Sugar Beach (Sipalay) 1/22/2013- 1/26/2013

Getting to "paradise" required us to have a stop over in the bustling and noisy town of Iloilo for a night. It was just too long of a journey to try and make it from Boracay in one day and we weren't feeling up to it.  Other than that, things seemed to move like clock-work and the next day we found our way to a little place known as Driftwood Village on Sugar  Beach, just north of the small town Sipalay (on Negros island).

It is hard to put into words what made this place so amazing for us, similar to a picture not being able to capture the moment.  Things just seemed to have that "right" feeling.  We never had to worry about the time as each hour seemed to pass just as easy as it had come.  The accommodation was very basic and all the "buildings" were made out of bamboo, like you would see in the movie Robinson Crusoe, but that just added to the charm.

Restaurant and common area

It was also a nice and quiet place because it was off the beaten path.  After the bus dropped us off in town, we took a moto-taxi for 5 km, then a quick boat ride across a river, then a hike on a beach and over a cliff before we made it to Sugar Beach.

Driftwood was started by a Swiss man, Peter, and his Filippino wife, Daisy.  Daisy, three of her sisters, and four other girls pretty much make the place go.  From cleaning, cooking, and bar tending until the wee hours of the morning, everything gets done and done well.  They aren't just the worker bees though, they truly are what makes  Driftwood special because they treat you like family, and that can really make you love a place.  The girls are incredibly friendly and sociable and make sure the guests have a great stay.

We also have to mention the other people staying there were all very friendly and talkative.   In fact, it seems that the place has quite the regular crowd of guys that come back every year for weeks at a time.  It was also helpful that there was no wi-fi at the place, and if/when there was, Driftwood had a very strict rule about no computers in the common areas.  So, instead of people being glued to their computers there was lots of socializing.  We also became good friends with a guy that we arrived with on the bus, Evan from Minnesota, who is a few weeks into his own 12 month travel adventure.

In addition to the great vibe, there was also plenty to do from hiking, board games, swinging, reading, and/or being lazy in a hammock.  We especially enjoyed throwing the football, playing bocce ball, table football, playing pool, swimming, and playing a game of volleyball with the girls during  their break. 

We also went with Evan on a path through the local village to another remote beach for some snorkeling.  It wasn't the best, but we saw some cool starfish, plus it was good to get out and do something.  A couple days later we made our way to a cave just off the same path.

And of course we can't forget to mention the beautiful sunsets we watched from the beach chairs at Driftwood ;-).

It seemed as though you could stay there forever, and Matt definitely would have liked that.  However, we forgot to go to the ATM before we made it to Sugar Beach and the closest ATM is a 20 minute boat ride plus a 3 hour bus ride away.  At one point, Matt had actually planned to take a whole day and go on an ATM adventure, but Kristin kept managing to find more "emergency money" in her pack that allowed us to scrape by for four nights.   Phew!

Luckily for us, on our fourth night it happened to be one of the "regular's" birthday and that meant a traditional Negros feast.  Chickens, about 30 of them, were marinated and stuffed on a pole to be put on an open fire, (Matt made plans to do this at his future home) and the girls prepared all the delicious sides, including tasty potatoes.  By dinner time, all those who opted for the "birthday dinner" got HALF a chicken and all the sides you wanted to make room for.  It was the most delicious feast! The rest of the night was spent celebrating the guy's birthday and enjoying the company of our friends on our last night.  

We had to leave the next morning and Kristin had to wipe away the tears from Matt's eyes.  He's still holding out hope that maybe we can head back that way before we're done.