Friday 16 April 2010

Easter - Philipines - Day 4 and Return

How quickly a long weekend comes to a close.
As is my curse I woke early and went for a long walk.
I first travelled along the sea front. Here I had an odd encounter. I was aware of a person ahead of me, a Filipino. He was walking at water level, whereas I was higher up. With hindsight I realise that he was not likely to be seen by people in the resort. This man passed beyond the resort boundaries. I stopped and took some photos. As I took the photos a Banca came into shore.
The Banca carried a family. I assumed that they were fishing. The elder male called out to me and tried to sell me shells. I refused to be interested. After taking more photos I crossed the boundary of the resort and made my way along a very rocky sea shore. The shell seller had come ashore by that time and I had a chat with him. He tried to sell me shells and I assumed that he made his money by selling shells to tourists. Not a good proposition from where he was situated as few tourists would come this far.
Walking on I passed the original person, whom I had followed, hidden behind a rock. I continued past and found a vantage point to take more photos. Returning a short time later the man behind the rock had gone. My shell seller was on the point of departure. At this stage I realised that I had probably seen a smuggling operation in action. Not sure what was being smuggled but obviously a hand over of some sort.
I went up that hill again, was challenged by security and returned to the resort for breakfast.
We packed up and arranged for the banca to pick us up. Once again a lovely journey across the ocean back to our vehicle. A slight altercation with a women wanting payment for looking after our car. She did a good job we thought as the broken aerial went into the boot. NOT.
Then we retraced our original path back to Tagaytay. Here we picked up a buco which is a coconut pie, considered a local delicacy. The pastry was well made the filling sweet and flavoursome. I would not hesitate to eat it again if presented to me, but as I am not big on deserts I would not be seeking it out for my own pleasure. That's just my taste not a criticism of the pie.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived back in Manilla in plenty of time before my flight.
One of Victoria's friends Rose was there practising her art work, she had done a magnificent job on reproducing a very complex painting. She was using traditional media, egg white and pigments. Very impressive.
Tony and I had time to step out for a late lunch before he took me to the airport. We made a pig of ourselves on Oysters. Kilpatrick, Cheese, Baked, Natural, the piglets had a feast.
This gave me a small opportunity to take some photos of Jeepneys. Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have also become a symbol of Philippine culture. (Thanks Wikipedia).
And then it was off to the airport, holiday ended.
The return trip was uneventful. Notable for lack of sleep, arriving in Brisbane at 4am, retrieving my car with enough time to go home, shower, water the garden, pack for a trip to Melbourne and spend a day at work.
The Bludger was dog tired.

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