A modern Odyssey
27. February 2022, Sunday
11° 9' 17" N, 119° 19' 14" E
Those of you who have been following OdinSailing for a long time know that one of the annual highlights on board is the visit of my longtime and best friend Rudi.
Since the beginning of this sailing adventure in 2007 he has been on board every year and no destination was too far, no country too exotic to prevent Rudi from our annual holiday together. Mediterranean, Atlantic, Caribbean, San Blas Islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, New Caledonia Thailand, Borneo and many other countries are stamped in his passport for these annual meetings.
However... one year is missing!
After he visited us in Kota Kinabalu / Borneo at the beginning of 2020, Corona thwarted the planning in 2021.
So it took 2 years until the world slowly opened up again and my friend immediately took the opportunity and got on the plane to the Philippines.
One day from Frankfurt to Manila and… 3 days from Manila to Palawan, a one and a half hour flight away.
Tough performance by the Philippine bureaucracy.
After arriving from Germany, he spent a night in Manila in order to travel on the next day.
Unfortunately, the 48-hour PCR test had expired 30 minutes when he arrived at the flight counter.
Work to rule, officials don't let themselves be talked to!
New test, but the plane is gone.
So another night in Manila.
The next morning at the airport with a fresh PCR test, he is asked for his "S-Pass" and for his hotel booking in Palawan.
S-Pass????
"Never heard!"
"Hotel booking???"
"I'm on a private sailing yacht!"
"Couldn´t you have told me this yesterday?"
It's all useless, the rules are the rules!
Again, Rudi (slightly pissed off) books a Hotel in Manila and together we take care of the missing "secret documents" that nobody knew about beforehand. (Yeah... they can do professional tourism here;) The next morning it finally works and the odyssey of the modern Odysseus comes to an end.
Stressed out, Rudi arrives in El Nido with a small propeller plane. Hardly has the stress left him on board, we lift the anchor and finally the holiday can begin in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Since the beginning of this sailing adventure in 2007 he has been on board every year and no destination was too far, no country too exotic to prevent Rudi from our annual holiday together. Mediterranean, Atlantic, Caribbean, San Blas Islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, New Caledonia Thailand, Borneo and many other countries are stamped in his passport for these annual meetings.
However... one year is missing!
After he visited us in Kota Kinabalu / Borneo at the beginning of 2020, Corona thwarted the planning in 2021.
So it took 2 years until the world slowly opened up again and my friend immediately took the opportunity and got on the plane to the Philippines.
One day from Frankfurt to Manila and… 3 days from Manila to Palawan, a one and a half hour flight away.
Tough performance by the Philippine bureaucracy.
After arriving from Germany, he spent a night in Manila in order to travel on the next day.
Unfortunately, the 48-hour PCR test had expired 30 minutes when he arrived at the flight counter.
Work to rule, officials don't let themselves be talked to!
New test, but the plane is gone.
So another night in Manila.
The next morning at the airport with a fresh PCR test, he is asked for his "S-Pass" and for his hotel booking in Palawan.
S-Pass????
"Never heard!"
"Hotel booking???"
"I'm on a private sailing yacht!"
"Couldn´t you have told me this yesterday?"
It's all useless, the rules are the rules!
Again, Rudi (slightly pissed off) books a Hotel in Manila and together we take care of the missing "secret documents" that nobody knew about beforehand. (Yeah... they can do professional tourism here;) The next morning it finally works and the odyssey of the modern Odysseus comes to an end.
Stressed out, Rudi arrives in El Nido with a small propeller plane. Hardly has the stress left him on board, we lift the anchor and finally the holiday can begin in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
