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' puerk, chiken, phish, and begtables'



I had dreams of being a world traveler at 60, that did not happen so I postponed that to 65. The good news is that at 66 I am still able to travel and in the whole scheme of things I have not done too badly.  There are endless places I still want to see and I hope that I will be able to complete my bucket list. My list consists of places that I think are important to civilization, more on the people rather than the vista. I will admit that New York City is a place that I love as is the city of London. But then all of us require some level of civilization, especially coming from an island nation.

A few years ago we visited the Philippines. Our daughter was posted there under a VSO assignment and we headed out to a part of the world not many people from our parts would normally visit. We arrived on an Easter weekend and there was a terrorist scare in Manila, problems on the island of Mindanao, so our hotel was under watch, endless security. During our stay, we headed out to the island of Palawan to the town of El Nido. We stayed in a small all-inclusive hotel called 'Lally and Abet Beach Cottages', I think we paid $50.00 US per night. We had the best stay. We were immersed in the culture of the Philippines. The electricity was on between 1.00pm and 11.00pm, this was the regular power utility, as a result, the 'all inclusive' did not have ice, I would venture out every evening for the much-desired block. I found a family that made ice, you first had to go pass the monkey that was tethered to a pole that screamed at you and negotiate for the tray of ice blocks.
Apparently, the priest at the Catholic Church had his own generator and would crank it up at 4.00 in the morning to start the Sunday morning service, much to the displeasure of the local population. We headed off on many day trips, this was a separate cost, which took us to the most amazing places. At times we were the only people out on the water, imagine this vast ocean and being the only people in sight. Something you would see in National Geographic, unspoilt, uninhabited beaches, limestone cliffs leaping out of the water, lagoons with absolutely crystal clear water. The tours from the hotel were done by local persons, no English, lots of sign language. On one trip the propeller of the engine fell off and the operator had to dive in to the water and retrieve it. A boat tour included food and drink. This usually meant (1) beer per person and a hastily made fire on the beach with a wire mesh grill and what we would call 'fry dried' fish, rice and a salad stored in a plastic container.
During our 'boat tours,' we went past a number of the real 'all inclusive' places. I am not sure who experienced 'El Nido' or for that matter the Philippines? I am not going to judge who had the better experience, after many years we can still remember the menu for each evening meal 'puerk, chiken, phish, and begetables'.
Did I tell you about the race we had with the motorized tricycles from the 'airport' to the hotel? I will admit that I lost. I was accused of being overweight, hence the loss.

After all of the travelog, I have one point. We met and interacted with the people of El Nido who after many years we can remember salient points of our visit.
Is this not what travel is all about? We landed on a dirt field, out of WW2, with a welcoming party of musicians in a bull cart. ' Squidos' a restaurant on the street with children on the pavement selling' balut', an aged duck egg. It was yet another memorable visit to a wonderful place on planet earth.

Our Government is hell-bent on bringing one of the most successful 'all inclusives' to Tobago at an astronomical cost to the taxpayer. Why do we have to be like the other islands? We have not yet learned, but we are a different tourism product. We have a culture and a place that other islands in the Caribbean do not have. How about developing our tourism which is unique to us? We do not have to spend $8.0 Bn to attract anyone to our islands. Especially if it means spending all this money in one place. Can you imagine if tourism received a fraction of that for promotion?
Tobago lost its shine when the then Chief Secretary of the THA imposed a license for foreigners to own property in Tobago. That single ill-informed decision destroyed the tourism industry in Tobago.  Now, we have a Government, supported by the THA, giving carte blanche to foreign ownership paid for by the taxpayer. Does this make any sense?

I am not sure if I will ever see El Nido again, but the memories are real!

Good night and good luck people of the Rock!

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