The perfect hotel in Caticlan for a bridging night

After our night at The Henry Hotel in Cebu City we flew to Caticlan at noon to spend a night there and the next day we reached Tablas Island.

Unusual baggage claim

Arriving at the airport we experienced a quite amusing moment. The baggage reclaim here is not (as usual) on a conveyor belt it was brought with a baggage trolley and then the staff is told which pieces of luggage belong to you. There were no controls (if I remember correctly).  Here one still believes in the good in people and trusts in their honesty.

This is how we got from Caticlan Airport to Union Beach

At first we were a bit clueless how to get to our accommodation. Without further ado we followed the crowd. According to the motto, in case of doubt just follow the crowd 😉 Does not always work, but this time it did. Across the street (about 3 min. on foot) was a kind of taxi stand, not for taxis we know, but for Tuk Tuk taxis 😉 You stand in line, say where you want to go, pay a flat rate (in cash) and get a ticket for it. As soon as it`s your turn, you show it to the next free driver and tell him the name of the hotel. We somehow put our luggage into the sidecar and off we went.

The resort Union Beach A-Frames

Our accommodation was the Union Beach A-Frames. Right after our arrival we were greeted by the friendly hostess. The cottages have been built in the shape of an A-frame. There were about 6 such cottages, so everything was very personal. Exactly how we liked it. Luckily I was early enough to book, so that we got one directly at the beach. Falling asleep to the sound of the sea was simply wonderful. We spent most of the rest of the day sleeping peacefully and also at night it was nice and quiet except for the wind blowing.

Not really a bathing beach, but supposedly great for kitesurfing

The beach was good for relaxing, but it wasn`t really inviting for swimming. I don’t know if it always looks like this or only when we were there, because before we arrived there was a storm. But some of the visitors of the accommodation were longtime customers who always come back here because of the good kite surfing conditions on site.

Christmas on the beach – Lots of karaoke and children showing their gifts proudly

What we noticed right at the beginning of our time in the Philippines was that they are huge fans of karaoke and singing in general. Everywhere we met singing people. In the waiting area at the boat harbor, when we shared a taxi with a stranger and also here on this beach, when we watched the Christmas celebration of this family. The karaoke machine was brought to the beach and everybody gave his singing talent and that for hours and hours. At first we were annoyed about it (yes, we`re Swiss and not used to it), but we got used to it and soon we started to appreciate the warmth of the Filipinos (and to miss, when we were back home).

Also cute were the children who ran around at the beach with their presents and proudly showed them to everybody. Sometimes they were even still wrapped, but they were so happy to receive a gift. The owners of our next accommodation, Tablas Point on the island of Tablas, for example, have been organizing about 400 gifts every Christmas for years with their own money or donations. And with the help of their employees, they wrap them themselves! But more about this accommodation in my next entry.

In the evening we spent some time in the bar, which is located on the beach of the accommodation. We were immediately offered the rum and fruit punch, which was mixed for Christmas. They didn’t want to have anything for it, but they were happy about our tip.

How to get a meal at A-Frames

The next morning we were too late for breakfast and didn’t think that we would get anything, but as it turned out, you just go to the owners’ house (there`s beside the common room an the kitchen also the shower and toilet, which is shared with everybody) order something from the mama and she cooks it for you. You can also help yourself to the fruit bowl and the kitchen cupboard. Everything will be charged on the bill, which you pay when you check out. You also have the possibility to use the kitchen for your own cooking. Everything is very relaxed here.

The little house in the back in the middle is the “community house”.

We liked the kind nature of the mummy and also how the houses were built and furnished. We felt completely comfortable here and somehow not like tourists.

How our suitcase got lost (and how we got it back)

The only downer was that when we arrived in Cebu my husband’s suitcase was not to be found, because it stayed in Hong Kong and we now had to get it back somehow. At least we were in contact with the responsible persons during the next hours and got an update from time to time by mail or text. If our stay in Caticlan would have been longer, it would have been no problem and they would have simply sent it with the next plane. Since we travelled on the next day (also only for one night) to Tablas Island and from there to the Romblon Island, the whole thing turned out to be a little more difficult. There`s no plane flying to Tablas from Cebu and you can’t fly to Romblon at all.

So the only option was to take the suitcase with them on a cargo plane the next day. We contacted the accommodation in Tablas and asked them if they could pick us up a few hours later in Caticlan so that we could wait for the next plane coming from Cebu. Yes, they can do that. Phew, we were so happy. Otherwise he would have bought something to wear to bridge the gap and used my toilet bag.

The Tuk Tuk driver drove us at the airport directly to the building, where the cargo loads arrive and after a waiting period of about 30 minutes his suitcase stood before us. Yes that was something, but according to the circumstances everything worked surprisingly well.

Info and tips:

• The airport Caticlan International Airport is also called Godofredo P. Ramos Airport.
• It`s best if you have the names of your hotels in writing. Not all Filipinos understand and or speak English well. Means if you can’t handle Spanish (like me) it`s easiest that way.
• If you have planned several islands, travel with as little luggage as possible. Each of us was travelling with a small hand luggage suitcase (which we checked in, as it weighed more than 8kg) and a backpack. It would be best to only have a backpack (but with not more than 8kg) as hand luggage. Then you`ll have no problems at all.
• If you lose a piece of luggage, don’t worry. It often seems to be quite unorganized, but it still works out somehow;-) Of course I hope that nothing gets lost and if so, that you get it back.
• Tipping is appreciated. But don’t over do it, or it can easily become offensive.