Paradise Three Days
I’ve never denied I was a cynic. In fact, I’m the type of person who’d be expecting the worse when it comes to summer vacations. This is a pretty late post but with all the happenings in my life, the timing seems to be just right since it’s great remembering paradise. And I found it in three days.
So while ordinarily, paradise for me is a state of mind (i.e. being surrounded by heaps of Nora Roberts books or a BLEACH or Gakuen Alice or Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle DVD marathon with kettle corn and mountain dew), stepping onto the powder white sand of El Nido made me change my mind. Big time. Here is paradise in all it’s glory. But what elevated it all the more is my temporary freedom. I’m spending three whole days in Palawan without my parents. But of course, I will be spending it with Vince…and yes, his entire family with his cousins. I was a little nervous of making wrong moves which would make his family hate me. I am bunking in with his two sisters and I’m a very transparent person who could say anything and everything especially when I mean it. So what happened next?
First day, May 28. After a buffet lunch where I was only able to appreciate the spaghetti and meatballs, we went snorkeling. Let me first mention it was high noon and it was my first time to snorkel. But it went so smoothly. I spent most of my time with his mom and his sisters and his female cousins. Vince disappeared but I didn’t really mind. I discovered a whole new world under water. I saw Nemo (clown fish), zebra fish, parrot fish, starfish, jack fish (they are bloody huge! like a dog!), sword fish and all kinds of sea life. Tita told me that the sea horse was also under but since water kept rushing into my mask, I wasn’t able to see it. Before the day ended, Vince and I kayaked to a nearby island where I grabbed shells. We also went to a very corally (I am making this word up) beach where there’re no fishes, just clear, clear water. Dinner was again buffet and it had everything I could ever want. Was out cold by 9PM.
Second Day, May 29. Woke up at 6AM for a dawn fishing raid. I am not a morning person. Was feeling grumpy when Vince kept bugging me about taking pictures which I felt were unecessary given its 6 in the morning. And then we headed out to the open sea with the mists of morning still hoveing above the ocean. I also had my doubts about catching any fish. And Vince’s mom kept pulling one out of the other from the sea. But I was able to catch a fish, with Vince doing all the pulling. I felt a little sorry for the fish but hey, only me, Tita, Peaches and Angelo caught fish. Thank goodness for beginners’ luck! Afterwards we all went back for a leisurely breakfast. We tried a little scuba-diving but since Vince was a certified diver he had to go off on his own. Scuba diving is scary, the pressure in your ears is insane especially when I was already twenty feet deep into the ocean! I don’t think scuba diving is for me. Breathing in and out through the oxygen with huge bubbles streaming out is not my thing. But snorkeling is definitely my cup of tea. After lunch we went to the big lagoon. Since Vince was off exploring the underwater world of Palawan, I partnered with his sister Mika. Peach kayaked on her own and she was amazing! She even kayaked back to the resort. My arms were killing me and I even had a partner! It made me work up a huge appetite! Dinner however, was in the moonlight. The pasta was amazing and the ribs were great but it rained a little so we all ran back to the tarp. There was a cultural presentation which I didn’t finish because I was so tired. It was once again an early night for me. By the way, have I mentioned I have already tanned so much? I never spent a minute indoors in the entire time I was there. I was fast becoming a bronzed goddess. (Hahaha!)
Third day, May 30. We were all so tired from yesterday’s activities we overslept. We practically had to be dragged from our warm comfortable beds. We went island hopping in the morning to snorkel in a different spot. Finally, I get to be with Vince in the same activity! While we were having fun, we came over to a group of coral reefs and we started itching like hell. We were getting stung by something we couldn’t see! We swam like crazy because it was probably baby jellyfish and it’s mother is probably close by. I was getting really tired and Vince gave me a push. Hmm, looks like guys can still be white knights after all. We came out of it relatively unharmed except for bites, Vince had the most because he stayed behind me to make sure I got to the shore first (awww…). After the jellyfish attack, we headed back to the resort for a late big breakfast. We kayaked afterwards and we went to the big lagoon again because Vince and the other divers haven’t seen it yet. He was my rowing partner but since we only had one oar, he had to do most of the paddling. Vince and I got into petty arguments there (again, the taking of pictures)but then again, it’s just us. We have such opposing and strong personalities its impossible for us not to jump at each other for the silliest reasons.
So that was it, our last day in paradise. While being stung by millions of tiny jellyfish sucked, it didn’t mar the experience one bit. I’m still pretty lucky I experienced so much beauty and wonder in one place and in three days’ time. I guess I’m going to remember it always with a smile because in those three days, amidst all the awesomeness of nature, I never felt so much love. I can’t wait to get all those pictures up. And I’d always have my jellyfish bites to remind me of that three days in paradise.
