Recently, a number of my friends from educational institutes past, Juan, Josh and Abby, came and visited me in the Philippines. After three long months of intense project work, I felt I deserved a bit of a break.
Sometimes I wonder about my choice of friends.
After a few minor delays and an afternoon of muscling through the hellish traffic jam that is Manila, we found our way to a boat bound for Puerto Galera, Mindoro.
A rare shot of the fearless tour-guide.
We stayed for about 6 days (the haze created by beautiful white sand mixed with San Miguel beer makes for an inaccurate concept of time) we stayed at Tamaraw Beach Resort on Aninuan Beach.
The closest bit of semi-offensive touristiness was called White Beach....
....a mere 5 minute rocky scramble away.
We hung out on the beach.
We played at an amazing natural waterslide in the hills nearby.
Abby and Juan got Dive Certified....
....with an excellent instructor named Noel....
.... but Josh and I decided that we couldn't let them have ALL the fun.
Some random hotness to keep the folks at home guessing.
We got in-situ massages at the place we ate dinner.
We drank a lot of this....
....and this.
Abby and Juan debating proper posture for perfect pictures.
We hung out in grass huts by the beach.
The sun set occasionally.
After we got tired of money-munching Mindoro, we headed down to Bikol to check out a very large waterfall....
....and with the support of a few random onlookers....
....we managed to clear a gargantuan tree from the pool....
....to make a few high jumping platforms safe again.
We went to the Naga City market, a place so far removed from the world of the supermarket that it took a bit of convincing to show my fellow travelers that here you COULD, in fact, buy....
....Pig Face....
....and Stingray....
....and Tapioca Balls for Halo-Halo (the national dessert, a dish that does not jive with most American taste buds)...
....and, of course, lots of random chicken pieces.
We also hit up the craft stores, like any good group of foreign tourists.
Thanks for coming!
See you again next year!!!
