day 5: motorbikes+ back country trails+ waterfalls= yes!

day 5

we took the motorbikes for a little over 2 hours to two different waterfalls.  the first waterfall was secluded.  it seemed the only way to get to this waterfall was to find a local who knew what narrow roads to take to find a tiny walking trail tucked into a forest that would open up to these pools of rushing water.  and that's just what we did.  two locals who were friends of the owners of the resort took us out to their favorite waterfalls for the day.  the resort packed us a cooler of drinks and snacks, and we were on our way.

the second waterfall was a lot bigger.  it was a 45 minute ride and 15 minute hike away from the first waterfall.  the water was so high and the current was so strong due to monsoon season, so they made us wear life vest for the most part.  at this waterfall, they had bamboo rafts that one could take to go under and behind the waterfall.  there were three nice men at the waterfall that day that maneuvered our raft for us so that we could enjoy the water.

after the waterfalls we went back to the resort, ate lunch and spent the rest of our day at the pool reading and swimming.  we even went back to the pool after dinner.

i know this picture is really blurry, but i loved the colors and the lights from the island across the water in the background.

Day 4: excursion day at eden

day 4

this was taken from our balcony.

we slept in with the sliding glass door open and listened to the waves.  after a leisurely morning, we went to breakfast and ate our usual.

after breakfast we met our roommate.  we named him "judge."

we decided to spend the morning kayaking in the clear waters.  we got to see some beautiful fish and brightly colored starfish.

this is the resort from the water.  our villa is on the right.

after kayaking, one of the staff approached me and said, "mom, would you like to take our dirt bikes out for the day?"   i replied, "um, yes!"  we couldn't believe that the resort was going to let us take their dirt bikes out even when we had no experience driving them.  i refused to drive mine, and i made ryan refuse to drive his after they had told us the story of a previous attendee who broke their leg trying to drive it without experience.  

so, instead, one staff member and his friend took us out for a two hour ride up one of the mountains.  it was an amazing ride full of pigs crossing the road, goats eating weeds, clouds hugging the mountains in the distance, and the ocean below us.  towards the end of the ride, one of the guys driving let ryan take the bike into his own hands.  it was quite funny to watch ryan put the bike into gear and pop his front wheel off the ground and speed off into the distance.  locals were laughing.  

when we got back to the resort, we ate lunch and went snorkeling.  

as you can imagine, we were pretty tired, so we spent the rest of the day swimming, eating, playing cards and drinking wine on our balcony.  

day 3: a resort for two

day 3

after we flew to cebu island, we took a 3 hour bus ride to the southern most tip and stayed at an amazing all-inclusive resort called "eden," and rightfully so.  after we left a loud and busy city, took a loud and busy bus ride, we got off the bus, bags in hand, and as the bus pulled away we were left in silence.  only the sounds of gentle wind chatter and ocean waves prancing on the beach.  we kept wondering if we were at the right place.  we figured that since it was a resort, we would hear children playing in the pool and people talking loudly. we walked down a narrow path lined with flowers towards the beach and knew that we had arrived.  eden is a small resort that only has 8 villas in the whole place, so even if there were people staying there, it would still be quiet.  to our luck, we were, in fact, the only two people staying at the resort.    this meant that for the next four days, all staff would wait on us hand and foot and cater to our every needs.  meanwhile, all meals, drinks and excursions are included.

this is from our three hour bus ride.  during the ride, if ever the bus slowed down to make a sharp turn, locals would take that chance to jump onto the bus and try to sell anything they could.  usually they sold food and drinks, but sometimes they sold little trinkets as well.  and when the bus would slow down again, they would jump off and wait for the next passer-byers.

these are more pictures from the bus ride.  above is a picture of the common taxi available in the philippines.  we really enjoyed riding in them.

this is when we arrived at the resort and walked down the narrow path lined with flowers. note the ocean in the background.

this was our amazing room.  we had slate-tiled floors, a king-size bed, and a balcony with the most breath-taking view of another island.

the only all-inclusive i have known has either been in mexico or on a cruise.  these all-inclusive meals usually mean that there are scheduled times when food is put out on a row of tables so that all guest can enjoy a buffet-style meal full of frozen or pre-cooked foods.  this is what we expected from this resort.  to the contrary, everyday we would wake up when we wanted and go to the dinning room and they would begin to make us the breakfast that we wanted.  they would always pair our request with a side dish of local fruits and fruit smoothie.  after breakfast, they would ask, "mom, what time will you want lunch today?"  and by mom, they meant m'am.  lunch was 3 courses which always ended in dessert, and dinner came with a bottle of wine and any other beverage we wanted.  we would say our request, and they would bring a salad, mixed vegetables, appetizers, our requested meal, and, of course, dessert.  all was made fresh in their kitchen which was visible from the dinning room.

we ate every meal with the dinning room to ourselves.  the dinning room had a great view of the infinity pool and ocean.

above is a picture of a mango and grahm-cracker layered custard.  enough said.