After all-day sightseeing in Kyoto, Japan, my husband and I were going to the Philippines. Our flights were not the most convenient. We arrived in Manila at about midnight, sat there for 4 hours before boarding the 3.50 a.m. flight to Cebu.
In Manila airport, security confiscated our umbrella. Apparently, it was okay to fly in with it in a carry-on but leaving Manila with an umbrella presented a security problem.
In Cebu City, we took a taxi to the seaport. The area around was dreadful slums. Trashy houses looked like they were about to collapse. That was in stark contrast with the orderly and neat Japan that we just left.
At the pier, we bought ferry tickets and walked to Fort San Pedro that the Spaniards built during the Spanish colonial rule. Usually, I am very willing to see forts and castles but the sleepless night, hot and humid weather, the backpack that I carried did not put me in a sightseeing mood. On top of that, I was hungry. It was 10 a.m. and our last good meal was lunch in Kyoto on the previous day. We searched around for a place to have breakfast or at least to buy some snack. There was nothing close by. In the end, my husband bought me something that pretended to be a cheese sandwich but, in reality, was two slices of white bread with a tiny bit of yellow between them.
Eating that bread did not improve my mood. My husband glanced toward the Fort. Knowing me well, he did not press me to go in it and confined himself to taking photos of the Fort’s gate.
The ferry ride from Cebu to Tagbilaran on Bohol Island was over 2 hours. I napped on the ferry and did not feel rested after that.
In Tagbilaran, we got to Travel Bee hotel before the check-in time of 2 p.m. The backpacks were left at the reception; we hired a tuk-tuk to take us to a forest reserve with Philippine tarsiers, the world second smallest primates. It was my husband’s dream to see them. Whenever I asked what we were going to do in Philippine his answer was to see tarsiers and Chocolate Hills. I could not get why tarsiers were so important but waited until I’d meet them face to face.
For those who never rode in a tuk-tuk, it is a sputtering, three-wheeled motorcycle named for the sound made by its engine – a cheap way to travel in Asian countries.
After 40 minutes of a jolty ride, we were at the reserve. Tarsiers are about 9–16 cm (3.5–6 inches) long excluding the tail. We saw 4 or 5 of them – small sleepy animals, all were located in designated areas in the forest, each tarsier was guarded by a staff member. I viewed them with little enthusiasm feeling sorry for both tarsiers and myself.
Twenty minutes later, we were done with tarsiers and in our tuk-tuk for the ride back. We finally had a satisfying although not very tasty meal in a shopping mall in Tagbilaran, then popped in a local supermarket to buy something for dinner later in our room. The selection of fish and meat was astonishing.
Finally, we got our room. The sea view from its window was stunning. Dead exhausted, I could not care about the view and plopped on the bed. The in-flight magazine on the plane to Cebu featured an Italian who, after visiting 120 countries, chose to retire in the Philippines. “The hell I’d retire here”, thought I and seconds later was asleep like a tarsier.
