Cagayan de oro

Well after a tortuous journey I am here in Cagayan de oro, in a very nice hotel with a lovely cafe/lounge and wi fi, so you can sit there drinking coffee with food or just have a beer while you are online............ of course I can't as I left my mains cable in Manila !! And NO I can't get a spare anywhere either here or Ozamiz, I even asked the hotel if they would loan me a laptop but no they have no spares. So her I am in a cafe again.

I don't enjoy the cafes as much as I do just being online on my own laptop, I can sip my coffee have a look around and do some typing... very nice. In the cafe I am stuck in this little cubicle with the meter running....not conjusive to a realaxing and interesting post !!

I left my hotel this morning at 8.55am to catch the bus to here at 9.30am, I got on the bus at 9.10am and it left straight away..so much for schedules ! This bus had no aircon... I managed to get the last window seat left to get some air. We then drove 10 mins to the port to get the ferry, we all had to get out, people were closing the windows but leaving their luggage so I obviously copied them except I always take my laptop with me... I guess they closed the windows to stop hands stealing things through them.
Sometimes the beaucracy of the Phils is bewildering... we queued up to pay the 20pesos ferry fee then you queue again to pay the 3p terminal fee before you are allowed aboard, why not just charge the coach company 23pesos for each person, that would cut out the need for queueing.
I knew beforehand that the port is another pick up point which would mean more people on the bus, so before we reached the other side I got on the bus to reclaim my seat, luckily I did leave a bag on my seat as the bus was full !!! I had to squeeze into my tiny seat with 2 bags... I must explain something here.... at home on coaches we have 4 seats per row split by the isle, on this bus there were 5 seats per row...the coaches are no bigger it's just that the seats are smaller for filipinos... more bodies = more money. But my body took up a seat and a half, I was at the window and these 2 filipinos were on the other 2 seats, I had one bag between my legs and the laptop bag in front of my chest... I couldn't even get my hand in my pocket to pay the conductor thats how much I was squashed. at the same time I am trying to breath through the window as it was so hot and stuffy. I had to stand up holding my bags to get to my pocket to pay him his 175pesos.
Some people that rejoined the bus after the ferry didn't get their seats back as someone else boarded at the port and nicked them, no matter how much they complained to the guys in their seats they just cocked a deaf 'un.

We reach Iligan after about 2 hours, everyone gets off but leaves there bags.. now what does this mean.... after a lot of confusion I find out that the bus stops here for an hour.... why !!! After talking to a few people... not many spoke any decent english... and my Visayan is non existant... Visayan is the dialect spoken in this part of Mindanao.... I then find out that there is an air conditioned bus leaving in 5 mins to Cagayan..... so I traipse off in search, sure enough there is a brand new bus waiting there.... ooohh thank you so much.. it cost me another 150 pesos but was worth it. This bus not only has air con but I have 2 seats to myself and it is also playing a movie !! Spoiled only by a guy getting on about 15 mins before the end giving us a bible reading in preparation for a request for a donation... now I am into helping any Christian group to raise funds but there is a time and place... !! This is obviously what he does on every bus that enters the town as the driver specifically stopped for him and he didn't pay....I suppose the good side is that visitors get spiritualy uplifted in Cagayan de oro.... or is their pockets !!

The journey took just under 5 hours, everyone says that it is 3 or 4 hours... Filipinos and time are contradictions in all forms !!
Sometimes they will say if I ask about journey times.. it could be just something local, they will say oh it's about an hour then I walk there in 5 mins... or the opposite it's about 20 mins then it turns out to be 3 hours !! No rhyme or reason !!

Got to the hotel easily enough, nice room etc, just a shame no laptop.

I still have a lot to say about Ozamiz with photos and video but can't do that until I can use my laptop.

Hope you are having a good week