Most ports have a guesthouse like this one: a narrow building behind a sari-sari store, with a handwritten sign and a staircase that smells of floor wax. The room is small. The fan works. The pier is four minutes away, close enough that when the boat horn sounds, you can hear it through the wall.
Why it works
A port guesthouse has one job: to be near the boat. It is not a destination. The owner, a calm woman who keeps the key board behind the counter, knows the schedule better than the schedule does. She will tell you when to leave. You should listen to her.
What you get
- A bed, a fan and a towel the size of a placemat.
- Hot water if you ask early, and cold water if you forget.
- A shelf of paperbacks left behind by other people on their way somewhere else.
Breakfast is a cup of coffee and a slice of bread on the counter. It is not included. It is also not expensive.
If you go
Ask at the pier for the nearest guesthouse. There is usually one a short walk away, behind a store, with a handwritten sign. If you arrive after ten, knock. Someone will be awake. Somebody always is, near a port.