So Lincoln and I woke up about 6. Ty and Ryder were still asleep and the generator and AC had just turned back on. We tried to go back to sleep but it just wasn’t happening. Our plan for the day before Ty got sick was to go on one of the famous tour cruises. I was such Ty was going to be staying home, and was mentally preparing myself for two kids, the gear I’d need to pack and how to get through it.
But Ty wakes up and says, I don’t want to spend the day in the hotel, lets go. After he cleans himself up a bit of course. I’m shocked, but he’s been holding all his fluids in for a few hours so maybe this will be ok…
Breakfast at the hotel is surprisingly good. The tour van picks us up and we’re off to the beach. We wait around about 30 minutes before realizing to get to the boat we have to wade out into the ocean. There are no boardwalks or harbors in sight.
Not a big deal usually but Ryder has been having issues with salt water, telling us it stings her skin. So she’s already balking at the idea of getting in the water. Ty’s piggy backing her, I’m trying to carry our two bags of snorkel gear, and a dry bag of our clothes and towels, while dragging Lincoln and making sure he doesn’t get washed away. Thankfully the staff see me, and come grab a bag from me. We just got on the boat and everyone is exhausted, and frankly pissed off to be there. Linc is convinced he’s going to get sick again, Ryder doesn’t want to be wet, Ty’s feeling miserable, and I’m tired of just holding it all together. Now we’re stuck on a boat for the next 6 hours…
We get to our first destination, I’m sure we’re the most miserable people to have on a tour. Lincoln is moaning, Ryder is scowling at everyone, Ty has his head in his hands, and I’m just over it. After a while we confess to the lovely Australian couple who’re trying to talk with us, we’re just having a hard time in the Philippines, and explain it a bit. They seem to get it and leave us alone after that. It’s for the best.
We get to the first destination and it’s a giant lagoon, that you can only kayak into. Thus you have to pay to rent a kayak, and we need one that holds 4 people. There are so many other tourists there, they run out of kayaks so half of tour just sits on the boat and waits, and waits and waits. Finally we get a 4 person kayak and force both kids on with us. Everyone is still miserable, we have 30 minutes to see this giant lagoon. It’s beautiful, amazing fish are swimming at the surface near us but they told us not to bring snorkel gear. People are having a lovely time everywhere around us. We hold fast to our misery.
The next stop is just snorkeling and Lincoln isn’t interested, so he and Ryder just stay on the boat. Ty and I snorkel around and it’s crowded with so many boats. However, it is beautiful! I saw some colored clams, and a puffer fish, a huge angel fish, and these blue starfish that looks like they were made out of clay. That snorkel really helped turn my attitude around at least. Also any time Ty could get off the boat it seemed to help him.
After snorkeling we stopped for lunch. It was a funky little island with this rock out front. Linc was more interested in diving in the water than eating. Ryder made some friends with some local ladies, and Ty took a nap against a palm tree.
Lunchtime seemed to be a turning point for us. Lincoln’s mood improved with the 8 bites of food we made him consume. Ryder even got in the water a bit.
We tried to go to the Secret Lagoon next but it was way too crowded for our boat to get close to it. So our captain took us to this nearby cave. It was a bit sketchy to swim in through this tunnel, but they had staff on either side to pull us through. Then we were in this tiny open cave/lagoon. It was neat but definitely not an entire destination.
From this cave they took us to our last stop, Commando beach. Ryder wanted to stay on the boat and nap but staff kicked everyone off here. So she tried to sleep on the beach. Lincoln finally decided his flippers would be fun, after fighting it this whole time. He just flopped and flipped in the ocean the whole time while I hung with him and watched. Ty found himself a log to lay against and take another nap. It was a fine break from the boat. Not amazing, but nothing wrong with it.
We went back to town after this and they dropped us at the beach. There was no driver, or anyone associated with the tour company in sight. Everyone else from the cruise disappeared, so we were left to walk back to our hotel, sandy, wet, and tired.
Ty immediately fell into bed. The kids and I showered, and got refreshed. Then we all lounged for a bit. By 5pm I was getting hungry and so I recruited Ryder to walk to the grocery store with me. After last nights escapades trying to find a restaurant Ty wasn’t up for it again. Ryder and I managed to find a decent size grocery store. We picked up some crackers, PB, cup of soups, juice, Gatorade, and some local candy. Dinner was served!
Back to the room for some blogging, electronic time, and resting. Everyone was asleep by 9pm except for me. Tomorrow is our last full day in the Philippines and I think we’re going to avoid a tour and do what we like best, explore on our own.
