#bandage just came off and after a coconut oil bath and some lotion shes looking fresh

[the-gayest-asexual]

I did a thing last week

[theexploringegg]

Day 61: Sunrise, Showers and Snorkelling.

5.15am... Ahh. I wanted to get up to see the sunrise so I forced my body up when I heard the alarm go off. It was glowing outside at that time, just before the dawn. I threw on some clothes and swimwear, realising when I got outside that I had put my shirt on inside out. Oh well. Tita and I walked the stoney bath to the pool area, overlooking the sea where the sun was shyly touching the sky with a hit of orange. We took a couple of chairs- there was still about 15 minutes until it would break through, according to the staff. It was at that point that the heavens opened and rain came, heavy and fast. We shaded in the bar area and occupied ourselves with our phones as the sun was obscured by cloud. I really thought it was a wasted opportunity until the staff shouted to us and we both looked up at the huge orange ball ascending in the sky. There is was! A short-lived experience; it disappeared behind the clouds once again and the rain continued. Walking briskly back to the room (and abandoning our morning hike plan), I crashed on the bed again beside Mel who had woken at the sound of the rain. We listened to some Spotify chilled music for a while as the rain lightened up. Still determined for some morning exercise, tita and I walked to the sand bar area for a swim in the sea. The water was pleasant and I waded in quickly, however I was soon being stung on the legs and arms as I swam- by what, I didn't know! I shouted and ran back to land, soon joined by tita who had experienced the same. Okay, let's go to the pool, we thought. So, walking back again to where we had started, prepared for a good swim, we arrived to find it wasn't opened until 8am (it was only 6.45am). Deciding that the gods were against us, we just took a shower and the 3 of us went for an early breakfast. Buffets are dangerous. With so many choices and the fact that I have "severe food FOMO" as Melissa (my Vietnam travel buddy) put it, I controlled myself to just trying a few things. My favourite was the Filipino version of rice porridge, laced with ginger and pulled chicken: arroz caldo. Not missing out on my Omega 3, I also had some boiled eggs, fruits, banana bread and French toast. Waiters served us fresh coffee and Mel was happy to have her favourite, watermelon juice. The sky was brightening and the rain finally stopped. After such an early start, we wailed away the morning just lounging in the room which was cool and cosy, making the most of it until it was time to check out. As we could stay on the island until departure later that day, we had time to swim in the infinity pool until we buffeted on lunch at 1pm by the lagoon. I ordered a massive mango and coconut smoothie which was served in the coconut shell and made using it's flesh and water. Again, there were so many food selections and everything looked so good- I settled for noodle salad, beef and a dish made from green beans, squash and prawn in a creamy coconut sauce. For dessert I found my favourite, banana fritters, and munched on some other fresh tropical fruits: pineapple, watermelon, papaya. At that point, it was super hot, and I was careful to cover-up and apply plenty of sunscreen (which I realised was whitening lotion with SPF 30) before I went kayaking in the lagoon. I had to don a life jacket and climbed on the kayak which had been roasting in the sun (the seat was so hot I had to ask for another life-jacket to sit on). After a few laps, I went snorkelling while the others two stayed in the shade (wise). The waters were so clear- I could see so well all the corals and fish which were swimming in schools, so bright and colourful. I swam out to a bamboo raft and was able to dive in among the fish, enjoying the nature with no other people nearby. It was great. At 3.30pm we were ready to board the small ferry to head back to the mainland (boo), so after a shower and gathering all our stuff, we were on board with the other tourists and staff heading back. The little Honda Jazz was waiting faithfully for us, having baked in the heat during our time away. We got the AC going, beats on, and began our 4 hour journey back to Cebu. Now this was an experience in itself. When driving in the Philippines, I realised you must watch out for others more than your own driving- people can randomly cross the road in front of you, overtake when oncoming traffic is approaching (I screamed as a biker had a narrow escape in front of us) and pass on corners. Not only that, the local bus drivers are crazy fast drivers who almost drove straight into us when overtaking on our side of the road, and the passengers hang off, exiting the bus when it stops in the middle of a queue of traffic. Motorbikes can carry not just one or two, but up to seven people (I couldn't believe my eyes when I counted this). I commended tita on her driving- she was really tired when we stopped for dinner about 8pm just outside Cebu City and I'm not surprised- all senses must be alert when you are the driver. At our dinner stop, we emerged from the car, stretching limbs and heading quickly for a rest stop after a long journey (which had passed quickly thanks to the music and my amazement at the traffic). Our dining place was an upmarket seafood restaurant where we were able to grab a table for the 3 of us outside in light of the full moon. I tried some new Filipino dishes: kinilaw made with young jackfruit, kare kare (a stew usually made with beef, in a peanut sauce and lots of vegetables), lumpia (vegetable roll in a sweet sauce) and the faithful fried calamari. The portions were huge so we were able to take home enough for tita to enjoy the following day. Before reaching home, we stopped in a local pharmacy to get Mel a bandage and a bottle of a traditional green menthol oil for muscle pains called Efficascent, which is an old remedy here. That night, I applied it to my leg also, as it was still aching from wakeboarding 4 days before. With not one stop in our itinerary, Mel and I packed for our flight to Coron the following morning while tita went straight to bed. Everyday is an adventure here- no rest for the wicked!