After enjoying our breakfast of sticky coconut rice and toast with coconut jam, we left our hostel to find a bank. We tried a lot of different banks but they all limited withdrawals for international cards to a fairly small amount. As we were heading to Dauin, with no ATM, we wanted to take out a little more so we didn't run out over Christmas ....
A jeepney was our cheapest transport option to get us to Dauin, so we found a brightly coloured one and jumped in the back. So did many other people and we were packed like sardines! 20 mins later we were dropped at the Dauin market.
After searching the beach, we found our homestay for the coming week. The family were so welcoming but just a little crazy! They really made us feel at home and invited us to their big Christmas party tomorrow. We wanted to contribute to the celebration so headed to the market to see what we could buy. We decided on trying to make a delicious trifle ... We found some of the ingredients we needed and improvised on others. We even found coconut flavour Jelly in a tiny store. To say it is coloured green is a huge understatement. This 'stuff' virtually glows in the dark and we dare not check the ingredients for 'E' numbers ...
In the centre of Dauin there is a Christmas tree competition. The local sports pitch is full of giant Christmas trees, all beautifully decorated in various lights and baubles. However, one is different! It stands about 10 metres tall and is decorated to look like a coral reef. It truly is amazing with different types of fish, crabs, seaweed, and has to be seen to be believed!
Tonight, we watched the local Dauin Christmas concert outside the 'town hall'. The first act was a male singer who sang beautifully in Tagalog and played his guitar. 2nd up was a young fellow who treated us to a song we knew, We Raise You Up, sang in English! Everyone stood for the national anthem before 5 banjo (not sure of the Filipino name) players took the stage. Following this various dance groups performed to 70's medleys but the highlight of the evening was the very funny take off, off Miss World called 'Queen of the World'. To cut a long story short, the final 4 contestants were all men, very much in touch with their feminine side. They each had to take centre stage and answer various questions that were designed to be hilarious. And they truly were!
A jeepney was our cheapest transport option to get us to Dauin, so we found a brightly coloured one and jumped in the back. So did many other people and we were packed like sardines! 20 mins later we were dropped at the Dauin market.
After searching the beach, we found our homestay for the coming week. The family were so welcoming but just a little crazy! They really made us feel at home and invited us to their big Christmas party tomorrow. We wanted to contribute to the celebration so headed to the market to see what we could buy. We decided on trying to make a delicious trifle ... We found some of the ingredients we needed and improvised on others. We even found coconut flavour Jelly in a tiny store. To say it is coloured green is a huge understatement. This 'stuff' virtually glows in the dark and we dare not check the ingredients for 'E' numbers ...
In the centre of Dauin there is a Christmas tree competition. The local sports pitch is full of giant Christmas trees, all beautifully decorated in various lights and baubles. However, one is different! It stands about 10 metres tall and is decorated to look like a coral reef. It truly is amazing with different types of fish, crabs, seaweed, and has to be seen to be believed!
Tonight, we watched the local Dauin Christmas concert outside the 'town hall'. The first act was a male singer who sang beautifully in Tagalog and played his guitar. 2nd up was a young fellow who treated us to a song we knew, We Raise You Up, sang in English! Everyone stood for the national anthem before 5 banjo (not sure of the Filipino name) players took the stage. Following this various dance groups performed to 70's medleys but the highlight of the evening was the very funny take off, off Miss World called 'Queen of the World'. To cut a long story short, the final 4 contestants were all men, very much in touch with their feminine side. They each had to take centre stage and answer various questions that were designed to be hilarious. And they truly were!
