Day 4. It was 4:00 am and very dark when I reached Zamboanga City, 2 hours ahead of schedule. Disoriented by lack of sleep, I asked a habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) driver to take me to a nice coffee shop to where I can kill my time before I catch the early morning ferry to Isabela City, the capital of Basilan. The only restaurant open that time was the one near the airport, and this Zamboangeno here was so nice to sit down with me, chat with his Chavacano accent, and share a large bowl of hot lomi soup while I told him of my odd travel agenda.
A trip to Basilan requires a local guide for safety reasons since the conflict between Abu Sayyaf and the military hasn’t been resolved. My friend here offered to be my guide which I considered. We were able to catch the 9:30 a.m. fast craft to Isabela City. The fare for a first class ticket was P130. We arrived in Basilan about an hour later.
Greeting us as we entered the port were villages on stilts, and the minarets of mosques at the center of these communities. From the port, we took a short walk up to the provincial capitol and I was so surprised to see a Jolibee store across the city plaza. I could still feel the turbulent past of this side of Mindanao since we passed by several military check points in addition to presence of military personnel all over the city proper.
A trip to Basilan requires a local guide for safety reasons since the conflict between Abu Sayyaf and the military hasn’t been resolved. My friend here offered to be my guide which I considered. We were able to catch the 9:30 a.m. fast craft to Isabela City. The fare for a first class ticket was P130. We arrived in Basilan about an hour later.
Greeting us as we entered the port were villages on stilts, and the minarets of mosques at the center of these communities. From the port, we took a short walk up to the provincial capitol and I was so surprised to see a Jolibee store across the city plaza. I could still feel the turbulent past of this side of Mindanao since we passed by several military check points in addition to presence of military personnel all over the city proper.
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