Well this place beat the volcano by a long shot. I took an hour flight on a plane which had seen better days and then a ferry over to the island. On the boat I met three sisters who were from Saskatoon originally. Crystal taught English in Taipai,Taiwan and Angela and Natasha were visiting from Calgary and Saskatoon. At the terminal we met a woman who led us to her hotel which ended up being very clean and reasonable. I also met there Pierre from Montreal and Susan from Calgary who also teach English but just outside Guangzhou where I will be working when I get to China. They have been in China for some time so they gave me some tips on where to stay in Hong Kong plus their impressions of life in China. Besides teaching English they are both artists who were creating some interesting sketches and drawings of the people and geography of Boracay. Pierre had worked for Statistics Canada so my comment was "It sounds like you wanted to stop being a mandarin and learn how to speak Mandarin". Well he thought it was funny.
Later when we went to a restaurant and I repeated how Pierre had said back at the hotel that he had not met any Canadians before us the people in the next table shouted "We are" which started another series of conversations. I ended up getting more information of where to stay in Guilin. This is an area north of Guangzhou which is supposedly one of the most scenic areas in China. Later many of us went down to the "Red Pirate" where I had earlier borrowed flippers off Joey the owner after I had asked directions to the coral reef which was not far from the beach. He would not accept payment and when I returned them he invited me and whomever to a beach party that night. He reminded me of a Native Canadian with long black hair and high cheekbones. Very friendly and we ended up having a good time there that night with a live band on the beach and fire dancing which is a long pole with fire on both ends which is twirled around in a not fashion not unlike majorettes except of course it is on fire on both ends and is about three times as long.
The next day I got up early because if I didn't I would not be able to go snorkeling for the day on a boat and it was my last full day on the island. So I got up and the boat took us to about to about 3 different sites over 6 hours, a buffet laid out on the beach with chicken kebabs, shrimp, beer, vegetables etc , a trip all the way around the island for $15. I heard all about Filipino life from Wayne from Edmonton who is married to a Filiopino woman. The water was crystal clear and the one site was full of all kinds of tropical fish. It is preserved in the sense fisherman and not allowed in the area. It is right by Crocodile island which does look like a crocodile laying in wait. Overall I had a great time and of course everyone you meet his on their best behaviour. I also met Germans, Dutch, American, and English people besides the Canadians.
One of the best features of the island as far as I was concerned was the lack of cars on the island. Although it is commercialized and has changed greatly in the last few years according to people who had been there 5 or 6 years earlier there was a nice feel to it because you walk up and down this sandy path past the hotels, restaurants, stalls, bars, and various massage parlours. I imagine in a few years they will create a cement sidewalk which will take away some of the ambience of the island. Hopefully they will keep the town street a few blocks from the beach the way it is now. No cars to dodge and no constant honking was a relief for few days. The picture I have posted with a sign on it says "Do not open the door while the plane is in motion" and the door to plane was right outside the door with the sign.
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