"Jews , niggers , whiteys ... if there's hell below , we're all gonna go " sang Curtis Mayfield more than thirty years ago . Well , when we're going to die , we'll go to a place similar to Boracay . Hell right here on earth . I know , it might be paradise for some , but for me there can't be a worst place to be at right now . It starts ok with a beautiful beach but as soon as you step on land it turns sour : tons of white tourist here for the cheap beers , the banana boat rides and the parasailing . A cheap looking hotel every 50 meters , stinky bars with german techno music and behind each coconut tree a filipino trying to sell you a watch or a pair of sunglasses . HELP !!! Luckily , the answer to this problem is simple , just start the engine and (excuse my french) fuck off from this shit-hole :) I had to come here anyway to renew my visa , as this is the last place i can do that before going to the islands of Palawan . Oops , here comes another banana boat full of Koreans tourists , got to go moon them .
C u soon for more news
B.
p.s : I'm not even posting a picture or a Google placemark , i will just forget i was ever here .

"Use the Force ..."

"Public Beach in Maestro de Campo"

Left Puerto Gallera this morning . It was a really nice place to spend a couple of days , beautiful bay and a nice sleepy laid back village . with a french restaurant !!! Good food , good wine , cute waitress : what else ! and I finally managed to go windsurfing in the bay a couple of times , and that felt great ! I hadn't stepped on a board for three years now . It's kind of ironic since windsurfing was the main reason i wanted to go cruising :) The cold and the rain got on my nerve though : It's still better to freeze your "bottom" in the philippines than back home BUT ... ok , i won't complain , i heard people back in europe are getting some real freezing conditions .
Anyway , had to keep moving . I'm trying to avoid staying too long in one place now . On my way to Boracay , 2 days away from PG . Just stopped for a quiet night in a little Island called Maestro de Campo (as usual , check the download area for the Google earth placemark) . Went ashore for a walk , i needed a bit of exercise after 10 hours of rough seas . Real Treasure island style , Lush vegetation , white beaches and a nice little village with really cool bamboo houses .
Will be on my way again tomorrow morning . Got to keep moving if i want to get to Oz someday .
Cheers
B.

So i escape and it starts raining !!! I went through the rainy season in China , the rainy season in Subic and now that the dry season has arrived , i get more rain for my first day in Puerto Gallera . Anyway , that's a good excuse to do nothing but grab a book and RELAX :)
Sailing Solo for the first time was a real trip . I was quite stressed the first day but yesterday's trip was really nice . Sunshine , flat sea and good wind is a good combination for an enjoyable journey . And arriving in P.G was real nice . You enter through a narrow pass and get in the bay . It has a real "Pirate" feel to it . Blue water , white beaches surrounded by a luxurious vegetation . I can ear the monkeys screaming at night in the nearby Jungle .
Anyway time to go do nothing , go check the Google earth File in the Download area to see where i am .
cheers
Ben

"swing down , sweet chariot stop and let me ride"

The plan was simple . Get a boat and go cruising . Yeah right !!! 3 year and three months later i was still tied to the dock at the Subic Bay Marina . I had finally finished working on the boat and was ready to leave on boxing day when the weather started doing it's thing . Strong wind and the premise of a typhoon down south kept me waiting for more than ten days . I had met those two crazy Kiwis you see up there a couple of days before christmas , they cruise by themselves and are heading to Japan . They kept me from going crazy all those days and helped me work on my escape plan . They were new faces in the crowd i'd seen for the last 6 months and it reminded me what the original goal was : traveling and meeting people .
We spent most of the remaining nights discussing the best way to go free . Then one night after i'd begged Carol's (that her ...) to bake a Lemon meringue pie , they suddenly had enough of me and came up with the most brilliant plan : Just untie the mooring lines and "just go !" . It was so simple and at the same time so clever ... I'd been blinded by the sense of security i got from the last 6 months i'd spent here . You get to know a place and make friends then the next thing you catch yourself finding excuses for not leaving .
So yesterday the weather maps looked better and i just ... went ! It was time .
I leave good friends behind and am on my way south i should reach Puerto Gallera by Thursday afternoon .
More news soon .
Cheers
Ben
at anchor in Hamilo Cove , Philippines