day1:
met up with salve at mrt-magallanes station at 7am to go to the naia terminal 3. dapat kasi 6am yun, but then again, we're filipinos hahaha. then, met up with deo at the airport. got checked in a breeze. got board my first ever plane ride in my entire life at 8:45am, and by 9am, we were airborne. ok, since this was my first time to ever ride a plane, i was excited. yes, i even got the chance to win a prize by joining an in flight game hahaha. i liked the view of the clouds under me when it is usually above us. by 10 we were already in cebu. rode a cab with a very funny driver to the north bus terminal. grabbed a quick snack as a lunch substitute and rode a bus to Maya. and thus started the longest and most expensive bus ride i ever had. 135 pesos! 4 hours of sitting in a very uncomfortable seat! well, the first two hours was smooth sailing. on my left were vast foliage and mountains. on my right is a great view of the blue sea. great isn't it? the next hour was a dusty trip to several barangays (dusty kasi ordinary ang bus, walang aircon bus sa terminal, sheesh). and the last hour was a rough road, a very rough road. my butt sore big time. sigh, at least, when we finally got off, we saw a better view of the sea. next is a boat ride to malapascua island. whew, three modes of transportation in one day! but the long and tiring trip was worth it, as we saw the white sands of the island. awww, ganda
a guy by the name of kuya Arca approached us and led us to one of the cottages in the place. great news, we got a place to stay for a good deal. got our first serious meal at the island at ging-ging's garden. then, went off and changed clothes and took a brief dip at the beach while watching the dramatic sunset. awww, ganda.
went back to our cottage and ate at mabuhay bar and resto by 7 pm. yummy spaghetti bolognese. and since we have nothing left to do, we drank, haha. got drunk that time, and to think i only had two sex on the beach (disclaimer: name ito ng cocktail na ininom ko that night, god bless your naughty mind hahaha). made freinds with kuya ramon, the bar owner, and her "talandi" waitresses hahaha. then we headed back to our cottage by 11pm and slept.
day2:
woke up by 7am to catch the sunrise. well, tulog pa mga kasama ko so ayos lang magdrama sa beach hahaha. then when they woke up we ate breakfast at ging-ging's, changed clothes and headed for the beach for our snorkeling itinerary. side talk: we rented a boat for 700 bucks and rented goggles (which was by the way pronounced in malapascua as GAGOLS hahahaha) for just 150 bucks each, great deal i must say. kaso lang aga aga minura kami ni kuya Arca (see all caps word). anyways, we went around the entire island for three hours, and i was seriously amazed at the sites we saw underwater. corals of various colors, shapes and designs, fishes of different colors and sizes, star fishes, sea urchins, and even a coral "garden" in a japanese shipwreck! simply amazing underwater adventure.
after the trip, we headed back and i took a bath before eating lunch at la isla bonita. ordered "Jaegerschnitzel" which is just a german term for a burger-steak look-a-like with mushroom gravy and your choice of homemade fries or mashed potatoes. yummy. and it was a big serving, which should be kasi mahal ang price haha. then we rested by the beach. syempre konting swim swim ulit hanggang dumating ang sunset, accompanied by dramatic clouds hahaha. ganda. too bad we wewren't able to capture it.
we went back to the cottage and dressed up for dinner/inuman session, again hahaha. we saw a restaurant with a great ambience by the beach side. they arranged mats, tables and pillows for you to sit on the sand. too bad it rained so we had to transfer to their bar. ordered hawaii pizza (note: that's exactly the name of the pizza, not hawaiian, hahaha) at sunsplash (that's the name of the resto). also tried two different cocktail drinks: maitai and tequila sunrise. fortunately, they bith tasted good and i never got drunk; sina salve and deo ang tinamaan hahaha. and dahil hindi kami kuntento, we headed back to mabuhay resto bar. continued story-telling, singing to the bar's videoke and laughing our hearts out to the tune of deo's and salve's long island ice tea and my second order of maitai hahaha. my friends are so drunk when a guy foreigner named mark came by the resto and came to sit next to us. well, bilang mga talandi ang mga waitresses dun at nakainom na rin kami, we just found out we were already talking to this guy, which is by the way kinda smells like a curry dish. turn off. anyways, since sobrang lasing na nga ng mga kasama ko, they decided to go ahead and leave me talking to this stranger by myself! hala! oh well, i decided to join the talandi waitresses as they were going to watch something at the town plaza. fiesta kasi. so bilang nakainom na ako, i asked mark if he could also join us. he was actually excited as he was about to immerse himself to a local tradition. so ayun, next thing we know, andun na kami hahaha. ang program for that night is some beauty contest coronation night. ok, no partying for me, boo hahahaha. but mark was i think fascinated with the intermission numbers that he was really taking videos of it. ok, boredom and alcohol strikes, so i asked to go ahead. mark asked if he could go with me na rin kasi wala siyang kasama pabalik ng hotel niya. ok, moment alone with this guy? no thanks, na turnoff na ako sa smell niya hahaha. but then ayun, sinamahan ko pa rin siya all the way to his hotel, which is walking distance lang naman from ours. tsk3, shakes hands a bit tapos i was surprised, he gave his email address without me asking for it! hala!!! waa hahaha gusto ko na rin yata siyang landiin ng konti hahaha. but i controlled myslef hahaha. balik cottage na and slept.
day3:
woke up late, argh missed the sunrise. anyways, we ate again at ging-ging's before heading back to the main island. packed our bags and started our longest bus ride ever. grabe from 4 hours, naging 5! hayme lang,imagine all the dirt na na-accumulate sa face ko! tsk3. anyways we arrived at sm city cebu by 5pm. boo, no lunch! tsk3. then, cheked in at executive royal inn. finally airconditoned room, with hot and cold water hahaha. took avery refreshing bath while salve ate at a nearby carinderia and deo met up with her niece at sm city cebu. then, after salve's turn to bathe, we headed to sm city cebu to meet up with deo and her niece. then we went to parkmall. ate at a fastfood while waiting for a seat at pier one. yes, another booze session hahaha. yes, and with a new face, siyempre new kwento, more laugh tripping, more picture taking hahaha. well, fortunately, walang lasing that night hahaha.
went back to the hotel and more pics were taken. hahaha vain kami eh hahaha
day4:
woke up by 7am, took a bath and then went to a money transfer store. papadala lang ako ng pera somewhere hehehe. then went back the hotel and pakced our stuff and prepare for the whole day city tour before heading back for manila. our hired taxi driver was kuya roel. andami naming napuntahan
- taoist temple - ganda ng site kasi it was found at a hillside overlooking the city. prayed to the altar and asked questions answered by two wooden thingy hahaha. too bad ang answers were "no" and "maybe" for me. sheesh.
- quick breakfast at mcdonald's andwithdrew money at a nearby atm
- jumalon butterfly sanctuary - situated in a village somewhere, this eductaional itinerary taught us the value of not cutting weeds as these may be food for the caterpillars who would eventually become prospective butterflies, which would be pollinators and producers of fruits. also found out that the alphabet can be seen through butterfly wings, and that males are more beautiful and smaller compared to females in the insect world, and other facts about butterflies, including an art form where their wings could be used as art mosaic.
- crocolandia - a crocodile farm with more animals compared to crocodiles hahaha. but we saw very VERY big ones, including a wide range of birds, snakes, deer, wild pigs, owls, eagles, fish, ostrich, reptiles and amphibians. we even saw a tarsier!
- fort san pedro - a unique historic site where the fort is triangular-shaped. although it's quite small so no need to stay here for too long, and besides we're too hungry to walk hahaha
- ate lunch at a different mcdonald's branch
- magellan's cross, basilica de santo niño's church and museum - another historical site, made a wish at church while praying inside it. ganda ng altar, very grand. and the museum, interesting. puro costumes ng santo, plus records with very envious handwriting hahaha
- tabuan market - yes, time for buygin pasalubong. bought danggit, dried pusit, chorizo de cebu and fish tocino. yes may tocino na pala na gawa sa isda and it doesnt taste like fish talaga. interesting
- shamrock otap store - yes, pasalubong again. bought otap, dried mangoes and mango puree. ok, i hope hindi pa naman ako over sa baggage limit ko hahaha
- went window shopping for a while at a guitar store. well, hindi naman yata tamang maglabas sa amin yung owner ng grudges niya against his wealthy competitors di ba? hahaha
- lapu-lapu shrine/park - last stop. historic site pa rin, hehehe well, picture taking and more shopping for pasalubong. bought a bag for mom, a shirt for my dad, and coin purses (pronounced as CORN FERS by ate hahaha) for my two sisters
- ate an early dinner at chowking
there, uwian na. tapos ang adventure. back to work