The Pleasures of a Shower and Good Company

23 August 2010
Culion to Coron Town to Puerto del Sol
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

Little by little, we are shedding the trappings of society. I’m not just talking about email, cell phones, Facebook and such. I’m also talking about routine matters such as putting on make-up, blowdrying my hair, choosing my clothes for the day, and other rituals such as perfume, exfoliant, toner, hairshine, and the list goes on. Raul has stopped shaving. The only clothes I need are my bikini for the day and a fresh shirt and underwear at night. The rest of my clothes remain untouched. I wear no jewelry, not even a watch. I wake up when the sun rises, sleep when I’m sleepy and eat when hungry. Although we have internet access, we only log in to check the weather. The only regimen I religiously follow now is applying sunblock. And yet I wonder if it’s another rule needlessly imposed by society as I see fishermen everyday burning under the sun but have yet to meet one suffering from skin cancer.

Puerto del Sol nestled in a bay southwest of Busuanga

But on this day, there was a treat I enjoyed for the first time since we started this trip- a long, luxurious shower. I showered with abandon, relished the strong water pressure, took my sweet time and savored every drop. (Please don’t get me wrong. We take a bath everyday but water on a boat is a precious commodity and therefore showers always feel too short.)

We docked at a new yacht club called Puerto del Sol http://www.puertodelsolresort.com/ where, after using their guest showers, we enjoyed another first - a meal I didn’t have to cook and wash dishes for. I felt like a queen.

The protected harbor of Puerto del Sol. Paraluman in the middle.

Over cocktails and a fabulous dinner of slipper lobsters or pitik, prawns and kilawing tuna, we met and had wonderful conversation with the resort owner, Mike Bachelor- a former hard core racing sailor, built The Manila Peninsula in the 70s, been attached to the Philippines since then, owns Boracay’s Café del Mar, and is now planning a major marine destination in the area. We were the only guests in the resort and also enjoyed the attention and latest gossip from the charming Busuanga ladies eager to serve us and 2 Rottweilers begging to be petted and rubbed.

Had fun gossiping and giggling with the charming ladies in Puerto del Sol.

As the evening wore on, I realized that it was our first decent conversation with anyone outside the boat since the start of our trip. Although I was savoring our quiet and solitude and not missing society at all, it was definitely refreshing to hear other people’s voices and stories. It’s not that I was tired of talking to the same people for the past 5 days but I think that human beings are innately social creatures and welcome every opportunity to interact with other people and populate our minds with new ideas.

Some things never change- the pleasures of a long shower and good company (not necessarily at the same time). At the end of the evening, we happily went back to the peace and quiet of our snail home feeling refreshed, both in body and spirit.

Mariel & Raul

18 nm from Coron town to Puerto del Sol, a very scenic route. After Tangat Island, an island of limestone cliffs with a spectacularly located Sangat Island Resort, you enter calm waters between islands, all close to each other, amidst amazing scenery. There is less than a mile width as you pass Lusong Island to starboard. This place is dotted with pearl farms though so be vigilant.

Puerto del Sol is in a beautiful natural harbor protected from wind and waves from all sides with moorings for visiting or resident yachts. It is a newly opened resort with well-appointed cottages atop a hill with a spectacular view of the bay. They also have a dive shop run by Gunther, a friendly German fellow, and the wrecks of the historic Japanese warships from World War 2 are minutes away.

It was hot and muggy and we were disappointed that there was no aircon in the rooms and were skeptical when told that there is always a cool breeze at night, even in the hottest summer days. Despite the available rooms, we opted to sleep in our boat and to our pleasant surprise, we did enjoy a very cool breeze that night.