Filipino Fun!

 We arrived in the Philippines in the middle of the night! The city lights of this sprawling city around the Manila Airport signaled our arrival. Our plane was full of local passengers carrying bags of food, clothing and who knows what. The plane was filled with meat, vegetables, and a lot of laughter. We bought a phone card upon arrival and got a taxi. We found out later that we were overcharged 'tourist rates' for both. Ugh! Then we signed up for Grab Car and used that App for the rest of our Philippines visit. Upon our arrival at the AirBnB, we ventured out for a late-night snack of Gatorade, pretzels, and cookies from 7/11. We walked on narrow streets and were almost hit by crazy motorbikes and fast cars. Manila is a wild and humid, but exciting city. Beware!

 Filipinos like to have daily fun whatever they are doing. They gather on sidewalks sharing food, telling jokes and laughing at everything. I love their joie de vivre and group mentality. They are also kind and attentive to their family and friends. They take good care of their elders and often live together in large family groups. We began our first morning with breakfast at a picnic table on our rooftop overlooking tiny homes and women sweeping with straw brooms. We visited huge malls, tiny shops and got hair cuts. We had dim sum for lunch and pasta for dinner. It was as good as the restaurants in China and Italy. 

After a couple days of exploring this sprawling city, we jumped on a crowded plane at 5am to the tropical island of Cebu. Our taxi drove us three hours on winding mountain roads along the coast with tiny rustic villages. I felt car sick and tried to stare at the blue horizon where it meets the green water over the cliff. Even the tiny mountain towns had a store, gas station and a school. I wonder what their daily life is like in the middle of nowhere with one of the best views in the world.

We finally arrived at our oceanside hotel at the end of a long dirt road full of potholes. It is a small, white two story high hotel with balconies overlooking the ocean. It is located on a coral reef where we can snorkel from our hotel beach. The large boats with 20 divers dock and dive beside our hotel. It is a fascinating scene to watch daily. At night, we walk along the rocky beach path past tiny restaurants and bars. They all have ocean views and serve fresh seafood. Last night we sat at a table overlooking the ocean and watched the sun go down. It was a magical sunset and one of the best of our trip so far. I could stay here longer, but our next adventure calls. 

Luckily, the storm we left behind in Guam has not arrived here yet. It has flooded Guam and destroyed homes. I wonder if our ocean side Air BnB survived. I doubt the plastic bubble bedroom stayed tied down at the beach. It probably floated away in the ocean. We emailed the Guam owner, but he has not replied yet. The news said that the Internet is still down in Guam. I worry about the island and wish the people a safe and speedy recovery. Stay tuned for an update.