It All Started With a Coconut

After Jeff left, Clark and I went down to the Cebu Airlines office to find out there'd been some confusion with our airline tickets, and we were going to be in Manilla for one more day. We spent the day hanging out with our new friend Allie, and the evening and on into the next morning drinking with Phil and our other Peace Corp friends.

We flew into Dumaguete, getting there early in the morning, and dropped our bags off at Harold's Mansion(a hostel), before going on our customary ramble about town. We walked along the beach, checking out the banka boats, and stopped to watch a couple kids cracking open coconuts to drink the milk. Feeling, adventurous, I decided to try my hand at coconutting. I climbed the tree, with the kids laughing and watching, but couldn't quite get the knack of actually getting a coconut down. I came back down and one of the kids decided to show me how it's done. I thought I'd climbed the tree well, but this kid scrambled up it like a monkey and with a few quick flicks of the wrist, had several coconuts lying on the ground bleeding their sweet sweet nectar.

We were having a good time, when an angry man on a bicycle showed up and questioned the kids in a language we didn't recognize(the locals here speak pusayan instead of tagalog). Our new friends pointed at us and promptly vacated the area.

The man introduced himself as a Barangai councilor named Coro, and started quizzing us about what we were doing there, why we were climbing the trees, where we were staying, etc. We'd had a somewhat questionable encounter with a Barangai councilor before, and with coconut milk guiltily dripping from our chins, warily evaded answerings most of his questions. He explained to us that if the owner saw us eating her coconuts, she'd call the police. We explained that we didn't realize someone owned the trees, we were sorry, and wouldn't do it again. Then he explained to us that if the owner saw us eating her coconuts, she'd call the police. We explained that we didn't realize someone owned the trees, we were sorry, and wouldn't do it again. Then he explained to us that if the owner saw us eating her coconuts, she'd call the police...

After going back and forth like this for a while, Coro calmed down a bit, decided we were good people, and in hospitable Filipino fashion, invited us to have lunch with his family. We couldn't turn him down, and were soon eating chicken and rice while being regaled with stories about Coro and Sally's 5 sons, 6 daughters, and 22 grand children, many of whom we met. We parted ways, Coro inviting us back to eat and go swimming with his family; an invitation we plan on taking him up on.

Our time in Dumaguete has been peaceful and relaxing. Most days, Clark and I have been doing one or more SCUBA dives; me to get my open water certification, and Clark to get his advanced and mixed air certs. Snoopy and his assistant, Johnly were great instructors, and opened up a whole new world to me that I hope to explore a lot more in the future. I was lucky enough to learn to dive in one of the world's top rated reefs, instead of a swimming pool.

We rented a scooter and tooled around the area for a day, seeing a bit of the neighboring towns and mountainsides, and Clark got to experience driving around in Filipino traffic on a busy holiday(Valentines Day is HUGE here). I don't know if we've mentioned the traffic here before, but it's pretty crazy. There are no traffic lights or signs, or even speed limits as far as we can tell, yet it flows like a river. Every one pays attention to what's going on, and even though drivers are aggressive, they're also courteous. Honking is a form of communication and a gentle warning rather than an abusive expletive. It's actually kind of cool to watch... but nerve-wracking to be a part of.

Dumaguete is known for its 'gentle people', and it's a reputation well earned. Out of all the Phippines so far, the people here have been the most helpful and gracious. Harold and Snoopy, in particular, have been a fountain of useful information about the area, things to do, dives to make, and places to go, as well as how to get there. So much so, that we're extending our stay here a bit, so we can see more of the area. The city living's making us a little soft though, so we're heading out today to spend a few days hiking and camping before we come back to Dumaguete to make a few dives, and head off to our next destination, wherever that turns out to be.