To the Island and back

I've been to Boracay a number of times and each time, the trip has always been safe and hassle-free. So when Joanna asks me to join her at the wedding of her little brother in Boracay, I willingly obliged. We were going to stay at the very posh Discovery Shores and it was going to be my first out of town wedding. How could I say no? Even if it was raining a whole week before the wedding, it didn't stop me from pushing thru with my 'no husband and no kids' weekend. I was super excited and was looking forward to my rendezvous with Jo!

It was bright and sunny that Friday afternoon and so I had no idea what lay in store for me. I was offered the 3:30pm flight and I agreed to leave earlier so that I could get to Boracay before sunset. A few minutes before landing in Caticlan, the plane was shaking violently and it was rocking up and down. I was very nervous and I was so tempted to grab the hand of the (cute) boy beside me. Takot lang ako na masampal ni girlfriend. But I was really scared and I felt so alone at that precise moment. Thankfully, the plane landed without a hitch and I was thinking that the worse was already over.

The staff of Discovery Shores was on hand to pick me up together with 2 other couples. We were told that because of the stormy weather, we would be boarding the 'bangka' at the makeshift port and not at the regular port. We get to the port and the rain and the wind was getting stronger by the minute. As I was halfway through the wooden planks going towards the bangka, we were asked to go back to the shore. The coast guards were no longer allowing any ships to sail and so we grudgingly obeyed. Angelo and Tibang (law school friends) were watching over me the whole time since they saw that I was all alone. We waited under a shed na butas-butas yung sako roof for 2 whole hours. My dress was completely wet, I was freezing and the rain and the wind just kept getting stronger. I've never felt this helpless in a long time.

At 7:00pm, the coast guards lifted the restriction and we were going to be allowed to ferry to the island of Boracay. OMG. I thought I had it bad waiting in the shed for two hours. There were actually people inside the bangkas for two hours because they were not allowed to get off at the port. GRAVY. I'm so thankful to the staff of DS, to Angelo & Tibang and to a certain Ann (firedancer and owner of Footsies at D'Mall). They kept me sane during those very turbulent hours. And to think, di pa kami nagkikita ni Jo, my adventure had already begun!

When I finally saw Jo at 7:30pm, I hugged her and told her about my horrible experience. Since Jo is super sensitive and caring, she ordered me to change clothes (no time for a bath) pronto because late na kami for dinner. Bwiset! Hahahahaha. After a few ooohs and ahhhhs upon seeing our room, I changed quickly and headed off for Gasthoff where Lolo Cong and Tita Aleta were hosting a dinner for ALL the visitors.

While we were having dinner, the rain was so strong that it felt like a mist fan was aimed directly at my face the whole time. What an experience talaga. After dinner, we had drinks at Hey Jude! Ay salamat, something drinks! I had a dirty martini, amaretto sour and Jo's cousin even got us a round of Cosmopolitan. We ended at 3am! When we got back to DS, Jo wanted to have a few more drinks with Veron and Alana (Bacolod peeps). Naku, no thank you! I went up to the room, took a long hot shower and relaxed in my bed. Jo came in at 4am na. Yan ang grabeh!



We woke up at 9am and there wasn't much time to dilly dally as the wedding was at 3pm that day. The day was bright and we thought that the weather would remain sunny. Oh no, by 12 noon, the rain was pouring again and the wind was not letting up. Stress! It's a good thing the wedding was held inside the church. Despite the stormy weather outside, Jet and Alexis had a beautiful ceremony surrounded by their closest family and friends. I know its cliche to say that the bride is always beautiful on her wedding day but Alexis was beaming! She was radiant and she looked absolutely stunning. The weather outside did not affect her disposition at all. Whatta girl!



We had food and drinks overflowing and I must say, for a first wedding at DS, they did an excellent job! My favorite was the lamb chops with mint, turmeric rice and the beef kaldereta. The seafood served was also very fresh and I was going all-out at the buffet table. Hahahahahaha! It didn't help that tablemates Noel (law school friend) and his date Chichi were gorging as well. Other tablemates included Jo's niece Janna and Tita Aleta. We were the VVIP table! After dinner, we had drinks, listened to the reggae band (Lolo Cong had a guitar recital!) and was thoroughly amused with the firedancer a.k.a. ladyboy (term borrowed from Cheche Lazaro). Fun night! By 10pm, weng weng na ako. Jo, on the other hand, ended her day at 4am! Party animal.



Sunday was my last day so I texted high school chum Monica to join me for breakfast. She was on vacation with hubby James and this was the only time I had to meet up with her. Had a great time chit chatting and walking on the shore. James is now my favority hubby of friend because he takes pictures even without being asked to! I love it! Hahahahahaha! But our bonding was shortlived. By 10am, I had to run up na to my room and dress up. I left DS at 11am and was flying home to Manila by 1230pm.

News of Pacquiao's victory greeted me when I landed at the Domestic. Was very happy but of course the 'match' I was looking forward to was the DLSU-UE game at 3pm.

What better way to end my weekend than by DLSU beating UE to capture the UAAP Mens Basketball Championship! Galeng! But that's another post of course! Congratulations La Salle! You make us all so proud!

Uhmmmmmmm, diba Boracay post 'to? Well, anyway, it was a fun weekend regardless of how it started! God is good. I thank Him everyday for the life I have, the family and friends I'm blessed with, and for the small victories He allows me to enjoy.

The Good and the Bad

Yesterday, I was grinning from ear to ear after DLSU escaped with a 1-point victory over arch-nemesis ADMU to take the twice to beat advantage in the UAAP. It was certainly worth the heartaches I had to endure from the two previous losses to the same school during the regular season.

UST will now battle against ADMU and the winner will meet DLSU who, as i said earlier, will enjoy a twice to beat advantage. If I'm lucky, I will not have to see the likes of Tiu, Baclao and Reyes as these people have given me many sleepless nights. But then again, I'm not sure Jervy Cruz, Mirza and Ababou will be any better for my very fragile heart. If I could only fast forward and just get to the Finals, I would. But reality sets in and I know that to do that, we will have to rise up to the challenge and beat either UST or ADMU, both of whom are formidable opponents.

As I was surfing with my remote hoping to catch a replay of the game, I chanced upon HARDBALL, a sports show on ANC. The headline of course was the game that just transpired but what caught my attention was the second news story, the suspension of Brian Ilad.

I was not able to watch the DLSU-UE game and so it was my first time to see the infamous sucker punch of Ilad on UE player, Fampulme. I was in disbelief at what I saw. Ilad's aggression was unprovoked and at that precise moment, I wanted to tear that uniform off his back. After the Manny Salgado incident and all the flak we got from the Mark Benitez fiasco, this was the last thing DLSU needed. I wish Ilad had the sense to control his emotions and just leave the battle on the basketball court. But he didn't. He chose to let his emotions get the better of him and the DLSU community will have to endure months of criticism for the act of one individual.

This time, I wish I could push the rewind button and run to Araneta so I could hold Ilad by the ankles. I wish I could erase that incident. I wish it never happened. But it did. Ilad now has to serve a 6-game suspension and he has issued an apology to the UE community. Now, about that apology....

Ilad states that he felt his teammates were in imminent danger and hence, his aggression. PLEASE. You must be able to call a spade a spade. Despite my love for my alma mater, I will not even attempt to justify that act of thuggery. It was a severe lapse of judgement and Ilad should just apologize. Period.

I was also bothered by statements made by Maierhoffer and Casio that the number 15 taped on their jersey was in support of Ilad. Hmmmmmmmmmm. I hope what you meant is that you support Ilad in good times and in bad and NOT support or adhere to the act itself. Kasi kung ganun din, I think the sports psychiatrist will have to see them as well. As i said, I love my school. But that does not mean I will lose my sense of reason and logic all in the name of love and basketball.

However, since I also place a premium on loyalty, I believe that you must never abandon a friend (or a teammate) especially during his darkest hours. The act is wrong but Ilad still deserves the support of his team and our school. Pero there are other ways of showing support to the person diba? Do you really have to wear his number? Hindi ba pwedeng email or text nalang? :)

He should be given the opportunity to redeem himself. Pero Mr. Ilad, huwag mo lang ulitin ha! (Note: Apparently, he won't have the chance to. I just read that his one and only year at DLSU will be his last because he already spent his first four years of eligibility at another college league. This suspension effectively ends his UAAP career)

I'm sure I have you all confused. Mommy ba 'to or basketball enthusiast? Well, I'm both and then some! It would also interest you to know that I studied Law at (THE) Ateneo as well and my hubby is a Glowing Goldie. Heehee. So for all you haters, save yourself the effort of baggin on me. It's game time again on Sunday! Reymond will be cheering his lungs out for UST. I will be anxiously waiting in the sidelines to see who we go up against in the next game.

ANIMO LA SALLE!

South of the Border

Last year, we had our first taste of the Cebupac mania. We made our way to the beautiful city of Davao surrounded by our closest friends. This year, Maggs was busy with her CISV duties and Vice-Mayor Concon also had his hands full. We would have to take on this vacation 'alone'. So minus our entourage, we headed south once again to celebrate Reymond's 36th birthday and found ourselves a paradise in Costabella on Mactan Island.


I wasn't really sure what to expect since the only resort everyone ever talks about in Mactan is Shangri-la. So I consulted HS classmate Carmela who is a Cebu native and a seasoned hotelier. I told her that I could actually claim a 2-night stay at this resort by virtue of my credit card points but since I never heard of the place, I wanted her to rate it by comparing it to a hotel I was familiar with. She likened the resort to Dusit Hotel in Makati and said that it wasn't quite in the same league as the big wigs but it would do! She was right. Costabella did not disappoint us.

Costabella is 20 minutes away from the airport and like most other resorts, their services start from the minute you arrive by having their staff personally escort you to their resort. Their staff is friendly, accommodating and we didn't even have to wait for them to prepare our room. The room was ready when we arrived at 10 am. Galeng! Usually, hotels will tell you to wait until 2:00 pm to clean it as guests usually vacate their rooms at noon. This time around, we had the luxury of relaxing in our room as soon as we checked in.

But, as I was telling Bess, the one downside to our vacation was the very expensive food! We were shocked when our first meal of the day consisting of pancit, onion rings, calamares and burgers cost us P1,600.00! Reymond and I looked at one another and knew exactly what the other was thinking. We've got to find another place to eat! At this rate, our cash would be gone by lunch tom.! Hahahahaha!

But really, the joke was on us.



We initially wanted to go to Sutukil as recommended by my bro and SIL and so we called for a cab to bring us there. The cab ride to the resto 15 minutes away cost us P200.00 -- and when we checked, it wasn't Sutukil! The driver took it upon himself to bring us to Greenhouse kasi 'peligro daw sa Sutukil'. Thinking he had only the best of intentions, we obliged and boy, did we get suckered. For calamares, prawns and tangigue, we spent a whopping P2,000.00! Worse, we spent another P200.00 for the cab ride back to Costabella. It wasn't looking good for us.

Because of this sad experience, Reymond and I decided that we would just stay in Costabella for the rest of our meals.



New day, new beginnings. Reymond and I decided to put last night behind us (charge it nalang to experience) and enjoy the rest of our vacation.

The pictures above were taken from the outhouse around 100 meters away from shore. In the morning, it was majorly low tide. Similar to Matuod! They also had a sunbathing platform for the tanning enthusiasts. The water creeps back to shore by 11am and the beach comes back to life! The whole day was spent just swimming at the pool and lounging around the beach. The resort guests were mostly Korean tourists. I am told that majority of Cebu visitors are from Korea.

In the evening, we were entertained by musicians singing songs from my Mom's era. When we requested for a children's song, they looked at one another and on cue, they played 'Oh Carol'. Ok ba? At another table, where they had British tourists, they played The Spaghetti Song and Otso-otso. To my disbelief, the cute little girl with the British accent knew the dance steps(her mom is probably a TFC subscriber)! We had so much fun seeing this girl immerse herself in our pop culture.



On our third day here, we took one last swim at the pool then prepared ourselves for the 11am pick-up by the guide recommended by Reymond's officemate.

Our first stop was the Sutukil restaurant by the Lapu-Lapu shrine. Finally, finally! We found someone who wouldn't take us in circles and just bring us exactly to where we requested. The food was divine and despite the heat, all of us were savoring our yummy inexpensive meal. Heehee. After a few pics by the shrine, we were off to Mandaue and Cebu for some last minute sightseeing.



To get from Mactan to Mandaue and Cebu, we had to cross the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, named after one of the most famous sons of this proud province.



We were brought to many landmarks around the city. Below, you will see the Cebu Convention Center (where the 12th Asean summit was held), the Cebu branch of Reymond's office (uhm, landmark ba 'to?), the Fort San Pedro (smallest and oldest fort in the country), the Malacanang of the South, Magellan's Cross and the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino. It is here where our next adventure begins.



The guide and Reymond agreed that Reymond would give him a missed call once we were ready for pick-up. Problem is, Reymond left his cellphone in the van. We tried in vain to contact his officemates but most of them had their office cellphones off during the weekend. After about an hour or so, a tourist police took pity on us and after explaining our predicament to him, he took it upon himself to 'search' for our guide.

I was of course skeptical but since I was also desperate, we had no choice but to put our full trust and faith in him. Guess what? Twenty minutes later, he arrives with our guide in tow. Despite the one hour and 20 minutes outside the scorching heat, I could not have been happier seeing our guide and getting into our airconditioned van. As to how I felt about Reymond, hmmmmmmm. Let's just say buti nalang actual birthday niya on that day.



The other landmarks were a blur to me. I was in a state of euphoria with the aircon vent aimed directly at my face. Why oh why did Reymond take a pic of the UV? Doon daw kasi galing si (PBA player whose name I cannot recall) and ang coach daw dun ay si (name I also cannot recall). We made our way around Colon Street, Fuente Osmena, Casa Gorordo and the Taoist Temple. After an exhausting afternoon around the city, we made our way back to Mactan for our 5:55 flight back to Manila.



So as I was saying Nens, lots of good and bad experiences in Cebu. I'd like to think that the good should outweight naman the bad. But do me a favor. Next time around, take us with you! We don't want to be lost in translation again!