Well, This Is An Adventure

Imagine traveling 9 hours through a storm in a dinky, little 15-seater boat. Would you do it? We did. My goodness, it was an experience. We left around 4:30 in the morning and it was like wave after crashing wave. The winds were howling and our boat's supports kept popping out of place. If I wasn't so sleepy, I would have been terrified. Nevertheless, I prayed profusely.

And sure enough, the sun came up and the storm went away! The above picture is the view from our little pension house. Spectacular.

We went island hopping the next day and visited 3 different lagoons, one was called the secret lagoon because you had to crawl through a hole to get to it. Really beautiful. The rest of the time was spent snapping shots at different beaches on different islands. Would you like a peek? We tend to get a bit trigger happy, so each family member has enough photos for an album.

My tan lines are gross. Word of advice: Never EVER fall asleep under the sun while you're wearing shorts. Ugh.

My daddy's a stud. Ladies, calm yourselves.

Katie's the poser of the family. She's so pretty that boys go crazy. Makes me want to hide her in a closet. Ahhh protective sister syndrome.

My mother is constantly getting mistaken as my sister. Need I say more?

Bethany. The adventurous one. And the only person in our family who has abs. I'm pretty green about it.

Oooh Barracuda

Yesterday was, wait for it, legendary. We dove not one, not two, but three dives. Two of those were World War II ship wrecks and one was a thermocline lake in the mountains.

We had to climb about 20 meters up and downhill to reach Barracuda Lake. Interesting fact about this lake, the top is freshwater. If you dive about 12 meters down, you hit saltwater. The thermocline is crazy significant, the freshwater is nice, cool and refreshing. The saltwater is so hot, it's almost uncomfortable. There wasn't much to look at but there were adorable little brown catfish and shrimp swimming around that would skitter around close to your fingers.

This is my little sister going through the thermocline. See how it's clear near her head and blurry around her feet? Going through it was an odd feeling, it was almost as if everything had become jagged. We didn't really take pictures of the wrecks, because it was a swim through and we had to keep our hands to ourselves but it was definitely an experience to remember. I had never delved that deep into history before. Literally.

The Lion fish and Stone fish are often found around shipwrecks. They're highly poisonous, but pretty nice to look at. There were about six Lion fish just hanging around in the same spot, not really interested in us.

This is the first time I had ever seen a stingray in the ocean and it's such a pretty one too! It was a shy little sucker, didn't really enjoy us taking pictures of it.

Clams aren't rare in the Philippines, but they're not common either. Seeing them around was such a treat, because they're actually really beautiful inside. If you get a chance to touch the inner edge, do it, it's very smooth and soft. Just be quick about it otherwise they'll clam up on your finger!

We saw this adorable cuttlefish swimming around. Through the video it seems small, but it was a pretty good size, maybe 2 feet?

Touchdown Coron

Merry Christmas everybody! Well to y’all in the western part of the world that is, it’s already the 26^th for us here in the Philippines. We were a bit delayed flying into Busuanga and some creepazoid was taking pictures of us sleeping in the airport. Thank goodness my Mom noticed and demanded he delete his pictures. Who would take pictures of total strangers? (As I slowly lower my hand..)

Anyway, after all the airport drama, we got on board and, oh my, the flight view was beautiful. Absolutely stunning.

We touchdown mid-afternoon and the drive to our resort was wonderful. My eyes were bugged out the entire way. Who would’ve thought a cattle grid could be so pretty? I wasn’t able to get any pictures though, the doggone van was moving too fast!

Once we got settled in, we took a little walk and through this sketchy little alley we found the funkiest restaurant bar. La Sirenetta. I giggled at the naked mermaids. I've still got some kid left in me.

 I highly recommend their margaritas. Their signature drink, the Blue Mermaid is a margarita with Guyabano and Lychee. It’s got a bit of a bite with a sweet Lychee aftertaste. Delicious.

They’ve got a pool table for the customers to play at while they wait for their food and drinks. Their lemon shrimp pasta? To die for. And they’ve got this sweet little candle light lamp set on the table. 

All in all, we had a wonderful time and it’d be a pleasure to go back. If you ever find yourself looking for a bar with friendly people, sharp drinks and great food, La Sirenetta is that place!

Christmas Eve is Palawan Prep

Merry Christmas Eve! While everyone sits and opens just one little present tonight and eagerly awaits Christmas morn, we've already opened all our gifts! (Thought I'd just rub that in your face for a tad, okay gloating over)
My family and I will be leaving and spending Christmas to New Year's in Palawan, the most beautiful island in the Philippines. We've been eagerly anticipating P-day and since it falls on the 25th we won't have anytime to open presents then. So ding! Problem solved, we open our presents on the eve.
I only wish I could capture the laughs, the practical jokes, the carefully thought out gifts that were exchanged.  But of course, we all got so carried away with the tearing of wrapping paper and the trying on of new clothes and jewelry that we barely got any pictures in. And the ones that were taken were quite blurry. Sayang. But it's the memories that count! And we'll keep them forever. But not the facial masks, those are a one time use deal. Keeping them would be kind of gross.

A little Christmas ornament my G-pa carved a few years back. We use it every year. Love you gramps!

I almost cried when I opened this present. It's this gorgeous bottle of perfume labeled Euphoria. Now to the masses that's not anything special, but to me it's such a treasure. Very few know the story of why the word Euphoria has such high meaning to me and maybe one day I'll blog about it, but it's quite a long story. Anyway, I had just shared this story and the symbolism of this word to my parents a few weeks back and as a gift to myself and as a sort of support I had it tattooed on my body. For them to find a specific perfume that has this word for me, it goes beyond words.

And this is my beautiful Mommy! She's wearing her new presents, what a darling. Once again, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Getting Past The Slump

I've been a terrible blogger. I know. I know. All I can say is I've been in a horrid slump. My motivation for anything that involved leaving the bed was at an all time low. And that's saying something. Through the help of friends, family and I'm not ashamed to admit, some therapy, I'm almost completely out of my Debbie Downer mood swings.
So much has happened since I stopped blogging. I was able to focus on myself for a bit and really get better. I made significant changes in my studies, I'm back on the Dean's list, and I got a few tattoos to remind me of how good my life is and how much better it can become. I lost a few dear friends along the way, but it made me stronger, less dependent on others. My parents and I are closer than ever and though my little sister will swear she's too cool to hang out with me, I know she loves me as much as I love her.
This holiday season has been a true blessing for my family and soon we'll be heading off to the vacation of a lifetime. Palawan. I personally want to thank everyone that's been in my life and even those who have left. You have made me the person I am today, and I like to believe, a good person. Thank you all. Merry Christmas. (And yes, I'll start posting again!)

(FYI: My posts will be from things that happened a few months ago or will happen a few days from now. Please bear with me as I try to update y'all on everything. Happy Holidays!)