Summer Cycle

I've been here for two weeks already. I've come to know this little town and some of its oddities. I now have a suki in the palengke. I know where to have things printed for cheap and where to buy my dry goods. I notice that everything here is slightly overpriced, but what can you do. The tiny 2 lane highway is always bustling with motorcycles and tricycles. The shuttle vans that come and go from the airport are the only cars you will see on the road. Yet the streets are always busy. That's Coron rush hour. 

So the story is I took a summer gig in Coron, Palawan as an expedition guide/operations manager for Belarmino Ventures. It's different than the usual island hopping day trip tours that are found all over Coron town as we take 5 day expeditions around the Calamianes Islands or a voyage from Coron to El Nido. We snorkel in islands owned by foreigners (I'm still trying to wrap my head around that) and camp on uninhabited beaches. Days start at 6am when the sunrise wakes you up and ends at 9pm, when you've run out of food to eat. Mornings are spent under the sea and evenings are under the stars. We take walks in small villages where our foreigner guests always attract a little crowd of curious locals.

I've started to miss the little things back in Manila. Cookie butter, for example. Or P25 twirl-all-you-can soft serve ice cream from Family Mart. My crazy family. Home-cooked meals. My bike. Bike rides around and outside the city. Yet there are certain things I don't miss: Manila traffic and pollution, social media everyday, the constant need to fit in (although we don't realize it) and become part of the trend, and routine. In Manila, my days had a certain order and routine which thought I liked but here, I have no idea what's going to happen the next day. Or the day after. Will I be on a boat? Will I still be in town? Will I be camping on some beach? It scares me but is all strangely exciting.

Storefront

This is my little ride around town now. Thank you for loaning it to me. These days, I'm never sure what the next day will bring. But one thing's for sure, a bike has to be there to carry me through these little cycles. And after that, who knows what's next.