Last Days in Toledo (Part II)

I ended up staying in Toledo for yet another weekend.  This was primarily due to a request from the staff to stay and attend the Christmas party they had arranged.  I didn't really want the party as the team is now split between the two projects and I didn't think it was fair to have a party for some and not the others. Nevertheless, the office staff went ahead and organised one anyway so I didn't really want to be a complete grinch and put a stop to it.

The Christmas party was similar in many ways to the topping out party we had except that there was far more disco than karaoke, which for me was good news.  Likewise, the venue bordered the beach but was in the open and fortunately we were blessed with good weather, otherwise it would have been a washout.  There were party games with very modest cash prizes, a raffle and gifts for everyone.  And of course, lots of beer and food including the obligatory roasted pig.

Compared to the topping out event held in the early days of the project to it was interesting to observe how the team had changed from a somewhat fragmented crew, working in their own little groups and circles, to a close knit group of colleagues and friend spanning several different nationalities, including Filipino, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Irish and of course English.

My transfer to Iloilo eventually happened on the 22nd December so there was only really enough time to unpack my bags before I headed off to Singapore for Christmas.

Filling the car up with my gear it never ceases to amaze me how much stuff I'd accumulated in 6 months.  Demobilising always means having to either give or throw away a fair proportion of it as there isn't any point in traipsing it around the world to other locations.

On the day of the transfer to Iloilo I sent my driver off with the car on the first ferry to Negros at 7:30pm, with me planning to catch the fast-craft at 9:00am as they then both arrive at more or less the same time.  However, disappointingly, although not entirely a surprise, the 9:00am was cancelled so I had to wait for the 10:30am, which had been postponed until 11:00am.  I suppose I should count myself lucky as the week before I we sent a vehicle over and there were no ferries all morning.  The excuse given was that the ferry company was having its Christmas party but who has their Christmas party in the morning?  Of course, there was no advanced warning of this so the quayside was chaos but Filippinos seem to just take all this in their stride and don't get fazed by it.

Bird Life

For me, the biggest problem with the delays was that I was looking forward to a leisurely drive across the scenic mountains of Negros, but being pressed for time we would have to little opportunity to stop to take in the sights and snap some photos.  If you ever find yourself in this part of the world I would thoroughly recommend taking the drive either across Cebu or Negros or both.

Resting During the Crossing

On landing in San Carlos we headed straight for the mountains but made time to stop for lunch at a cafe/bar that had a rather splendid view and some remarkably good coffee. 

We eventually arrived at the house in Iloilo at around 9:30pm and I was relieved to find that it was a genuine rental and not a scam.