Photo: Port Barton, Palawan, Philippines.

"A sailors plan is no more than a line in the sand at low tide".

With our original plans in disarray we decided to head north to the Philippines. So much for heading to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands! We once again departing Kudat in north Borneo making our way northwards through the Balabac Straights to Puerto Princessa on the Philippino Island of Palawan. No Muslim culture here - San Miguel beer, cheap wine, good food, beautiful women and..... Aldo the Mechanic!

Approaching Puerto Princessa our Volvo engine died again, clogged up by b*****d diesel bug. I've learned before that repeatably banging your head against the steering wheel, swearing your head off and promising to mend your ways doesn't actually fix the problem. So we crawled into port and anchored off the archaic 'Abanico Yacht Club'. Paradise! No yacht club this, just a fabulous laid back drinking den for ex-pats and round the world yachties with their Philippino girl friends. But we needed to fix the engine and the 'club' arranged for me to collect Aldo by dinghy the next day. For some reason I expected a greasy Philippino spanner man but that's not what was waiting on the jetty. 'Shit', I said to myself, as the most hunky, handsome Frenchman I've ever set eyes on climbed into our dinghy, shook my hand warmly and said, "Now, Mr Dave, take me to your woman"....

We approached Sänna swiftly over the calm anchorage and I threw the line to Marie who, I assume, never noticed it when it flopped uselessly into the sea. So I made it tight to the stern myself to climb aboard and saw Marie standing there transfixed. Aldo held out his hand for Marie to help him aboard. He jumped effortlessly, kissed her hand gently and said, "Aahh, Marie. I am Aldo. I am at your service and I will fix your engine". Marie went straight into her flirting mode and replied "Nice to meet you Aldo. You can fix my engine anytime". I stood by trying to join in the conversation but I got the impression that neither of them noticed I was there.

So, eventually, Aldo checked over the engine and, to be fair, he's a nice guy. He lives in Puerto Princessa with his Philippino girlfriend and he's soon returning to France to be with his son. He's actually a marine engineer making a living on boats until his girlfriend receives a French visa. We sorted the engine before leaving Sänna on anchor for a few days whilst we travelled around Palawan. The Philippines are one of my favourite places we have visited on Sänna and I could easily spend years cruising the many fascinating islands of this country. The food is good, the women are beautiful and the beer is cheap.

I can see why Aldo the Mechanic came and stayed....
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