Old Goat Fun Day

Today , Saturday , April 27 is hereby declared an " official " Old Goat Fun Day . In appreciation of " Old Goat Fun Day " we will take a jaunt down image lane with stop overs at  macho village , memory corner ,  dirty old man township ( large population ) , joke's on you corner ,and slobvile , among others .

What  kind of " old goat would post this ?

This Kind

Memory Lane Village

Joke's On You Corner

Slobville

Wishful Thinking ?

All of the images apply and are representative of " old goat " lifestyles in one way or another . Most would probably agree that the drawbacks presented by ageing outweigh the benefits . There are , however ,  a few benefits to being an " old goat " .

" Old Goats " don't need schedules . Well , except maybe for the bathroom/cr trips    :-) You make your schedule based on what you want and are able to do and not on what you have to do . If there is a movie on late you want to catch you nap earlier . If you want to go out and have a few with other old goats the next day you don't stay up till 3am and the list goes on .

Old Goat Commandment

            So , have a great day Goats , however you choose to " kick the can " !

Old Goat Writers Block

 For those who Blog  the term " writers block " will most likely be familiar . For those who don't suffice to say it simply means that you have run out of ideas to write about . Happens to all writers from Shakespeare on down to an " Old Goat " blogging in the Philippines " as it does not discriminate . 

The duration of the episode can run anywhere from a day or two to months or years ( based on a Johnny Depp movie , whose title  i have forgotten ) . There are as many different types and styles of writing as there are varieties of rice i suppose .

There are the professional writers who make their living writing and there are the " others " who write for a variety of reasons . As a blogger one thing you do learn early on is that if you want anyone to actually read about what you write you have to write on a fairly consistent basis . And , i haven't written in a few days .   :-)

The fact is the majority of attention spans in this day and age border on little to none and reading requires some brain exercise if only a little .  :-) Perhaps that can be blamed on educational background and perhaps simply because there are many more options ( or distractions ) today than in previous generations .

Maybe it's just me but growing up in a generation where games meant Monopoly or Scrabble and something you did in your " spare " time i have a hard time relating to people that can and do spend hours playing games of the electronic variety .

The younger generation i sometimes think wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they didn't have gadget buttons to push .  :-) In fact , the younger ones in our goat pasture family just hate it when i ask them " what they did before cell phones , or laptops or wi - fi signals " .

But , my favourite ploy is to suggest that all electronic devices available in Philippine pastures were devised by the " foreigner " as a means to take over the Philippines by keeping the locals idle . That worked for a while but i have since come to bend to the inevitable force known as progress .   :-)

I have almost daily someone on Facebook inviting me to participate in some game or another but i am not interested . At my age the road gets considerably shorter and i don't wish to spend my time gaming but would rather be reading or viewing life experience through a different lens .

That's just this " old goats " approach of course and you are entitled to yours as i am to mine . Whether it's the fantasy content of the gaming world or literature and film  in the end it's just about choice .

Enjoy Yours 

Alona Beach Blahs

Alona Beach After Effects

Well , it will has been a week since the " old goat " visited Alona , the beach , not the girl . And , as much as i hate to admit it i have had the blahs . You know the blahs . The Monday morning work blahs , the back to everyday responsibility blahs , the 96 Fahrenheit - 35 - 36 Celsius blahs , the " sorry sir , out of stock , blahs .   :-)

They say a get away or holiday is good for you and should be a time of relaxation , fun in the sun ,a chance to  recuperate and  recharge and come home refreshed and renewed . Instead , i have felt a bit like the cartoon below . Just substitute the " old goat " for the dog and and have him drug away from the beach instead of toward it .

Have spent a week getting caught up on some tv shows i down load and follow , catching up on the latest news ( and gossip ) , reading about the latest airport fiasco and in general being lazy . And , a lazy " old goat " has too much time on his hands and is bound to " explore " in one way or another .

 Made one stop at  the " broken chicken " and naturally ran into someone that was fixing to vacation in the direction i just left . Geez, is there such a thing as a universal conspiracy ?   :-)

After having ruminated or " chewed the cud " in regards to my present state of existence after having done Alona i have decided that i have two options . Option one involves " getting over it " and burying Alona as a pleasant memory but the gal that got away . Option  two involves a bit more of a Don Quixote or Three Musketeer approach .

Option 1

Option 2

There are issues with both of the above options of course . Buried memories do tend to resurface and sometimes at the damnest times forcing us to do things we might best not do otherwise , And option 2 is best suited for the 20 or 30 something rather than the 60 something for sure .     :-)

On the other hand ...  

Alona Beach - Part 2

Old Goat

 The photo of the old goat above was taken early morning near the beach side  entrance of the Tropical Resort . The paved walkway takes one up the hill through Tropical's lovely setting and across the road to where we were lodging our second night . For those seeking  more upscale lodging at Alona i include some images .

A Divers Paradise 

This area shown above  is at the eastern most portion or beginning of Alona Beach and a bit more tranquil than further down the beach where the daily activities start early . Alona is known to be a hot spot for divers and on  early am walks i counted anywhere from 40 to 60 boats waiting off shore for the divers to load up for the day .

You will run into the divers crowd anywhere along the beach from daybreak jogs to lunch settings . You know they are divers because they tend to be young , white and have great bods . To an old goat that means more muscle and less fat , a whole lot less fat . For certain i have never seen so many males in the 6'1 - 6'5 range .    :-)

The few i spoke with all came from somewhere in Europe , had a partner with them , spoke at least three languages , were polite , well - educated and probably well heeled . They did not appear to be the typical young party goer type though i wasn't out late at night so really can't attest to that .

Start of the Diving Day

Preparation

Why they Dive

The Non Diver Attractions

Some have labeled Panglao as a scaled down version of  Boracay and i suppose there is some truth to that . That would certainly seem to be the case in regards to Alona Beach becoming overdeveloped . At present there is a 5 story resort going up at the tip of Pangalo and another under construction just down from where we stayed . Local business owners say all the funding comes out of Manila with lots of Japanese investment but again i can not attest to that .

Beach View

Shoppping

Didn't have one , but will , next time

Another Stop

Night Scene

Local Scenery

The Place - Lost Horizon

Ok , the beach is loaded with watering holes and food stops but for " old goats " this is the place . Next door to Philippine Fun Divers it is a full scale hotel , restaurant and bar but i had an active interest in the bar part .   :-)

Up Close

At A Distance

They Ain't Kidding

The Shrimp Are Enormous

Evening View

Beach Dining

Consumption of ones favourite beverage while at Alona Beach is a bit of a scavenger hunt as pricing at one pit stop does not seem to have any relevance to pricing at the one next door or on down the line .   :-) The first two pit stops i made ( ok , 3 stops ) the same beer was 40 , 60 and 80 peso ( the last two of which i skipped ) .

Which is one of the primary reasons that Lost Horizon is so popular .From 11am to 7pm a San Miguel Pilsen will run you 25 peso and no , that's not a typo . From 7 to 10pm the price goes up to 50 peso but i presume that's because of the live music . You can , however , purchase a rum and coke from 7pm to 9pm for 25 peso , or was it 20 peso ?   :-)

There is a bit more of Alona Beach past the Lost Horizon but i never made it that far as Horizon pleased my budget and besides where else can you kick back at those prices , view the scenery "and" have back ground rock & roll from the 50's , 60's and 70's playing all day ? They say the owner is an American from Texas and those folks do tend to do things in a big way so i guess it ain't surprising .   :-)

 Alonaland   

Yeah , Alonaland does sound a bit like some fantasy movie title but it is in fact the place we stayed our second night . And , good lord willing and the creeks don't rise there will be more nights in the future . Besides  there ain't no creeks around there .  :-)

Beach Shuttle

 The Green machine above will take you down to the beach free of charge should you not wish to walk . Though there is an hourly schedule the driver has other duties so best to ask . The advantage of going the longer route is it takes you by the market area where you can shop as Alonaland is more home than vacation .

That means the resort does not serve food though there are eateries within walking distance . Which for me was a big plus as there was a Swiss deli two doors down and another one a bit further along the same road .

Much like Toni's place here in CDO with fresh breads baked daily and their dark rye was truly outstanding . They also had some Swiss pastries which i did not sample for fear of being mistaken for a beached whale .   :-)

Alonaland Two Doors From Deli

         http://www.bohol-hotel.com/delicatessen-alona-beach-panglao.html
 

                                         http://www.alonalandresort.com/

The House

While at Alonaland we rented  house 22  as we had a party of 6 . The web site link shows the interior and some amenities for all the buildings so check it out . I was impressed with both the architecture and construction of the house we were in . The fact that there was a hot water shower and waste baskets in every room , including the front porch was indicative of the owners attention to detail . 

The kitchen was well stocked with pots and pans , eating utensils and a damn Swiss can opener , bottle opener , cork screw and knife blade all rolled into one . Wish i could find one of those .  :-) The kids watched some tv and they appeared to have basically the same cable shows we get through you know who here in CDO but with better quality video at less price .

 Wi - Fi was also available as all the kids can attest to but i don't go to the beach to sit around punching buttons as i would rather be doing elbow bending exercises or something . Growing up in the mountains of the southeastern US i found this facility very much to my liking as it was more like a large " Hobbit " house than a resort .  :-)

House 22

Our Autistic Child

I never got into one of the hammocks for fear of dozing my vacation away .   :-)

Stepdaughter Strolling The Beach

No Sharks Here

Tarzan ?

Old Goat Pondering The Possibilities

Different strokes for different folks they say but for me Alona Beach was a delight . Heck , next time i might even try one of them there snorkel things . Just have to remind myself to do it " before " i reach the Lost Horizon .   :-)

Alona Beach - Part 1

Located a few hours by boat from Cagayan de Oro and 18 kilometers from Tagbilaran , Bohol this " old goat " found his visit with Alona very enjoyable .

As the map shows Panglao has a number of beaches but the best known is no doubt Alona Beach . About 700 meters in length Alona Beach is basically defined by two rock out croppings that jut out into the water at each end of the beach .The Sunrise image was taken near our lodging at the beginning of Alona Beach .

Alona at Sunrise

And Sunset

Getting There

Flying into Tagbilaran is an option of course but given the distance travel by water is the more common option chosen from Cagayan de Oro . The type of boat chosen for the journey is where choices have to be made . We happened to travel with Trans - Asia which had both it's positives and negatives . Not being bashful , i will share some of each .

Option 1

The image above is of Trans - Asia 8 and sails from CDO to Tagbilaran once a week leaving CDO at 7 pm and arriving approximately 4 am the following morning . The return trip has the same departure and arrival times . Depending upon the check in and check out times of your lodging this can be a positive or a negative . If booked " round trip " you are faced with a two day or five day stay because of the ship schedule .

Type of accommodation on board ranges from open air on 2nd deck to air - con tourist and cabin on lower level with pricing from 800 pesos and up . For this " old goat " accommodation choice was less of an issue than basic amenities . Basic amenities being toilets that flushed , or not , and distance one has to walk (hike) from terminal to ship . With Tans - Asia it was a not for the toilets and a hike for the distance .   :-)

Some Filipino food choices are available as well as soft drinks and beer with pricing sometimes reasonable and sometimes not . Best to haul your own snacks as my basic impression is that this ship is more of a freighter than a passenger vessel . I base that on having watched the crew unload 2,000 cases of San Miguel Grande from the CDO facility when i lost interest and stopped counting . And , that was just the beer .  :-)

A Fast Ferry

Option 2  

This option involves taking the " fast ferry " from Cagayan de Oro to Camiguin and continuing on to Bohol . It's my understanding that this operation is now under the ownership of  Super Cat of Cebu and not Paras of CDO . Unfortunately , as of now , Super Cat of Cebu is not listing this option on their web - site that i saw and i only know of this option because of another cdo couple that we ran into on Alona Beach that took it . Ocean Jet of Cebu also offers  this option but at higher prices .  http://www.oceanjet.net/index.php

A primary consideration when taking this option is the distance from where the fast ferry ports in Jagna to Panglao . Based on our friends experience with this option fare was 800 peso one way and left CDO about 8am with short stopover in Camiguin before proceeding to Jagna and arriving at approximately 2pm .

 A van from Jagna  will run about 2,000 peso for up to 9 people taken to Alona Beach and takes about 1 hr. A bus can also be taken for about 100 peso to Tagbilaran but you would have to add the transport fee from there to Alona Beach of around 500 peso for a taxi and 600 for a van .

 Fast Ferry leaves Jagna about 2pm and proceeds directly to Cagayan de Oro arriving about 7pm . Our friends are under the impression this option is available daily which would allow you greater flexibility for the duration of your stay on Panglao that option 1 does not offer . A mix of the two options could , of course , maximize your time on Panglao .

Tagbilaran Impressions   

The small portion of Tagbilaran that we went through left little for comparison to other cities in the Philippines except for two . First impression being that the environment is cleaner than many , including CDO . No trash that we saw on city streets and no street or sidewalk vendors . My only other impression was with the smaller type of Tricykl used around town . Best suited for one or two .  :-)

Tagbilaran Trike

Getting From Tagbilaran To Panglao

Most folks going to Panglao will opt for a taxi ( 500 peso ) or a van pickup ( 600 peso ) but other options do exist for the less hurried and/or more adventurous . Locals will take a jeepney ( 25 peso ) or a trickyl (?) but most locals know where they are going and ain't hauling lots of stuff .  :-) Some web sites list this trip by taxi or van as being from 15 minutes to half an hour but plan on about 45 minutes  to Alona Beach . The trip itself is pleasant enough along two lane roads through a  rural environment .

The main island of Bohol is connected to Panglao by two bridges and the one taken often depends upon time of day and traffic . Panglao itself is not a very large island consisting of roughly 5,500 hectares total and a 2010 population of 28 , 610 . I did meet a few beach staff that were born and raised there but many are from elsewhere and rent in boarding houses . Rental houses  are available away from the beach but did not have time to inquirer further .

In Part 2 of this post the " old goat " will share a bit more detail about our experience at Alona Beach and highlight some of it's pros and cons .