My final two days of holiday proper have been one long relaxation. In preparation for my return home, I took a giant bag of laundry to be done. I handed it over to the lady who heaved it onto the scales for its pre-wash weight and pricing. She then looked up at me wide-eyed as her voice rose several octaves and some volume as she exclaimed “iiis 4 kilos ma’am”. I agreed that it was - it’s pretty much all of my clothes, bikinis and rash vests I’ve worn all month. I thought 4 kilos was quite reasonable - the shocked laundry lady obviously felt it was quite extreme. The total cost for the laundry - which will be washed, dried and beautifully folded for collection in 24 hours is £5. It’s worth every penny to bring home a suitcase full of clean clothes!
Aside from outsourcing my chores, I have done very little else aside from read my book and have more massages (this time a special Filipino one which the lady enthused about as being better than the ‘normal’ one. She couldn’t actually explain what was different, aside for the increase of 100 pesos in price - the equivalent to £1.50!). I spent some time with my Aussie friends for ‘happy hour’ - just the time they refer to as when they start drinking. I decided to head off once Monique announced she was feeling a bit tired so might get a Red Bull mixed with her next tequila. Perhaps there’s a little bit more Aussie bogan in there than I thought! I found another lovely place for dinner as I chanced across it on a little bimble out to shop for souvenirs. A little cafe restaurant with a nice roof terrace and live music. As I passed by, the band were doing ‘Especially for You’ and since you should never walk away from a bit of Kylie, I headed in and had yummy fish and chips Filipino style for tea!
The construction I was slightly concerned about in the road outside my hotel did start and is well under way but unexpectedly doesn’t really disturb me on the beach side. They have in fact used the mega driller machine to break up the entire road and started transferring the rubble to be removed. No one has any idea what they’re doing or why. People are encouraged to walk around the digger and the road but that’s the limit of health and safety surrounding the road works. At one point, the arm of the driller kept hitting the power cables every time is was moved but apparently this was only a concern to the Europeans around who commented on it. One of them went and got the tourist police and pointed it out but they weren’t interested either. In the end they agreed to put some tape round the spot it was happening to stop people walking underneath! The workers got a big wooden pole and used it to stand and prop the electric cables up with and keep them out the way - by holding the pole above their heads with the cables resting on them - while the driller carrier on. Pedestrians just continue on as normal down either side of the road or by scrabbling across the rubble.
Both days are very similar. I did a wander up and down the beach this morning - it’s absolutely heaving from about 8-9am while all the boats collect their cargo (people) then by 9.30am, they’ve departed and it’s blissfully empty and so quiet until. They return around 4pm. Pretty much just me and all the dogs sleeping in the shade. I notice too that they dig a little hole to sleep in - presumably because the sand is a bit cooler a few layers down. Perhaps I’ll give that a go myself! Billie and Freddie 🐢🐢 often like to big down and get buried to sleep too, which is also to do with temperature regulation. Humans have opted out of the traditional practices with the advent of duvet covers! Mind you, mostly in the Philippines I’ve slept with very little on, a sheet - at most - covering me and the fan on. It’s actually quite pleasant. You’d get heat stroke under a duvet here!
I collected one or two (ish) more beach treasures on my walk and also watched with interest at the shell animals in the shallows. As the water laps over the collection of complete - and still with living animals in them - bivalve shells (like cockles), they lay flat on the sand then as the water washes away, they flip themselves up to vertical and kind of pulse down and bury themselves into the sand. Presumably for protection or survival. Clever little shells. I tried only to collect the empties - although I have done another line up to check!
‘Exercise’ completed for the day and I’m all set for my final relaxation (before the travel home commences tomorrow with the 6hour drive to airport, flight to Cebu, overnight hotel, flight to Dubai then quick connection and eventually flight back to Heathrow to meet my taxi home! It should only take about 2.5 days from here to home!). Aside for a walk out later to collect the laundry, try and find a nice souvenir (pretty slim pickings for anything even vaguely nice so glorious tourist tat it shall be) for something for little Ives (who’s probably nearly as tall as me now so that name won’t last much longer!) and some dinner, I shall have a final day relaxing….
Everything collected, final massage, final wander to town for treasures and dinner and some more excellent signage and I’m all packed and ready. Pick up tomorrow at 8am and I’ll be on my way after another epic trip.
The Philippines: 28 days, 33 dives in 3 regions (with my log book stamps collected for each), 10 books read, 4 destinations across 3 islands, a new country to add to the list of those I’ve visited along with a new stamp in the passport, a collection of new gems to stick on my world my world map, some amazing friends, people and experiences along the way. If you don’t travel much and there is a way that you could, do it. It opens your mind, makes you realise how much world there is and how exceptionally privileged we are in our part of it. Spend the money, see the world, take the trip, live for the now and stop making excuses. Traveling gives you a totally new perspective on life; scuba diving changes you forever.
All that remains now is to travel home ….
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