Saturday - March 3, 2018 and Sunday - March 4, 2018

Saturday,  March 3, 2018

We docked in Puerto Princesa shortly before 8AM. As Alice and I walked to the dining room we heard music. We stepped outside to the spectacle of local musicians and dancers performing to welcome us. They were quite energetic and very accomplished. That even applies to the grammar school performers.

After breakfast we skipped the shuttle bus and walked into town toward the cathedral. We could see the lovely steeples from the ship. It did not appear to be too far away, but it was uphill. Barbara, our port lecturer, had warned us that the local vendors could be aggressive. Wow! What an understatement that was.

As soon as we exited the port, drivers who offered all sorts of tours or rides in their tricycles besieged us. These are motorbikes with elaborate covered sidecars. We kept walking and dodging these guys. Finally we were at the cathedral. An enterprising trike driver stopped traffic so we could cross the street. He was hawking the whole time. We told him we were just visiting the church and then walking. He implored that we look for him, Pepito, and his trike when we came out of church.

We exited on the other side of the church, and walked half a block toward the front of the church for pictures. That finished, we crossed the street to look at the local grammar school. As we turned away from the school, Pepito was there to again sell us his service. We turned him down again, and walked away to visit a nearby park.

This park was where the shuttle made its first stop before going on to the shopping mall. As is our custom we started to read the various panels and descriptions placed around. We were shocked to learn that in 1944 the Japanese captured 144 American soldiers here. These men were forced into the bomb shelters and burned to death by the Japanese. The park is a memorial to them and others who tried to defend this city.

As we made our way through the park Pepito suddenly appeared to help us. He retold the story we had just read. Then he offered to take us to the Butterfly Farm. We explained that we had other plans. With a smile on his face,

he graciously left us. He had been a very kind young man. He was very different from his competitors.

We made our way to the back of the park. Through the fence we could see a run down community. Some homes were on stilts over the water. Others were worn out shacks built up from the shore. Children were making their way toward town. All seemed poor, but happy.

This caused us to marvel again at how people who appear so impoverished by our standards, still find joy in what they have and how they live. Just as we find that God has blessed us, they share that attitude.

Heading back through the park toward the street we visited some local craftswomen. Their wares were nice, and they were courteous in showing them to us. They did not pressure us to buy. How different this was compared to the street vendors.

Outside, we waited for the shuttle to take us to the mall. One arrived, but it was full. We could not board. 45 minutes later we had not seen another shuttle. We talked to some people who had already been to the mall and were waiting for the shuttle back to the ship. They told us traffic was terrible and the mall was not so nice. We decided to walk back to the ship. It was a short walk down hill all the way.

Our plan was to have lunch in the dining room and then walk to a tall structure that we could see from the ship. This looked like a Christmas tree.

As we ate lunch we talked about how disappointing this visit had been. When we left the dining room to take our walk, we stopped to chat with Ron and David. They told us they had a wonderful morning at the mall. It was just 15 minutes each way. It was very modern with stores of every kind. And they had gotten haircuts for just $3 each. They gave us directions to the barbershop on the third level of the mall past the hair styling salons. We revised our plan.

After a brief wait on the shuttle, it headed off to the cathedral then the mall. The ride took us through Chinatown. How neat that was. Along the way the driver kept blowing his horn at the endless flow of trikes. They seemed to think he would yield to them. Not so! He bulled his way through.

The mall was indeed a surprise. It is a very modern three-story structure with ample parking and a hotel like entrance. As we entered security examined purses and bags before allowing entry. We were in a very neat and clean area with a lot of people coming and going, but there was no sense of crowding.

We surveyed the stores as we took the escalators up to the third floor. We would shop on the way down. We found the barbershop just as Ron had described. It was crowded. Many from the ship were here as well. After a short wait I was in the chair. Boy was my barber. He was a big gentle guy who loved my hair color. We established how I would like the sides shortened and he started cutting. Soon he asked if I wanted the top trimmed as well. I had thought this was just a given, and gave him the go ahead. Alice was seated in a chair behind us. I could see her in the mirror offering me encouragement. Boy started on the top of my head. As I watched, he was cutting away great lengths of my locks. Soon he was asking if I wanted my eyebrows trimmed. He proceeded to take a lot off of them before his scissors were in my nose. He did not trim my ears. Now he was kneading my shoulders. When I told him that felt good, he pushed me over forward in the chair and massaged my back and neck. All done, he blew away the hair and told the cashier $3. I was amazed. I tipped him $2. He could not thank me enough.

Now Alice was asking me if she should get her hair cut. She decided to do it, and tried to explain how the stylist in Adelaide had cut it. This was difficult to translate, so she ended up looking at books of styles with the cashier and her barber. They decided to shorten it up except for the bangs. This took a while, but ended well. She did not get any extraneous hair trimmed. Nor did she get a massage. Her haircut was also $3, but her barber’s tip was $1. He was very happy. I had noticed that no one else was tipping.

Now it was time to shop. We walked the mall without going into stores until we found an Ace Hardware store. We could not resist. It was compact, but very well stocked and signed. Every aisle had a clerk at the end to help you with what you needed. There were three cashiers. It was all very efficient. We enjoyed it.

As we exited the mall we stopped to view the directory. It was a high tech touch screen with icons for the various kinds of goods. A touch of the icon brought up a list of the stores that sold that type of merchandise. A touch on the store name opened a map of the mall with the route to the store from the directory highlighted. Wow!

We boarded the shuttle with less hair, but no merchandise. We had met our wine stewardess, Pam, inside while we used the Wi-Fi. She had purchased something for her daughter and some snacks. She will see her daughter in Manila. Pam’s 78-year-old father is bringing her to the ship. Pam is a single mom looking forward to this family time.

Back at the port we walked out to the first cross street, and headed toward the Christmas tree. This route took us through a very old neighborhood to an open midway that led to the tree. All along this area were rows of small huts and stands on either side of picnic tables. Then there was an open space around the tree. On the other side of the midway was a paved walk along the water.

At the tree we discovered that it was about 50 feet high and supported by rusting cable on 4 corners. It was made of metal mesh covered with green material and hundreds of large plastic ornaments. We could not tell if it lit up at night.

Heading back toward the ship we passed the stands closest to the water. It was now clear that these were restaurants. It was 4:30 and workers were setting out fruits, produce and seafood in preparation for the evening business. A man setting out seafood called out to us, so we went over to talk. He explained that these were all restaurants that opened every night, not just weekends. The tables were for their patrons. He was setting out Red Snapper, Lobsters and Squid on ice beds for people to select. Behind him Ladies were already cooking. We spied a tray of chicken satay and other grilled items. We were getting hungry.

Back on Amsterdam we attended Mass and then went on deck for our sail away. Again we entertained by local performers. We both got choked up as the ship left the dock. What had started out to be disappointing had turned out to be a most interesting and endearing visit. It confirmed for us that it is up to us to make our own way, and reach our own conclusions. We still heard others ask why we stopped here. What a shame that is. Or maybe we are just too easy.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

We are enjoying a sea day on our way to Manila. We continue to meet new people on board. This morning we met a woman in the hallway not far from our cabin. When we commented that we were almost neighbors, she asked which cabin was ours. We told her it was 2636. Oh, she said, that’s the problem cabin. We must have looked concerned because she explained that there was nothing wrong with the cabin. The problem was that the morning the ship was to dock in Sydney local Drug Enforcement Authorities boarded at sea complete with their sniffer.

She passed our cabin on her way to breakfast and saw that several officers were tearing down the ceiling panels and exploring all drawers and closets. The dog was on high alert. It turned out that the occupants were smuggling a large quantity of drugs into Sydney. They were taken off in handcuffs.

When we boarded the next day, there was no sign of this activity in our cabin. We did notice that one of the drawers under the bed was off of its rails. This may be the only evidence of the search, and it has no impact on us.

This was our excitement for this sea day.