Palawan 2013

O haiiiiiii, Superlovers! I am back! :)

It's been more than a month since I updated my blog. I owe my readers an explanation--Sword and I stayed at my in-laws' place for two weeks for some medical(?) issues. Roddick and Reesha's yaya got chickenpox and Rafael's got HFMD which are both contagious. I brought my laptop with me but we just watched movies non-stop and Globe signal there fails big time. And then a week after we went back home to my parents' place Paolo and I impulsively decided to go to Palawan to visit my grandmom and all our other relatives there. It was also his first time to hit the place, I happily escorted him. Now that I'm back (and trying to finish this entry before Sword wakes up--again!), let me share you our sweet journey: our first ever out of town trip as husband and wife aka our honeymoon. Hahaha I kid, I kid.

As you all know, our Boracay trip last October 2012 was canceled due to my pregnancy... so imagine my excitement to ride the airplane again (zoom, zoom.. broom, broom) and to relax a bit and of course, to spend a quality time with my husband who's very, very busy because of work. Everything's changed since I gave birth to Sword and just like everyone says, being a wife and being a mother are both different roles to fill. I keep on thanking my parents for taking care of our baby while we were out but trust me, half of my heart was left here in Manila. WeChat video call and FaceTime helped but still, I longed to kiss and cuddle our little sailor.

Moving on (intro pa lang napakadaldal ko na)...

It was my first time to go to El Nido despite my numerous trips to Puerto Princesa (PPS) in the past. I never had the chance to travel 5 hours to see the beauty of the island. I missed the beach so much so I insisted to include this little getaway in our short trip. I felt guilty, however, because we left Manila when Maring was devastating the rest of Luzon. It was sunny in Palawan but Mother Nature played its trick on us. Right on time when we were about to start our Tour A, the rain started pouring big time we had to cancel it. So to those who were wondering why I never posted a #selfie wearing two-piece bikini, I am sorry. The beach waves were crazy we didn't bother to go near the shoreline anymore.

But I am so happy to reunite with the sand and the sea sans the sun once again.

Cloudy, eh? Behind me are Seven Commando and Helicopter (mukhang Chickenjoy sa left side) islands.

I missed traveling with him. <3

The rich flora (and fauna) which is Palawan.

On our second day, the clouds became cloudier, heavier. It rained cats and dogs the night before that the sea turned brown. The water from the mountains joined the sea + southwest monsoon + high tide = STILL A BEAUTY.

Mr. Sun finally shone when we were about to leave the island. What is timing dibaaaa

:)

Back to PPS, we headed straight to my lola's house, fetched our cousins and had late dinner at Bona's Chao Long. We also had a few drinks at Kataboom, a resto-bar similar to Boracay's Bom Bom and Pat's Creek Bar--reggae!

It was my first time for a long time to drink beer again. I only limited myself to two bottles, and a glass of mojitos. :D

Cousins! :)

Finally, on our fourth day, we toured Paolo around the city. We went to Crocodile Farm and Mitra's Ranch. Our flight back to Manila was delayed, from 12:55 PM to 6:50 PM due to the non-stop rain in Manila, thus more time was spent with my cousins. Unplanned, we had the entire afternoon chilling at Pristine beach, which is just a few-minute walk from my cousin's house and 10 minutes away from the airport. 

And ladies and gentlemen, a stretch of white sand beach in a city, with an entrance fee of only P20 (P5 when we went here last 2001). Still not bad! 

L-O-V-E-L-Y!

And if you're still wondering why I was not in bikinis, we went here two hours before our boarding time. We didn't swim, we just chilled. Hehe and nako naman, I just gave birth. I still weigh 120 lbs! :( Also to quote my friend Cham, "Pag nagiging nanay tumataas ang panty!" Oh well, yeah, that's my undies showing. Lumuwag po kasi shorts ko. <3 <3 <3

I'm grateful for that 4 days spent with my relatives and my husband. Bringing Sword with us would be perfect but now isn't the right time. Eventually we'll travel with our little sailor! See you again, Palawan, especially you, El Nidowwww!

♥,

Marianne

Be Informed.

The rain has not stopped pouring wildly since last night. Metro Manila is drenched in floods, affecting major roads and highways and small towns. In 2009, we suffered from the inclemency of typhoon Ondoy. Once again, our country's called to act as one and to help each other in the time we most need each other. 

Social networking sites Twitter and Facebook are very useful as they spread millions of voices of the needy. Let's all be informed and let's all inform the others. 

Here are some useful tips, emergency hotlines, people/groups who can help us and ways to help our fellowmen:

1. Who to follow on Twitter: @News5Aksyon, @Interaksyon, @Rescue5PH, @ANCALERTS, @gmanews, @rapplerdotcom, @MMDA and @dost_pagasa. Celebrities who also extend their hands to help include Divine Lee and Jenni Epperson.

2. Use the hashtags #RescuePH, #ReliefPH, #FloodsPH, #PHAlerts, #PrayForThePhilippines on Twitter to see tweets and updates from all users even if you don't follow them.

3. Conserve the batteries of your cellphones, laptops and other useful gadgets. Prepare ready to eat meals, drinking waters and safeguard all your important documents such as birth certificates, passports in waterproof bags.

4. Bear in mind these photos, keep calm and do not panic:

5. Above all, PRAY.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

♥,

Marianne

Hundred Days of Summer

I've been to my second summer destination! I just couldn't let the very long weekend pass without having another island to discover.

I never thought that this getaway would push through. I swear I wanted to cut myself into two when I found out that my family had last minute plans of going to Cavite. I had my things packed a day before Saturday and I was so freaking ready for the beach. Not that I chose to be with Paolo's family but I already gave my word that I'd be joining them. I did. My family's so understanding.

As we all know, getting to Pangasinan usually takes 4-6 hours but it took us 8 long hours! We stayed at Tropical Island Resort located at Tondol Beach in Anda Island. I had no photo to show you on how good-looking this island is especially on low tide but when you Google it, this will be one of the results:

Crystal clear water with white sand and it's at its best during low tide. Unfortunately, we went there on a holiday hence a crowded place. Tondol Beach isn't fully developed yet. I might go back here to see how it looks like during off peak where garbage is less visible and seaweeds/grasses are more... manageable.

Anda is right in between Hundred Islands and Bolinao (AHHHH NEXT TIME, BOLINAO! I SWEAR!!!). On our second day, we went to Hundred Islands--the main reason why we went to Pangasinan.

At Anda Port going to Hundred Islands!

With my boyfriend who's gaining weight! Haha!

With Deedee, Paolo's niece. She's already a grownup! ♥

From Anda Island, it took us 30 minutes to get to Quezon Island, one of the few islands in Hundred Islands National Park where guests are welcomed to swim. On our way there, we saw the many other islands which complete the hundred! Two of the notable ones are:

Turtle Island

I don't know the name of this island but I call it the hippo island. :)

I expected a large number of crowd and I was right. But it surprised me even more to find out that the island is loaded with sari-sari stores. It quite turned me off. I hope someone from the DOT or the local government would try to fix minor problems like this. A beautiful place like Hundred Islands deserves intensive care. 

For five minutes I dipped in the sea. Paolo and I also kayaked, resulting to sore muscles and body pains. The crowd is bearable but it's uncomfortable for me to leave my things somewhere while beating the heat away. We just took photos instead, went up the rocky hills and enjoyed the view.

What I wore: Sunkissed animal prints bikini, Betty satin pants.

Good to find out there's a clam-viewing area where guests are not allowed to swim but taking photos is fine! :)

At the clam-viewing area.

All the other islands behind me!

I know I'm gaining weight. Lalalala. I'm trying hard to bring back my Puerto Galera body!!!

Family picture with our daughters Deedee and Julianna. :P

Sad to say, we only stayed there for two hours. We had to go back to Tondol before the sunset. We killed time by jumping and jumping and jumping to starve ourselves and to give bigger space for our dinner: crabs, shrimps, crabs and shrimps.

Here are the two of my favorite jump shots:

SOAR HIGH!!!!

Lack of photos, I know! Apologies, but I enjoyed too much time there with no camera and iPhone in my hands!

♥,

Marianne

Cebu 2012: The Great Santa Fe Beach

Cebu 2012!

To celebrate our eighth year together, Paolo and I went to the Queen City of the South with his good friend, Jeff and his girlfriend Jen. We booked our flight last January, thanks to Cebu Pacific's 699 promo that we finally decided to go here instead because we originally planned of going to Davao or Bacolod for our anniversary. We even thought of Dumaguete, actually!

Get your browsers ready, this one's loaded with photos. :)

At NAIA Terminal 3.

Paolo and I took the 6:50 AM flight. We anticipated the long travel going to Bantayan Island--three to four hours bus ride going to Hagnaya Port plus another one and a half hour ferry ride from Hagnaya Port to Santa Fe Wharf. Define air-land-sea transfers here. But when we arrived at Mactan, we headed to Mandaue City for a brunch. Then from the North Bus Terminal, we took the Ceres bus bound to Hagnaya (Php 150/pax). Four hours later, we took the Super Shuttle Ferry at the Hagnaya Port (Php 180/pax) to get to Santa Fe Wharf.

Welcome to Santa Fe Wharf.

Almost six hours of traveling, whew! All the blogs I read about getting to Bantayan Island said it was quite exhausting but after seeing such a wonderful town like this, you're gonna say, "It's worth the wait." I'm joining the bandwagon now. It's a paradiso! 

From Santa Fe Wharf, a girl holding a sheet of paper with my name on it waved on us. It's Anne. She picked us up, introduced us to Tita Doris and brought us to a very beautiful place called Kandugyap. Kandugyap, which means "house by the sea", served as our home for two short nights. It's a lovely piece of property in a long stretch of island in Santa Fe with big rocks and white, powdery sand and pristine, crystal clear blue water. The Mediterranean-inspired villa was exclusively reserved for us. It's magical, the view's breathtaking, everything was beyond perfect. And let me add an excellent service on that.

Kandugyap: House by the sea.

The boys took over the kitchen and Paolo did not let me touch anything there. Well, I didn't want to feel so useless so I prepared the table for dinner and also fixed and washed the dishes after. We had grilled fish, chicken barbeques and pork nilaga and had a few drinks at the cliff to end our first night there.

 Dinner is served! Thanks, boys!

First night, yay!

We called it a day after consuming two to three bottles of beer to wake up EARLY for the next day. Sunday morning, our host prepared scrumptious breakfast for us: fried eggs, danggit and other sorts of dried fish. The boys also cooked fried rice! What a good way to start our day!

Good morning, Bantayan!

The boys went to the market after our heavy breakfast to buy danggit, fried fish and squid for pasalubong because the locals advised us to buy directly from there. Danggits from Cebu come from Bantayan so we expected cheaper price. :) They also brought stuff for our lunch, including a "pogita" for only Php 80! Oh yeaaah!

And while the boys are out, here's what Jen and I did:

We took photos! Hee hee hee.

You know it. A good place deserves a mini photoshoot. Jen and I stroke our best poses to keep personal souvenirs. What can you say about the facade of our villa? Santorini-inspired! I can't find the right words to explain Kandugyap. All I can say is.. see it for yourself!

A better view of our exclusive villa!

Lunch of the day: Deep-fried breaded shrimps, tocino dried fish and ensaladang kamatis.

I love this photo. It somehow reminds me of Patty Laurel and I don't know why.

It's the most awaited beach time!

Oh. Yeah. No bikinis this time. Lolol.

I less than three this man! My belly's a witness! ♥

Chwaaaan! ♥

And oh btw, meet Jeff and Jen who looks like my bestfriend/cousin, Aieen!

"Day 2"

We will, we will ROCK ya.

Hand signs. 5 + 3 = 8 years. But Paolo kinda looks creepy here.

When we went back to the villa, it rained hard. Perfect timing for me to watch the Green VS Blue game of La Salle and Ateneo! The boys (as usual) prepared our dinner while the girls repacked our things for our departure the next morning. The clock ticked too fast. It was our last night in Kandugyap, sad to say. But looking forward, February 6 was just a sleep away to officially call our relationship an 8-year long. ♥

Monday morning. We all got up by 3:30 AM to take the 5:30 ferry ride but we missed it so we took the 7:30 ferry instead. By lunch time, we're back at Mandaue City and were surprised to see a lot of people outside. Moments we realized there was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake which was also felt in Cebu and a tsunami warning was raised three hours after we hopped off the ferry. Oh God, thank you for keeping us safe.

We kept going with prayers inside of me. We had our last lunch at CNT Lechon, bought another set of pasalubong at Island Souvenirs in Mactan and killed time at Starbucks right beside Island Souvenirs.

After four years, I had the courage to eat Lechon Cebu again.

My fake smile! The earthquake really scared me!

Eight long years. Our Iloilo/Guimaras trip during our seventh anniversary has just passed. Next thing I know, we're on our ninth, tenth, so on and so forth. It takes time, I know. But I must say, I'm enjoying every minute of us together. :)

♥,

Marianne