A proposal to spend the rest of our lives together...my answer will always be YES!

It was June 19, 2010. What I thought was an emergency business trip turned into one of the biggest and most memorable surprises of my life. 

A couple of days back, R asked me to come with him to a trip to Coron to meet with his main tour guide who was moving from Coron to Puerto Princesa. It would be a quick two-night trip. I adore Coron and I love traveling with him so of course I did not give it a second thought. I was looking forward to a dinner in Bistro Coron. The plan was for R to meet with his suppliers during the day while I work in Village Lodge then meet up in town to have dinner. Just an ordinary work routine for us. 

We landed in Busuanga airport and boarded a van with several other guests. When the van entered a docking area, I was puzzled when R told us that we'd have to go down. A speedboat was waiting for us with a European man seated on one side with a silkscreen printed "Divemaster" shirt. In my mind I thought we were just stopping by some area to meet with one of R's suppliers. A good 20 minutes in the speedboat with the constant chat with the divemaster about his vacation to his home country Germany and about his children who goes to school in Coron town, we were in Sangat Island.

 
It was a lean season and there were very few people there. Barely 15 guests. We were served orange juice and cheese & cucumber sandwiches. I asked R what we were doing there and he said that we were there to spend the night so we can dive the next day. Apparently, there are great dive spots around the island.

A lady in batik-printed skirt oriented us about the meal times. Typical me, I'd never forget a meal schedule! The schedules was 7:00am breakfast, 12:00nn lunch; 3:00pm snacks and 7:00pm dinner. Since the cottages are quite far apart, the start of each mealtime will be signaled by a bell.

We settled down in our cottage. The accommodations were very basic and rustic. Since this is an isolated island, there is no electricity. I thought to myself..."So much for my work plans, at least for the day". There is solar-powered light bulb inside each cottage and running fresh water which is the most important thing for me. The is a mosquito net for the bed which proved to be very useful. 

Now, it was mosquito season in the the island. Boy they were HUGE! Their bite was almost too painful. I have a mosquito bite allergy so just imagine my agony. In a few hours, the mosquito bites on my legs were red and swollen.
 

I was not about to let the mosquito ruin my impromptu "no work" day so I immediately changed into my beachwear and headed to the beach in front of our cottage. I took photos while R relaxed in one of the many hammocks. The whole day basically went like this...read, sleep, photo op, chat, read again, sleep again and so on. We slept through the afternoon snack time and it was almost dark, around 5:30pm when I woke up. R was already awake and was reading a magazine. I asked him if he wanted to come with me to the clubhouse to get some snacks. He insisted that I just wait in the cottage while he gets the food for us so I just stayed and read my book. It started to get dark so I got worried and a bit impatient so I got up and walked towards the direction of the restaurant. I had walked barely a few steps when I saw R hurrying to met me. He said he just got caught up chatting with the resort staff. I'd find out only the following day that he was checking if everything was ready for his dinner plans. That was why he insisted on going to the restaurant alone.

It was past 7:00pm when I started to wonder why the dinner bells did not ring. We were just in our room reading our books and magazines the whole time and I would have heard it if it rang. I was pestering Russ about it but for some reason, he appeared apathetic about it until I told him I'd check the dining area because I was already starving. Moving very slowly, he agreed to go together. He brought his backpack with both our laptops inside. The plan was to work in the restaurant while waiting for the buffet to open.

As we were walking towards the well-lit restaurant area, I saw a resort staff on a wooden raft, setting up a dinner table, with lit candles on the raft floor and on the table. The table had a wine bucket with wine cooling on it. The staff was spreading flower petals all over the raft and on the table. As we came nearer and nearer I whispered to Russ..."Ay, may nag aanniversary!"...He did not say anything in return and since it was dark, I did not see his reaction to my comment. He just led me to walk to the restaurant. We sat on a stool and placed his backpack on the table. I was surprised to see people already having their meals and I said..."Hindi mo din narinig yung bell?". The hotel staff then gestured something to Russ and pointed us toward the raft. Confused, I asked why we were being led to the raft and Russ told me that he had it set up since we've been both busy and we have not gone out on a date in quite a while. I believed him, I really did not have a clue.

 
We had a Sinigang na hipon soup in a small cup and a plated meal of Beef caldereta, a chicken dish, a stir fried vegetable dish, fried battered fish fillet and lots of steamed rice. As we were having dinner, I'd give comments that this dish was dry, this dish was delicious, that there is too much rice in our plates, and many more of my usual comments. I noticed that he was barely touching his food. He just said that he was still full from the merienda that he ate in the afternoon. I continued to eat my dinner but started getting really thirsty. The staff forgot to give us water!!! Nabubulunan na ako! I was saying over and over..."Yohoo, kuya!!!!". No one came to bring any water so I just drank the soup. When I was done with my dinner, he extended his had across the table where my hand was and gave a very sweet speech. In my mind I was trying to think why he was acting this way but things were going too fast and before I knew it, he was on knees beside me, opening a red velvet box. Then...he popped the question. I'm not exactly sure if I even understood everything that he said after seeing the red box. I just remember feeling a hot flush in my entire head then seemingly all the blood was drained out of it. I could not reply. In my head I was saying "YES YES ABSOLUTELY YES!" but the shocking surprise was just too overwhelming and for a time, I could not let the words out of my mouth. He even had to to ask..."Hon, anung sagot mo?". 

After he got up on his feet, the staff approached with a heart-shaped cake, the water (Seriously kuya? Ngayon lang talaga?), and opened the champaigne. The whole night was just complete bliss. The island was dark since everything ran only on solar power. As I looked up, millions of stars filled the night sky as we talked. We talked all night about our plans and about many other things about our future...things that I never thought we'd ever talk about. Because really, I never thought we'd get there. If he was ready to get married, he sure did not say anything or show any sign.

I know it may not make sense to a lot of people but honestly, marriage nor having kids were never in my plans. What was and forever will be in my plans and in my dreams is to spend the rest of my life with Russ who is a blessing in my life...I know it has been overused many times but really, we are bestfriends and soulmates. When he popped the question, all apprehensions and doubts about the idea of marriage went away because I was sure...so so sure about US. 

As I reminisce this experience, almost 4 years after, I still cannot believe we're married. Every waking moment is a new adventure for us. 

Cheers to many more years of love and friendship! :)

A Quick Escape to Club Paradise – A whole day of doing nothing does everything to heal a tired soul

Adulthood comes with responsibilities. I have not been too cautious lately in keeping conscious effort to keep a certain level of balance in my life.

Until a few days ago, I did not think that I can still allow myself to escape and do nothing even just for a few hours. Here I am now, happily thinking about how I spent today and hoping that it will last me for at least a year.

 

I woke up this morning at 5:00am just at the crack of dawn. After changing into my swimwear and coverup, I sat on one of the beach chairs in front of our villa and started to meditate. Since it is a weekday in October, we have our side of the island all to ourselves. I meditated for more than an hour without even realizing it! The sound of the waves and forest creatures were exactly the same as the one I use for my meditation at home. The difference was I could feel the cool morning breeze brushing through my face.

I then read a book while lying on the hammock until I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was time to have breakfast. I had two cups of delicious brewed coffee, fruits and fruit juices and sampled several selections of food in the buffet. I usually finish my meals in 5-10 minutes when in the city, even on weekends, but this time it took me an hour before I left my table. We even stayed on our table a long while after we finished eating.

We then went to the clubhouse to work a bit and check on things in the office. I was surprised to finish A LOT of work in only 2 hours! Relaxation and quiet time can really recharge the body as well as the mind.

After work, it was time to swim. First the beach where swam around in the extremely clean and pristine sea water. There was no one else around but us. This is what I am thankful for the most. In the world where we revolve, space is so limited and everyone is always busy running here and there. I am always grateful that once in a while we are able to find an isolated beach or spot where there is just the two of us. After an hour on the beach, we moved to the pool for another hour. I can now feel my sunburnt skin all over.  Ouch!

 

When we’re done swimming, it was time for lunch…again for another hour.

Immediately after lunch, we headed to our villa. R slept pretty much the whole afternoon while I alternately read magazines while getting crisp and tan on my beach chair and sipping strawberry cream hot tea (they were not even business magazines…just ordinary magazines!), relaxing flat on the beach chair staring at the sky and watching the clouds pass by and lying, sitting, lying again on the hammock while writing this post. 

I almost cancelled this trip because I did not think it would still be possible to go away for 5 full days with lots of deadlines to finish, the staff to supervise, etc. Just too many horror stories in my mind of what could go wrong when I am away. As of this writing, Friday is almost over and we managed to supervise everything over the phone from time to time. Sometimes all we need is to actually do it to know that it is possible. If not, we might succumb to our baseless fears and never do anything. Sure, shit may happen but there is also a big possibility that it won’t.

I am glad I went away on this trip with my R. God knows we both needed to get away and just spend a few days relaxing and doing what we love…him mostly sleeping with the wind on his face and me reading, writing and staring at the sea and listening to the sound of the waves.

Whatever happens and wherever life takes us, we will always have these memories and it will always put a smile on our faces.

It is now 4:30pm and I have 3 more hours before mealtime where we will have complimentary wine as their token to us for being frequent guests. I’m sure dinner will be amazing, as usual!!!

Have a great weekend!

Coron...Way back when we were one of the few who witnessed its stunning isolated beauty!

CORON, PHILIPPINES

The island is situated in the northern most part of Palawan, Philippines. If you are coming from Manila, you can travel by ship or by plane. For my first visit we decided to choose the latter. We were already at the port by 1pm but the ship left at about 4pm. Although there was news already about an incoming storm, the weather was hot that afternoon. We mostly slept through the 12-hour ride and woke up to a beautiful morning in Coron. From the port, we walked for a few meters to where our boatmen were waiting for us. 

KAYANGAN LAKE

A good 20 minutes through our boat ride, we were greeted by the numerous towering limestone cliffs that almost looked like concrete on the surface, submerged in an endless ocean of blue green crystal clear water. We started our adventure in Kayangan lake. We reached the facade of a huge limestone cliff and as the boat made a turn, we entered the cove that guards the lake. Since the tides were still low, we were able to have a quick breakfast before starting the trek to the lake. From the main boat docking area, we hiked for about 150 to 200 steps and then again approximately 500 meters downhill to the actual lake. I did some research before going to this trip and I read that this is the cleanest lake in the Philippines so I had high expectations but simply saying that it is beautiful and clean is a gross understatement. To say the least, we were in awe. The lake was wide. Before jumping in, you have to take precaution because it is very deep. The fishes were small and lacking of a variety of colors though, as in most lakes. The brackish water was clear as glass with an aquamarine and deep, deep turquoise tones. It was serene and seemingly unruffled by its visitors swimming about. As we headed back to the boat, we stopped at the highest point of the track and enjoyed the view. I felt like I was looking at a postcard, only better...breathtakingly better.  

 

TWIN LAGOON

We then headed to the Twin lagoon. It is composed of two lagoons kept apart by a limestone wall and connected only by a small, narrow passage. The first lagoon is accessible by boat but you have swim through the passage to get to the other one. If the tides are low, you can easily get to the second lagoon with a life vest on but if the tides are high and you can’t swim, getting to it is out of the question. By the time we got to the lagoon, the tides were already high. We jumped off the boat to the first lagoon. The water was cold and choppy but there was no stopping us from enjoying a good swim. We were all intrigued by what is on the other side of the wall but only a handful of us were able to go. Luckily, I knew how to swim. To get to the other side, you need to swim for about 10 seconds through a narrow opening. Be careful though because the edges are sharp and you can easily scratch and hurt yourself. Once we were inside, I instantly noticed the calmness inside. The leaves floating on the surface were seemingly unaffected by the wind and the waves outside...a striking contrast to the disturbance on the other side of the wall.

CYC BEACH

It was already starting to pour so we decided to skip the other spots and go directly to CYC (Coron Youth Club) beach where we were initially planning to pitch our tents and spend the night. There is no freshwater source in the island so if you’re planning to stay the night here, be sure to bring enough water to rinse yourselves and to use for cooking and consumption. Since it was already past noon, I did not immediately appreciate the place because I was focused on attacking the lunch prepared by our boatmen. We feasted on seaweed salad, grilled fish, pork and chicken adobo and fresh mangoes and watermelon.

After our tummies were satisfied, we decided to explore the beach and the island. The beach was white and relatively wide and there were many mangrove trees. The sand is not as fine as in Boracay and Bohol but if you want to do away with the crowd and you’re after a more relaxed and tranquil outdoor experience then this is the place for you. We did not see much under water because the current was too strong so we just did what we do best...chill! If you’re anything like me, you’ll find a lot to do to kill time. If luck is on your side and the beach is still wide, you and your friends can throw a Frisbee. I, on the other hand, savoured the moment and read quite a number of pages in my book while lying on the white sand.

One thing disturbed me in this island...trash...anything from plastic and glass bottles to small plastic containers and cigarette butts. It saddened me to witness that an island as isolated from the city as this is tampered because if the carelessness of many. If you are planning to visit the island, please spare even a little concern to take your own trash back and maybe pick up some of the others that you will come across around the area so that others in the future can still enjoy it the way we did.

By mid afternoon, there was more news about the storm. It started to rain again, and it poured hard...really hard. The seawater started to creep higher and higher up on the beach and we realized that it will be too risky to spend the night so, for everyone’s safety, we ditched our plan for more island hopping the following day and went back to town.

 
CORON TOWN PROPER

We reached the town at 5:00 in the afternoon. During that time, except for a handful of foreigners, only a few people go to Coron so we immediately got accommodations in one of the resorts there. Refreshed, we walked in town to ask around and plan an alternative activity for the following day. Ironically, it is still distinctly an “old little town” with the comforts of a modern life. There are no jeepneys and taxis and regular people generally travel by tricycle. One can easily walk throughout the town center. There is no need to carry excess amounts of cash from Manila because ATMs and banks are conveniently situated in town. There are also internet cafes and some WIFI hotspots. My impression on the Filipino locals was that they were aloof but I realized that they are just shy and maybe a bit overwhelmed by the several tourists visiting their home. We met Mark, a British architect who has been living in the Philippines for 6 months. He was thrilled to guide us on what to do and where to go on our last day. Since we were about to have dinner, he highly recommended Bistro Coron where he said they “make pizza the way they make it in Europe”. We did not think twice about trying out the place and we were definitely not disappointed. We had delicious Chicken curry, a large pizza margherita and spicy seafood Tom yum soup with a heaping serving of fresh fish fillet, crab, shrimp and squid topped with a whole lobster. It was worth every penny. After dinner we stayed in the restaurant for a late night game of billiards and a few bottles of beer.

On our last day, we had an early start. At 6:00am we had breakfast at a carinderia along the main street where we had chicken curry, sweet and sour lapu-lapu and bamboo shoots in coconut milk. It was a great hardy meal to start our day. Everything, especially the fish, was very fresh and the prices were very reasonable.

MT. TAPYAS

To save our energy for the 720+ steps to the peak of Mt. Tapyas, we rode a tricycle to the base/jump off point. The ascent is easy because there is a stairway and there are several covered stops where you can sit down and rest. As we neared the top, I could clearly see the huge towering cross peeking, as if it was motivating us and whispering...come on, just a few more steps!

We had an amazing 360 degree vision of the whole island and those that surround it. If you still can, you can hike downhill to the small huts a few meters from the top. 

We then had lunch at Kawayan grill, an al fresco restaurant that looked interestingly native. It turned out that it was their soft opening and we were one of their first customers. We ordered crispy kangkong, ginataang lobster (lobster cooked in coconut milk), grilled tuna, pork barbecue and chicken barbecue. They were excellent. This is probably a great place to hang out and drink the night away.

MAQUINIT HOT SPRING 

From the town proper, Maquinit hot spring is a 20-minute ride by tricycle. When we got there, the place was packed with people, mostly locals. Maquinit is a local dialect that means hot. And HOT it was indeed! I wouldn’t be too sure about dipping in on a hot summer day but since it was raining and the weather was cool, it was a perfect day to jump in. 

OUR LAST NIGHT IN CORON

We had our last dinner at the Seadive resort. The buffet was ordinary and uneventful.

 I left Coron that night with an assurance that I will travel back. Aside from the fact that there is still so much outdoor adventure to experience, something about the place enchanted and intrigued me. It may be the wonder of its nature, the distinct personality of its town and its people or the momentary peace that it has brought me and many other visitors. I did not bother to try to fathom it anymore but I was certain that I will be back...it was just a matter of time.

Philippines' Last North Frontier - Amazing Batanes Islands! (Part 1)

General Information
Batanes Islands is a province located at the Northernmost tip of the Philippines. It is about 190 km south of Taiwan. The smallest province in the Philippines in terms of size and population, its three largest islands are Batan, Itbayat and Sabtang. The people of Batanes are called Ivatans and the main languages spoken are Ivatan (spoken in Batan and Sabtang) and Itbayaten (spoken in Itbayat). Majority of the Ivatans are fishermen and farmers.

The climate is subtropical and it has no particular wet and dry season. Summer is from April to June and winter is from December to February.

Day 1

This is technically already day 2 of our scheduled trip to Batanes Islands but because of an unfortunate and inconvenient circumstance with SEAIR, all of us 33 passengers were held back by a day. I might write a full article on this in one of my future posts.

Finally, at 8:00 in the morning, we touched down in Batanes! Although there had been a storm signal the past few days in Luzon, the weather was surprisingly sunny and hot when we arrived. The Basco Airport Terminal Building was like no other airport in the Philippines. It is small but unique. The exterior walls are made with huge stones, which is a modern take on the traditional Ivatan house. The walls, the two-door entrances, and its red roof tiles are reminiscent of the houses in the 70's. 

In less than 5 minutes from the airport, we were at the town center and in less than 3 minutes we were in our pension house. We checked in, had a short nap, changed our clothes. The moment we stepped out of the inn, it started to pour. Just our luck! In a matter of minutes, the weather shifted from extremely hot to massive rain! Our guide told us not to worry because it is a normal thing that will pass in about 10 minutes. Sure enough, it did.

A few minutes' drive from the inn, we reached Chawa view deck. It has a small grotto along the highway. Here, we had our first glance of the very photogenic view of Batanes Island. There is a viewing deck with cement benches. To reach the sea, one has to go down a flight of stairs with approximately 103 steps down. The remaining few steps can be a bit slippery so it is best not to go all the way down. 

We then drove past the Shelter port. This is where boats are parked to protect them from huge waves during storms. I found it to be ingenious and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

Next stop was Mahatao town. We registered first and paid a Php50.00 fee per person before entering the town.  The nearby San Carlos Borromeo Church, more popularly known as Mahatao Church, was built in 1787. It was ravaged by a storm in 1872, rebuilt in 1873 by P. Cresencion Polo, O.P and was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum in July 31, 2001.

Next was the infamous "Marlboro Country", formally know as Rakuh-A-Payaman. This is where I fist stepped foot on Batanes Island's mountainous terrain. By this time, it was already sunny again. There are small huts where people can rest. There is a restaurant at the entrance as well but it is mostly closed unless there is an advance food order from the tour guides. The hills itself is a wide field of grass where cows, carabaos, goats and other animals are brought by the farmers to graze. I have never seen grass so green in such a wide area…farther than my eyes can see, and so well maintained…no need for trimming because the animals do it for them!  

Although it was sunny, I never felt uncomfortably hot because of the strong wind coming from the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

Next was Blue Lagoon. The 10-minute easy trek down to the rocky beach is worth it for those seeking for a private swimming experience. This is where Spanish friars used to bathe because they did not want to mix with the locals in the open beaches.

A few minutes after the blue lagoon is a White beach for those who still want to swim on a white sand beach. The sand is more cream than white and is not as fine as in other beaches in the Philippines because of corals, pebbles and other shells. It is just a few meters from the side of the road. 

Both the Blue Lagoon and the White beach have no shower facilities.

Lunch was in Vatang Grill and Restaurant. Only the narrow road separates it from a beach with cream sand so the dining experience includes relaxing to the sound of the ocean waves. The interior is very basic. The inside of the roof is lined with the thin bamboo that is typical of a lot of the structures that I have seen. As we settled down on our table, the staff played a video of Batanes Islands made by the local tourism. I wanted to try some of the local dishes but all of them had to be ordered a day in advance.

For lunch we had Chopsuey, Chicken in honey sauce, sweet and sour fish and a fish hotpot (no photo of the hotpot here). All of the dishes tasted good and home cooked. The serving sizes are big. If it says in the menu that it is good for 4 persons, it really is. My favorites were the chicken with honey sauce, which was similar to lemon chicken but not as sweet, and the fish hotpot dish with a hot broth, lightly fried maya maya fish, ginger, scallions and vermicelli. Our total bill was less than Php800.00 for 4 persons. Now thinking about it, I think we ordered too much food! :)

After lunch, we dropped by the Honesty Coffee Shop where "Honesty is the best policy". The unmanned store is owned by Elena Gabilo. The store has very basic merchandise, mostly food, drinks and souvenir items. I have never heard of any other store in any other country doing the same thing.

Once you have decided on what to buy, you are to drop your payment in the wooden box and jot down what you bought. There is a message posted by the owner...

We then drove past the Songsong Ruins (Ghost town). These ruins are what is left of the traditional stone houses along the beach that was struck by the Tsunami in the 1950’s. There have been no residents in this area since.

Next stop was the Alapad Gorge which offers a view of the LORAN (Long Range Aid to Navigation). The LORAN used to be a US facility used to navigate ships and aircrafts.

After taking a quick photo of our last stop, the San Lorenzo Ruiz church, we headed back. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. Along the way I noticed several men on the beach carrying nets attached to long wooden sticks. I thought they were doing Sudsod, a way of catching shrimps in mangroves, like what I’ve tried in Donsol. Apparently, these men were trying to catch small squid. I’m very curious, I want to try this next time.

...to be continued...