Decisions: Staying in the Philippines

I’ve had so many messages over the last few weeks, letting me know that the last-chance flights were leaving from Manila, or that President Duerte stated he would have the police shoot down anyone who violates the social distancing and lockdown laws here in the Philippines. It seems that back in Europe (and around the world generally) there is a fear of the unknown, a spreading of fear and an overall feeling to get yourself safe and back home. 

The truth is, though, I’m unsure of where to call home. With my belongings, from my socks to my art prints, currently stored in my sister’s loft, my skate and surfboard in the back of Fab’s van, old clothes, oddments and my car back at my parents’ house with the intention of selling - the things I really need day-to-day are right here with me, carried in my 70 litre backpack and Kanken (oh, and I guess the straw hat I’ve carried everywhere in my hand since Bali.) Of course there are things I wish I could get sent over here - for example hot cross buns have been at the forefront of my mind over the Easter weekend! As well as another laptop charger, some spare travel adapters, my electric toothbrush and some more contraception (island life is simple AF - there are two choices of pill here, neither of which I want to put inside my body.)

Besides this, though, it seems like the obvious choice to stay right here. There are currently zero coronavirus cases on this island, which seems incredible as it is the only province in the entire Philippines to be clear. We are under a strict lockdown - surfers will be put in prison, their surfboards confiscated and a 4000 peso fine to be released. From 5am - 9pm we are allowed to shop for groceries, medicine and supplies, but all non-essential businesses are currently closed for the foreseeable, with restaurants operating a take-out only approach.

Needless to say, we are having to find other ways to entertain ourselves; I spent the last 3 weeks of lockdown completing my 200 hour yoga teacher training, quarantined with my fellow student and my teacher in her bedroom, pushing the bed up against the wall, lighting incense and snacking on plenty of apples, peanut butter and sweet bread. Not only did this mean I had beautiful souls to complete a project with, but it also meant I had four whole ears to listen to my feelings and thoughts, as well as hearing theirs; sharing the latest news from around the globe every day, reasoning the pros and cons of travel right now, all seemed to be saying the same thing: to stay.

I completed this course a week ago(!) and since we couldn’t celebrate properly, we went for a sunset swim at the beach and collected take-out pizza for our final shindig. Fab made delicious hummus and roasted red pepper bean dip, we had Chippys (incredible Filipino crisps) and veggie sticks. While we were home for 8.55pm, I was happy and my heart was full. The rest of this week has been a bit of a blur; Fab has spent the last four weeks developing a routine to make himself feel grounded, productive and keep himself busy. It seems that it might take me even longer to achieve this, though! Some days I am so content to chill, follow a yin flow, head to the market, cook up some oats for breakfast, read a book - simple. Other days I wake up a little earlier, want to get sweaty with a faster flow, eat breakfast at the beach, tick off all our errands and even have time to catch up with family.

Some days, like today, we made coffee and sipped it whilst listening to a beautiful Deliciously Ella podcast in bed. We made avo and egg for breakfast, journalled and sketched out tattoo ideas with some fresh papaya - which all usually sounds perfect to me. But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, that deep feeling of no direction and no purpose took a hold of me - and the tears came. I realise this post is meant to explain why we stayed, not why I’m upset! But this, in turn, is a good thing.

We would have to travel over 6000 miles home, through at least four airports - Siargao to Manila, to Istanbul, to London, to Jersey. All of these places are currently in lockdown and will be until at least the end of April (if the rumours are true, even longer) as well as being filled with risk of contamination. 

And then? If we were to arrive home, we would have to self-isolate for two weeks, being dependent on other people to bring us supplies, either finding somewhere cheap to live or paying quadruple the amount to live in Jersey as here, without having definite jobs for the summer. Yes, we may eventually work and groovy waves will be enjoyed by all (those beautiful summer days in the bay!) but we’d rather wait and see what happens before landing our feet back on potentially the most expensive island in all of GB. 

So for now, we have found ourselves extremely fortunate; the lovely family who we stayed with last November have let us rent a beautiful house for a very small price. We finally have wifi, a place to wash and dry our clothes, two gas rings and knives - yes that’s right, not just a fork and spoon! It’s the little things each day that put a smile on my face - the dog that wanders in every day to see what we’re cooking, developing a new skill like making coconut milk, the locals that smile and invite us to join their day drinking party, finding interesting new podcasts and playlists to enjoy, when the wifi connection is good enough to video call… I could go on. 

I’m sure most of you also know that Fab is finding so much joy in slowing down, exploring new foods and making incredible recipes that I can’t believe he manages to create with such limited equipment! He’s working on something exciting, but I’ll let him introduce that himself.

So we’ll see you when we see you, but just know that we are safe, happy, finding new ways to enjoy the slow pace of life and growing more every single day, in ways I would never have expected.

Big love x