Motorcycle drivers swamped us the moment we stepped on land. We just came from a four-hour ferry ride from Danao City to Poro in Camotes Island and the last thing we wanted was to be constantly asked if we wanted a ride.
Life is probably not that easy in an island like Camotes and the habal habal drivers here are probably just trying to eke out a living from the meager tourists that visit the island during off-peak season, but really, I hope when they hear a tourist say no, they understand that they don’t mean yes or maybe. They really meant no and expect those asking them to stop bugging them with repeated questions. It doesn’t do any good for tourism of the place.
It seemed we never have enough time. We roared through the road as the sun was setting. Palm trees bent as we sped, bleeding the golden afternoon light between its green leaves. We were leaving Dapitan City too soon, we were saying goodbye to Mindanao.
The ride to Cebu City would take a total of ten hours and we should’ve been more prepared. With no dinner food for the night, we were forced to eat unawesome food at the canteen at a very unawesome price. Our stomachs filled with bland chow, we bunked down for the night and imagined Cebu in our dreams.
