A beach picnic!

Before I continue with the narrative, I need to clarify something regarding one of my posts yesterday.  After rereading, I realize that I failed to explain where I went after I was driven out of my nipa due to the moans and groans of passion.  Well, remember that I was on the beach.  And, remember that it was NYE.  Finally, remember all of my discussions over the past few months about the "fun loving" filipino!

All I needed to do was walk about 200 meters down the beach and I fell into a new barkada.  I had the opportunity to meet Mel, a local mechanic, and his friends who welcomed me over to their table to drink rum.   Of course, they thought my story was quite amusing, and soon we were laughing and diving deeper and deeper into inebriation.  I stumbled home at around 4a and all the ruckus had ended by then...

ok... back to the story... where was I?  oh yeah, sea kayaking in the wake of a tropical storm.  At first, we were wondering if we could even rent the kayaks at all, given the coast guards' ban on sea travel.  In retrospect, this fear was ridiculous, given my knowledge of filipino adherence to rules and regs.... Anyway, renting was a snap.  We jumped into the surf and soon were traversing across the bay to a distant shore.  Luckily, my friends had one of those nifty waterproof bags you see around these days, so I was able to toss my camera, phone and other stuff inside.  My biggest fear in all of this was not really death, because I did have a life vest.  My biggest fear was losing my eyeglasses.  I have only one pair now and if I should lose them, well, I'd be sunk (tee hee!)   So, I found a cord nearby and attached the cord to my glasses and then to my belt loop.  Voila!  Problem solved.

As it turned out, the distance to our destination was alarmingly deceptive.  We had imagined that in a few short strokes we would be there.  In fact, it took us over an hour.... it was hard!  And it was scary!    What looked like calm seas... well that all changed once we got out there.  The waves were large! And there were currents out there to contend with!  And the wind was against us!  There wasn't a time that I felt we wouldn't make it, but I can honestly say, I was definitely nervous!

Anyway... here is what the effort was for:

Pretty sweet beach, right?  So, we stayed here all day.  Anneleu and Alex had snorkels and masks, so they did that. I basically, explored the beach, swam, slept, ate bananas, mangos and crepes....  relaxed.   Damion spent most of his time reading what looked like some obscure ancient french poetry.  I have no idea what it was.  Anyway, we had a blast!

There were others here as well.  I met up with a guy named Robin, who was an american living in China.  I wish I had gotten a picture of this guy, because he was a trip.  He had long hair and was wearing a skullcap... He and his friend were with two beautiful asian women who had just arrived from San Francisco.  Robin talked a mile a minute.  He has apparently been traveling for years around Southeast Asia and had so many stories to tell...  Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan... he has seen it all.  He was quite vague about how he funds these adventures and I wasn't going to pry.  We talked at length about China, and particularly about government in China, and even more particularly about how you don't want to cross the government in China.  He said something like, "you can do anything you want in China, legal or illegal, just don't upset the government.  If you do, they will like, 'disappear you!'  One day you will be there... and the next... you will be gone!"  Anyway, Robin was very friendly and easy to talk to.

Oh, here is a picture of me and my buddies, and another of the beach:

Thats Alexandra to my right, Damion and Anneleu.  So around 4ish, we decide on a new plan.  Drinks and watching the sunset.  They had been to a fun spot in el Nido previously and wanted to go there, and that was fine with me, so we departed. Again, it was difficult rowing, but in the end the return took only 45 minutes.  Maybe we were getting better at the work, but I think the current was more in our favor on the way back.  In any event, we made it to el Nido without either boat capsizing, so I was happy about that.  And, I didnt lose my glasses!

Next stop, happy hour at las Cabanas!