Kayaking Comes to the Philippines

October-November 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Wendell Phillips

The author enjoying the shoreline of a village in the Philippines

British Columbia's 1997 commercial paddling season had come to a close and anybody who wasn't working in Baja, Costa Rica or Belize was either preparing their ski equipment for the mountains or getting a "real" job for the winter. I was looking at setting dates for teaching kayak courses when the opportunity came up to work in the Philippines as a kayak guide and instructor with Ocean Trek Kayaking. Needless to say, I headed for warm water.

My arrival into Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport was ceremoniously delayed as a result of the New Years Eve fireworks celebration. The city of 10 million inhabitants was consumed in a shroud of smoke which prevented all flights from departing or arriving for several hours, including of course, mine.

After finally landing, I couldn't help but think my transport through immigration was running unusually smoothly. Sure enough, a rather officious looking Filipino Immigration Officer moved in quickly and interrogated me with great enthusiasm. It soon became evident that my job description as a kayak instructor and guide as indicated on my documents was just too vague and confusing for them. So I swiftly scooped out my favorite paddle from my bag and through an exhibition of charades, satisfied them that my occupation was not a risk to national security.

Barclay Johnson, owner of Ocean Trek Kayaking, was waiting to pick me up as promised and we made our way to Puerto Galera, a village on Mindoro Island, Southwest of Manila. This would be my home for the next four months.

The heat was oppressive and seemed more extreme than my memories of working in South and Central America. My exhaustion initially deflected my attention from the natural beauty of the area but it soon sunk in that this was the most extraordinary water I had ever seen. After a quick nap I grabbed one of the company's fourteen kayaks to baptize myself in the South China Sea.

Sea kayaks are a novelty in the Philippines and inspire some unusual responses

The logistical challenges of working in the Philippines require a lot of patience and one certainly needs a high surprise threshold to deal with the bureaucracy. Take the Department of Immigration for example. - The processing of my work visa proved an unusually complicated task, and half a day later, I was finally granted the official right to hold a job in the Philippines. Despite the slow processing of even the most simple documents, generally Filipinos were more than amiable and we made many friends along the way

Typically, our clients came from all over the world. Many expatriates living in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia filled our kayaks on a regular basis. Tourism is this Southeast Asian country is getting more attention from the government but is developing slowly.

Some of our expeditions took us to even more exotic locales like the Palawan, 300km South West of Manila. Here, you find sea caves and rare rich tropical flora and fauna. Transporting .kayaks around the 7000 islands of this country can be quite a daunting task to say the least. Our kayaks often found themselves buried under mountains of vegetables and live poultry deep in the bowels of a ship that looked to have exceeded its shelf life. Starting a 17 hour journey on one such ship had me wondering how it was that these rusted large ocean going vessels attracted so many dents and scrapes. Within 30 minutes my question was answered as another ship collided with ours before we were even out of the harbour.

Our paddling expeditions were often supported by large outrigger boats called "bancas". Using these kinds of vessels, we were able to explore more coastal areas in a shorter period of time. The South China Sea has many moods, as all seas do of course, and the sea state can change within minutes. The locals always watched my lessons with great interest and curiosity. On one occasion I was asked to go through a kayak demonstration for a wedding party. Standing precariously on a bamboo dock the group responded with cheers particularly during my Inuit rolling demonstration. Not all work was on the sea. We found the Busuanga River in the Palawan an extraordinary treasure. It is lined with Nipa Palms, and is home to many monkeys and rare parrots reminding me of my paddles in the Amazon. During the first day, we kayaked to find the entrance of the river from the sea. My search was distracted by a sound, not indigenous to the area. As our group paddled closer, we discovered it was the melody of the Beatle's classic Hey Jude, being sung .by several Filipino men with the assistance of a kareokee machine and rum.

During my time working in the Philippines we survived a small earthquake, my partner was robbed at gun point while doing business in Manila, and a drug trafficker was executed on our small beach three days before we arrived.

In spite of the hardships we endured, the Filipino people were always gracious hosts and as first class as the paddling. I look forward to a second season.

Wendell Phillips is owner/operator of Inook Kayak Co. in the Okanagon and operates all over the Pacific Northwest (ph:250/767-2225). He is certified with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC, was a regular instructor at Wave-Length's Ocean Kayak Festivals, and is also an experienced photojournist with many major publishing credits. In the Philippines, Wendell guided for Barclay Johnson of Ocean Trek Kayaking Email: barclayjohnson®mailexcite.co.

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