The Good, the Bad, and the I-Can't-Believe-I-Did-That

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A treat for the eyes and ears: Diana's Phils: Part 1

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I don't even know where to begin. With all sincerity, words fail me. These past few days have been crammed with more adventure and memories than I could have ever imagined. Sure, I went skydiving a few weeks ago, but that pales in comparison. I was on the verge of death. Twice. Possibly three times because I'm pretty sure I've contracted schistosomiasis.

Guimaras:

The journey began on Thursday. Two cabs, a plane, another cab, a pump boat, a jeepney, a second pump boat, and a dingy later (total 7 hours) we arrived in darkness to the Baras Beach Resort. Nevermind having to switch rides 8 times. In any normal situation I would have griped just about that. But friends, I had bigger things to worry about.

Verge of death 1: the second pump boat, after some clanging on the engine with a hammer, was kaput. We sat under an incredible blanket of stars and waited for rescue. Luckily it came without too long of a wait. Unluckily it was the sorriest looking dingy I have ever seen. Unluckily there were no life jackets for the 7 passengers. Unluckily the water was not calm, and water kept crashing into the boat. Did I mention I can't tread water? My sisters and I took swimming lessons, yes. But I missed day one: how to avoid drowning. I sang old choir hymns to distract myself from the realization that, in fact, a wave just might hit at the same moment that the driver guns the engine and flips us. A little melodramatic? You would be too if you were there.

Scared and soaked (some of these are Diana's photos)

The dingy

How can you hold a grudge though when you wake up to this?

As we were swimming, another boat pulled into the resort and a group of Koreans joined us in all their FOB (fresh off the boat) glory. Is it normal in Korea to swim wearing goggles, shorts, shirts, hats/visors, and hoodies on your head? Anyway, they had no idea that I understood what they were saying because as we were enjoying our fresh coconuts, the kids swarmed around us talking about how they wanted to try them too. I eventually went to the parents to offer them up, and they were shocked that I spoke Korean! They blinked a few times before realizing that I was, yes, addressing them. We made fast friends though--they were so sweet during the rest of our time together.

We also went exploring on the different islands. We rowed around in the dingy, laid out on more beaches, rode into caves, visited a trappiste monastery, and saw a sea turtle sanctuary.

Here comes Verge of Death 2. Remember the "can't tread water" remark? After scaling the side of a cliff in wet flip flops we found ourselves face-t0-face with a 50-foot waterfall. The "don't listen to me" voice in my head and my friends told me I couldn't let the opportunity to swim under a waterfall pass me by, so in I went. I loved every minute of it!

Right after that little jog in the park we climbed down another hill to swim in a spring.

The rest of the time at Baras was pleasant, save for the room. Let's just say there were creatures abound sharing the room with us. But that's what you get for $7/night, right? The staff was so helpful and sweet. Baby, Boy Boy, S Boy, Nonoy, you are all missed!

Baras Beach Resort at sunset

Sorsogon:

Oh Lord. The morning after we got back from Guimaras, we went right back out at 4:30am for our first class trip where we were told we'd be collecting snails. Oh right. They forgot to mention we'd also be taking a little side trip to collect blood and stool samples from "carabao". First of all, we were all scratching our heads wondering how a bunch of tundra-loving caribou ended up on a tropical island. Carabao are water buffalo.

These pictures can speak for themselves. BTW, the school neglected to bring the long gloves, so we made do with short ones. I have to stick my hand in further for the stool? No thanks.

The day ended in smiles when the school kids swarmed around our group to check out what these foreigners were doing in their barangay. Now I know how Bono feels.

"We just stuck our hands inside a buffalo's ass! We're amazing! I can do anything! Bring on those stupid snails, I can do that with my eyes closed."

I would gladly have pooped scooped another twenty buffalo if that meant I didn't have to strain my eyes, back, and legs crouched over in the rankest mud pits/swamps looking for the smallest snails in the world. Imagine looking for dirt. In a big pile of dirt. With all kinds of insects and rodents swarming around you.

This is why I'm sure I've contracted schisto. My school-provided ankle-high boots were no match for the quick-sand mud pits, so mud oozed right in. Good thing I had open cuts on my leg! No worries though, as we were knee-deep in mud, we were assured that, of course, we're all having blood tests in 55 days to make sure we will receive medication if we've contracted schisto. No problem!

Needless to say, I am quite skeptical about our week-long jaunt in Palawan: malaria studies. You know me and mosquitoes--I'm a magnet for those suckers. Schisto and malaria within months of each other does not sound like a good time.