Day 12: massage, pearls, and paradise!

Other than getting cheap manicures and pedicures while traveling south east Asia, I love, love, love getting massages!  Hey, when they're only $7.00 and fabulous, wouldn't you?!  Aaron unfortunately got really burnt yesterday snorkeling, so he wasn't all that interested, so I went by myself this time!  It takes about 45 minutes to walk from Spider House to D'mall, so I usually take a tuk tuk for between 20 pesos (.50 cents) to 100 pesos ($2.50) depending on how many other people get picked up along the way.

*** My camera stayed in my room all day today.  So, these are all iphone pics, hence the subpar quality.

This is Lilia and boy did I luck out by having her as my masseuse!  She really knew her craft!  I've had a LOT of massages in my traveling days, but hers was probably THE BEST to date!

I got her card as I was leaving in case anyone comes to Boracay and is looking for a great masseuse! 

My massage was done right here on White Beach and was only 300 pesos ($7.02) plus a tip of course!

Before heading back, I picked out a freshwater pearl necklace and bracelet set, which Aaron bought for me to commemorate our speical trip!  It's my first set of real pearls, which is REALLY exciting for me and super special that they're from this trip! 

I was feeling nice and relaxed on my way back to Spider House and was happy to see this guy when I got there!  He'd been sitting on the deck all day, reading!

 Signe (pronounced Zena) is one of the servers here at Spider House and we've become quite close over the past 11 days!  She's from Denmark and this is her darling boyfriend Oriole (sp?) from Spain, who had never snorkeled before.  I gave him mine to snorkel with...

...and the two of them set off on an adventure!

I used my photosynth app on my iphone to capture this panorama of the sunset tonight from my room!

I'm definitely going to miss seeing this everyday!

We had dinner at Microtel again tonight!  Other than Spider House,

the atmosphere and relaxation factor at Microtel is hard to beat here in Boracay! 

I could get used to the whole eating dinner while sifting my toes through the white sand beneath me!

One more full day and a half left in paradise... I really wish it didn't have to come to and end, but when I get back to Korea I'll have 1 day of school and then Aaron and I are going back up to the snowboarding cabin (Elf Pension) for a weekend with Jess and Carlos in the snow!

Day 11: Starfish, sea snakes, and a Greek party!

According to snorkeling reviews online, the only place to see anything worth while or fish bigger than 5 inches is if you pay to go island hopping away from Boracay!  Apparently those reviewers have never been snorkeling in front of Spider House!  We found all kinds of good stuff today!

Aaron dove down to pick up this beautiful shell off the ocean floor. When he picked it up he found that it was a happy home to a very big and hairy looking crab!

We ran into ANOTHER banded seasnake!  This one was about 3 feet long!  The locals here call it a Walu Walu seasnake and apparently if you're bitten you'll die within 5 minutes!  It's the most venomous snake in the world!  We kept our distance, but stuck around to watch it slither between the rocks for a minute or so. 

These are probably the most commonly seen fishies near Spider House!  They're beautiful! :)

We stuck around Spider House the entire day today, played a little pool with the locals and staff...

... and enjoyed the delicious smells coming from the kitchen all afternoon and night! 

A greek Guy named Sam, has been staying in Boracay for the past 30 days and is at chef at his own restaurant back in Greece, so he offered to cook for all of the Spider House staff and some friends tonight!  Dinner was scheduled for 6:00pm, but we didn't actually eat until after 8:00. 

I guess Greek time is a lot like Philippino time!  haha.  

(Sam and Heidi: one of the Spider House cooks)

Aaron and I sat on the deck and played some dominoes with our new cardboard travel set and drank some fun tropical drinks while we waited! 

We were so happy and hungry by the time dinner was served!  Sam made chicken salad...

and spaghetti with meatballs!

It was such a nice treat and so fun to lounge around with all of our "Spider House family" and new friends from around the world! 

Day 9: First day as FIANCE'S!

Today got off to a fabulous start!  We had heard of a fabulous BLIND masseuse on the island and had talked about wanting to get massages from him.  He's a bit more expensive than the women who give massages on the beach, but we loved the idea of supporting a blind man!  So, Clement (the Spider House manager) called and asked him come from his shop in Bulabog (15 mins by tuk tuk) to spend the day at Spider House, giving massages! 

So, mine was scheduled for 8am!  I came down right at 8:00, and in true Philippino fashion, he wasn’t there yet, so I ordered a chocolate pancake…

… and relaxed in the hammock next to Diniwid (the bar tender) who was still sleeping! J 

The perks of living where you work, I guess!

The masseuse arrived around 8:45am with his guide, who helped him set up the table in the

lounge area of Spider House.  My massage was fantastic! J

Aaron was up next, and since the guy specializes in deep tissue massages, he asked for him to go hard on him! Not sure he realized how sore he’d be afterwards because he’s been crying all day about it! Hehe.

While Aaron was enjoying his beat down, I spent the hour hanging out and getting to know these two!

(Pola: aka Coco and Michelle). 

BTW: All you pinteresters out there… Any creative ideas for this wine bottle (from the proposal night dinner)??  I’d love to do something special with it but am coming up blank on ideas.

After our massages, I jumped in a tuk tuk and headed for town to do some shopping.

I walked throug D’mall and bought a couple things we can’t get in Korea! 

I spotted this postcard stand and thought to myself, I think my goal should be to always live somewhere so fabulous that when I go into town I see stands full of beautiful postcards showing off the area! That’s a good goal, right?!  Luckily I’m about to have a husband who completely agrees!

While I was talking with Coco and Michelle earlier in the day, they were talking about their fake pearl earrings that they buy near their homes in a little shop in Bulabog. I asked them if the men who sell pearls in town, and on the beach, are selling REAL pearls. They both assured me that ALL of the pearl vendors in Boracay sell REAL saltwater and freshwater pearls.  I asked if they had any and they both said NO, but that they love pearls… (BTW: 1 pair of pearl earrings is equivalent to 1 of their daily wages) So, while I was at D’mall I bought 8 pairs of white freshwater pearls; one for each of the local girls who work at Spider House!  They are all wonderful and deserved to get a little treat!   

When I got back, I gave each girl their own pair (2 were working the morning shift so they got theirs in the morning) and they were shocked!  Gift giving is definitely my love language! They all immediately put them in their ears and were smiling from ear to ear.  The old lady who cleans the rooms (far right) was jumping around, singing, “I’m so happy!  I have pearls!”  It was a really sweet moment!

Aaron and I decided to do a little snorkeling before the sun went down and headed out in a new direction.  The tide was low so there were only about 3 feet between the top of the water and the corals beneath us.  We decided to do some shell searching on the corals to see if there was anything worth bringing in (sorry environmental people who read this!).  All of a sudden, Aaron grabbed my arm, gave me the look of death through his snorkeling goggles and pointed a couple feet away where there was a 3 foot long banded seasnake staring right at us!  I kid you not, I swam out of there faster than I've ever swam in my life!  One bite from one of those and you're dead!  Aaron said I looked like Michael Phelps swimming out of there!  When he saw how terrified I was, he followed suit!  Smart guy!

(picture credit: google images)

*** You didn't think we were gonna hang around long enough to take our own pic, did you?!

Seeing that snake was enough for me to call it a day!  So, we got out, got ready, and spent the evening down in the restaurant with the staff and other guests!  Getting to spend my life with Aaron is like a big huge yummy cake... this ring is the icing! :) 

*** Picture for all the curious ladies who've been asking me to post a close-up.

Ah, to be newly engaged... It's definitely a fun thing to be!

Around 7:30pm, we headed out and walked the beach to Wahine where we feasted on chicken curry and a sandwich on the sand.  While we were sitting there, Aaron noticed that the moon (which was right over the ocean) was turning bright orange.  Then a couple minutes later, we noticed that it was starting to fade!  Within about 30 minutes, the moon was completely gone!  That's right, we both witnessed our very first eclipse!  Talk about good timing, eh?!

I'd say day 1 of being the future Mrs. Osteen was a huge success!