Location: Togonon, Cebu, Philippines

Sav: Today was definitely the longest travel day we’ve had yet. We stopped into a little restaurant down the road for a Filipino breakfast of eggs, garlic rice, and tocino (sweet pink cured pork). After sipping our instant coffees, we ran across the road to grab some fresh buns and catch the bus up north. We were heading to Danao City area to meet up with some of Max’s old friends for a couple of days of rock climbing!

Max: The bus seats were barely wide enough for the two of us and it was a fight to get comfortable. On top of that, for the next four hours, the bus driver insisted on honking the horn every 10 seconds at absolutely nothing. Thankfully we found comfort in some good shows we had saved for the trip and our Julie’s Bakeshop bread. Bakeshops are on every corner in the Philippines, and we’ve made a habit of getting a mixed bag so that we can try as many different breads as possible. We’ve almost never been disappointed since bread is a staple here- they’ve really nailed it.

Sav: When we arrived at the bus terminal in Cebu City it was getting dark, so we decided it best to just get food ASAP at the cafeteria right there. As it happens I recognized some of the food from when I went for lunch at a locals house during my last visit here. I grabbed a couple plates of sweet noodles, spiced ground pork, and rice – knowing it would be tasty and safe for our tummies.

We debated figuring out the bus schedule for getting to Danao City, but in the dark it just felt like a better idea to grab a cab. It was almost a two hour drive, but Max haggled the driver down to $35 CAD- more than the route is worth apparently but I couldn’t even fathom paying less. Transportation here is so cheap it almost feels unfair – not that I’m complaining! We arrived in Danao and couldn’t go any further via taxi, so we paid a couple motorbike drivers to take us into the mountains. Little did we know the road is basically a half paved half dirt jungle path… and the bikes drivers were not too pleased to be dealing with it. It was starting to rain, we could hear loud lizard and bird calls, and lightning was flashing across the sky when out of nowhere a red pick-up truck coming at us slams on its breaks and we hear “Max?? I saw white people and assumed it was you!” It was Algin (Al), Max’s buddy he met a couple years ago climbing in Greece. This is who we were coming to meet! He was heading into town to pick up a German/French couple (Benny and Kristina) who were also here for climbing. We paid the motorbike drivers and hopped in Al’s truck, thankful to get out of the rain.

Max: It was so nice to see a familiar face after this many days travelling! In Greece Al talked a lot about a cliff face that he was trying to make more accessible to the public. It’s up Chocolate Mountain in Togonon (not the same as the Chocolate Hills we saw the other day) and really off the grid, and I was excited to finally get to see it. Unfortunately, it was pitch black by the time we showed up, so the tour would have to wait until tomorrow!

We were greeted by Al and Meg’s (Al’s partner) five dogs: Oreo, Cookie, Tiger, Jigger and Dirty Face. They all live on the property, and they are probably the healthiest and happiest dogs we’ve seen. I’m pretty sure they are all related based on the stories that Al told us on the drive in. We hiked up a super muddy trail to our bungalow- a single open air bamboo room built on stilts, topped with a wooden framed tin roof. In the center of the room sat a brand new mattress (we were the first to stay here!) and we almost passed out on the spot. Before we could we had another friend to see. Serina, a woman I met in Greece, had flown up just a few days ago to spend the month here. She’s a world traveller from Ontario, who makes just enough money to buy a plane ticket to the next place where she can rock climb as much as possible. She gave us the lay of the land and explained the amenities situation, which is actually quite good for how far we are from everything. We were hoping to catch Meg as well, but she was already asleep. We said our good nights made our way up the steep ladder to our bungalow.

Sav: I was a bit worried right off the bat about the open air… what about bugs? It’s so humid though? I felt like a pansy at first and then realized that we weren’t exactly roughing it- especially compared to some of the camping we’ve done! It was all just a surprise – one that turned out to be pretty amazing. I’m really excited to see the climbs tomorrow but am exhausted from all the travel today. The cicadas are out and I’m sure it’s going to make for lovely background noise to fall asleep to!

Sav