11 months 9 days. It took me that long to resurface in the blogging world. What could have forced me abandon my blog for a year? Is it because of my absence due to the nature of my profession? Or because I am an acute traveler who simply cannot endure being in one place? Or maybe because I was busy with my wedding, the agony (actually it was enjoyable) of carefully planning for the big event. Not to mention the holiday seasons, birthdays and reunions. And lastly, I may just have nothing interesting to write about.
To be frank, It is a bit all of the above. Half the time I was out of reach from the blogosphere. Thanks to the crappy internet we had on the ship. The bandwidth was too much for it to handle, which surprises me as I am now editing from a ship’s terminal on one of our other vessels. It isn’t hard to believe that barely a year had passed and a lot has changed around me. The biggest change would be is I now have a metal band on my ring finger with the name of my better half inscribed on it. It was a tedious job (not to mention on the budget), but we managed to have a successful ceremony. For that, I would like to thank our family and friends who made it special and making it how we dreamed it would be. Here’s an unofficial snapshot of the wedding, pre-nup and post-nup.
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The rest of the time was spent on visiting different places. We had a nice time on the pristine beaches of Bantayan Island. I could say that the place could rival that of Boracay, due to the fact that the whole beach stretches for more than 5 kms. Although when it comes to the quality of the sand, nothing beats the sand from Boracay. The island is a perfect destination for nature lovers sans the annoying sound of bars and clubs like the ones on Bora. We skipped to the other islands and spent the whole day snorkeling the crystal clear waters. We experienced the everyday life on the island as my Moms friend toured us around. By night, the resort prepared a bonfire for us by the beach and had a relaxing ice cold beer with the cool sea breeze blowing. Paradise would be an understatement to describe the place.
The moment I got back in Manila, my friends planned a road trip to Batangas to spend a few days there. A friend of theirs was kind enough to lend us his car. It was funny coz there were six of us in cramped in the vehicle. We couldn’t risk having 2 passengers in the front seat as we would be apprehended at the expressway. Good thing the girls were petite so four of them squeezed at the back seat. What made the trip interesting was that none of us knew the way to the place. I managed to download directions from the internet. But not ffter countless U-turns and asking a dozen locals for directions did we arrived at around late afternoon. We checked in at the White Cove resort and after we settled our bags, proceeded to savor the resort’s menu. The next day, we arranged for a boat to take us to a snorkeling spot. The girls had fun swimming after schools of fish at the nearby reef. The place wasn’t that really captivating as compared to the previous beaches I’ve visited, but the company of my friends really made the trip worth remembering .Otherwise it would have been a real drag. Going back to Manila, we had a unplanned visit to Tagaytay. We figured that since it was just on the way, why couldn’t we drop by and enjoy the view. Kim was opposed to the idea as he still had to work that evening. But what can he do against five of us willing to go. And it would be a bad idea for him to take the commute to work since that would take twice the time to get there. The following photos showed that he didn’t regret going along with us.
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After that trip to Batangas, the sea was calling for me again. It was there that I was cut off from the blogging world for 6 agonizing months. Although we then had an internet connection, I couldn’t post on my blog, let alone access it. But the best thing was that I was in constant communication with my wife with regards to prepping for the wedding. And now as I embark again on another 6 months of rough life at sea, I’m just happy that I still have a direct line to the rest of the world. What more can I ask for? Ciao!
