We invited Aussie Naomi from our transfer van to join us. Sure enough, every night from 7 - 7:30, certain drinks (rum, gin, or vodka paired with mango, orange, or pineapple juice) are absolutely free. Needless to say, we were not the only ones there! We saw others from our transfer and I met a Welsh bar manager (marveling at the marketing) and friendly young US volunteers. |
After all of our efforts, we were pleased with the views from our hotel room and beachfront accommodations in Port Barton. Lisa's keen eye spotted a sign promising a free shot of locally made rum cream to anyone wearing a backpack on their day of arrival. Qualifying, I claimed our shots from "The Food Jeepney". We returned to the beach for dinner. While watching a travel vlog on YouTube in preparation for our trip, I had heard about drinking for free at CocoRico Hostel... of course I had to check it out! The following morning we strolled the beach and had breakfast before heading off to find (yet another) White Beach. We were under the impression that it would be a 15 - 30 minute walk... after 53 minutes, we reached Coconut Beach and gratefully accepted a free ride the rest of the way to White Beach (saving us another 20 minutes of walking)! White Beach was lovely, and despite the long walk, we'd managed to beat even the first boat of the day from Port Barton, so we had the entire beach virtually to ourselves. We did run into the Dutch couple from our Moalboal van ride, as they'd camped overnight near the beach. I was happy to relax in a hammock and cool off in the calm water before taking a boat past Coconut Beach and back to Port Barton. We stayed at the Ausan Beach Front Cottages in the middle of the beach. We wandered around and bought local treats (cinnamon buns and banana bread from the bakery, as well as frozen pandan and ube popsicles). I spent much of the afternoon listening to Kenny Chesney and Bob Marley while people-watching from a beachfront hammock. We ate some street food, then shared a plate at Tres Tequilas on the beach where they had live entertainment, before heading back to Coco Rico Hostel of course. We met up with Naomie who introduced us to Sophie from the UK. We also talked to the Spanish couple from our transfer who introduced us to a wonderful woman named Sara from the Canary Islands. I had come far better prepared to take full advantage of the 1/2 hour window for free drinks. Over the course of the evening, we also discovered that at some random time each hour, free shots are poured! Many of the others had the lechon roasted pig, but I stuck to alcohol. Later, some of us headed to the reggae bar on the beach, but Lisa and I didn't stay long before heading to bed. Travel and alcohol speed bonding... Sara and I became great friends! The next morning, coffee was definitely required to get me ready for our day of island-hopping through Pagdanan Bay and the Port Barton Marine Park. Our first stop was Twin Reef for snorkeling. I didn't see any turtles at the "Turtle Spot" (stop #2), making me appreciate my turtle-time in Moalboal even more. After that, we walked a long beach for an hour while the crew prepared our lunch. Ignoring the old advice to wait awhile before swimming after a meal, we headed straight for "Fantastic Reef" to do some more snorkeling. Stop #5 was another island beach exploration, this time with loads of starfish, an angled coconut tree, and plenty of cool beachcombing in the tidal pools and shallow waters. Our final tour stop was a little sand bar in the ocean. On our third and final night in Port Barton, we met up with the expanding international gang at Coco Rico once more. Sara's friend, Marie, was feeling better and joined us. We also visited with a couple who met when he lost his Uruguayan passport while visiting Iran (she works at the Brazilian embassy that helped him). Sara and I chatted most of the evening, but I'd learned to pass on the free shots.
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