Sweet Beaches of Boracay

We have found some great places. Although very difficult to find Sabang Beach near Puerto Gallera was a great find. The locals here were very friendly and great party atmosphere. Larisa and myself had one of our first big nights of too much drinking and fun times. Followed by 24 hours off hell. Or what you may have heard as Deli Bellie. Larisa first, and not long after it hit me, quite embarrassing with both of us hanging our heads out of the boat. Yes thank you medical clinic for coming through to get that experience over faster.

Next we hit the nicest beach that I have ever seen. Boracay Wow. The water is so blue, and the beach is perfect. Sand so white and soft. You can walk out forever, this is truely a must see for your next big trip. Great Island, very touristy, but well worth a few days. We happened to be here for a week, as we had to stay longer to get out 21 day visa extended. So I did get in some golf, and a couple of good hikes around the island scoping things out.

Flying is the only way to really get anywhere here. Very hard to see the country and relying on the ferries. We are leaving tommorrow for Palawan, but unfortunatly we have to fly back to Cebu City first to Fly there. No boats or ferries will take us. Lot's of backtracking. Still haven't found any super adventures to tell about, other then our adventure with the toilet.

Cagayan De Oro

OK I expected this place to be another small beach town. Larisa and I were a little overwhelmed by the poverty and the number of people they have packed into this rather large city. The begging street kids are difficult to see. The locally owned Jeepny's here are the best and cheepest transport. Each of them are elaboratly painted and decorated, and all with big boom boxes pumping out the most popular hip hop music. Usually packed with drunken young teenagers you must be careful as to which ones you get onto. It's quit interesting watching how the driver weaves in and out of the crazy traffic, and one or two guys hanging off the back trying to draw in passengers. It's amazing how many people they can pack in such small bus.

Giant Clams, Camiguin Island

One of the most interesting places we went to see was the Clam Reserve which protectes the Giant clams of up to 1 meter and the coral in and around the area. A dive amongst the 2000-3000 clams and the beautiful coral was once in a life time find. If only I had bought the underwater camera. Out of the 7 types of clams in the world, 5 of them are found here, and due to over fishing many of them are endangered. Some of the biggest are up to 2 meters. These are big ass clams.

Camiguin, Phillipines

Wow this place is hard to get to, but sure worth it. It is like a little jem of an island so different from regular life in any of the busy overpopulated dirty cities. Renting a motorbike for $8 for a few days is the best way to explore this tropical island. With its 6 volcano's covering the island climbing right off the shores of the beach, it seems to be always raining. Hot Springs, Waterfalls, Hiking up the old Volcano, getting lost up in the mountains in the dark. Here everyone is so helpful and friendly. Being that almost everyone speaks english you can even communicate with those in the far remote mountains. Most of the locals pass the time lounging outside there homes on the side of the road and watch the people passing by for entertainment. Everyone waving and yelling "hello friend" is very common as everyone wants to get to know you, and know your name, marital status, and profession. Another big passtime here is singing Kereoke. In order to survive and try to make some extra money every home on the side of the road has it's own store, and a Kareokee bar. Larisa and I couldn't help but stop as we passed by a large group singing and dancing. Happy that we were there to watch, they asked us to judge there routine, as the large family was in a local dance competition the upcoming Saturday.

Overwhelmed In Bangkok

OK every time you get to Bangkok, it just totally drains you. It's busier now then it was 6 years ago. One day of the hustle bustle, and the polluted air, and you just want to find your way to a secluded beach. We have decided the Philippines will be our first beach destination. A flight to Manila, then south to Cebu city, wow this place is 15 to 20 years behind Thailand as far as development and very very poor. Not what I expected, Well I find it's best to go into a travel without expectations, that way you will never be disappointed. So that has just what we have done. Roll will it.
We have determined that we don't like taking the planes and the fancy buses as much as the public buses and cheaper means of transport. You really get a feel for the country much better on the public transit, as you can see how 90% of the country lives. I heard a fact whether true or not that this country has a 10% employment rate, that means a 90% unemployment rate. Yes that's how it is here so far. I thought that Thailand was bad, but there are like no tourist here. Very Surprising being so close to all the other touristy Asian Countries. Larisa has been getting tons of people staring at her blond hair. She feels very special here.

OK reality here is tough but they all seem to be fine with it, very family oriented, and catholic. I can't believe how many children and schools they have here. This Catholic families are so big. The population here is a big problem. But just like my trip to Brazil everyone is still very happy with having the big families.

We finally made it to our first beach on Panglao Island off of Bohol Island. Alona Beach very beautiful. Apparently one of the best places to Scuba Dive, to bad we both aren't into that. First Day at the Beach and I have already injured myself. I cut up my foot on some coral,while playing Frisbee. It should be OK Larisa is nursing me back to health with her trusty first aid kit.

Yesterday was our first big Adventure, rented a motorbike for the day $5 each, and $2 for a full tank of gas, and off into the jungle to find the Chocolate Hills. Weird shaped mountains that all have the exact same shape, and no real explanation as to why there are over 1700 in this one area and no where else.
Then we found some beautiful underground caves, and met some nice Filipino man that showed us how to use all the advanced settings on our camera to capture all of our great moments. Today we are off to Camiguin to climb a volcano. We will try to keep the posts coming more frequently.

Yes we made it. We are in Bangkok, and I am ready to give Larsia her first taste of the interesting cullinary choices. We are on a search for the best and worst Bangkok has to offer. We will update you soon