Our trip to Guam was planned for ages, but honestly, as the day approached, I have to say that I've never felt more scared and nervous. We'd gone abroad before- and to Asia for a long time. But, we had never traveled so far from home since the kids were born, and knowing that I was to be leaving them was tearing me up- Ezra, however, was fine. I know it's different for fathers, but still- I was dying. I knew that I would be fine once we left, and I couldn't wait to get our goodbyes over with. Luckily, we left the kids in the good, caring hands of Adriel, Ezra's sister who has watched the kids for us since Judah was a week old. They took off with her, and never looked back, which set my mind at ease.
Anyway, we began our million-hour trek to Guam with a short flight to Detroit, followed by the big monster flight to Tokyo. Then, to Guam. Sadly, after all the travel, my bag didn't make it- Ezra's did, mine didn't. It, thankfully, appeared the next morning. Eesh.
Our first view of Guam from the plane! Even as I'm typing this, I still find it hard to believe that we visited Guam because honestly, up until a year ago, when our friends moved here, I kinda...didn't even know it existed! It's just...in the complete middle of nowhere, why would I?? But, here we were, traveling 7000 miles from home, leaving our kids, to a teeny island in the Pacific!
It was soooo great to see our friends again, this time at their home!
The view from Steve and Hilary's window in Yona, Guam- can you believe some people have to deal with this on a daily basis?? Tragic!
Ezra got his dive certification while we were in Guam- this was taken the morning of this final certifying dive, at the military base beach:
At the same beach (Gab-Gab), later that day. I could not get enough of the sky- unbelievable! :
Paddle-boarding on Steve's board:
On Cocos Island, just off of Guam. We sailed there on Steve and Hilary's catamaran, and I've never felt warmer water- we had to feel the water, whether we wanted to or not, we were weighing the boat down so much!
The catamaran:
Ezra was a big fan of snorkeling on the trip, and kept bringing things up from the bottom to show me- which was nice, because I never wanted to go in the water again, once I saw what I could potentially be swimming with!
In Manilla! We flew from Guam on a Sunday night, and this was our first view from our hotel room window the next morning. The poverty, along side the prosperity and wealth, was pretty startling:
Landing in Kalibo. We were trying to get to Boracay, but the airport on that island was closed due to repairs to the runway. So, we flew into Kalibo instead, and honestly, nothing could have prepared me for what we saw- houses and shacks built up along the runway! The airport and runway seemed like such an awful intrusion into the lives of the people who lived here- couldn't imagine living on the runway!
Anyway, it was a very small airport, to say the least, and we exited the plane onto the asphalt:
A statue in the airport that I thought was pretty amusing:
Ha- speaking of amusing: what the heck is this?? A man in heels, you say- well, you would be right! I have no words- apart from mean ones, that is!
On the bus to Boracay- that would soon be followed by a boat...eesh.
The view from our van, in Kalibo, as we stopped for gas. I think we all kind of underestimated the experience as we were planning, thinking that it was going to somehow be more grand. We sort of forgot to factor in that we were traveling to a third-world country! However, this view quickly clued us in!
Still heading to Boracay! Now, we're on a boat...
The view from our tricycle, the next form of transportation we needed to get to Boracay. Really? What is this, the millionth form of transportation we took that day to get to our hotel?? It was just comical, by this point. I mean, I felt like the next thing was going to be a donkey or something, and that the hotel was just some joke, that we might never get there!
Finally at our hotel, the Microtel in Boracay! We had the orange room, Steve and Hilary had the yellow room- they were adjoining with connecting balconies. Our rooms overlooked the pool, beach, and hotel restaurant, where we had breakfast each morning.
Having our first meal at the hotel restaurant, Mama's Fish House:
Enjoying the lounge chairs on the beach in front of our hotel. We never could figure out what the mesh blockers were in front of the hotels- all of the hotels had them on the beach sides. Is it to protect from sand blowing up into the restaurant? Is it to keep out the local ferrel dogs? Who knows.
The view from Nami, the fancy hotel next to ours, where we ate all the time. So much so, that a waiter actually said he saw us out one night, and wanted to say hello! But, we had to- look at this view!
Ha! Also, this is at Nami, but it's also the day that three of us (me, Ezra, and Steve) had massages, but Hilary couldn't because we couldn't find anyone to do a prenatal message at Nami. She assured us that it was fine, that she had plenty of work to do, and that we could just meet for lunch after. Hmm. Never believe a pregnant woman when they say something like this. NEVER! How she managed to smile for the picture is beyond me, she was so ready to kill all of us- the "spoiled three," she said!
A very scary point in the walk to the White Sand shopping strip. Where my feet are is the only existing point of the path- the other white part is sheer straight down! And, they offer you a rope to hang on to at this point- only, to make things more treacherous, the rope at this point is only a few strands, so frayed! Nice and comforting...good to go places in the off-season, that's for sure!
Lounging around by the pool at our hotel:
We walked nearly the entire length of the White Sand walk in Boracay, all in search of the perfect pizza, which our guide book alleged actually existed in the Philippines- and, anyone who knows Ezra IRL knows that we, of course, really did this! It's pizza, of course we made a giant trek for it! ;) Anyway, it was the very last place on the walk, and actually wasn't bad- kinda tasted pretty similar to the pizza we make at home, which was weird. Maybe they use the "More with Less" cookbook, too!
Anyway, here we are on the way back to the hotel that night, in the hotel jeepney:
The next morning, Steve and Hilary decided to stay back while Ezra and I made off for the walk again- turned out that they had the right idea. It was soooo hot! (But, still beautiful!) While we were gone, they went for massages. The running total at that point was Steve-2, everyone else- just 1!
A view from the walk:
Ezra really wanted to have a "crazy" last night in Boracay, and I was all for it. Here he is, downing the first mojito!
However, we forgot to factor in how old we are, and the fact that we both hadn't been sleeping too well. Our wild night ended at 9:30!
We headed back to Manila and did a little sightseeing...on the hottest day ever! We toured Fort Santiago, a ruined Spanish fort used as a prison in WWII. Ezra was really working hard to inform us all about the Filipine martyr, Jose Rizal, who was imprisoned and executed there, but...it was the hottest day!
Still, the boys managed to have fun, despite the heat (or, maybe it was due to the heat that this occurred!):
At St Agustin, which Ezra told us was the oldest surviving church in the Philippines...where does he get his facts? I don't doubt him, just wonder how he knows this!
We had one last fantastic dinner in Manila: a six-course Italian meal at our hotel, which included a glass of wine per course. Perfect!
We headed back to the airport immediately following dinner. The traffic in Manila is something special that kind of needs it's own post entirely- we should never complain of traffic here again. Seriously. A simple 10-minute ride on a highway could easily take over an hour. Ridiculous! And, the drivers really don't respect the lanes or turning signals- it's more of an 'every man for themselves' kind of attitude, which truly leads to passengers clinging to their seatbelts, shutting their eyes, and praying to safely arrive at their destinations. With cars, jeepneys, tricycles, and every vehicle in between clanging around, it surely was intense whenever we stepped into a taxi!
We got back to Guam, and spent the weekend with our friends. We were set to leave on Monday morning, but our flight was delayed 6 hours- tortorous, when all you can think about are your little kids back at home, who you haven't seen for 15 days, not including time spent on Skype! But, we finally got on our flights, and made it back home.
Our luggage followed 4 days later! Crazy!
It was a great time, and I'm so thankful that we have family to allow us to take such a crazy, extravagant trip, who were able and willing to care for our kids while we were away. It was great to just be a couple again, and not only 'mom and dad', to enjoy time together without having to think of the little people. It was a very special time for us, and although I don't see this becoming a regular thing (ditching our kids, I mean!), it was a fantastic opportunity that I'm happy we didn't pass up!
2 comments:
You guys are so funny!!!
Looks like a great trip!
Wow! Such beautiful pictures. From the pictures, it reminded me of a honeymoon. Did you feel that you were on one?
How wonderful that you two had an opportunity to do this! -LR
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