Bohol Trip - 2nd day Morning (10.19.08)

It was an early start for our day. We were all up by 4:30am and ready to meet our boatman (Ichem) for our dolphin watching and island hopping activities. As soon as we come out of our room, one of the resort attendant greeted us and informed us that our boatman was already waiting for us. We saw a lot of "white boats" on the beach. Ichem pointed our boat and told us that our boatman would be his cousin "Ben" and another guy (sorry, forgot the name).

After more than 15 minutes of travelling and right there in the middle of the sea, our boat stopped not once but twice. Ben had to fixed the motor to start it again. While

Ben was fixing the motor, we saw several boats heading to one direction. I guess they were all going to the "dolphin spot". At this point, we were becoming anxious to reach the "spot" to see the dolphins. Finally after the long wait and travel (maybe more than 30 minutes), we stopped and we saw Ben and his partner looking around. He then spotted a dolphin and pointed it out. At first, we couldn't see the dolphins, but after a few seconds, they re-surfaced. Wow! I was so amazed with what we saw!Ü There was even a group of dolphins who swam close to our boat.Ü After a few more sightings, we couldn't find any more dolphins. Ben explained "pag may araw na, wala na pong dolphins" - Baka ayaw umitim kaya ayaw magpa-araw.. hahaha!Ü He then asked if we want to go to Balicasag island already for our snorkeling. It took us at least 15-20 minutes to reach the island and there, he said we need to transfer to a smaller boat. Motor boats are not allowed near the fish santuary since they can destroy corals. The smaller boat costs Php150/head. Another guy approached us and asked us if we want to rent "shoes" for snorkeling. We asked why and if we really need it. He said "matatalim po ung mga corals, baka masugatan kayo pag wala kayong suot". He said the pair of shoes are Php150 each. At first we couldn't decide if we'll rent it or not. We bargained for Php100 each and he agreed. At the end of the day, we realized this was the best decision we made. Without the "rented shoes", we wouldn't have enjoyed our snorkeling activities because the guy was right - "matatalim ung corals and masakit sa paa".

I was the first out of the boat, excited ako eh!Ü hehehe!Ü As soon as I'm in the water, I can already see the fishes without the snorkeling gears. The water was so clear. I remembered not having the water-proof camera and I blaimed Tim for this. He didn't think it was really important. Hmmph! We all had fun in the water, even Coy who was at first hesitant to try snorkeling. One of the boat manong even flirted with her! hahaha!Ü Kakaiba talaga ang beauty ni coy!Ü

At around 9:30am, we decided we're done with snorkeling and asked our boat manong to take us back to the bigger boat. We have to go back to our resort and change outfits since we still had our Panglao tour in the afternoon.

Bohol Trip - 1st day (10.18.08)

First Day (Oct. 18, 2008)

We stayed for at least one more hour inside the office after our shift. At around 8:45am, Gracey and I went down to Mercury Drugs store to buy a hairbrush and we saw Tim walking inside the parking lot. He said he needed to drop by his office to get his toothbrush and toothpaste. I told him, we'll just meet him at McDo Jaka bldg.

We had breakfast at McDo for at least 45mins. before we decided to head for the NAIA3 airport. On the way to the airport, we saw Jovie (Tim's brother) crossing an intersection.

Since our flight was scheduled for 11:35am (Cebu Pacific, 5J 619), we thought we were still early since we arrived at the airport before 10:30am. Guess we were wrong about this since there was a long line in the check-in counter. Tim even saw a girl officemate also waiting on line. After some picture takings and "kwentuhan", we heard a crew calling out "last call" for Tagbilaran flight. What??? Last call? There wasn't even a first call. We raised our hands to let him know we're on that flight and we're still on line. He told us to line up at Counter 2 or 3 as we gave him our ticket print out. Since we were already late checking in the flight, we didn't get seats beside each other. Tim got 19E, I have 21E, Coy has the 20E and Gracey has 9E. Oh welll.. we really didn't have any choice about the seats. While boarding, there was a guy in front of us who smelled "bad". Coy and I looked at each other and laughed. OMG, I prayed I didn't get to sit with him, I don't think I can hold my breath the whole trip.Ü We then saw him sit at 9D and we wished Gracey good luck since she has to bear more than one hour of the trip beside the smelly guy. Good thing she has a running nose and her smelling senses is not that good.Ü

I was seated in between a guy and a girl. The guy also smelled funny - seems like he was farting every now and them. Yuck! I had to cover my nose while I tried to lean on my other side. After 1hour and 15mins on the air, the captain announced that we were already landing. Yipee! God is good because as I look outside the window, I can see that he gave us a good weather.

When we got our bags, Coy mentioned that Spencer (our tour guide) was waiting for us at the Pier area and not the airport. What??? Coy said we don't have to worry since he is already on the way to the airport. After a few minutes of waiting, we saw a guy approaching us with a "Karen Quiros and company" sign. He introduced himself as "Spencer" and instead of a car (as discussed), he was driving an Avanza which made us more comfortable with our travel from the airport to the resort.

We were so hungry at this time and was looking forward to our first meal in Bohol. Spencer said we can eat at our resort since they serve meals to their guests.

We stayed at Dumaluan Beach Resort (beside Bohol Beach Club). We occupied the Standard Aircon Room (without Breakfast) at Php1,300.00/night. We were given the E5 and E6 rooms. Before heading to our rooms, I looked at the beach and was completely awed by the view in front of me. I'm not a beach person but that time, I was easily converted. This place is a paradise.Ü

We went to check our rooms to drop our bags so that we can already order our lunch. We ordered pancit, calamares and beef steak (Pinoy style). After eating, we stayed at the beach for a few minutes and then we headed back to our rooms to rest.

We were able to sleep for our few hours before dinner time. There was no text message from Coy and Gracey which means they're still sleeping. I had to wake Gracey up to ask her if she wants to have dinner with us. Since Coy was still sleeping and has no sign of waking up, dinner was just between the three of us. After dinner, we decided to call it a day since we have to wake up early the next day for our dolphin watching. Our boat man (Itchem) will meet us at 5:30am so we agreed to try and wake up each other by 5:00am.

Bohol day!

Yipee!Ü Just a few hours left and we're off to Bohol!Ü

Sleepy

Since the start of the week, I haven't gotten more than 4 hours of sleep. Imagine how sleepy and "bangag" I am on the floor. I'm like a walking zombie and I once commented to Gracey that I think I have to take "Stressstabs" since I already looked like the girl on the commercial - with eyebags half of her face! Haaay.... :(

Here's why:

1. Tuesday morning - was asked by my mom to buy her anniversary gift for my dad and was asked my dad to buy his anniversary gift for my mom

2. Wednesday morning - went to 168 Mall with Gracey and Coy to buy some stuffs for our Bohol trip

3. Thursday morning - had brunch at Northpark (Makati Ave.) to celebrate Mel's bday

It's Friday today and as much as I want to go straight home, I still have to drop by the grocery store to buy some stuffs for Bohol. After this, I'll try to do everything as fast as I can (last minute packing) so that I can curl up on my bed and sleep for at least 5 hours or more.Ü

Bohol Trip

Oct. 18 - 21, 2008

When we (Tim, me, Gracey and Coy) bought the tickets through Cebu Pacific Promo last May, we decided that we need a couple of months to save for this trip - that's why we all agreed to have it by "October". Yes, we know it is still rainy season, but with some prayers, Sarah's sun dance (from A Very Special Love movie) and a little luck, we hope God will provide us with good weather on our chosen dates. Ü

During the waiting period for this trip, Tim and I started with our wedding preparations. We were computing for our wedding budget trip when we remembered this vacation -- ulk! an additional expense for us. The budget for this trip + our plane tickets can already cover the downpayment for our weddding ring. I felt guilty because I was the organizer of this trip and I convinced Tim that we "really" need this to unwind. There came a point when I even thought of just cancelling this vacation since saving for our wedding is our priority. As months passed by, all of us were feeling super stressed from work (especially Tim who works more than 12 hours a day), we were suddenly looking forward to a much needed vacation.

We got back to our "excited mode", planning on where to stay and what to do in Bohol. I was the "official planner" of the group and thanks to girltalker website, I was able to find a cheap but recommended resort and a good tourist guide. At first I was hesitant to trust the girltalkers but Alyn (my college friend) recommended the same resort.

Just one more day of waiting and we will be off to Bohol!Ü I'm really excited at this point since I have packed my bags and it's already "vacation mode" for me in the office. I can't seem to concentrate with my work and here I am, blogging about my Bohol trip instead of processing e-mails and other reports.Ü