Black Saturday and Easter Sunday - Days 6 & 7

Before going any further, here are a few more photos from Ninette's camera from our trip to Nagsasa Cove. These were taken on the way to the cove when the waters were calm. Fortunately we were spared from photos taken on the way back when we looked scared but pretended not to be.

Larry & I on the way to Nagsasa Cove

I was still able to stand up due to the calm waters

Ninette & Ben

Elgee, Robynne, & Uno

So what happened on day 6 which was Holy Saturday or Black Saturday depending on whom you ask? Later that day, Black Saturday certainly lived up to it's dark name. Well, let's see. I woke up at about 5:30 and from Big Foot, I started walking towards downtown where they had the religious procession the night before. Other than people waiting for the buses and jeepneys, the crowds were gone. I turned around and walked back to Big Foot. I'm telling you, the dirt sidewalk was better in this town than the one in the city.

Walking to the Town Hall of the town which name I can't remember

The plan for the day was spend a few hours at Capones Vista Beach Resort then drive back home at about 3 or 4 p.m. We checked out from Big Foot rest house and by the time we arrived at the resort, they were already at capacity. The receptionist gave us a pass since we were repeat customers and allowed us to stay. Some went swimming (you can't keep Uno away from the pool), some like me just lounged around too exhausted to do anything else from the activities of the previous two days. After lunch, we gathered all our stuff, drove to where mangoes were sold on a roadside stand, bought some, then wended our way towards the main highway leading out of town. There were a couple of reasons why we left on Saturday instead of Easter Sunday: Larry, Ninette, and Robynne had tickets for Sunday to watch Les Miserables back in Manila, and to avoid traffic on Easter Sunday when everyone else who went out of town was expected to head back to the city. Well...

Sample of Philippine traffic (photo courtesy of jmobraindump.wordpress.com)

The first half hour or so, we were at top speed, then just as suddenly, we were creeping inch by inch (literally) in traffic somewhere in Subic. There must have been some accident up ahead but to this day, I still don't know what went on. As I was learning, or this is just how I perceive it, this is how driving is in the Philippines. On a narrow two lane road, you may fit a third vehicle, and if a dirt sidewalk has some space, then you can drive a fourth vehicle there. A double yellow line separating the street doesn't mean anything because one can cross that line and drive against opposing traffic. Cutting off another vehicle is acceptable and if you consider courtesy on the road, that means you don't hit the other vehicle when you cut him off or vice versa. Everyone fights for every inch they can get regardless of the miles-long bottleneck it creates. I'm guessing it took about 3 hours to cover a couple of miles, if that. At the end point of that particular bottleneck, we had to stop for gasoline and a bathroom break. The women unfortunately had to line up for one toilet, while the men were directed by a security guard behind the gas station with a request to please not to pee on the wall but do it on the gravel covered ground. There were a whole bunch of men plus a little girl (who was squatting) doing what they had to do for relief. After gassing up and perhaps passing gas, we were back on the road for more traffic. This time we proceeded in feet instead of inches. Traffic finally loosened up as we approached the former U.S. Subic Bay Naval Base. We traveled at a good clip until we only had a few miles left on the superhighway before home. Why the heck there is traffic on a superhighway at 9 p.m. on a Saturday, I don't know. By the time we arrived home, the drive had taken 7 hours or more, even longer than our trip outward bound. But at least we were safely home, sore butts and all.

On Easter Sunday, I woke up early as usual and went for my walk. I headed out of UP Professors Subdivision, made a right on Congressional Avenue, all the way to Luzon Avenue, went up the elevated walkway to cross the street, and walked back to where I came from. Afterwards we went to mass where a Vietnamese priest conducted the service, and since Christ died on the cross and forgave us our since two days before, I felt comfortable enough to receive holy communion. I may no longer be an actively practicing Catholic, but you still cannot take the Catholic out of me. Hey, I satisfied one of the holidays of obligation after all. We took Pilaring, Ninette, and Robynne home then Larry and I went the have the car washed.

After lunch and much later in the afternoon, I went with them to Solaire (https://solaireresort.com/) where they were going to watch Les Miserables while I explored the area. Well, I didn't really have to leave the building because there were enough areas to check out: a casino, some restaurants, and some kind of art gallery in the hallway. Plus there was free wi-fi.

Larry, Robynne, & Ninette

Les Miserables wall at Solaire

While my three companions headed to the theater, I went in the casino to find the cashier so I could exchange some dollars into pesos since I had run out of the local currency. The exchange rate was slightly lower than the one I got in Cubao but I didn't have any other options (I found out the next day after eating in a restaurant that the Solaire cashier had given me a couple of old, no longer accepted 20 peso bills). Afterwards, I was getting hungry, and knowing that the show was going to last 3 hours, I headed to the food court. The first eatery I went to had a twenty minute wait so I opted for another. Having had my fill (I don't even remember what I ate anymore), it was time to explore Solaire.

The casino was just like any other casino I've visited in the U.S. - smoky and noisy, which left me smelling like a chimney again. I didn't hang around long enough to develop a smoker's cough from the second hand cigarette smoke. The usual slot machines and card tables were present. I made a mistake to taking a selfie on the casino floor and a security guard approached me and asked me to delete it while pointing out a sign saying no photographs could be taken in the playing areas. I guess this was to protect the privacy of gamblers and/or if they were men, if they were there with their mistresses.

Weird Mona Lisa paintings in Solaire

I then walked up and down the hallways checking out paintings, then scouted the restaurants so I can give my companions a heads up on what was available for dinner after they came out of the show. Next, I went upstairs to see where the play was being shown. It was all in all a very nice resort, casino, and theater building. After the show, we went to eat at one of the noodle restaurants inside the building, then went home for the night.

Lucky Noodles Restaurant at Solaire

Thus ended day 6 and 7 of my vacation. The traffic in the Philippines was starting to turn me off and I was beginning to have second thoughts about possibly retiring there.

Some photos in this post courtesy of Ninette's Facebook page.

Philippines Vacation 2016 – Days 4 and 5

Capones Vista Beach Resort

My family had planned to spend the Easter weekend at a beach resort in Zambales and it was decided that we were going to leave at 3 a.m. on Thursday to avoid all the vacation traffic. We were joined by Elgee’s (Ninette’s sister) family consisting of husband Ben and son Uno driving in another car.  Well…only the 3 a.m. departure time worked out because it appeared like everyone had to same idea for avoiding traffic that it created the opposite effect and made traffic worse. It’s what we call in California a SIG Alert, only much longer. I’ll spare you the details, but what should have been a 3 hour trip lasted for 6 hours. All that time in traffic, I was thinking I hope this beach resort was worth going through all that (and it was). The trip back home? Well…you’ll hear about that later.

The Family

After escaping the initial traffic, Waze guided us directly to Capones Vista Beach Resort. It was quite a sight- there were rooms for rent, 2 fresh water pools, the beach, the sea, and across the sea were three islands. There were no more rooms available for weeks so my brother had made a reservation at a rest house in town where we checked in later. We found ourselves two tables where we could lay our belongings while we spent the day. For me, first things first: I had to do my workout for the day and that turned out to be a walking workout back and forth on both sides of the pools, occasionally extending it to the driveway and out the dirt path and back, until I finished my requisite 30 minutes (all in my flip flops which fortunately had good arch supports). When I returned, Uno was already in the pool enjoying himself, as he had been dying in anticipation to do this for days. The rest of us lounged around and settled down, and some wandered around to take the mandatory selfies and groupfies (?). Thoughts of the earlier traffic nightmare were gone by then. On this day, I was finally able to wear my newly bought flip up/flip down sunglasses for the bright sunlight.

Larry & I beside one of Capones Vista's pools

Soon enough it was the adults’ turn to enjoy the pool. Even my brother, who had a kidney transplant a couple of years ago (Ninette happens to be the donor), and required the perfect pH in the pool water, joined in the fun. He did a few laps and tried to teach Uno how to exhale in the water. The rest took a few strokes here and there and just generally enjoyed getting out of the stifling summer heat and humidity. I have not swum in decades and while the stroke was still somewhat acceptable, the endurance was gone. The 15 meter pool felt like 50 meters long. We played with Uno some more then ordered lunch. If I remember correctly, I had the fried milk fish, fried egg, and rice (bangsilog), and most of us ordered something similar. We swam and lounged some more before heading to town to find Big Foot, well…Big Foot Rest House, that is, where we would be spending our sleeping hours for the next couple of nights. Ninette and Larry had reserved 3 rooms: one for the men and boy, for the women, and for Pilaring, Liling, and Vangie.

Ninette enjoying her post swim margarita

We had Chinese food dinner at the Big Foot restaurant next door and afterwards returned to our quarters. Since it was Good Friday the next day, the restaurant was going to be closed, so we preordered our breakfast and coffee before the restaurant closed for the night. I was so exhausted that I was in bed before 10 p.m. It was the first time since 1973 that I shared a bed with my brother. Back then when I was 15 and he was 10, we shared a bunk bed in Jolo, Philippines. Well, that’s not entirely true because we also shared a bunk bed briefly in 1979 or 1980 when we lived with Auntie Faida before I moved to the U.S. I almost forgot this part - Liling knocked on our door at about 2 a.m. and reported that something was wrong with Pilaring. Larry and I went to their room and it appeared that Pilaring had an episode of sleep paralysis where she couldn't be aroused. Her respirations were pretty even and normal though so I was hoping it wasn't some kind of stroke. After several minutes of trying to arouse her, she finally woke up and we returned to bed.

I found the YETI

The agenda for the next day was to take a boat ride to lagoon an hour away. I woke up at about 5:30 and was out the door at 6 for my mandatory daily exercise. I walked 15 minutes one way and 15 minutes back, and by the time I got back to Big Foot, everyone was ready to leave for the boat ride. Pilaring appeared none the worse for wear despite the sleep paralysis episode she experienced just a few hours earlier.We had to leave the cars behind because the owner of the boats called my brother to tell him there were no more parking spots left. So be boarded several tricycles to get to the launching area. When we arrived at the beach, we waited until they had the food we were going to bring with us was cooked, then boarded a medium sized outrigger canoe (banca) which was just enough for all 10 of us plus 3 boat handlers. We donned our day-glo orange life jackets and were soon underway. At a steady clip on a calm sea, we went straight for about half an hour then made a left for another half hour before we arrived at a lagoon with a beach semi full of day trippers like us. On the way, we saw plenty of outriggers coming from and going to different beachfronts in the area. I think the one we went to was the least crowded because it took longer to get there. The place was called Nagsasa Cove.

Launching area for the outrigger canoes

Outrigger canoe (banca) ride on calm seas to Nagsasa Cove

Elgee, Larry, & Ninette in Nagsasa Cove

We got off the boat to find a shady place to set our things. All the huts were occupied but after waiting a few minutes, one became available and we were able to use it for the day. Ninette and I went exploring and she wanted to find a trail that was mentioned on the internet. We saw the trail but were unable to get there because the path through the shallow water was too rocky. There must have been another way to get to that trail but we couldn’t find it at that moment. She took a few photos of the views and ourselves of course, then went back to our family who had since settled down at the hut (well, it was a big table with a roof). By then, the sun was blazing hot and the sand was burning if you were barefoot. We entered the sea water to get some relief and thankfully the water gradually deepened the farther you went compared to yesterday’s beach where there was a sudden drop into deep ocean after only a few feet of beach. We swam a little bit but generally just enjoyed the coolness of the water.

Uno, Robynne, Ninette, Ben, & Elgee keeping cool

Me in Nagsasa Cove

We had lunch of fried fish, grilled fish, squid, rice, and other things that I had already forgotten about. After a brief rest, we dipped in the ocean again and oh my God (!), Larry went in the water too. He had already put into consideration that he didn’t have any open cuts on his skin and that he wasn’t going to “put his head in the water so his mucous membranes weren’t exposed to whatever bacteria was in the water. Some of us were not too pleased with what he did, but begrudgingly accepted it.

Lunch Time

Larry taking a daring plunge into the ocean

Taking shelter from the heat under the hut

The boat was supposed to come back to pick us up at 3:30 p.m. but they were slightly delayed. The boat handlers said the sea was getting choppier and to expect to get wet on the way back. What an understatement! They should have said “get very wet and get very scared of dying”. Casting off the beach, the waves didn’t feel so bad, but the farther we went, they got increasingly larger. Well large in proportion to the outrigger. Splish Splash and everyone was taking a bath. Hit a wave, bounce up, get splashed with sea water, and this went on for an hour and a half. Yes, it took 30 more minutes to get back because of the waves. Some were freaking out, others quietly stoic (or is it stoically quiet?), while a few had no fear due to their confidence in their swimming abilities. I was thinking I was about to meet my Maker on my vacation but kept quiet about it. After all, we were literally and figuratively on the same boat, weren’t we? Names shall not be mentioned but one older lady got so fed up with all the bouncing around that she exclaimed “bababa na ako!” (I wanna get off!), which made for a lighthearted moment and made everyone laugh despite the situation we were in. We soon saw our landing area up ahead but it still seemed to take forever to get there because we were battling cross currents, and when we did we had a hard time getting off the boat due to the waves. What a great relief to be back on dry land! We had survived the harrowing boat ride and our very own Good Friday Calvary at sea. Believe me, it was probably more scary than my capability to describe it in words.

Another tricycle ride and we were back at Big Foot Rest House (still no sighting of the Yeti). Well the Philippines is such a Catholic/Christian country that most of the restaurants were closed on Good Friday. We were caught in yet another traffic jam downtown when we ran into a religious procession while trying to find a place to eat. We ended up getting take out and eating in our room at Big Foot. Another vacation day full of adventure had ended.
You can read about the first 3 days here: http://aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com/2016/04/philippines-vacation-2016-first-3-days.html

Attribution: Some photos from this post were taken from Ninette's Facebook page.