March 28th 2015 Mambajao, Camiguin Island Day 2

Mambajao market where they sell food of all sorts.

 

These are more of those rooster pens where they have used big rubber tires to make the rooster house.

Just cruising around the island of Camiguin.

As I stopped here to take a couple pictures I had kids swimming in the ocean saying "Hello my friend!" and then kids across the street saying the same thing.

Cruising around the island on my scooter. It is 66km around and took just over an hour or so.

A street in Mambajao.

In the town of Mambajao up on a tower taking a picture from above.

Driving in the middle of Camiguin island looking for Ardent hot springs.

As I drove around Camiguin island looking for Ardent hot springs I had to do a double take as I saw a dog lying down sleeping on a bench. 

I had walked around Mambajao last night when I arrived which is really small and only a few streets and most of the towns on this island are smaller than that. I was told there was going to be a BROWN OUT today between 8am to 5pm so I planned to rent a scooter for the day since there would be no air conditioning at the hotel and around town. It was 8:10am while I was watching a movie in the morning when the power went out so I headed out. There is no brewed coffee here so last night I had bought some instant coffee and make some at the pension house. I talked to a guy outside the hotel who always greets me at the door and asked if I wanted to rent a scooter and I asked him how much and he say 400 pesos for 24 hours and I said sure so he called another guy who drove his scooter down and paid him the money then took off. 

After I get gas and am driving for 10 minutes I go to shift gears and realize the clutch is missing. I think to myself that the clutch lever must have fallen off as I was driving but I didn't hear it probably due to this helmet over my ears so I turn around and trace my steps back on the main road and can't believe a clutch lever would fall off a bike and I am thinking "What a piece of shit bike he rented me". So I don't see it on the road so go back to the hotel and as I am driving down the road I think that I spot the owner of the bike so I turn around on a one way road (which I shouldn't do of course) and go back to where I saw him and vehicle are coming at me and filipinos are looking at me from the side of the road probably wondering why I am driving in the wrong direction but I get up to him and for some reason I am not 100% it is the guy who I rented the bike from since many kind of look the same to me. And I ask him "This is your motorbike right?" at which I realize he doesn't speak english as I didn't really talk to him but the other guy at the hotel when I rented the bike. Then I pointed and him and then the bike and said "Are YOU the owner of THIS bike?" at which he points at himself and says "owner" and I say "Where is the clutch lever on this bike?" at which point he says "No clutch on bike" and at this point I am realizing the affects of not drinking my brewed coffee in the morning as I had driven this bike without a clutch lever just fine for the first 10 minutes and at some point along my trip I believed it had a clutch to change gears with and didn't fully recognize the owner even though he was there then I paid the money for the bike. This is why I NEED my morning coffee!!! I get alzheimers without it. 

I drive down to the Benoni boat terminal and ask them for their boat schedule and the guys says "Here is our schedule for Balingoan" and points at a schedule on the wall which starts at 3:30am and runs every half hour so I ask him "OK.. and which boat goes to Bohol?" and he shakes his head saying "We no longer have any service to Bohol". This is where I realize my 6 year old guide book is not helping as it is 6 years old and everything is still there that is in the book except for boat services from CDO to Camiguin and Camiguin to Bohol. So I realize I will have to take another ferry back to Balingoan where i just came from and get a boat there to Bohol. 

I continue driving around the island and really like it. Very green with coconut trees everywhere. Definitely a very nice and relaxed atmosphere compared to any Philippine city I have been to so far. I even drove up to Ardent hot springs but didn't go in as I had a lot of money on me and didn't know if they had lockers etc... (which I doubt). There is never anything to buy in their super markets. I go in and see aisles full of condiments, toilet paper and pop etc... but never something you can buy and eat or at least nothing that you want to buy even the candy. Everything is all cheap shit that has zero nutrients for your body. So I go down the the public market and look around and see some sticky rice patties that I like and buy 6 of them for my breakfast. They taste good and give my body the carbs I need. 

Even though I have the motorbike until 9am tomorrow I know I am not going to use it anymore. The butt is hurting and I feel I saw enough on it and have decided to go to Bohol tomorrow morning. I find out the power is out until 8pm tonight so can't watch any movies until then but the place has their generator going so the A/C is on.