Philippines International Convention: Goodbye Barrak-eye

So today we wake up at 5:20 a.m . I read on the internet that the sun rise is at 5:45 am. so we hurry and get ready and go outside to the beach front - and it's light outside but no sun yet. Where is the sun? John looks on google maps and ohhhhh, we are on the west side. Oops. Probably should have checked that 1st, so we didn't have time to make it to the other side in time for the sunrise. Kind of disappointed we woke up early for nothing, we walk along the beach. There were a lot of people out surprisingly. Some working out, some shopping, a lot selling or trying to sell things already, and some even swimming. The water was still a little too cold for us to swim in. So we walk on the beach and kind of look for a place that is open for breakfast. Nothing that looked good was open yet. Then a guy comes up to us and asks if we want to sail around the island and watch the sun rise. (A lot of people approach you there trying to get you to do 'sea sports'.) I told him - it's too late. It already started to rise and then no thank you. But then as John and I talked we decided, it would be kind of fun and it's our last few hours there so we might as well go . So we call the guy over and ask him how much. John got him to do it for a little cheaper. Nice! And we hop on the boat. It was different. We weren't IN the boat. We were on the side of it. A catamaran type of boat. It was amazing though. It's like we were floating on the water. The water and island was so pretty out there. And yes, we got to see some of the sun rise. Even though it already started, it was beautiful still. With the sunlight reflecting on the crisp blue water and a cool breeze upon your face, what more could one ask for? Haha. We head back to the shore after about 45 mins or so. Then we head to look for breakfast. To hold me over I get a fresh made pineapple banana smoothie. It was delicious! Then we stop at a place to get some eggs and a waffle. Not the greatest, but it was good. After that we go back to the hotel and I take a nap since we got up so early.

John went out exploring I guess because when I woke up I had his jacket over me to keep me warm (what a sweetie) and he was gone. I guess he wasn't as tired as me. When he gets back we pack up and just get our bags ready. We don't have much time left at this point, maybe about 1.5 hrs. So we decide to do some tourist shopping to get some souvenirs to bring home. It was a lot of fun. Some things were pretty cheap there too. We then get some lunch to go since we won't have time to get it during our trip back to Manila.

At 11:45 we go back to the hotel to get our stuff and the sister, Lea, gets there about that time to help us get back to the airport. She insisted on carrying my bag. So nice. We walked a little and she hailed a tricycle for us and we rode to the pier. During our tricycle ride it started pouring. The weather is very unpredictable here. It can start raining at any moment. We get to the pier and wait under a tent with a bunch of other people huddled underneath. Lea took our money and went to get our boat and van tickets. I think she knows how to get things cheaper since she lives there. She comes back to us and says 'this way' and off she goes. She is so fast. Haha. At this point the rain already let up some. Thankfully as quick as it comes, it goes quickly as well. So we ride the boat for a few mins back over to the place we need to get on our van.

I had this whole plan for when we got to that side so I wouldn't get sick again; get water from a local store, use the restroom, and then ask the driver to sit in front. BUT as soon as we got there it moved so fast. The sister took us to the guy with the van and he said get in. The van was loaded full and they wanted me to go in back. I said "I don't think I can do it, I get car sick. Can we wait on another one?" They were really confused and the sister said we might miss our flight if I wait. Ugh! Fine. I guess I'll have to deal with it. So John somehow got to sit right up front (they said cuz of the leg room) and I am in the WAY back with 2 adults and a kid. Squeezed in like sardines. But where I was, I could watch the road somewhat and I felt the AC on me. So thankfully I didn't get sick this time. Woohoo!

It was actually quite nice to be able to enjoy the scenery this trip; to see the mountains next to the water, and all the rice fields on the way. There were so many of them! The locals were all laying the rice out in thin layers on tarps near the road, and occasionally we would see them moving the rice around so it would dry evenly.

After about 1.5 hrs, we get to the airport. Again it is a small place and kind of confusing. Every time something was said about our flight I had to go up to the desk and ask, "What did you say about this flight?" I felt like such a foreigner. haha. They just smiled politely and said, you wait there and we will tell you when to board. I think what makes it so confusing is it is TOO EASY, compared with the complicated way bigger airports are.

So to continue, we fly back to Manila and get a taxi to our hotel, and eat at one of the hotel restaurants. That pretty much ended our day. We were again, exhausted. But it was a good day and a fun trip. Although it was fast paced, we were glad that we did it.

This was right out our hotel room, a police station. They were so loud the whole night.