The Philippine Diaries – Day Two

I awoke to an unusual sound of a bird outside my room, at least I thought it was a bird. I was too tired to get up and look. Just shortly after, the sounds of construction started. It was 7:30AM. So much for sleeping in!

I stayed in bed until 9:00AM. Luckily I brought my own instant coffee, as there was a kettle in the room with some cups but nothing else. It was a relaxing morning and while I was sipping on my hot coffee, I realized I had made very little plans for this vacation. Not having a game plan was kind of nice yet very unlike me.

Just after 9:00AM, I went outside to check out the immediate area and the beach. Alona Beach is full of boats and men trying to push day trips, motorcycles and the likes. The beach itself can’t be more than 1KM long. I slowly wandered from one end to the other. 

I stopped in two different dive shops to inquire about diving in the area. They both said that one is required to take a refresher course in the Philippines if you've not been diving in the last six months. Hmmmm. I smell a scam. I’ve been diving in a number of countries and never have I ever had to do a refresher course. The price difference was minimal and safety first, right?!

I didn’t commit to anything and decided to ask another shop or two later in the day. I inquired about renting a scooter for a week to tour around the island and about booking a boat over to Oslob for a few days. It was shaping up to be a productive day and it wasn’t even 10:30AM!

I went back to my room and decided to spend part of the day snorkeling. You can snorkel right off the shore of Alona Beach but I discovered there wasn’t much to see though I later learned that one needs to go at least 300m out to find a wonderful wall. I did find a few fish to chase around and enjoyed floating in the water.

I had no idea of the time but my tummy was telling me it wanted food so I made my way back to my room, got showered and rinsed off my gear. I had spotted a Greek restaurant that morning and knew I was going to go there for lunch.

Chinese tourists are everywhere on the island and I can understand a lot of what is going on around me. I’ve helped translate on three separate occasions already! As I was enjoying a Greek salad and an icy cold beer, a family of seven from China came into the restaurant. They had the servers move tables for them so they could all sit together. The restaurant is called 'My Greek Taverna' and there are huge menus in front of the doors with pictures. The family looked over the menu and asked for pizza. Nope. Asked for seafood. Nope. Asked for barbecue. Nope. Asked for hamburgers. Nope. Then oddly asked if the food they were serving had sugar in it?!

The cute little Filipino server looked over at me and gave me a look. I smiled and nodded acknowledging the annoyance. The family decided they didn’t like the food so they got up and left. But this was not before they ordered three 'freshly squeezed' glasses of orange juice without sugar. When they announced they were leaving, the glasses of OJ were being placed on their table. The lady of the family and the only one who could speak English told the server that they wanted them to go in five plastic cups because they didn't like the food. I must admit, the server held her composure nicely.

I enjoyed the salad, paid for my meal (325PHP) and then went to the 7-11. I bought two more beers, a 4L jug of water, a sliced apple and some salt and vinegar bites (289PHP) before making my way back to my room. I changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my book and headed straight for the resort pool. Not one person was there for the entire afternoon which caused zero complaints from me. This was exactly what I was looking for from my vacation!

Around 4:30PM and two beers later, a wave of tiredness came over me. I went into my room thinking about taking a nap but wasn’t able to fall asleep. I headed back out an hour later to watch the sunset on the beach but not before stopping at one more dive shop to inquire about pricing. 

The beach was packed with people at that hour so I walked to the far end of it to escape the crowds. On my way back, I saw the Bohol Divers Club. I had contacted these guys prior to coming to the Philippines as they had wonderful reviews online. I couldn’t recall their prices but the lady had sent me a very detailed email about diving in the area. I also remember her mentioning a refresher course. I stopped in and noted that their shop was by far the nicest of all of them. Dive instructors were everywhere, which I didn’t see at any of the other three shops, only a receptionist. The prices I was quoted for the day were 2,500PHP, 2,700PHP and 3,500PHP at two shops for a refresher course.

I left the Bohol Divers shop and had some dinner at my resort restaurant. The service was terrible, again, and the food wasn’t great. I ordered a papaya salad and a beer (250PHP) but wasn't impressed. I don’t think I’ll eat at the Alona Hidden Dream Resort again.

Over dinner I thought about the four remaining days I had left on Alona beach and what I wanted to do with them. Diving seemed like my best option. I got the most information from the Bohol Divers and they seemed to be the most passionate and knowledgeable about the area. And while theirs was the higher price, I opted to do a refresher course with them. 

I walked back to the beach and back to the Bohol Divers shop and signed up for a refresher course the following morning at 8:30AM. I then went to my room and read for a bit before retiring very early. I needed to get some solid sleep.