Island Hopping from H**l
- Tara Larkai
- Jun 3, 2016
- 7 min read
It started like a normal day in Cebu. We were up early in the morning and ready to take on another adventure. Our plan for the day was to visit Camotes Island. Getting to Camotes island from Cebu consists of taking an hour bus ride from the north terminal to Danao then a 2 hour ferry to Camotes. Our plan was to get there in time for the 8am ferry. Our uber driver suggested that we take the "V-ride" bus instead of the Ceres bus because it's faster and doesn't make many stops. We took his advice and an hour later, we were in Danao. The ride was not as comfortable as the Ceres bus because the v-ride is much smaller and cramped. I sat on half a seat for the hour long ride. It was not too bad though.
We arrived at the Danao station without any issues. Boy did we not expect this at all. We thought Cebu was hectic until we got to Danao. We had to take a tricycle to the port because the bus doesn't go there. We could have walked there too but we were in a rush as we arrived at exactly 8am. We were hoping that the ferry had not left yet. We were in luck because the ferry was still there when we arrived 5 minutes later on that tricycle. We were so excited because we had heard/read so many great things about Camotes. All the locals had great things to say and some even said it was their favorite vacation island. Upon arrival at the port, it was very crowded with people either trying to get on the ferry or lounging around. We did manage to rush through the long line to quickly purchase a ticket for the 8am ferry but to our disappointment, it was completely sold out. We weren't too worried because the next ferry leaves at 10am or so we thought. We asked to purchase tickets for the next one before it sells out and that is when our day started going downhill. We were told that the schedule changed and the next ferry doesn't leave until 12pm. The last ferry from Camotes back to Danao leaves at 3pm so that only gives us an hour to spend there that is if the ferry leaves on time. It was now almost 8:30am and the 8am ferry still had not left so we decided it was not worth it to wait around until noon for this trip. I was very disappointed to say the least. The ferry company could have updated their schedule online because that would have helped us plan better.
After a few moments of sadness went by, we decided to head back into Cebu city and go on an island hopping adventure instead. Our uber driver friend was super nice and helpful and gave us all the information we needed. All we had to do was get back to Cebu city. Getting back was hectic. We walked back to the Danao station that we arrived at in hopes of finding transportation back. The "V-ride" bus line was ridiculous and there was no bus in sight. I guess they fill up as they arrive from Cebu. Looking at it, it would have taken a couple of hours before we were able to get on a V-ride. So we looked into getting a taxi back to the city but apparently they don't believe in taxis in Danao. How can a whole city not have taxis? Like seriously? What about the people who do not like buses or tricycles? I guess they all drive. We did see some nice vehicles there. We also looked into a jeepney. There was no line for the jeepney but we had to wait for it to fill up before leaving and from the looks of it, it would have taken an hour to fill up. So we nixed that! We were desperate though so we found our way walking to the ceres bus station, a 30 minute walk in that beaming Filipino sun. We chose the wrong day for this adventure. I was sweating everywhere including places I never imagined I would sweat at. We finally caught a ceres bus heading into the city. It was already filled up but we were not complaining because it beats standing out in the sun.
We arrived an hour later in Cebu and got a taxi straight to Banca on Mactan island. As soon as we got out of the taxi, we were swarmed by several men trying to convince us to island hop with them. Since that is why we were there, we negotiated their price down to 3000 pesos (1000 pesos each). We picked the islands we wanted to visit and asked him to stop by a restaurant because we had not eaten all day. Well that wasn't entirely true because I ate some pastries that I bought from a local bakery in Danao. They were delicious! Before we could get on, they asked for an advance (500 pesos) to purchase fuel.
After getting fuel and gathering themselves, we were on our way to our first island. We were accompanied by the captain of the boat and 2 assistants. lol Our first stop was at the floating restaurant on Olango island. It was very cool to be eating on a floating island but the prices for the food weren't so cool. We got to pick out our fish and crabs before they were killed and cooked for us. What was odd was that they didn't have any prices on their menu. If it was on land, this restaurant would have been compared to a "hole in the wall" type of restaurant. It was very basic but it was floating on the turquoise sulu sea so it was "cool". The food was okay and they didn't have any alcohol or bottled waters. We got 3 crabs and 1 large fish with fried rice and the total was 5000 pesos (about $110). That is more than our island hopping or any amount of food we purchased at the luxury Crimson. We felt ripped off again but how were we going to prove it? We got the tourist prices.
We headed to our next island from there. It took about an hour but we safely arrived on Pandanon island. A very small uninhabited island. There were only a few people there when we arrived. One of the assistants told us we had to pay an entrance fee of 200 pesos and we had to only pay it to the captain. Now that was a red flag already but we didn't want to cause any problems so we paid up. We didn't see him pay anyone but we kept quiet. We were tired and wanted to relax until it was time to go so we told them we wanted to stay on this island and skip the others. They were nice and took several pictures of us. Everything was lovely. I am sure you are saying , "get to the hell part already". Maybe the title of the blog was a bit exaggerated now that I have had time to think about what went down but I am not done yet. I will leave the decision up to you to let me know if I exaggerated or my title is justified.
Our beach flow was up and it was time to get back to Mactan but suddenly we see a very fragile old man with shorts on and a vest with "police" written on it and wearing flip flops. He approached the captain before he got on to ask for a docking fee. It damn sure wasn't 200 pesos because I saw him give him coins. I just kept thinking to myself," how is this man going to defend anyone in case of an emergency?". I guess he must wear that police vest just for show. The ride back was smooth. We got to see the sunset and everything. It was a very good day until we arrived.
As soon as we arrived I took out the remaining balance of 2500 pesos (1 500 pesos note and 2 1000 pesos notes) and gave it to the captain. As we started making our way out of there, he stopped us and says that we missing some money and that the agreed fee was 4000 pesos not 3000 so we are missing 1000 pesos. We argued back and forth for 5 minutes. During time, he had about 10 people on his side. I don't even know where they came from but all of a sudden they had surrounded us. We told him we did not have any cash left to pay him but he pointed us right to the Movenpick hotel right next door. We all walked up the hill to the hotel to use their ATM but we were told the ATM doesn't work. I then searched through my purse and found a 1000 pesos and gave it to him to settle our debt. Oh you wont believe what happened next. Dude told me we were still missing some. We were all confused because the advance for fuel was 500, I gave him 2500 when we got back on land and now 1000. That equals 4000 to me. But nooooo...dude said I never gave him 2500. He said I gave him 700 (1 500 note and 2 100 notes). He had switched the notes! I was fuming! I know what I gave him and Chloe even saw it. The fact that he did not mention this until we got up the hill was suspicious. I was very upset and started arguing. He then called some more of his friends to argue on his behalf. So now it was about 15 people against 3 girls. It was not worth the argument and there were more of them than us. Chloe simply called an uber to take her to another ATM to get money. But while Jackson and I waited, I made sure I told him my peace of mind. He was a liar and a thief trying to take advantage of tourists. I have seen this way too many times during our travels . Locals always think they can take advantage of tourist especially by telling us that we may have been confused with the notes. Come on now...this was not our first international trip.
We ended up overpaying him when Chloe returned with the money because we wanted him to know that money was not the issue. It was the fact that he was trying to take advantage of us. This ruined our day but thankfully it was our last night in Cebu. The uber ride back to our apartment was quiet. We were all shaken up and upset about the situation. Our uber driver thought it was pretty funny though. He kept cracking jokes even though none of were amused he didn't care and kept on. That is another reason why I love Filipinos....their great sense of humor. Chloe and Jackson went to bed as soon as we got back. I was not ready so I headed across the street to Montebello to get my entire life. It was sugba sugba night at Montebello. I ate, drank and reflected on the day. Despite all that happened, I still wanted to see more of the Philippines. It was unfortunate that we had some bad experiences but it's all part of the experiences of travel.
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