I woke up this morning quite early. I dunno. The bed was comfy, although the sheets weren’t exactly made of Egyptian cotton. Someone turned the thermostat up during the night. And everyone knows I like my room frigid and blustery cold. Then again, I’m sharing a room with Fafi Cito (whose idea of “cold” would be anything less than 25 degrees!), Fe (totally devoid of insulation), Donna and Sir Larry (let’s face it… age makes people cold intolerant), and August (dunno much about his internal thermostat… the guy needs some serious script-reading!), so I guess I’d have to bear with the slightly higher room temperature than I’m usually accustomed to. Anyway, I woke up before everyone else did (I heard some serious snoring from the bed right next to mine… whoever the culprit was, I had a pretty good idea although my survival instinct prevents me from spilling it out, since she could jump on me and turn me flat as a pancake…), and instinctively headed for the door to check on our friends next door and also to see the sunrise. As a Manila denizen, I hardly ever get to see the sunrise, partly coz of the blanket of smog that shrouds the city, and partly coz I get up before the sun does, or I sleep through most of the morning and shake the sheets off after the sun hits its zenith. On my way out, with my eyes still half-closed and my brain still in hibernation mode, I hit my head on a wooden plank jutting from the roof of the cottage… They freakin’ built the roof way too low for a 6-footer guy like me! Dazed and bruised, and hugely embarrassed after being seen by the other early birds clumsily walking towards the beach, I managed to plop my ass on a chair, massaging my head and trying to remember who I was. Haha!
After a hearty breakfast of, what else, hotdogs and eggs, we started to get ready for what the oldies planned for the day… island hopping and some more snorkeling. Apparently, where we went to yesterday was only a sample of the beauty that Guimaras is. There were still lots more to explore, and more reefs to see.
Today’s adventure began with a short boat ride to an enclosed portion of the sea where the water was still and the coral garden pregnant with marine life. The schools of fish were diverse, and we did see a few sea snakes swimming towards cracks of underwater caves. The water was, as usual, refreshingly cold despite the searing hot sun. Sir Olan swiped a blue starfish. Oh, and did I mention yesterday that he also caught a puffer fish? Well, Aquaman did. I’m not a good swimmer, so I stayed close to the boat. The others went about exploring the reef, sans snorkels. Galing! Anyway, it was really fun!
We had lunch on
Guimaras, I have to concede, is one place I didn’t even consider in my list of places-to-be during the summer. It has always been either the mountains up north, or Bora. But the place found its way into my heart. Maybe it just wasn’t the place. I went there with a mixed up gang of people I’ve never gone on vacation with, with the exception of Fafi Cito. But that was such a really fun, and loud, group! But, of course, what made the adventure special was the wealth of marine life that greeted us. It’s a good thing the natives worked really hard to bring back the beauty of the place.
Oh, and we missed the crucifixion. Darn. But we did get to do the stations of the cross, all 15 of ‘em, Of course, we had to climb a steep hill (nobody told us about a hill!), but the view at the top was well worth the climb! A small chapel was strategically built right next to an observation tower with a huge cross. I’m suspecting DJ knew about the climb that’s why he opted to stay behind. It’s his loss, though. Haha!
Tomorrow, we’re heading back to
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