We arrived in Manila, Sean had prearranged for some one from the hotel to pick us up which was nice. One thing FB and blogs cannot portray is smells. As we stood waiting for our ride smells assaulted our nostrils. We just don't get those smells where we hang out in Australia.
So it was dinner at the hotel, bed, breakfast and back to the airport.
When we finally got to the gate, people where crowded in like cattle. We waited, and waited and waited and finally 1hr late, we got to get on the plane.
Things were going to plan until 13km out of Cagayan de Oro. The Captain told us that we would going into a holding pattern until visibility was better. It was pretty thick cloud but hey don't we have technology these days to land in the dark? and in cloud?
More than an hour later, he tells us that we will be diverting to Davou a city south of Cagayan de Oro. Great from everything we had been hearing in the last month or so - Davou was not a great place to be going because of Islamic Rebels, kidnappings etc. When we finally landed we were given the option to get off the plane or to return to Manila.
Sean decided it was better to hop off than go back. (Wise choice we discovered when we eventually arrived in CDO) As we were walking on the tarmac a lady runs over to me "Are you Sean Reid?" in broken English. I point to Sean, she hands him her mobile.
It's Mandy (our friend in Cagayan de Oro)! God is good! While Mandy is in CDO airport wondering how he is going to contact us he sees a friend waiting too. So he gets him to ring his wife (who cannot speak English) to find the tall white Australian man.
Mandy helps us to hire a van with four others for 9500 Ph to drive 8hrs to CDO.
PS. All flights to CDO had been cancelled for the previous 5 days (nice to let us know), we were flying into a typhoon (again thanks for telling us), and the new CDO airport (two years old) can only accept planes landing in clear weather because they have no electronic/computer technology to do otherwise. Yes it is 2014!
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