Let The Adventure Begin

4 days and 3 nights “no phone, no lights, no internet, not a single luxury…”

We were to meet at the Port Office at 8 am. Of course, we were last. Stacey came on a tricycle with all of our luggage. I walked. It’s easier for me to walk than to get in and out of those contraptions.

We met our fellow “shipmates” — four young couples: Meryl (Netherlands) and Max (UK), Luka (Germany) and Cam (UK), Veronica and Pepe (Spain), Louise and Justin (Netherlands), and us oldies… that makes 10 of us. The boat has a limit of 18 passengers so we had plenty of room. We had ten crew members and three chefs looking after us!

As soon as we stepped onto the boat, breakfast was served — scrambled eggs, toast and jam, and tea and coffee. I had eaten a full breakfast at Marygold so I just had a cup of tea.

Our first adventure was swimming through a narrow tunnel into a small cave — all ten of us made it through. I wasn’t sure I’d make it. I had visions of being stuck, but I had to swim sideways. I was last. (Unless otherwise stated you can assume I was last at every activity.)

Everyone was sitting around in a quiet circle so when I surfaced, I quipped, “So this is where the secret meeting is.” A few giggles helped to break the ice.

The water was so clear. Some of it was fresh water from the mountain mixed in with the seawater. We craned our necks. If we looked up high, we could see a little patch of blue sky. A magical experience.

Our next stop was reef snorkelling. The bommies were beautiful. I snorkelled off on my own and spotted an octopus and many different corals I had never seen before. One bright blue iridescent one stood out from the rest of the reef. Then I saw something weird that really defies description but I’ll try. Of course, I didn’t have a camera so can’t show you a photo. I can only describe it as something from a sci-fi movie. It was a round clear shiny object like a universe encased in coral. Very strange and quite eerie…a portal into another dimension? Did I mention when I snorkel, my mind goes blank and thoughts come and go at will?

The conch shell was blown (you can even hear it underwater) which is our signal to return to the boat. I took my time snorkelling back and of course, was last. Morning tea was served: tea, coffee and Oreos.

Then we were off to another beach where we could have a swim for 15 minutes. I think it was called Helicopter Island. I have no idea why. I hadn’t recovered from the first two adventures so I stayed on the boat, stretched out and snoozed in the shade. The hardest part for me was not diving into the water, nor the swimming or snorkelling, but the climbing back on the boat on an unsteady ladder — arrgghh!

There’s no phone service here on the boat nor on any of the islands so we are on an internet-free adventure for 4 days. It’s about disconnecting from all social media and being “in the moment.” It also made for non-stop conversation sitting around the central table.

Lunch was amazing — fish, mussels with garlic sauce (yum), vegetable curry, coleslaw with mango (yum), braised spinach ,chicken adobo, and of course rice — “FILIPINO POWER!” shouted at every meal. To finish, if there was room and even if there wasn’t, pineapple, watermelon and oranges were served and eaten. The fruit was all so fresh and delicious.

After lunch, we all sat around relaxing on the top deck drinking rum. I added a lot of sprite to mine. I didn’t want to be inebriated to climb down the ladder. There’s nothing worse than an old drunk woman spoiling the fun by injuring herself. (I did that without any alcohol.)

As we approached out first camp, we were told to only take what you might need overnight. I had no idea what I might need overnight so packed two bags. Everyone else packed their stuff in large waterproof bags. I don’t have one of those. I was first to climb onto the kayak. Climb is a bit of a misnomer. I descended the ladder and fell flat into the kayak like I was falling into bed. It didn’t sink!

I stayed in this supine position while a couple of bags were loaded behind me and we cleared the outriggers. Then I sat up and was paddled to shore. Being low tide,the kayak could only get to six inches of water. I stepped out into the water, lost my balance and fell on my backside. Stacey came and tried to help Olie pull me up. I was laughing so much I fell back down. The effort exhausted both of them. I hobbled to the beach, sat down on a rock, and watched the others be paddled in three at a time. Stacey and I were the only big fat ones!

After being shown to our individual huts, (everyone else shared), I just sat on the step and enjoyed the sea view before heading off to the “shower”. There was a 44 gallon drum filled with water and a bucket with which to splash the cold water over your body. I was prepared for cold showers but I thought it would be a shower with running water. The song kept playing in my head “…like Robinson Crusoe, it’s primitive as can be.” Meanwhile, Stacey located a hammock, hopped in and slept. When she woke up, she was not well. She had only brought one set of clothes to the camp but I had brought three. I’m prepared for every emergency. After finding something that fitted, she climbed into her hut and slept. I did the same.

We woke up after dark. She tried to walk me up to dinner by the light of burning torches on bamboo poles — you know the sort you have to add ambiance to a tropical party but not actually provide much light. She had to head to the loo in a hurry and I continued up the steep hill to the dining area on my own. One of the chefs came out of nowhere to help me up the steep stairs.

I arrived hot and out of breath and was immediately offered water. I sat down at the long table and felt quite ill. I was thinking of skipping dinner and going to bed but one of the crew placed a bright purple cake before me and started singing and playing “Happy Birthday” on his guitar. The rest of the gang joined in. Stacey had organised this for me and was too sick to make it up the hill.

Then the food was served — tempura prawns, sweet and sour pork, stir-fried cabbage, vegetable curry and of course rice. “FILIPINO POWER!” Papaya and apple was the fruit choice. I sampled a few tempura prawns, and some papaya and apple. When everyone had finished dinner, I cut the cake and handed slices down the table on napkins. It was purple all the way through. I had a small taste - it was very sweet and coconutty. Purple must signify something in the Filipino birthday world but I’m not sure what. Old but wise woman? 😆 I excused myself and headed to bed.

After a hearty breakfast, pineapple lychee juice drink and a cup of tea, we kayaked back to the boat ready for another day of adventure.

Here’s a real adventure written by Catherine Duchesne.

If you’re looking for adventure, Carol Labuzzetta and her family have done a few…

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