I know. I know. It's been awhile. Exactly a month since I returned from the Philippines. I should have posted sooner because I did get some concerned emails about if we were okay after the earthquake hit over there - we are.
I was packing for the airport when the earthquake hit and Joe was in the shower. I sat there for a minute and thought to myself "is this really happening?" and then I hear Joe from the bathroom say "Beeeeetttthhh? What's happening?"
Beth - "We're having an earthquake."
Joe - "How do you know?"
Beth - "Because it's an earthquake - I know what they feel like." (See that post here).
Joe and I both got nauseous during the quake. We were 18 stories up in a high rise and buildings in the Philippines are made to be earthquake resistent so they sway back and forth....a lot. We were told on the ground they only felt it for 30 seconds and Joe and I both agreed we felt the building move for over a minute - closer to two.
So being American - we FREAK. We were in a tall building on the side of a mountain (landslides are common there). We start throwing all our stuff into our suitcases and we are out of that building within 5 minutes. Our driver was already there - even though we were leaving for the airport 2 hours earlier than we needed to. Our driver, Michael, kept telling us that it was okay - they don't have tsunami's in Cebu. But the only thing we could understand on the car's radio was "Tsunami Warning Level 3" - FREAK OUT. Once we got to the airport and found a computer with CNN.com in English we calmed down a bit. Since Cebu is between other larger islands there is never a threat for a tsunami.
Thank you everyone so much for thinking of us - that was so sweet we were on your mind. In return I give you the best of our Philippines trip - Enjoy! Make sure you check out the jellyfish story at the end.
This is from our first full day - we visited Tagatay which is more of a resort area or weekend getaway. We are standing in front of the world's smallest volcano!
The volcano is right in the middle of the pic below
Pineapple plantation!
Mavs fans are everywhere
Myself and Michael, our driver, after delivering me safely to the Cebu Int'l Airport
In Joe's Dad's apartment about to devour some Jollibee. Jollibee is on almost every corner in every city. It's their McDonalds. They have McDonalds too - and KFC and Pizza Hut, but no Taco Bell :(.
So, the people of the Philippines are obsessed with fried chicken. It's "A Thing" over there. The main menu items at all the restaurants are fried chicken and spaghetti. Obviously these are not native foods to the country, but the population Loves it. The chicken is very good - very similar to how it is in America. The spaghetti is very different, but good.
Joe and I snuggling on the beach in Boracay. BEAUTIFUL!
We have fun wherever we go...
Last but not least....Joe and I went scuba diving one day. The first dive went great. Saw lots of beautiful coral and different types of fish than what we are use to seeing in the Caribbean. Second dive was going great too - we got to feed the fish underwater (never done that before) - having a great time....and then my knees start itching uncontrollably. Then they burn - so I scratch them.
We start to ascend to do our decompression stop and Joe signals that he's in trouble. So our dive master goes up and waves the boat over and then we all go up. Long story short, I got stung by a jellyfish and then kicked it and propelled it straight into Joe's face - he was following me.
So here is my damage:
And here is Joe's:
Not to mention we pulled a tentacle off his lip and his top lip was so red and swollen - we didn't discover that until about 20 minutes after we got out of the water.
I leave you with this picture - which will make you smile. Shhhhhh...I know. I rock that wetsuit and gear.
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