Adventures in Guangzhou!

We caught a 10am ferry to White Sand Beach on Mindoro Island. In true Filipino style we left around thirty minutes late went across clear blue waters toward the island. It was a bit windy which made for rough seas, but I was loving the occasional splash of cool water. There's just something about being out on the water on a nice day--nothing beats it. We made a quick stop in the Puerto Galera harbor and soon made our way to White Sand. I enjoyed our arrival because there was no harbor--we just pulled right up to shore next to the tourists swimming and boating. Very cool!

We walked off into the sand and choose one of the many restaurants right on the beach for lunch. I had some glass noodles (which really hit the spot) and then we slowly walked around the strip of beach. From Juliana's recommendation we were shooting to stay one beach over at a place called "Aninuam." we had two options, either take a motorized tricycle or walk around the cove over the rocks. Not surprisingly, we chose the rocks and chatted our way through the five minute climb, possibly the least treacherous walk of my life.

We immediately checked into the Tamaraw Resort, a hotel with cottages right on the beach. While all of the cottages right on the water were already booked, we still managed to get into one that was only about fifteen feet away, which was fine by us. The cottage had a bedroom with a bed, a fan, a TV, and a bathroom in an attached room. It was perfect. Aninuam was much much quieter than White Sand and quite a bit nicer as a beach too. We through on our bathing suits and went swimming, after covering ourselves head to toe in SPF-70 sunscreen, of course.

After we tired of swimming, we laid down on the beach and did a crossword puzzle, just enjoying the beauty and quiet. As the sun began to set we walked halfway to the next cove and watched a gorgeous sunset in front of clear blue water. We ambled back over the rocks to White Sand for dinner and were pleased to see that every single restaurant had a huge bbq going right on the beach. Apparently Filipinos really enjoy their marinades and barbecued meats and I must say that I approve.

We walked down the strip trying to choose a restaurant until one particular host(ess) swayed us towards his (her?) place. Juliana told us that the Filipinos refer to them as "lady-boys" and that they're actually quite common around the country. Huh. Well our lady-boy was a riot. She was going up to every person saying, "I saved you a seat right here!" and "Come see our special!" in an overly feminine voice. It made me smile enough to accept the offer. The food was good but the most memorable moment of the meal (other than our lady-boy) was when a big Chinese guy sat down for dinner.

He accepted the menu and began to examine it in detail. It only had English so I assumed he was fluent until a waitress came over to take his order. He was trying to ask a question but she was not picking up what he was putting down at all. It turns out he wanted a beer to start and resorted to getting up and pointing to a picture. He was struggling with the menu the same way that I used to before I learned enough Chinese to decipher it. Someone else came over to help or we would have, but it was a moment where I felt like I was looking at myself from the past. After dinner we made our way back to Aninuam and just stared at the stars for a while. Stars! Stars I tell you! I'd been missing those.

The next morning I set my alarm for 8am because our TV got ESPN Asia and they were supposed to show the Yankees game but sadly they decided to show the Cincinnati v. Houston game. This being the first live baseball game I had an opportunity to watch, I decided to route for Houston and hope for a good game. And it was--baseball is great, I don't care who's playing. Eventually we made our way out for breakfast under a cabana on the beach and then for more swimming and crosswording.

Instead of heading back over to White Sands for lunch, we decided to take the lazy route and just have food from the hotel. It was a tad bit more expensive but quite tasty and worth the (lack of) energy. After lunch we headed over towards Talipanan, the next cove over from Aninuam. Our guide book said it was even more peaceful and remote than Aninuam so we thought it would be fun for the afternoon. In order to actually get there, once again we had to walk over some rocks and even go through the ocean to get around a few of the bigger boulders. Fun!

It was totally deserted on the beach except for a few locals and it was gorgeous. I'm not sure I would have wanted to stay there, but it was incredibly peaceful. We started out towards a water fall that was listed in the guidebook but ended up turning back when we didn't have the footwear to get through the forest. Our adventure did take us through a small local village which was interesting. There were chickens, cows, pigs, and little kids all wandering around, but still the overall English level was incredible--almost everyone we asked was able to give us directions to the waterfall. It wasn't just pronunciation but actually vocabulary too, that was so surprising. One guy saw me and said, "hey man, you lookin' for a guide?" It was amazing.

We had pizza and pasta on the beach for dinner and once again enjoyed the stars. We both mused that the quality of so-called "western food" here was a major step above that in China. Oftentimes you order pizza in China and it has ketchup, carrots, spam, and peas. Not so in the Philippines. It was a welcome change.