Confused by several travel warnings, I was in doubt if I should go to the Visayas’ islands. Well, after I left Palawan, a travel warning for Palawan was issued, too. So I went to Cebu City (Cebu Island), Dauin (Negros Island) and Carmen/Chocolate Hills (Bohol Island). In Dauin I was super lucky to make a few dives next to the shore. This area is popular for tiny creatures living in the sand. Bohol’s main attraction are the Chocolate Hills, a wide area studded with more than 1000 hills shaped like molehills. The owner of my accommodation in Bohol was incredible. He treated me like a daughter and showed me around; even in the very early morning he woke me up and drove me to the hills to watch the sunrise, when they are covered by fog clouds and the area appeared in a mystic light. And the travel warnings? The most scary incident happened at my flight from Cebu to Dumaguete. A black unaccompanied suitcase was on board, but it turned out as harmless. That’s it.

The last days I spent in Coron, made a 5 days expedition from Coron to El Nido (Tao Expedition) and stayed in El Nido for a few days. It’s a fantastic surrounding for snorkeling at all, lots of colorful corals, various fishes and ship wrecks in the shallow water, so it’s not necessary to go diving, you can see all these things from the water surface. The Tao Expedition goes to remote islands between Coron and El Nido, where usually fishermen and their families are living. Tao built a couple of basecamps at these places, which are quite basic and offer an overnight accommodation in the pure nature. I awoke at sunrise, when the fishermen’s boats chugging away gently. Our fish was directly bought from the fisherman at the sea, so it couldn’t be fresher. They killed a pig on board too, but I really couldn’t eat it. My highlight was the Tao Farm, where the main campsite is located. Here I got lots of information about the life at these lonely islands, the possibilities and the problems to which the locals are confronted every day. The tour finished at El Nido, a quite touristic city, surrounded by the rocky scenery of the Bacuit Bay. There I spent some relaxing days before I made my way to the Visayas.

If you ever go to Philippines, I would highly recommend to book a domestic flight with Air Juan. They offer the same price as the popular airlines, but the flights are operated by either a seaplane or a small Cessna landplane for 9 passengers. Today I flew from Caticlan to Busuanga and – as you can see – the scenery is stunning!

I know what is Boracay said to be. But I wanted to make my own experience and booked a flight to Caliclan, which is next to Boracay. It’s true, I’ve never seen the ocean shining in such a turquoise color, the sand is brilliant white, and the famous White Beach is a great place for party, too. Of course it’s very crowded, especially with tourists from Korea. But I found some lovely spots, secluded and quite. Like the Puka and the Ilig-Iligan Beach. The Bulabog Beach, the spot for surfers and kiterboarders is not that beautiful. Here are the local kids playing and they will invite you to join them certainly. And I was very lucky as my host Douglas and his family invited me to a private sailing trip to Carabao Island.

When I arrived in Manila, I was really cautious and reluctant to the Filipinos. It is a dirty and poor city in fact. But it took only two days until their inhabitants infect myself with their kindness, hospitality and soulfulness. The people make it easy to feel comfortable. They chat me up and invited me to join them. They wish God’s blessing. No worries if I took the wrong way. No discussions with taxi drivers about the taximeter (a new experience for me in Southeast Asia). Everybody is very kind and treats me with respect.