Saturday 21 February Gigantes island

From Malapascua we're heading west across the Sibuyan sea towards Romblon in day hops, not more than 30nm a day and aiming to anchor without swell rolling us ear to ear.

First night we stopped with the fishing fleet on the west side of Bantayan island. We rocked for a few hours at high water. We traded biscuits for a handful of tiddler fish for ship's cat with a local fisherman and then headed on to South Gigantes island.

With the wind on our beam we flew to arrive just after midday.

The anchorage in front of Lantangan village was perfect on a gentle slope with no swell reaching into the bay. Lantangan is a very friendly village, a fishing village with many, many fishing boats. Just over a year ago typhoon Yolanda blasted through demolishing the wooden houses. Since then Save the Children fund has been sponsoring rebuilding with brick houses.

Brian and Jan

our visitors

Our first visitors arrived at 7am next day, Jan and Brian in Jan's auntie's canoe. First they wanted to be our guides to show us the caves and we agreed to meet on shore at 10 o'clock. Before we could get there, they came back with their puppy to show us and some dried squid for Polly. We invited them on board to see a yacht. They told us we were the first white faces to visit in a year. Jan and Brian left and another canoe with two girls and two boys came to say hello. Each one dressed in freshly washed t shirts and shorts, neat hair and perfect English. They too came on board to see what a yacht is. Naturally curious and most polite we brought out our world atlas to show the route we'd been sailing.

village bakery, Vincent on right

Finally we were able to go ashore and meet Jan for our tour. Brian had had to go home to eat but in his place came Vincent, a precocious, effeminate boy with a penchant for singing Adele songs. Jan and Vicent gave us the island tour. Lots of 'hellos' and 'hi's' from the houses we passed as we walked the path to the school.

School garden

Because it was Saturday the school was closed but we could see into the classrooms and read the writing on the blackboard; it's all English explaining the children's ability to talk and read to a high standard. Only the under 7s are taught in local language. Each class has it's flower garden in front and behind the buildings are small allotments, approximately 2m by 2m, where individuals can grow vegetables. It's an interesting teaching philosophy to include cultivation. Indeed as we walked through the village, not a rich village, many houses had neatly tended gardens. Most plants are in pots as the soil is poor sand.

We didn't visit the caves in the end despite Jan saying 'all OK, not far'. Seems it was far up a steep, rocky cliff on a hot day, and not too sure what there was to see except a big black hole. So as to not disappoint Jan we took him in the dinghy around the coast to visit a swimming hole in the rocks.

Gigantes island, a very friendly community and a well protected anchorage.