Around the world with rainbows!

I just realized the other day, that I have owned this pair of rainbow sandals for over 5 years now and have taken them on all of my travels since!  They have walked in California, Arizona, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, and (big breath)... now The Philippines!

Since moving to Korea, I have REALLY fallen in love with exploring the world and hope I am able to continue exploring it for years to come!

So Rainbows... Keep on treking, cuz we've got a lot more exploring to do together!

Day 15: I made it home!

I woke up early and jumped in a taxi to get to the International airport, hoping I could find internet access somewhere to contact Aaron or my parents...  Unfortunately, once again, there was no wifi. :(

As a side note, for anyone traveling to the Philippines, make sure you only take taxi's with meters, and make sure they start the meter before you start going, and secondly, there are terminal fees at every airport!  The smaller the airport, the smaller the fee!  This one was $16.25 just to enter the terminal... which you HAVE TO PAY to get on your flight!  Sneaky Philippinos!

When I got into the Manilla airport and checked in, the lady at the ticket counter told me that my "sister Jessica" (Jess Perlaza) was trying to get a hold of me and that it was an emergency!  My heart immediately dropped to the floor and I thought something had happened to Carlos or Aaron!  I didn't have a phone though, and I had spent the last of my money on breakfast, so I waited until she found someone at the airport to let me call long distance.  Turns out, Aaron and Carlos were fine... It was me that everyone was looking for!  My mom and dad had contacted the embassy and the state department, Aaron had called just about everyone in El Nido, and Puerto Princesa that he knew I had been in contact with, and even Jess and Carlos were in on the search!  All the while, I was just fine and dandy, making my way back home!  I felt horrible when I found out everyone was searching for me, but felt incredibly loved and cared for knowing that people around me would care enough to do everything they could to find me and make sure I'm safe!  Even my (ex) sister in law, Kirstin, wrote a really sweet blog about me when "the search" was under way!  It was kind of a weird way to end my trip!

The best part of my day was seeing Aaron when I got the airport in Korea!  He swept me up with a big hug and kiss and told me I'm never allowed to travel alone again!  haha :)

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Day 14: Sardine style packed van and a nasty hotel!

I woke up at 6:00am this morning to chat with Aaron on skype, but the internet was down.  I was sad not to hear his voice, and a little nervous that he would start worrying if I didn't contact him.  There was nothing I could do, so I just headed over to the van station to hop on  my van to Puerto Princesa.  

This darling little local boy was waiting for his school bus!    

This was the van we took from El Nido to Puerto Princesa.  They packed 13 adults, all their luggage, and a chicken (in a bag) into this van!  Yes, a chicken!  It clucked behind me the whole way!  The seats were so close to each other that I had to sit a little bit sideways so my knees didn't smoosh into the chair in front of me.  As if that wasn't bad enough, imagine the Indiana Jones ride at disneyland, and that's what about 2 1/2 hours of our drive was like!  NO JOKE!  Total driving time was 6 hours!  We were all excited to pile out of the van when we stopped for lunch along the way!

There was lots to see along the ride... tiny villages with run down Philippine style huts, hundreds of stray dogs, gorgeous green scenery, and my favorite and most creative, The Lords Prayer, on signs along the way...

There are only 2 ways to get out of El Nido... Either the van I was in, or this thing, a Jeepney!  Looking back on it, I wouldn't have minded jumping on the top of this thing and hanging on!  I would have had more fresh air, and lots more leg room!

This is one of the local busses in Puerto Princesa... It's so much more colorful than the Korean and US buses!  I especially liked that this one was the "Bachelor Transport!"

When we finally got to Puerto, Kase, Josine and I all shared a tricycle to get to the airport!  They were one of the sweetest couples I met on my trip!  They're from Holland, and have been dating for 6 years now!  (Rachel Shinn, you have a twin in Holland!  Josine's profile was identical to yours, and you have almost the same personality!  I guess God was proud when he made you, and decided to create another one in Holland!)    

I got to the airport early and met another couple in line, who were on their honeymoon from Canada!  We talked for the next 2 hours about their wedding, life in Canada, etc... Seriously, traveling alone has it's perks!  Lots of people approach me... I think they think I'm lonely or something!  Regardless, I probably got to know over 30 people on this trip!

My flight to Manila was right on time! :)  I arrived there after dark, with nowhere to stay.  So, I jumped in a taxi and asked for a cheap hotel near the airport!  They ended up taking me here to Raf Mansion, which happened to be in the middle of the red light district, and was an obviously shady area of town!  

I still hadn't been able to contact Aaron, and I knew that by this point, he and my parents were probably really worried, but there was no way I was leaving my room to find internet... It was just way to dangerous of an area for a single girl to be walking around in!

My room here was THE MOST EXPENSIVE room of my entire trip ($45.00), and was hands down, the most disgusting!  You know you're hotel room is disgusting when the guy who carries your bags to your room also sprays bug spray and air freshener all over it when he enters!

These pictures don't show all the blood stains and filth all over this room!  The air conditioner was located right over the bed and was on, full blast, at 16 degrees celsius (60 degrees F) and there was no way to turn it off!

The bathroom wasn't much better!  I went to take a shower in the moldy bathtub and then realized there was no towel and ended up drying off with toilet paper!!  hahaha!  

I definitely wouldn't recommend Raf Mansion to anyone!  Steer clear of this crazy place at all costs!  

*** Mom, Dad, and Amy... this is the closest thing to the Turtle Inn that I've ever stayed in! hahahaha  Glad I made it out alive!

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Day 13: FOUR Islands, a very secret beach, delicious food, and lots of laughs and cheers!

I woke up nice and early to get in some blog writing before my 9am Island hopping appointment!  When I got to Ric Sons, they were fogging for mosquitos, because a couple of the employees have come down with the Tangee (sp?) fever, which is similar to Malaria.  So, I hung on the beach for a while, while all of the gas they blew into the restaurant aired out!  Rica's grandmother is visiting, and was playing with her in the water this morning!  She was basically holding Rica by her shirt and diapers, which looked incredibly uncomfortable, but she was loving it!

I ended up having breakfast down the beach a bit, because the fumes were in full affect for a long time at Ric Sons!  I ate with a nice couple who I had met at the internet cafe the day before, Jess (from Wisconsin) and Adam (from Jersey).  They actually both teach English near Seoul, South Korea, so we had lots to talk about!

Jason was my boat driver for the day and was an awesome guide!  He took us to 4 different islands and a VERY secret beach!

This was our first stop... hidden beach!  The water was a gorgeous aqua blue, and the sand was some of the softest white sand I'd ever sunk my toes into!

But the color of the water and the sand weren't even the best part!  The best part, in my opinion, were the baby sharks that were swimming near the boat!  This was the 1st time I'd ever seen a shark in the wild, and they were actually quite cute!  I had the pleasure of swimming with one of them!  It swam about 3 feet ahead of me for 20-30 seconds!  Add another crazy thing to my list:

I swam with a shark!

The islands in the Philippines are thought to have been created by a volcano eruption over 200 million years ago!  Most of them are dark gray, and do, in fact, look like hardened lava!  We stopped here for a while to see a hidden chapel, and climb to a viewpoint!  Unfortunately, it was drizzling a bit, so I left my camera on the boat...

At one point it was raining so hard that we all put on life jackets to keep warm!  The weather in the Philippines is kind of crazy!  It rained for about an hour, and then the rest of the day was blue skies!

We stopped at another island, with a secluded beach, where I found my 1st Nemo!  It was swimming in the coral!  We had to be extra careful swimming here, because there was a really strong current, and lots of sea urchens (sp?) which are really dangerous if you step on them!  Other than that, it was a great place to relax and do some snorkeling!

The boat driver, and Jason, our tour guide, prepared lunch for us at the beach!  Delicious fish, squid, fruit, Philippino style pork, and rice! 

Lunch, prepares by someone other than myself, on a secluded island... Yea, I could get used to this!  

This is Maya!  She was on the tour with her parents!  Her mom is from Australia and her dad is from England, and they currently live in England.  She had the most darling British accent and to be quite frank, I couldn't get enough of her!   We played in the water together, sifting through corals and deciding if they looked like a heart, a dog, a letter, or a body part, oh and of course, she taught me how to throw fairy dust (sand)! Her mom said she's really shy and doesn't talk to many people, but that she was "really smitten" by me and that I "have a natural ability with children!"  That was really exciting for me to hear, since I always felt awkward around kids before coming to Korea!  I was honored!

There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines, and we probably boated past at least 10... each just as beautiful, and private, as the other!

Okay, now look REALLY closely... See the red circle I drew on the picture?!   Well, this is the only way to get to "secret beach" which wasn't discovered until 2 years ago!  I strapped my lifejacket on, jumped off the front of the boat into 90 meter deep water, and swam through that teeny tiny whole, while timing it perfectly with the waves to make sure I didn't get my head whacked into the top of the opening!  What I saw on the other side was like a dream!  Words couldn't explain it if I tried!   

This was the tour group!  From left to right

Mel (England)

Maya (England)

Jess (Wisconsin, but teaches English in Korea)

John (England - he's been traveling for 2 years)

Adam (New Jersey, but teaches Engish in Korea with Jess)

??? - a really nice German man

??? - Mel's husband, great guy, but don't know much about him.

There are so many of these gorgeous secluded sections of sand throughout the Philippine Islands!   If I come back, with Aaron, we're gonna camp on one for a night!   

This was our last stop, Helicopter Island, a great place for snorkeling and lounging on the sand!  John and I snorkeled way off shore into about 50 feet deep waters and saw some of the most gorgeous gigantic corals, and colorful fish I'd ever seen!  And while I never got to hold a giant blue starfish, I did get to see lots of them in these waters!

After Helicopter Island, we headed back to El Nido and I ran over to my favorite internet cafe before meeting some friends for dinner.  This is Johnathan!  When you're an avid blogger, you get to know your internet cafe managers pretty well!  He was a really sweet guy, who always welcomed me with a smile!   When I would download pictures, he and his assistant would always be secretly looking over my shoulder!  They were enthralled with my pictures!  haha

After uploading pictures, I ran down the beach to meet John, Jess, and Adam for our 7:00pm dinner date...  I spotted this picture in the sand, done by a local Philippino 5 or 6 year old, and had to stop to snap a picture!

Dinner with John, Jess, and Adam was great!  We ate at Blue Azul and talked life and travels!  Everyone I've met has talked about how I just jump right into getting to know people by asking lots of questions... so far though, no one has said they don't like it!  :)  I can't help it... I like to REALLY get to know people!  I've been told quite a few secrets on this trip, and have had a few people tell me, "I've never told anyone that!  It feels so good to get it off my back!"  Maybe I'm in the wrong career!  Psychology may be a good line of work for me!

After dinner, I headed back over to Ric Sons, my favorite place to be at night!  The candlelit tables on the sand lined with tiki torches are a great way to end the day here in El Nido!  Having Mike and Junie playing guitar in the background isn't too bad either! :)

Junie, Me and Janice!

Me and the Ric Son's band!

My last night in El Nido was bitter sweet!  It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but nice to feel so loved!  Mike and Junie dedicated 3 songs to be throughout the night:

JOHN MAYER: Say, which Mike knows is my favorite song he sings!

PINK FLOYD: We Don't Need No Education, which was funny, considering my job! I got on stage and changed the lyrics to "We all need an education!"  It was a real crowd pleaser!  haha

U2: With or Without You

The whole gang - from left to right: 

Martin (the head tour guide at Ric Sons- great guy!  If you ever go to El Nido, get a hold of this guy and book al your tours through them!  They are the best!)

Junie (an El Nido local, and bass player at Ric Sons!)

Me (You all know me!)

Janice (Mike's girlfriend and the most beautiful Philippino girl I've ever seen!)

Walter (Originally from the US, but traveled to El Nido with his son and never left!  He was my neighbor at Dara Fernandez, and plays guitar with the Ric Son's band.)

Noa (Originally from Israel... but she's been living in a beachfront home with a local family in El Nido for the past 2 months!)

Everyone came out that night to be with me on my last night!  I was honored!  Noa got up and did a really nice toast to me, and all my new friends toasted together!  

I'm blessed to have met such great people who I bonded with right away!

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Day 12: Kayaking, Fresh Fish, Rainbows, and Sea Turtles!

Did I mention Entalula leaves coffee, on a table outside my door, every morning?!   I feel like I'm back in Boracay with this kind of service! :)

 I found an internet cafe that uses a generator, so they are open before the rest of the town has electricity!  So, I added some pictures to yesterday's blog before getting my day started!

As I was leaving the internet cafe, I saw this old Philippino man outside his rice packaging store and asked to take his picture!  His friends were clapping when I showed them the photo I took, so I took a picture of them too!  It's so funny here... because when you take someone's picture, they always thank you profusely!  I don't know why... but I think it's cute!

He was smiling and laughing, but as soon as I held the camera up, he made this somber face...  I wish you could have seen his "1 tooth smile!"  It was awesome!

Such a sweet woman...

I ate breakfast at Ric Son's this morning... Philippino pancakes!  mmm...

They have cool art like this hanging all over their walls...

Around 9:30am, Junie and I swam out to Ali's boat!  It was much further out than it looked from the shore, and it took us both about 25 minutes to get there (with nowhere to rest along the way)!  I kept looking up from the water and feeling like I wasn't getting any closer!!  Not a good feeling when you're swimming in the ocean!

As I was swimming, I spotted something that, at first, looked like a gigantic coral in the sand... then as I got right above it, I saw it's 4 big legs paddling up towards the surface of the water!

 IT WAS A HUGE SEA TURTLE!

I'd even go as far as to say, I swam with it! ***
And the best part was... It was, NO JOKE, as big as me!  INCREDIBLE!

Mike and Janice came to the boat shortly after with fresh fish and pork from the local market that comes to town on Wednesdays and Saturdays!  As it turns out, Mike is quite the chef!  We feasted on White Snapper, grilled pork, cucumber in vinagirette, fried veggetables, and of course, white rice, a staple in the Philippines!

We all agreed, we were living the life today!

After lunch, I borrowed Ali's kayak and headed towards the corals, which were about 300 feet away from the boat to do some snorkeling.  When I got there and looked at how far I was from them, or any other boat for that matter, I had to have a little pep talk with myself to jump in the water!  It's really scary to jump into really deep ocean water with no one around!  But they assured me there weren't any sharks, and that I would be okay, so I made the big plunge!  It was worth it!

Noa woke up really late today, so Janice and Mike kayaked to the shore to pick her up around 3pm to bring her to the boat!  Gotta love the water taxi service around here!

It didn't rain today, but God gave us a gorgeous FULL and vibrant rainbow to enjoy while we swam and ate our dinner on the back of the boat!  This picture just doesn't do it justice at all!

Mike, Janice, Me, Junie, Noa, and Ali!  I feel so blessed to have met these 5 very different and wonderful people in El Nido!  We have a lot of fun together, just the 6 of us, and have really gotten to know each other over the short time we've had!  I wouldn't trade the last 3 days with them for all the tea in China!

The 6 of us all layed on the nets in the front of the yacht and watched the sunset over Cadlao island while Janice played guitar for us!

Now this is what I call a VACATION!

Tomorrow I'm headed to do some island hopping with 3 people I've met in different places around town!  I've heard it's awesome, so I'm crossing my fingers that the weather is nice like it was today! It will be my last official day of vacation before I make the trek back to Manilla to fly home to Korea.  So, cross your fingers for blue skies, k?!**

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