I want to do this again!

Wild Water Rafting in Cagayan De Oro (advanced level) – November 2011

10 minutes later and we saw this: a small piece of paradise on this side of the world… white powdery sand and clear blue waters with a clear view of Mt. Mambajao. It’s not exactly the kind of island I’d want to stay forever but for brief afternoons where all you want to do is relax and take a break from the rest of the world white island will do.

There are no huts or stores in white island, just the boatmen and hawkers with beach umbrellas for rent in case you want to be shielded from the blistering heat of the sun. In our case we didn’t need the umbrella–who’s afraid of a little sun? Certainly not us.

Feeling adventurous? Try the sea urchin offered by some fishermen in White Island for only P50. I skipped on the sea urchin, not because I was a scaredy cat but because I’ve tried it several times before. If you like oysters and dayok then you’ll probably like sea urchin too.

Ever heard of the grinch? My friend Arlyn is a big fan of his hairstyle.

The next photo is for our album cover but we didn’t have the chance to launch it, haha! I love the light leak in this photo. Cant wait to see this in print.

Of course we couldn’t leave without doing the obligatory jumpshot.

Meet Zeli, another dabawenya based in Manila. I love her style and yes, she rocks!

This quirky character is Chris, bungisngis and panics like the best of them. I still laugh everytime I remember her in the river screaming for help.

No, it’s not photo-shopped. And yes, that’s in the Philippines. Awesome, yes?

I had a great weekend. How was yours?

Hey lover where are you? Here na me waiting for you.

Loooooool.

Gotta love secret gardens with cheesy signs!

When in Davao and craving for ice cream or just something sweet and cool then head over to Crepelato for sweet temptations that have 96% less fat. Their prices are easy on the pocket too and if you’re in the mood to pig out ask about their “Crepe eat all you can” promo which I heard is only P200-P250. Eat all you can ice cream and crepes for less than P300? Only in Davao.

Crepelato lets you taste the gelatos in their display before ordering, giving you a wide range of choices and ensuring that you get the flavor you really like.

The place is small but cozy with a charming theme of blue, pink, and violet. Colors that remind me of summer and sweets.

Rob tried the Avocado Nutty Moringa Crepelato, a flavor unique only to Crepelato. Rob swooned (I swear) and declared it was delicious.

I opted for the classic and chose the most chocolaty concoction in their menu. I love that it was not overly sweet and wiped my plate off in no time.

Crepelato
Ground Floor, NCCC Mall
Davao

Legazpi City, March 2011

No, definitely not as easy or as short as it looks.

Cliff jumping is not for the faint of heart but the thrill and the high you get after the jump is exhilarating. Addicting even. I’d bottle the feeling if I could and take it with me.

I wouldn’t exchange the feeling for anything at all. But was I scared? Damn right I was. I had counted to 3 several times already and my feet were still planted firmly on the small ledge. My friend Glorien was already in the water, shouting words of encouragement to make me jump. I know she meant well but all the pep talk was making me more nervous.

What was I thinking when I added cliff jumping to our itinerary, I don’t know. I used to be scared of heights and though I’ve conquered that fear, remnants of it surface every now and then. Looking at 50 feet of space brings the fear back in full force and yet backing out was an option that I dismissed on my second count to three. My pride kept me going and I was sure I was going to regret not jumping. And my friends will take every opportunity to rub it in especially that I was the one who thought of it first.

So step forward I did. Possibly the shortest 15 seconds of my life and the most painful experience in the water yet. I don’t remember much about the fall because mid fall I closed my eyes (big dumbass mistake because my body’s instinct is to curl up) and the next thing I knew I was under water already.

I then focused my energy on checking my bikini bottom, making sure it was secure and quickly surfaced. Yen threw a life jacket my way in case I might not have the energy to tread in the water. My back was quite sore and I wanted to cool it down by floating on my back when I noticed my bikini top (part of it) wasn’t where it should be. Lol. The good thing is that most of my body was submerged in water, the guides were about 10 meters away, and the rest of my friends were still up in the cliff. Yen of course saw my predicament and laughed her head off, telling me I have nothing to worry about because there’s nothing to be seen. Yes, I have very good friends, thank you.

Calene was the last to jump while Dex and Arlyn started the trek back to where the boat can pick them up. Take note–they were barefoot, the path was rocky (scorching), and lots of thorny weeds (makahiya). I think the thought of walking back barefoot pushed me to go through the whole cliff diving thing. If the path was easy I’d have backed out. Maybe.

All 3 of us had bruises in different parts of our body but we didn’t mind. We were too drunk and elated we could hardly talk about anything else but the jump. Once on the boat I immediately sent an sms to L (who was halfway around the world that time) followed by a status update in facebook.

Our only regret is that we didn’t have any photos at all. We had to swim and all 5 of us thought that we were going to jump so no one was left in the boat to take photos.

Would I do it again? I’m not sure. Maybe I will just so I could feel that shot of adrenaline again.

20 minutes later the rain stopped and boy was I happy. The worrywart in me went out of the window, making way for sleepiness to set in. Only to be jolted back up when I heard a low grumbling noise. My heart skipped a beat thinking it was a wild animal or something only to realize the sound was from Dex, who was in the next cottage snoring. ROFL! We were in the same room during our trip to Bicol last March and we were all complaining from lack of sleep because of Dex’s snoring. I couldn’t believe it, I could still hear him snore even if I’m in the other cottage. That really cracked me up.

My alarm buzzed a few minutes before 6. The sun was about to rise and I wanted to see how the island looked in the morning. After a quick application of sunscreen, I went out and started walking to the beach.

One, two, three and I’m off to the beach. Taken right outside the secret hideaway resort.

I wish my travel buddies would wake up and see how beautiful Malapascua is in the morning. See those two cottages? We got them for a really good deal. The Secret Hideaway has two cottages only and we paid P800 for both per night only. The cottage was spacious, had it’s own balcony, comfort room, and beds with foam mattresses.

Malapascua isn’t as rustic as we think it to be. They have cable tv on the island too.

Disco speakers baby! I’m so glad we didn’t stay near these speakers. There’s no wild and loud parties in Malapascua (or at least there wasn’t one during our stay there) and no drunk men belting out a murdered version of ‘My way’ or god forbid, ‘Basang basa sa ulan’ by Aegis. Utter bliss!

Dogs were pretty much everywhere in the island, this one was sleeping quite comfortably on a bench in-front of a sari sari store.

Skeleton of a boat

This is what I miss most when you live in a small community. Everybody pitches in and though a bit shy, most were friendly to strangers like me and didn’t mind that I was taking photos.  

I sat beside a local and her daughter. They were waiting for her husband who was also helping in moving the boat. She didn’t really talk much and shyly smiled when I asked if I could take a picture of her and her daughter.

‘Bisaya diay ka day, abi nako tagalog ka’, she said, her voice soft and low. She then explains that she is not used to speaking tagalog and so avoids situations where she has to. I spent a few more minutes with her, listening to her stories about the island. They’ve lived in Malapascua all her life, where she’ll probably grow old. She tells me about her oldest, whose dream is to move to the big city and asks,

‘Gwapo ba jud sa Manila day? Mulambo ka pag naa didto?’

How do I tell her the big city is not the dreamland others make it out to be? That finding a job can be difficult, that the city is harsh to those who do not have the means to move forward?

‘Swerte, swerte ra pud te… pero lisod kung buot huna-hunaon’, I answered after a long pause.

The men finally manage to move the boat and are now coming back to the shore. The owner of the boat invited me to eat breakfast at their house, an invite that I graciously declined. I was here to take photos after all and continued with my walk.

A few minutes later, a dog with light brown fur and a playful gait started to walk with me. I didn’t see other tourists, it seemed like it was just me and the dog, my companion that morning.

 The sand in Malapascua is algae free and as fine as the sand in Boracay.  True, the shoreline isn’t as long or as wide as in Boracay but I’d give those features up for the tranquility that Malapascua offers. I hope to go back soon and maybe dive and see the thresher sharks.

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