Sea, Sand, and Sun

 Anyone who knows me well also knows that my favorite vacations are at the beach. The fresh air, sun, and open water are all things I love and today I got all three! We all woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a day of dolphin watching, snorkeling, and island hopping. Rueben, our captain for the day, was ready to set out as soon as we got to the beach at 6am. We boarded the Susan-Casey and were on our way.

The little boats in the Philippines are all the same. Some are a little larger or smaller than others but the general design is consistent. They are all single hulled with bamboo rigging out the side to stabilize the boat. Basically the boats are outrigged canoes and in the Philippines they are referred to as "Katigs".

The water was calm (thank goodness) and it was a great day for dolphin watching. Total I saw about 25 dolphins. There were huge groups of fins that swam past our boats. The most comical part about the whole experience was the number of boats that raced one another for a prime viewing spot. I'm pretty sure the dolphins mocked us and disappeared anytime a boat got too close.

After dolphin watching we headed to Balicasag Island for some snorkeling. After a bit of a debacle yesterday (Phoebe stepped on a sea urchin) most of us decided to rent snorkels AND water shoes to avoid any other mishaps. Ready with our gear we were paddled out to the snorkeling spot and left to explore.

Ready to Snorkel!

In the water there were hundreds of fish. Some I'd never even seen in pictures before. The colors were amazing! My favorite was a smaller lime green fish with magenta stripes.

The early start had us all feeling a little sleepy so the island hopping to Virgin Island was a definite highlight of the day. We all got to lay out on the island and take a power nap. The reason the island is called Virgin Island is because it is "untouched" by man. No one lives on the island and there isn't any type of development. In reality it would be difficult to ever build anything on this small island because it is actually more of a sandbank that disappears with the tide. After only an hour long power nap the water was already almost at our towels. 

Rueben- Our Captain

Virgin Island

Nap Spot

The Philippines wouldn't be the Philippines without the locals up in your face trying to sell you things. As soon as we got off the boat at Virgin Island I was asked if I wanted pearls, a coconut drink, sea urchins, and sea shells. I caved and bought a coconut which actually turned out to be quite refreshing but all the other sales people were a nuisance. One pearl man even made a sales pitch while I was trying to nap and kept placing bracelets on my arm and tapping me to wake up. His persistence DID NOT pay off. 

Sea Urchin Vendor

After a nice nap and a great morning out we returned back to Alona Beach and spent the rest of the afternoon laying in the sun and napping. 

Rueben and I bonded when I shared my pringles with him!