Philippines Finale

Where did I leave off on my Part 1 Philippines blog? I’m so relaxed that I’ve lost focus. Recalibrating…

Okay, so, I need to start with some potential redundancy. This is around how absolutely incredible the Philippines is as a vacation destination! I honestly under-estimated the country in terms of it’s overall amazingness. Friends who want to visit Southeast Asia for the beaches- the Philippines is your jam! Pinky swear. Moving on-ish…the mystery flight out of El Nido (that was only a mystery to me) took us to beautiful Bohol. Bryan Not-Adams had the not-so-easy task of herding our group of 13 through the airport…but we made it and were greeted with adorable little monkey necklaces. We were taken to our home for the next three nights, a beautiful resort with breathtaking views…and suddenly the travel day was more than worth it. Here’s Danny and Fi enjoying the welcome drink- they should be poster children for vacation-mode!And here’s our first glimpse of our latest slice of the paradise pie that this country is. That night we enjoyed more fresh seafood at one of the many restaurants on the beachfront that our hotel overlooks. Since it was the night before Easter the beach was packed with revelers and we even got a fireworks display (which Bryan took complete credit for arranging). I hadn’t realized that the Philippines is 80% Catholic, so obviously Easter and everything around it is a huge deal and we saw many festive celebrations throughout the week. The next day (Easter Sunday) we were off on our next adventure- exploring the “Chocolate Hills” that Bohol is known for. I’m used to chocolate on Easter but this was even better! The Chocolate Hills are scattered throughout a 20-square mile area and are these cone shaped mini-mountains (100 to 400 feet tall) that are apparently a geological anomaly. They are a luscious green color in the rainy season but brown in the dry season (when the grass dies and the mud that forms them is exposed), hence their name. We started our exploration of said hills with an aerial view from a viewing area. Once we had our bearings, we got down and dirty with our hills exploration, cruising through them on ATV’s.This was a BLAST and we all finished absolutely covered in “chocolate” (I wish!).Part way through our journey we stopped to hike up one of the hills and take in more views. We also saw many interesting sites along the way, such as this Easter dinner prep.Some minor excitement when Fi’s ATV stalled while cruising through some water but our guides troubleshooted quickly and we were on our way. We rinsed off as much of the mud as we could before heading to our next destination- the Tarsier Sanctuary. So, I’d never heard of a tarsier either, but they are adorable little monkeys who are native to the Philippines. They are so tiny that they could fit in the palm of your hand and they look like little Yodas! They actually have the largest eyes relative to body size of any mammal and their eyes are the same size as their brain (random tarsier factoid). And, because their eyes are so big they can’t rotate them, so instead their neck can turn 180 degrees in each direction! Despite this exorcist-like party trick, tarsiers are sensitive little creatures, and they like their silence and darkness while sleeping (who doesn’t, right?). But apparently, while in captivity, light from camera flashes and noise can make tarsiers commit suicide! We carefully creapt through the sanctuary, pointing and snapping a few flash-less pics of the cute little buggers- hoping they wouldn’t off themselves on our watch. Tarsiers are sadly an endangered species with the numbers continuing to plummet. This is because they require a specific habitat with certain vegetation and lots of insects to eat, which is harder and harder to come by. The Philippine Tarsier Foundation runs the sanctuary we visited and looks after about 100 of the adorable little creatures. Needless to say, we all fell in-love.Back at the resort, we relaxed by the pool and took in a stunning sunset before enjoying another beachfront meal. Life continues to be a struggle!The next day was a BIG one…my birthday!!! While I wasn’t exactly psyched about this birthday rolling around, I could not have asked for a better one and I want to thank my 13 new, super-awesome friends for making it so special! They even made me card and wrapping paper- using printer paper, colored pencils and staples. So industrious! And, yes, there were presents! Sneaky Fiona even got me a tank top I’d been eyeing at a shop in El Nido, after she’d convinced me not to buy it. I spent my birthday morning paddle boarding down the gorgeous Loboc River, that is lined with palm trees and other luscious vegetation. We stopped along the way to use a rope swing and try various challenges presented by our guides. Cristina won the “balancing on one foot contest,” with an extremely impressive 21 seconds! I didn’t trust my phone dry bag to keep my phone dry (learned that lesson in Croatia), so unfortunately there are no photos to prove any of this actually happened. You’ll have to take my word for it!

After paddle-boarding we enjoyed lunch, complete with a birthday cake and the second rendition of “happy birthday” of the day, before heading back to the hotel. Later we conveened for a wine and tapas happy hour before frequenting our favorite beachfront bar for the remainder of the evening. I even got a birthday bottle of champagne from the owners of Flash Pack (and also now friends), Radha and Lee! It was a great birthday.So, if you’ve followed my blog at all (or if you know me at all) you know that “relaxing” is not exactly my area of expertise (at least in the relaxing-by-not-doing-anything-active kind of way). I actually find more relaxation in movement than sitting still (weird, I know). But, when the day after my birthday was a “free day,” I chose to “relax” at the resort and actually thoroughly enjoyed laying around! Maybe this is a getting older thing?!? I will say, the scenery definitely helped (as did the fact I needed some recovery from the birthday revelry the night before). Proof I was “relaxing!” Danny, Joe, and Bryan got up early that day and went on a boat trip, which they enjoyed- while they did say it was odd to be on a boat with “other people.” I completely understand how that would be odd, as all of our tours in the Philippines had been private and, quite frankly, it was the lifestyle to which we had become accustomed! They seemed to tough it out okay, though, strangers and all. The next day we hopped a flight to a town called Cebu, and stayed at a beach resort on Mactan island. Our final dinner (sniff, sniff) was at a “floating restaurant” and we even had a personal musician, regaling us with acoustic cover songs. I will say it was quite entertaining to watch the group (mostly British) belting out “Country Roads,” in accompaniment to the Filipino musician, as we sat on a floating restaurant in the middle of the South China/West Philippine sea (which sea it is depends who you ask). A perfect ending to a perfect trip!

It was sad times the next day as the group slowly peeled off, heading to the airport for various flights. Joe and Helen were leaving later and went on a boat tour, with Ollie’s hat (not sure how they got the hat but it looked like it had a great time!). My personal favorite is the hat’s perfectly timed jumping photo on the beach! Meanwhile, I enjoyed the amenities and soaked in every bit of sun that I could. I only had to push a few kids out of the way to get a turn on the water slide! When I left, it was just Phil at the resort…the last one of the group. He tried to evoke some sympathy for this circumstance but I didn’t feel bad for him, at all. While it was sad to have the trip come to an end, I’m so glad that the our group chat has continued to be active, as we share photos, re-live memories, and even plan for reunions (yes, reunion plans are already in motion!). Bryan Not-Adams even made a two-minute video of the trip (talk about going above and beyond!) You can view it here.