Articles in Legazpi to Matnog
The “Foreigner Price” in Matnog
I woke up full intending to make the best of the day. Matnog was not going to defeat me. I was going to be flexible and I was going to go with the flow. I was not going to impose my Western ideas of logic and common sense. I would simply go to the tourism office for 7 o’clock and then let what happens happen. …
“Pass the Brownies and Pepsi” – Island Hopping in Matnog
Once I’d paid all my fees, I left the tourism office and followed the Filipino woman and a boatman out into the street. She walked up to a big white van that was crammed with people. I thought I was expected to get inside the van, but I knew the boat couldn’t be far and I preferred to walk to the water’s edge. The boatman …
“Where’s my spoon and water bottle?” Robbed in Matnog
Charmless Matnog was not, however, finished with me, and I rode my bike back to my improvised campsite in the Richwell Beach Resort walled compound to find that I had been robbed. True, the robbers had not gotten away with much, but it was still quite annoying. They had taken a few things that I’d left out on the table with my campstove. They took …
Day Three and Matnog’s Still-Hidden Charms
The next day, my last day in Matnog, was an odd sort of day. I spent the morning writing in my journal and drinking coffee and hanging out at the resort. This was not quite as relaxing and enjoyable as it sounds as the skin on my legs around my knees was so itchy and sore that I wanted to scream at times. Plus, I …