Island Life Wanderlust

We, at Islands Banca Cruises, would love to have you on board as we take you on a journey to some of the most beautiful seas in and around Cebu.

We are set up with a professional and experienced crew prepared to look after your safety and to provide services that will make your trip with us truly memorable. Nice, thoughtful touches, such as towels and drinks, an Ipod dock and wireless internet access are available on board, a wide open deck lined with comfy beanbags to allow you to soak up the sun and the invigorating sea air in the most relaxed way.

We have given careful consideration to making your travel from one beautiful island to the next especially comfortable and unforgettable.

For queries, please email us at info@islandsbanca.com or contact us at mobile +63.917.6300.736 or check out islandsbancacruises.multiply.com

TAKE THE ISLANDS WITH YOU..

I recently came across this article from “Like The Flowing River,” Paulo Coelho’s book of thoughts and reflections. When I read this article, Travelling Differently, the first thing that entered my mind was to add it in my blog, I wanted to share it with all the other travellers/ backpackers out there because this one is quite true and quite fulfilling- I’ve been practicing most of it in my travels.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did. And if you get the chance, get a copy of this book- “Like the Flowing River,” not only because of this article, but there’s more reflections and thoughts that we can learn a lot from.

CHEERS TO PAULO COELHO!

———————-

TRAVELLING DIFFERENTLY

By Paulo Coelho

I realized very early on that, for me, travelling was the best way of learning. I still have a pilgrim soul, and I thought that I would pass on some of the lessons I have learned, in the hope that they might prove useful to other pilgrims like me.

1. AVOID MUSEUMS. This might seem to be absurd advice, but let’s just think about it a little. IF you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than the past? It’s just that people feel obliged to go to museums because they learned as children that travelling was about seeking out that kind of culture. Obviously, museums are important, but they require time and objectivity- you need to know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, but can’t remember what they were.
2. HANG OUT IN BARS. Bars are the places where life in the city reveals itself, not in museums. By bars I don’t mean discotheques, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. IF someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in: you cannot judg the beauty of a particular path just by looking at the gate.
3. BE OPEN. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work in an agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). IF nothing comes of it, try someone else- I guarantee that by the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.
4. TRY TO TRAVEL ALONE OR- IF YOU ARE MARRIED- WITH YOUR SPOUSE. It will be a harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Travelling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country but speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.
5. DON’T COMPARE. Don’t compare anything- prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transportation, nothing! You are not travelling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people. Your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.
6. UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS YOU. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid. I’ve been in lots of places where I cound not communicate with words at all, and I always found support, guidance, useful advice, and even girlfriends. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost for ever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket and- if the worst comes to the worst- flag down a taxi and show the card to the driver.
7. DON’T BUY TOO MUCH. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips. Nowadays, with the global economy and the internet, you can buy anything you want without having to pay excess baggage.
8. DON’T TRY TO SEE THE WORLD IN A MONTH. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.
9. A JOURNEY IS AN ADVENTURE: Henry Miller used to say that it is far more important to discover a church that no one else has ever heard of than go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel with two hundred thousand other tourists bellowing in your ear. By all means go to the Sistine Chapel, but wander the streets too, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something- quite what you don’t know, but which, if you find it, will, you can be sure, change your life.

Cebu, being an open port, makes it easy for me to access all the islands as much as I want to– Hitting 2 to 3 nearby (or not so nearby) spots per month- with no frills, but much thrills!

I believe that traveling is an essential factor that makes up your soul… Experiencing different cultures, languages and people makes you what you are now. It opens your mind to a broader spectrum of what LIFE should be.

This is my passion. My wanderlust will never be satisfied.

My mantra: Grasp the beauty outside your doorstep first before lavishing anything else!

Thus, while I am still of age and full of spirit… I will seek and roam the islands around me as much as I can!

This is why I have decided to bring my travel journal to a technological level…