Many might recognise the Devereau name from Staarvey Farm – the herb farm Eleanor’s family owns. In February, she swapped farm life for travel life.

Eleanor and her partner, Ben, have spent the last three months touring South East Asia.

The Philippines is Eleanor’s fifth country to visit during her travels. After leaving Vietnam, they finally found themselves in El Nido on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

El Nido and Coron

On day 74, Eleanor and Ben reunited with best friends and fellow Manxies, Kirsten Lane and Alfred Mathers. Alfred and Kirsten have recently just marked their six months of travelling. For all four of them, it was the little slice of home that they needed. Eleanor said: “It was such a lovely moment after not seeing them for five months…just to give them a squeeze.”

The two couples mainly spent their cherished time together enjoying boat tours off white sand beaches and diving in the crystal clear water. They all completed an advanced diving course in Koh Tao so were eager to see how the Philippines compared to Thailand. 

Their first big dive day took them to Baracuda Lake which is 14 meters of 29-degree fresh water on top of 39-degree salt water. Eleanor described it as like diving in a hot bath. The four then went to Moraza Maru for a wreck dive to explore a Japanese passenger-cargo ship which was sunk by the US in 1944. On the third dive, they plunged to the CYC Coral Garden and found Nemo among some other of his friends.

“I love seeing the Clownfish, they are so territorial. Our video footage doesn’t even do it justice. There are so many different colours and fish.” This is something Eleanor recommends anyone to try – open water diving. “We spent £66 for three dives with lunch included. It is extremely good value for money.”

After a day of diving the foursome shared some beers with some locals. Alfred (as many know him as charismatic and an entertaining storyteller) spent the evening teaching some very confused locals ‘Alright Yessir’. Wherever Manxies go we never forget to exchange some lingo! 

Like many good things, the couples’ time together came to an end. But, they are set to reunite again in Bali in a matter of weeks for more belly laughs (hopefully no Bali Belly) and quality time. Next up for Eleanor and Ben – Bohol. 

Bohol

The pair arrived in Bohol and decided to do a bit of exploring in search of the famous Chocolate Hills. Declared a National Geological Monument, the cone shape hills turn brown during the dry season hence the name Chocolate Hills. Some locals believe they were formed by two giants fighting and hurling rocks and dirt at each other – sounds familiar to the legend of the giant Finn McCool. 

The name Chocolate Hills is bound to make anyone peckish. Eleanor would describe herself as a foodie and is always up for trying local cuisine. “We stopped in a small village for some street food. Ben had some beef soup and rice and I had a beef stew dish with rice. The food was really nice and wholesome and so much cheaper. Unless you’re out in the sticks it’s so hard to find Filipino Street food, most places are filled with Western restaurants.” Most Filipino dishes tend to be meat-based – beef, chicken and often goat. Rice is also a staple in the local diet. 

They also visited the Tarsier Conservation Area. Tarsiers are little nocturnal monkeys/lemurs with big eyes. Their eyes are so big that they can’t rotate them. To look out for predators they’re able to turn their head 180 degrees like an owl. Tarsiers are very shy and when you observe them you’re meant to stay very quiet and not touch them. It has been said that if their disturbed or kept in captivity they have suicidal tendencies. 

Eleanor explained that although visiting conservation areas and geological monuments are spectacular it’s often more special just motorbiking through local rural towns and villages. ”The roads to the Chocolate Hills were my favourite part. It is stunning here, it is so green considering it’s so dry and hot. I could honestly do that all day just drive around and look at the scenery – it is so beautiful.” 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Siquijor

Their trip to Siquijor consisted of even more breathtaking dives to see huge turtles, triggerfish, clownfish and electric shells – which look like they have pulses of lightning through them. They also did some beach hopping and went to a man-made fish spa where they could get their feet nibbled whilst inspecting an old enchanted Balete Tree. “The fish had a field day on Ben’s feet…they didn’t really appreciate mine as much”. Balete trees are said to house mysterious and mythical creatures at night. They sort of look like the Tree of Souls from Avatar.

One of Eleanor’s favourite dives (although she does seem to say that every time she dives) to date was the Coral Garden. They bumped into some friends they made in Bohol so they teamed up. “We saw 8 turtles and they were huge, two were as big as me. They swim really slow and are so beautiful.” 

The last adventure day of Siquijor lead them to Cambugahay Falls. The 3 tiered waterfalls are surrounded by lush greenery and have strikingly blue water. Tourists mainly go to try out the Tarzan Swings where you pay 50 pesos for unlimited swings off and plunge into the natural pool. Although nervous, Eleanor said: “I overcame my fear of heights…It was such great fun.” 

Moalboal and Malapascua

Moalboal is on the island of Cebu and is known by travellers for the sardine runs, marine life and also canyoneering through the Kawasan Falls. After hearing about the famous falls and the second-longest zipline in Asia, the couple booked an expedition immediately. On the zipline, Eleanor said: “The time flew by and it was so beautiful flying above the forest.”  Their voyage through the canyons consisted of swinging like Tarzan into pools, swimming through small caves and jumping from 10 meter ledges. These adventures aren’t for the faint-hearted but Eleanor and Ben love the thrill and the bond you make with new friends who experience this all together. Eleanor explained: “The falls are stunning in this giant valley. It was very touristy but it didn’t matter too much as our leaders would move us on if it got too busy. The three leaders were so lovely. I got talking to one and she said she only gets paid £1 an hour to do a shift which is mad.” 

Many tourists say you can’t miss out on the sardine run – it is one of the reasons why tourism kicked off so much in the seaside village of Moalboal. ”They were amazing! Such a huge school of sardines all moving together and parting as people swam through them. I wasn’t paying attention and suddenly I was stung by a jellyfish. It felt like I was being burnt with a blow torch but luckily the pain didn’t last long.” Eleanor powered on like a true Manxie after being stung by a jelly off the back of Peel Castle. 

In Malapascua, the couple got to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – swimming with sharks! These were Thresher sharks which aren’t aggressive. They swim to the shallow waters in the morning to clean themselves and so divers are able to swim beside them in their natural habitat and really observe. Eleanor explained that this is all completely safe, the sharks aren’t enticed or fed and there are no cages involved. “If you’re in the Philippines, my main recommendation would be diving – 100%.”

Where Next? 

Eleanor absolutely loved her time in the Philippines. She revealed: “What I found amazing was how friendly and welcoming everyone is. This country, in particular, they are so helpful and so kind. We drove past roadworks and everyone doing the roadworks stopped to wave and say Hi. We would never get there anywhere else in the world. A smile is such an infectious thing and it just makes you feel good. It’s just spreading little bits of happiness.” 

Eleanor and Ben are heading over to Bali now to hopefully have some downtime after a tiring jam-packed 4 months of travelling. Indonesia will be their 6th and final country where they will be reunited once more with Alfred and Kirsten. The pair rounded off their trip by coming home for this year’s TT – the best time of year as we all know it.