We sunbathed by the infinity pool after breakfast.

We tried to plan our trip to Europe with our guidebook but kept on getting hot and jumping into the pool. We wanted to get as much tan as possible without getting burned. Around 2, we had to get back to the cabin to shower and pack so that we’d still have time for lunch and catch the last boat to the main island at 4pm. We just had a quick sandwich called Bocadillo de Jamon (cured bacon on a toasted roll).

We said bye to Charlie.

There ended up being no reason to rush because a family of three made the departure to the main island late by 20 minutes. No explanation why, the boat just waited. We were supposed to leave at 4pm and the rest of the passengers started to get antsy wondering what was going on. Finally we see this family coming down the pier with their luggage and they weren’t rushing either, slowly ambling down and slowly pulling their luggage and slow to sit down. No apologies or acknowledgment. A bit rude I think since we departed right after they sat down.

From sitting in the boat, I got a bit motion sick and was very glad to get off to boat at the marina. We took the van to the airport since there wasn’t anywhere to go nearby and we didn’t have too much time.

We arrived at the airport around 6pm and our flight was at 8pm. At the airport, we were required to pay a departure tax of P550 per person (it’s only P200 per person for domestic). Inside the international terminal, the food was quite expensive, it was P230 for a sandwich and at one of the cafes we stopped by, they only had 1/3 of the items they offered on the menu. They let us into the domestic terminal so that we could have some dinner and it was really cheap. Shakes were P75 (we had mango and avocado), a hot dog P50, a BLT P75, and a cup o’ noodles P75.

Look at that fluorescent sauce!

Since we had extra pesos, we bought some snacks of Durian candy (P25), Ube candy (P50), and dried mangoes (P130).

On the way to breakfast we came across this crab scurrying across our path!

I had a banana shake this morning..

Ron enjoying his meat:

Making my own egg sandwich:

We visited Charlie after our breakfast:

Then we took the free boat service to the small island across from us. A small motor boat brings guests back and forth from this small island as there are also guest houses over there and a small 3-hole golf course. We went to one beach and spent quite a few hours capturing crabs, collecting seashells, and sunbathing. We walked to the other side of the beach to swim with the fishies before catching the boat back to the main resort.

Again we indulged in the lunch buffet and had a nap. After our nap, we went to the aqua sports place to rent a jet ski. We’ve both never been on one before so thought we’d try it out. It was fun but also a bit scary. If you take a corner too sharp, it feels like you could flip over but we never did. I’m not sure I’m a fan but I think Ron enjoyed it. We only had it for 30 minutes and that was enough for me.

We had some time to kill so went to the beach and went “fishing”… don’t worry, we let them go.

Looks like a beer commercial?

For dinner we had the fettucine carbonara and Pearl Farm beef burger and they allowed us to drink the wine we bought at the duty free at the airport. It was in our luggage when we checked into the resort but the guy checking out bags didn’t say anything so we had the benefit of enjoying an inexpensive but good bottle of wine with our meal.

They make their own ice creams too!

Our dinner guest:

Tomorrow will be our last day!

The breakfast buffet was available again today. We haven’t figured out why they only have it on certain days so we just show up and see what we get. After breakfast we take a short nap before heading to rent a kayak to visit the clam sanctuary. It took us quite a while to get out there since we weren’t very coordinated with the paddles and the waves were pretty choppy. But we made it and parked out kayak at the stairs of the sanctuary. There’s a guard in the small hut and you have to sign in when you visit. The large sea clams are right underneath and also being grown around the perimeter. It was pretty awesome. We also saw some cool fish, like this huge maroon clown, the size of my palm. They come toward you if you wave your fingers at it, Ron says because they think your fingers may be anemone tentacles.

We kayaked back and arrived back around 2pm. It was faster on the way back, maybe because the waves were working with us.

We had the following for lunch.

Papaya shake

Pearl Farm Beef Burger (1/4 lb char-grilled with cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, onion, bacon, and fries, P275).

Chopchae (Korean glass noodles and spicy beef salad infused with sweet sesame oil vinagrette, P250).

We had also scheduled beauty treatments for the late afternoon but my facial got cancelled since they were missing carrot juice for one of the ingredients. Ron went to get his massage though at 5pm and I just hung around until dinner time.

Timo and Elina came to hang out for a while with us before they had to leave to catch their flight back to Singapore.

We weren’t all that hungry so just ordered one Pizza Magherita.

Ron had a drink called Pink Lady (on the left). I tried something they had called Samal Four Seasons, a juice of 4 fruits: calamansi, pineapple, watermelon, and papaya. It was a bit strong in watermelon flavor.

No breakfast buffet today but they still offer guests the choice of an American, Filipino, or Continental breakfast. It usually costs P400 and it includes the following:

Juice (watermelon, pineapple, papaya – Jen, mango – Ron, or banana)
Toast (white – Jen, brown, or whole wheat – Ron)
Bacon – Ron, ham, or sausage – Jen
Two eggs any style (over easy – Ron, sunny side up – Jen)
Coffee – Ron & Jen, tea, or hot chocolate

Another day of diving and snorkeling. Starting at 9am we went out with a family who were doing snorkeling and “discover scuba” (which is where an instructor brings you down but not very deep). Ron did two dives while I just went snorkeling with the kids of the family. We bought some underwater cameras so I was taking photos of the fish, anemones, and corals.

Our boat crew:

We returned to the resort around 1pm and went to try the lunch buffet (P700).

Ron had to rush a bit because he was supposed to have his PADI (scuba) certification exam at 2pm. I stayed back to have more fruits with Timo and Elina. I ate my fill of pomelo pieces. I honestly think I ate 5 plates full as they kept on refilling the tray and I just kept on getting up to get more. They weren’t the juciest pieces but they were really fragrant and tasty.

By the time I finished stuffing myself with fruits, I went back to the cabin and Ron was still there studying. Apparently the person who was supposed to administer the exam was a bit late. Ron finally went for his exam at 4:30pm so he ended up missing the massage he scheduled for 5pm. I went for my massage at 5pm and by the time I finished, Ron still was not back. He didn’t finish his exam until 7pm! He passed and will receive his official certification card in the mail!

Tonight was also a special dinner buffet in the restaurant that also included entertainment. There was lots of traditional singing and dancing and they even invited the guests to participate in a dance involving jumping over sticks.

(Yes, this is Ron dancing)

The buffet dinner was P800 and included so many different dishes. Main courses included chicken afritada, beef barbeque, inihaw na tuna panga, deep fried tilapia, crab relleno, pinakbet, arroz a la valenciana, vegetables, etc.

My favorite part was the desserts: puto (purple cake), palitaw (coconut), cassava cake, langka turon (banana eggroll), guinataang bilo bilo (banana tapioca soup), etc.

A good night.