Woolloomooloo, Wallabys, and Wombats

G'day Family, Friends, and Search Engine Bots

Today's installment finds us making our way down along the eastern coastline of Australia by plane, train, automobile, bus, bike, and foot. Thanks to some amazing friends The Journey was proven once again to be The Reward, we stayed far from the beaten tourist path, and our hearts were kept light.
Our first stop was in Sydney (which incidentally is a looooong way from Cairns which meant that we skipped over a massive amount of coastline including Brisbane, the Gold Coast, etc.) where we spent one splendid afternoon smelling the roses in the Botanic Gardens, paying homage to the iconic opera house, walking across Sydney Harbor Bridge, and making fun of place names like Woolloomooloo (where we were staying). We also managed to catch a bus out to Watson's Bay for a spectacular fish and chips dinner on the beach with Sydney's skyline silhouetted by the sunset (how's that for alliteration?). Sydney was short and sweet; fun times, but just a minor stop on the way to a much bigger attraction: Ross and Margaret! Acquaintances from our epic Tazara train ride back in Tanzania, and now welcoming us to Australia like old friends to their home in Bulli.

Meeting them at the station after a scenic train ride along the South Coast was a bit like coming home, and they rolled out the red carpet for us with a massive homemade lamb roast feast that couldn't have tasted better. Bulli was just the beginning of our time with Ross and Margaret. After racing up hundreds of steps through rainforest undergrowth to the top of the local lookout Sublime Point, going surfing off their point, visiting the local Aboriginal tent embassy, and spending quality time with the local veterinarian looking at canine chest x-rays (their adorable dog Bailey of 12 years was not doing well), it was time to hit the road.

The next few days were a crash-course in best of New South Wales costal culture, flora, fauna, Aboriginal history and art, holiday parks, vocabulary, and seafood diet. Our first day found us joined by Jane (a daughter who has inherited Ross' healthy fearlessness) and scaling Pigeon House Mountain where we picnicked atop the rocky crown of the mountain that inspired the name derived by Captain Cook on his voyage in 1770. There, we ate leftover lamb amidst a glorious 360 degree view of solid white marine-layer haze. It was an unfortunate weather condition for such a singular peak, but the hike through the gum tree forest (technical definition of forests aside) alone was well worth the trip. That evening we camped out on the banks of a creek in the Yadboro State Forest where we swam, cooked dinner over the campfire, and and enjoyed digging into Margaret's massive homemade fruitcake which would accompany us for the entire road trip.

A notable but unplanned event was actually triggered by a very sad phone call Ross received as we were just wrapping up getting lost on some trails around Guerrilla Bay. Jane had called to say that Bailey was not doing well at all and needed to be put to sleep, so while cooling off in the waters of Guerrilla Bay, the decision was made to leave Carol and I at a friend's cabin up in the foothills above Moruya for the night while our friends could go home to be together as a family. Needless to say, we had a great time hanging out together in the woods where we found wild kangaroo, pulled yabbies from their traps in the small reservoir, ran/cycled down to Moruya in the morning for breakfast, and caught up on the Winter Olympics.

Once reunited with our friends the next day, we followed the tourist route along the coast while keeping our eyeballs peeled for any wombats or wallaby (we didn't end up spotting any wombats, but we did see several wallaby that were "taking naps" along the side of the road, and also a few live ones as well).

Each day brought new beaches in which to swim and body-surf and small towns to explore as we moved southward, each with its own slightly unique feel. We took turns riding the two bikes along some of the shorter sections between stops, and Ross and I just narrowly missed being caught in an outright downpour while cycling into Mallacoota. Aside from this particular confrontation with Mother Nature, the weather held to an ideal blue sky with scattered clouds for our entire expedition.

On two occasions Ross cooked up feasts of freshly caught local fish for us, and we spent one morning collecting dozens and dozens of the renowned local oysters from a small estuary as the tide receded. Neither Carol or I had any previous experience with raw oysters, and even though we ate less than our fair share we enjoyed the process of collecting and removing them from their shells. An infinitesimally less adventuresome food were the "Kanga Bangas" that we grilled one evening, which were rather enjoyable despite the fresh memory of all the adorable wild kangaroos that we seen hopping about the forests.

In the midst of so much rest and relaxation, we did attempt to cultivate our minds once by studying the informative artwork outside the Killer Whale Museum in Eden. According to legend, local killer whales would regularly help corral other whales into the bay to be slaughtered by fishermen until the last of them ("Old Tom") died away in 1930. Apparently Old Tom's teeth were almost worn away from dragging other whales to their deaths by the harpoon cables once they had been speared. This beautiful story was captured in a series of colorful mosaics that made us wonder other things about Eden.

After one more unforgettable day at the beach, a life-guard nightmare's swim across the fastest tidal current that I've ever seen, Carol's first Op-Shop experience, and a celebratory meal at the local dumpling restaurant Lucy's, we parted ways with Ross and Margaret and boarded a bus back to Genoa (a fantastically tiny town whose population must fluctuate enormously with the number of motorhomes parked in the campground across the river, and home to the endearingly quaint "Hotel Motel"), where we caught another bus to Bairnsdale and a train which took us the remaining distance to Melbourne where we were greeted at Southern Cross Station by none other than Ed and Lisa!!!

This post concludes with a massive "Thank You!" to Ross and Margaret for showing us such a fantastic time in their corner of the world. As Ross rightly put it, after having been on our own for so many days, we were "ready to have someone else make decisions for a change", and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Many Blessings,

Joe

Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

Carol looks for a place to sleep in Guam

Greetings Friends and Family!

Hello from somewhere in the air between Cairns and Sydney on our Virgin Australia flight! I'll pick up from where Joe left off and briefly describe leaving the Philippines and heading to Cairns, Australia with a brief one-night stopover in the territory of Guam!

Timing worked out just perfectly when we returned to Davao City from Cateel on the 10th of February. Our plan up to this point was to fly from Manila to Australia (via Guam) using Mom's United Airlines buddy passes on the 16th. We weren't sure what we would do from the 10th to the 16th and began thinking maybe we would head to Australia a bit earlier to have more time exploring Cairns (pronounced 'cans') and the nearby Great Barrier Reef. We contacted Mom to see if we would be able to leave Manila a few days sooner and she informed us that all flights were full EXCEPT departing Manila the 12th. So, we quickly changed plans, caught an early morning flight to Manila and boarded our United flight towards Guam (after paying a sum total of about $30 in surprise "terminal fees" which are charged to every passenger at various locations as they enter different parts of the terminal)!

Welcome to Australia!

Guam is a territory of the US and about 1,500 miles East of the Philippines. Being there felt a bit like going home to the USA for a night as we were surrounded by American accents, stores like the Home Depot and a breakfast at Denny's. It also reminded us a bit of Hawaii with white sand beaches, warm sea water, grand resort hotels lining the coastline and lots of tourists (mainly Chinese and Japanese). We hadn't booked a place to stay in advance thinking that finding a hotel room would be easy upon arrival, but it turned out that Guam was totally packed full due to many Asian tourists coming over to celebrate the Chinese New Year. After walking about six miles from the airport down to the beachfront, watching yet another fantastic sunset, and eventually calling 15 hotels, we got the last room at the Ypao Breeze Inn where we thoroughly enjoyed the running water, hot showers, and winter Olympics on TV (Sorry to Sean White for not getting a medal this year). We also savored an early morning jog followed by a glorious swim in the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean, and an afternoon coffee by the beach resorts with fast wifi (also something that made us feel like being back in the US again!).

Twenty-four hours after arriving in Guam, we were back at the airport and boarding the next leg of our United journey to Australia! By this time, I was feeling a bit of a stomach ache from some salad I had eaten in the most modern restaurant of our entire visit to the Philippines (clearly I was becoming a bit too relaxed about stomach bugs!), but randomly the flight attendant offered me a can of Ginger Ale before take-off saying he knew I wasn't feeling too well. Joe and I still can't figure out how he knew my stomach hurt! But, the Ginger Ale was just perfect.

Joe at the community pool in Cairns

After a slightly turbulent five hour flight back across the equator, we arrived at our Caravella Backpackers Hostel on The Esplanade in Cairns about midnight. The next two days were all about recovery, exploring town, and making plans to visit the famous Great Barrier Reef just 30 miles off the coast. Considering the fact that we hadn't ever intended to see this part of Australia, we surprised even ourselves and booked a 3 day 2 night trip with "Reef Encounter" (recommended by a particularly helpful woman at one of the numerous adventure booking agencies in town) and after enjoying two days of pub dinners, clouds of massive fruit bats, swimming in the waterfront public pool, and jogging along The Esplanade, we boarded a boat headed out to sea!

Joe had signed up for a full scuba certification course and I signed up for just a few dives, not being sure how much I would like it. I told Joe several times on the trip that I would "never" scuba dive, as the idea of being submerged underwater for a prolonged period of time with a tiny breathing apparatus sounded petrifying. But, seeing as I have a very adventuresome and encouraging husband and seeing as this trip is all about trying new things (does this sound familiar?), I decided to give it whirl! And it was fantastic!

Joe and Carol on the Reef Encounter for 3 days

Joe completed eight dives and lots of theory work and a test to achieve his SSI scuba certification over the three days, and I went on four dives with a couple of kind, very calm and reassuring instructors that made the experience really fun.

The Great Barrier Reef is the worlds largest coral reef spanning over 2,600 km and truly is as stunning as people say it is with colorful corals, giant clams, sea anemone, gorgeous fish, reef sharks, turtles and endless other creatures and plants to see underwater. The Reef Encounter took us to three different reefs in the same general region of the GBR, but each one had its own highlights and attractions. Saxon Reef had the most turtle and shark activity, Norman Reef seemed to be the best place for snorkeling as well as diving, and Hastings Reef was our all around favorite for the variety of brilliantly colored fish, underwater tunnels to swim through, and massive clams at least four feet across. Basically, it was like wandering around through the movie Finding Nemo, complete with Clown Fish that looked nearly animated with CGI.

"I Scuba Doved!!!"

We are continuing to love this unique season in our lives of travel and exploration and have especially enjoyed the new friends we have met and old friends we have connected with along the way.  More from Australia soon!

With love and joy,

Carol

The Phillipines: Part II

Welcome back faithful readers,

For two reasons this post will contain only the executive summary of our time in Cateel, Philippines and not a day-by-day account of our activities: first so that we can more rapidly bring this journal up-to-date with our current location (Cairns, Australia), and second, because a complete account of our doings in the Philippines would constitute an entire book that neither Carol or I feel compelled to attempt writing at the moment. With that said...

Tricycad: maximum capacity = 11 people (true story)

Our arrival in Cateel after many hours in the flatbed truck with pink flames was pretty joyous. We had just glimpsed the Pacific Ocean for the first time in our travels after cresting the foothills dense with coconut palms just north of Boston, and we gladly felt the cooler but still humid and warm coastal breezes coming off the water. This close to the coast we also started seeing larger groups of tents lining the roads still providing shelter to families who had been displaced over a year ago, and who had just five days earlier been under water from the low pressure area floods. Our first glimpses of Cateel were of green rice fields, temporary road-side gardens, bicycle or motorcycle powered colorful three-wheel taxi cars, shacks cobbled together from recycled building materials, and a few sturdier but weather beaten businesses in the center of town.

Hanging out in the Plaza with the youth group

Mr. R brought us to a local restaurant where we met Pastora B and learned that after our first night (which we would spend with Mr. R's relatives), we were welcomed to come live with her family for the next two weeks. After agreeing that we would use our tent to camp out nearby on the site where her church previously stood (having been totally demolished by the typhoon), we were distraught to find out the next day that B's family had actually evacuated one entire room of their already cramped house where fourteen people were already living!!! This was just the first of countless completely selfless acts by the Cateeleños people that we were to experience. We quickly learned that it is the custom and pride of Cateel to treat visitors (whether family, friends or strangers), with the kind of hospitality that is typically reserved for royalty in other parts of the world. Our initial horrified reaction that victims of so much recent devastation would be putting themselves out for us gradually gave way to an understanding that refusal on our part would not only be rude, but would also deny our hosts a rare opportunity to celebrate something out of the ordinary in a place which the 'outside world' is rarely given the honor of being welcomed into the Cateel family.

At the foot of Aliwagwag waterfall with our new friends

Clearly, we were being given a gift much bigger than we could ever give back, but we loved every minute of it. For starters, Mr. R piled about twenty-five people including Pastor C, his wife Pastora B, and many of the youth from their congregation, Gateway Family Church, into our truck and drove us 25 minutes up into the hills on paved/gravel/dirt roads to Aliwagwag, the most breathtaking waterfall we had ever seen. Set right into the dense green jungle and climbing up into the mountains like a massive staircase of whitewater, these falls are nearly undiscovered by the outside world. From our swimming hole, we could only see ten to fifteen of the eighty-four terraces which make it the tallest waterfall in the Philippines at 1,110 feet high. The weather that day was perfect for swimming in the pools of Aliwagwag, picnicking, riding around in the back of the truck, and getting to know our hosts a bit better. Throughout the week, as we visited other members of the church for times of encouragement, prayer, and of course eating, we also were introduced to another fantastic set of waterfalls called Tres Marias where we were treated to the traditional Bangus fish grilled right over a campfire and an exploration of the fantastic cave system that surround the waterfall. Another highlight outing took us to what must be the most scenic natural hot springs in the world, Balite Hot Springs in Baganga. One of the most special aspects of all these outings was the fact that each place was truly a local hangout. We did not see a single tourist in over two weeks.

Crossing the San Alfonzo River with our motorcycle

By this time we were entrusted with the use of Pastor C's motorcycle which we used extensively to get around town and out into the farmland, countryside, and mountains when visiting church members. One memorable trip even found us loading the motorcycle onto a dugout canoe in order to cross a river where a principle highway bridge had been completely eliminated by the recent flood.

Balite Hot Springs!!!

Regardless of where we went, each outing found us discovering new and wonderful foods, the combined effect being that we were perpetually stuffed, hardly being able to ponder eating another morsel when the next meal arrived. Again, this was not what we had expected in an internationally declared disaster area, but our new friends were so incredibly excited and overjoyed to share with us that we could do nothing more than praise God and join in the camaraderie. Favorite new foods included camote (like a potato, but prepared in new and wonderful ways), cassava (another root, traditionally prepared with coconut milk and fried),  many different kinds of fish, crab, shrimp, and of course lechon!!! Lechon is a pig that has been stuffed with lemongrass and spices and slow roasted over hot coals for several hours, served whole on a plate of banana leaf, and attacked from head to tail by guests like sharks at a feeding frenzy once the host gives the signal. We were presented a special lechon dinner in our second week by the church family, and it was one of the most humbling moments of my life, as I realized how reserved I am with my resources (both financial and emotional) toward other people, whether they are friends, family, or complete strangers.

Our very first lechon dinner

In addition to soaking up so much love from our new friends and Philippine family (did I mention that we were living in a house with fourteen people?), we were also given the opportunity to encourage and hopefully inspire some people in Cateel. Not only were we able to spend time in church members' homes praying and listening to stories about what God has been teaching the Davao Oriental region through the recent storms, but we were also welcomed into school classrooms to talk to the kids about our travels, faith, education, and careers back home. In each and every conversation we marveled at stories of terror and survival through Typhoon Pablo (aka Bopha) that described cows, people, trees, and even houses being blown right off the ground by the wind while groups of people huddled together in places of dubious security waiting and praying for the storm to end and even confessing to one another in case the storm would be the end of their lives. One evening we had the privilege to share part of our own story at a massive assembly of the Cateel extension college students who were then given the opportunity to ask us some very insightful questions (though there was a lot of laughing at this meeting as well). Other opportunities to give back to the community a little came through Carol's physical therapy skills and my own love of fixing things. Carol also spent time in Pastora B's bakery shop (Blessing's Bakery) learning how to sell bread rolls and chocolanai (the best pastry invention ever) at the counter, and I got to play some basketball with the guys (Filipinos tend to love basketball), work on motorcycles, computers, sound systems, etc.

A team of pastors head out to their regional meeting from our house in Cateel

Living with husband and wife pastors we also learned a bit more about the challenges facing rural church leadership. Legitimate distractions from committed involvement to the church are everywhere (eg. how will my family survive without any form of livelihood), but every pastor we met was incredibly committed to helping their community survive both physically and spiritually no matter what the cost. We visited with a wonderful sixty-five year old pastor and his wife one morning. He took a break from nailing boards onto his nearly rebuilt house to tell us how he rides his motorcycle over an hour up mud roads each Sunday to preach to a village in the mountains. He wasn't lying. We made the same trip a week later with him, and he rode on the handlebars of a motorcycle carrying four people including Carol.

Joe fries up cassava in the kitchen

Despite fourteen people crowded into a small house, daily life at home was pretty routine. After a few days our hosts even let us start helping out with chores like hand-washing clothes with water pumped manually from the well, cooking fish, hot-cakes, boiled bananas, and other delicious foods in the outdoor open-fire kitchen, washing dishes after meals, and taking turns holding Bruce Rev, the seven month old nephew of Pastora B. Bathing was by bucket shower only, and at night the rain was deafening on the corrugated steel roof. Our house, like every other house in Cateel had lost its roof, several walls, and every household item when the storm hit, and by the time we arrived had been reassembled into a mismatch of recycled boards, USAID tarps, and donated roofing materials.

Carol having a cuddle with Bruce Rev

One final surprise that stretched us to our limits was being asked to speak in front of the church on consecutive Sunday mornings. Both Carol and I chose to talk about the various lessons that we have learned over the past few months as we have traveled around the globe, visiting various brothers and sisters in Christ and also simply enjoying the stunning work of our creator. It made the task of speaking in public easier, because we have learned so so so much, and no more so than in the Philippines. I won't repeat Carol's entire sermon, but a quick summary includes what the Cateeleños people taught us about how to respond when loss comes, joy in spite of difficult circumstances, boldness/willingness to be a light in dark places, hospitality, and the value of time spent in fellowship and worship.

Finally, after seventeen days it was time to head back to the city of Davao on the bus with Pastora B at our side (she had responsibilities in Davao at the same time that we needed to return in order to catch our flight) which was a huge blessing. The early morning of our departure was appropriately rainy, and the chaos of one motorcycle running out of gas and trying to keep our backpacks dry while racing through the dark wet streets to the bus station made saying goodbye to Pastor C a little less traumatic, but it didn't keep me from realizing how much I would miss his quiet, humble presence. The bus ride was uneventful despite muddy roads and having to get off the bus once while it crossed a rickety temporary bridge (thoughtful bus driver), and after a joyful lunch reunion with Mr. S and Mr. R, a couple trips to the shopping center to run errands, and a tearful goodbye with Pastora B, it was time to move on.

Thank you Pastors B and C for the most amazing adventure!!!

In conclusion, there are many things that we will miss about Cateel from the short time that we lived there. Cottage prayer each Friday night, Dawn Patrol at 4am on Saturday mornings, Mañanita serenading on birthdays (also at 4am), waking up to the sounds of roosters and pigs at 2am, bible studies on Wednesdays with the youth group, coffee with the Pastors each morning, sitting under USAID tarps listening to Pastors C and B play guitar and sing, and cooking with all things coconut! Most of all we will miss our new friends, but if we are confident about anything in this life, we are confident that we will see them again.

Next up: Carol will fill you in on our week in Cairns, Australia.

Peace,

Joe

P.S. Please check out our entire Philippines Highlights album, as there are many additional fun photos!