Boracay Island

Lyn and I have just finished our third overseas trip together. Lyn suffered some from an upset stomach and jetlag, but, as for me, I don't know how many more of these trips my body can survive. I'm lucky we came back a couple of days early ... I need every minute of the recuperation time. Actually, we needed to come back early for another reason; there was trouble waiting for us when we arrived home. More about that later.

We left for the Philippines on Christmas Eve. As we were riding on the shuttle bus, I started remembering the things we had forgotten to bring, the most important being the video camera. However, with hindsight, I think that turned out to be a blessing. Without it, the only things of value we carried were money and passports, which were very easy for me to carry around in a fanny pack. The video camera was heavy to carry around and we'd be constantly worrying about someone stealing it. That anchor was better off safe and sound at home.

Would we be staying in this house?

My first trip to the Philippines had been somewhat hazardous to my health. I got a bad sunburn at the Island resort area of Boracay. (Boracay, they say is the best beach in the world. White sand, blue clear water and beautiful coral reefs.) After that, I had alternating chills and fever. I suffered from stomach pains (gastritis) and one light case of diarrhea. Obviously, I anticipated this trip with some trepidation. I did have one thing on my side. My stomach was in much better shape, now, because my switch to more of an Asian diet (Lyn's influence).

However, this was an important trip and one we needed to make. Lyn hadn't seen her family or friends in close to four years. I had never met Lyn's brothers, sisters, and extended family, nor had I been to where she grew up. I didn't know what her parents new house looked like. Their old nipa hut had been destroyed by a typhoon and we had sent them money to build a new one. We planned an 18 day trip, two days for air travel and about 5 days each in Tubas, Quezon Province (Lyn's family), Boracay and Manila, in that order. We originally wanted to visit Agnes, Lyn's well-travelled friend who was living in Baguio, but she moved back to France.

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