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Showing posts from May, 2013

Philippines - Day 8 (Boracay)

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This is entry #10. Link to entry #9. Jolayne is also chronicling our trip  here. Day 8.  Saturday, April 6th .  Imagine the grandeur of going to bed without having seen the place we're visiting and then awaking shortly before sunrise to go out on the balcony and watch the landscape unfold before your eyes.  That's what Jo did early the next morning.  When we all woke up (later) and looked outside, it was just incredible.  A true tropical paradise.  This is what we saw from our room. (our first sunrise in Boracay, without having seen anything before) But while it was indeed beautiful, and though I did try to put my best face on, I simply wasn't over the fact that I'd lost my iPad.  It was hard. Our hotel faced the east side of the island, and for part of the year it's the leeward side, meaning no wind.  As such, the beaches on this side were filled with seaweed and not as pretty as they would be during the windy part of the year.  Bu

Philippines - Day 7 (Traveling to Boracay)

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This is entry #9. Link to entry #8. Jolayne is also chronicling our trip  here. Day 7.  Friday, April 5th .  I'm now typing this on my iphone (yes, tiny phone) with a bluetooth keyboard connected.  I've never done that before on a phone (though it actually works incredibly well).  That's because I lost my iPad Friday evening.  I was crestfallen.  But that's getting ahead of myself.  Let's go back to Friday morning. After a delightful couple of days in Zambales, it was time for us to move to the next phase of our trip.  We were headed to Boracay.  Boracay is a world-famous tropical destination island in the central region of the country.  When planning the trip, I thought that it would be fun to see a place a little further from where I served my mission.  The trouble is that Boracay was not at all close to where we were.  We had a full day of travel ahead of us.   We began the morning by waking up early and catching another gorgeous sunri

Philippines - Day 6 (Beach Day in Zambales)

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This is entry #8. Link to entry #7. Jolayne is also chronicling our trip  here. Day 6: April 4.  Slow-down day.   Partially written while there and partially after the fact; thus the difference in tone.  Today's agenda is finally a little slower than what we've had since arriving.  We're mostly just going to enjoy being here.  And of course, go to the beach. The house we're staying in is just great.  It's only a few years old and was built by an American and his Filipina wife as their vacation home.  It's decorated nicely, has full air conditioning, and even purified water thoughout the house.  It's just great (and a real bargain). It's located in the middle of a rice field, with beautiful views in all directions (the pix below were taken from the roof of the house).  The caretaker family, Analyn and Boyet Garcia, have been extremely helpful, and Analyn has even been willing to cook local dishes for us, which has been great. This morn