Alright... all those I said above happened before 9PM. Why do I say that? Because it is already 9:17PM as I write this sentence... and I don't have anything more to say. I am constantly glancing out into the sea, as if I can see anything other than the pitch black darkness of the night. I hope the red horse is taking effect. I hope I will fall asleep now and wake up in the morning when this boat is already docked in Catbalogan...
09:58AM / 28FEB2014 Update
My gaaash I am still at sea and I am so hungry I could eat a firetruck!
I woke upabout 5AM, so if let us say I slept at about 10PM last night, then I have at least been able to "slumber" for 7 hours. Or somewhere therearounds since I know I woke up about past midnight, looked out into the 'nothingness' in the darkness of the night of February 27, and dozed off again probably some minutes after that.
No I did not set an alarm for 5AM. I was just startled and awakened by the crowing of so many roosters I did not even know were on board. The cute little chicks in a box I saw last night yes, but OMG so many 'tandangs' started crowing at about 5AM. Yes, they were/are my fellow passengers, and listening to their "tuk-tu-ga-ok" (that's in waray) they are situated just about everywhere around me!
Here are two of them I saw while walking around the ship a few minutes ago...
All the MANY other manok, are still in their individual boxes (some are cramped at 2 in a box). Just the same, since 5AM all of them were crowing (yes 'tugaok'ing) as loud as they could, sometimes altogether like in a chorus, sometimes as if playing in a counterpoint melody! To the extent I observed, they crow in different tonal and/or melodic styles!
Me ganun? Yes there is haha! There are even "rooster"lings - yung bata pa ba, but not considered "chick" anymore hehe - (called "tarin" in waray I think) who also attempt to crow or croak their throats away! Comedy relief, at least!
I think this is what they were so crazily crowing about...
A new day has dawned on the Philippines Islands...
From that time on (5AM), I have been sitting, standing, walking, taking pictures of what I see outside. But how come we are not there yet? They said this is an 11 to 12 hour travel, eh its been 14 and a half, I do not see any hint of Catbalogan yet! Magutom na!
2:15PM / 28FEB2014
To continue my story, the boat finally arrived Catbalogan at 11:20AM kanina. I am writing this final update now that I just finished lunch! Haay Salamat naman!
Anyway, the approach to Catbalogan was some bit of 'spectacular' that it had me forget my anxiety of when the ship was arriving. That is when we were passing by the islands - especially Sierra Islands. Under the morning sun, they were beautiful to look at...
Adi pa... circling the boat so I could take more photos, I saw this other hallway...
At 10:52AM, bow side, I saw those 2 crews preparing...
11:06AM, I happened by the aft side, this dude was also getting ready...
I could even already identify some of those houses!
11:14AM, I finally saw the Catbalogan Port! Oh, formal name is "Port Of Catbalogan"!
Docking operations... yes, red shirt is a "she", and part of the crew - the apprentices...
By the way, hungry as I was, I opted not to disembark first, because...
And a final glance at Blessed Stars... reminiscent of this...
That final glance and final shot was at 11:28AM. Noontime!
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