Hang on Tight

Knowing there isn't much diving back home, I pushed for one more tropical dive.  Destination: Puerto Galera. The city is only a "hop, skip, and ferry ride away from Manila," according to the Lonely Planet. The authors also noted the water crossing may be choppy.  That was our first warning.

Three and a half hours of "Transformers," "Final Destination," and other high-speed collision type movies on a speeding bus and we arrive in the port city of Batangas.  I noted the Anti-Hijacking Office to my left just before stepping off the bus.  After searching the options on both piers, I resigned to our only option: a small outrigger.  Our advice was to take a big fast craft, but none could be found.  I bought my ticket, then the mandatory environmental usage tax, and then the mandatory port fee.  I politely declined the optional life/severe injury insurance.  Warning number two.

Bamboo poles of the outrigger

Harvesting Sugar Cane . . . By hand . . .

is tough work . . .

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos on the right -->

Balut

Balut: a fertilized duck or chicken egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.

Following the instructions of my Tito Serge, you first add some salt, chili, and/or vinegar, sip the broth, peel back, and enjoy.

Like a fine wine

Filipino Thanksgiving

July 4th came and Halloween went with little more than a shoulder shrug. But Thanksgiving was different. That was the one special holiday -- family, food, good ole American overeating -- that we'd surely miss.

Fortunately, I have family in the Philippines. On November 25th my cousin Paulo picked Larissa and I up at the Manila Airport (we were returning from scuba diving Dumaguete), and he brought us to meet my aunt and uncle at Dad's, a restaurant serving up turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and all the other typical Thanksgiving foods. . . Plus lechon! The food hit the spot, and there were bites of pork, moments of fatty piglet bliss that took me away from homesickness and back to enjoying the present.

Starting a new tradition: pork over turkey

Diving in the Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle -- comprised of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste -- is nothing short of incredible.

And here's why:

• The triangle is the origin of coral reef species, from where these species dispersed and populated the oceans.
  
• The triangle has the highest coral diversity in the world (76% of the world's coral species).
  
• Home to over 3,000 species of fish.
  
• Home to 6 out of the world's 7 marine turtle species.

The most important rules to follow while scuba diving are to always breathe (shocker!) and to equalize the pressure in your air spaces (hold your nose, close your mouth, blow). With so much to look and awe at in these waters, the simple steps above prove surprisingly difficult.

Learning to scuba dive in the Philippines

Day 1 of scuba lessons:

Yea, we look a bit spastic, but by day three we were gliding over awe-inspiring reefs, and even 18 meters down a coral wall.   Scuba Ventures is an incredible dive shop to learn with.  Can't recommend them enough - thank you!

18 hours later

After several " we really, really need to update the blog"s between us, here's a quick recap.  Keep reading, there's more after this post.

Andrew and I left Bali on Nov. 5th, spent the night in Kuala Lumpur (in a hotel this time, an upgrade from a bench in the Bali airport), then arrived in Manila, Philippines on the 7th.  Finally in THE Philippines!  A desire to come here motivated this whole trip over a year ago.

In a few words, Manila was awesome.  Andrew's aunt and uncle - Tita Agnes and Tito Bengie - welcomed us to Manila, hosted us for a lovely family lunch, showed us the major sights, and introduced us to my newest desert obsession, halo halo.  It's a party in a bowl.  

On Nov. 15th we took a short flight to Kalibo, then a shorter ferry ride to paradise, also known as Boracay.  Look at the pictures, you'll agree.  More on Boracay soon.

Family Tour in Manila

A big salamat to my family in Manila, from left to right: Tita Agnes, little Louie, Tito Bengie, Alexi, Paulo, Juliana, and Melissa.

From eating (see below, plus some durian ice cream) and drinking (thank you, Melissa), to sightseeing, they braved the Manila traffic to show us around the bustling city. The sights -- Intramuros, St. Augustine Church, Manila Cathedral, Rizal Park, Manila Bay -- were all very impressive. What won the day for me, though, was seeing the area where my mom grew up and went to school.

Link to pictures on the right.

Lechon & Halo Halo in the Philippines

Our introductory tour to the food here in the Philippines:


Suckling pig, followed by . . .

Halo halo ("mix mix"): Filipino dessert of shaved ice, milk, beans, fruit, oats, flan, and ube ice cream that all come together surprisingly, and incredibly, well.

Spa-ing Bali

As I lay there smelling like rotten cheese from the "organic yogurt rub" shellacked onto my back, I thought maybe this "special deal" was a little too cheap for a two hour spa treatment, even in Indonesia . . .

I declared spas were definitely not my thing.  Then again, with so many to choose from in Ubud, maybe I just picked the wrong one.  I decided to give another place down the street a shot. 

Bliss.  And, I could still afford dinner that night.  It was a lovely way to say good bye to beautiful Bali.