Malapascua

We went to Malapascua on the weekend of Jan 7-9. If you'd like to see more pictures, email me and I will invite you to view my Webshots album.

It began early. Maui and I are of the belief that Lance was a tiny bit overzealous and didn't have to call us to wake us up that early but nevertheless, he didnt know what we did - that the bus waits to be full before it leaves. So naturally the boys were early and a little pissed that we were late. The four hour bus ride passed by quickly enough, to me, as I slept the whole while, waking up every now and then to find that the person sitting next to me had changed. Jason had arrived the day before just to come along to Malapascua and we had all spent it watching Ocean's 12 and Harold and Kumar (again). He and Roy spent a lot of the time just standing there on the bus -which at certain points was relatively empty - swaying and swaying and swaying.

We got to the last port, Maya, a gazillion stops (you should really see the picture) later and disembarked. We paid five pesos per person to get on a tiny boat that rowed us out to a bigger boat, which cost another ten/twenty bucks to get to Malapascua. The view was great and it was wonderful to be out in the sea air and off the bus. We got there in about 30 minutes and got a hotel right away. We stayed at Blue Water. I got the quiet room with JP, Lance & Jason while JR, Roy, Maui, Grae & Russel got the other room.

Of course the first thing we did was eat. We discovered Ging-ging's, courtesy of Mang Claudy, one of the local touts who also later arranged for our motorbike adventure, with cheap food. Malapascua is relatively undeveloped. There is no electricity after a certain time, the food is cheap and very few of the resorts have airconditioners. Ours didnt. There are no cars on the island, just motorcycles, and most of the people are simple fisherfolk. Most of the tourists are also German and it is especially popular for Diving. It is technically Boracay ten years ago, although the sand directly under the water off the shore has a lot of coral and algae.

After a hearty lunch we set off on our motorcycles. I rode with Lance. JR & Jason took a motorcycle each, Roy & Maui shared and JP rode behind Mang Claudy. Grae & Russel, having taken the later bus, had yet to arrive. Mang Claudy took us around the island, up and down to reach the lighthouse. Along the way, JR fell sideways into a ravine and on the way back Lance and I almost fell straight down into a bangin while going up a particuarly steep road. We got to the lighthouse and JP and I climbed on ahead, with everyone making side comments about my lack of coordination and the implausibility of me getting into hiking in Australia. I teetered a few times and there's even a picture of me almost losing my balance. We got to the top and of course, spent the entire time picture taking. Jason & Lance discovered a special way to take the picture, with someone lying on the ground so that you get the lighthouse in the background.

After the lighthouse we headed off to Los Bamboos, an exclusive resort which is far from everywhere else. We took pictures at the beach, where a group of children holding rubber strings up in the wind for the sound enraptured us with their Unicef like qualities. So sweet. So innocent. So picture worthy. We decided not to swim there and we headed back to our hotel where we immediately went crashing into the surf. On the way back, Roy and Maui tipped over and he got a big gash that later, back in Cebu City would require four tetanus shots just above his ass. Later that night we had dinner at Sunrise/set Cafe (?) where Jason had these gigantic shrimps.

The next day we all decided to go snorkling. Since we moved really slowly, we got to Ging-ging's pretty late for breakfast. I had a banana/choco pancake that was absolutely excellent. After breakfast we went off snorkling. The first place we went to had waves so strong that we were all swallowing water. I spent most of that time holding on to a rope near the boat. Even the strong swimmers got tired quickly fighting the current. The next site was much better. The waves were calmer and we got to see starfish and corals. The third site had a japanese battleship that sunk in world war two. It split in half and was so big we never got to see the end. We also saw numerous "Nemos". At the last site, the boys decided it might be a good idea to have some sea urchin for dinner. The idea was to use Russel's fisherman holed shirt as a net, which was actually possible. Russel is an excellent swimmer and can dive really deep, so she was supposed to be the one to get it but then everyone changed their minds, since they didn't want to be poisoned.

While Lance, JP & Grae had lunch at Ging-ging's the rest of us discovered the joys of Harry Potter Uno while having a late lunch at that cafe. It turned into such a heated battle that took literally hours since no one would win! It started out being JR vs Jason then it became Maui vs Roy and Russel and i were the only ones who were nice to each other. Who would have thought it would be so competitive? Russel won in the end and we resolved to play Uno again later on.

That night we decided to have a "fancy dinner" so off we went to La Dolce Vita. Initially we had wanted to go to La Isla Bonita but it was full. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the Italian resto was right on the beach and the view and the food were excellent. We took along Grae's new friend Barry, a Canadian who did logistics and transport for films in Toronto. We got good priced wine, 2 pizzas and various meat and pasta dishes. Jason and I shared a Tiramisu and JR shared his theory on how "if you dont know what something or someone is called you have to call it something. Therefore I will call it Squishy." So I met a nice doggy that belonged to the restaurant owners (who are really Italian) and it stuck by me all night and therefore I called it Squishy. JP couldn't tell what the piggy saltshaker was, and therefore it was also called Squishy. We ended the night by sitting on mats under the stars - the first time in my life i have ever seen the sky so clear - and talking.

The boys all thought of names for their future children (because we were trying to ask Barry why he was called Barry) with JP swearing not to name his son John and JR contemplating on Aoki for another daughter, if ever. The boys decided that it would be more possible for me to become a hiker than to be married, although because of my baby voice it would be possible for me to have children. (Thanks a lot.) Barry treated everyone to beers and he and Lance had a discussion on the finer points of flying a small plane.

The next day we all had breakfast at Ging-ging's again before taking one final dip and then a few last shakes at the cafe, with some Uno thrown in for good measure. Grae, using her charming personality got us a ride with a Japanese girl (the boys insist she was a trannie and previously male, i disagree) and her pinoy boyfriend on their banka. We split the bill with them and they shared the boat since there were no other bankas available. According to Grae the girl met the guy who was a bellboy in Plantation Bay. He's been touring her around the Philippines ever since and she's taking him back to Japan. The boys were all horrified because she was actually one of those pretty anime like girls and he was... well, i will just say dark because its the nicest thing anyone said about him.

After some dispute with the guys who had arranged for us to ride back to Cebu on a private vehicle that would not have fit all of us we decided to take the bus instead, which involved having to chase it for a bit. We slept on and off most of the way. Somehow the bus ride was longer than the one going there since it passed through Danao. We shared seats this time as there were a lot of people on the bus. Once we got back to the city the boys headed off to CnP Lechon while Maui and I ended up at home eating Chinese food.

The next day I took Jason to see the office and we all tried to persuade him (in vain) to stay until Sinulog. We had lunch at Oh George's where him, JP and myself pigged out on the yummiest food. (I want my Baby Back Baby Back Baby Back Ribs!) We ended up hanging out at home before he went off to the airport and back to Manila.