Pier Uno Dive Resort, Anilao

Saturday, April 12, 2014

How nice it is to be able to go diving for the day!  We went with three of Edi’s co-workers, Justin, Rob, and Vincent to Anilao on Saturday, April 12.  Felix the driver picked us up and we were on our way.  With one stop at Starbuck’s it took us about 3 hours to get there because of traffic.  The traffic here in the little towns here always amazes me – jeepneys, cars, tricycles, scooters, bikes – it makes for a slow go.  The drive was worth it as the Pier Uno Resort is really nice.  We got all checked in and the dive guys took our gear to the dive station.  The resort is right on the water with an incredible view…

We got suited up, boarded the boat, and were off enjoying the wind in our faces and the sun on our skin.  The salt water always does something to me; it is soul cleansing.  The ride to the site was really nice, and we enjoyed seeing the sights and talking with the dive master, Jay, who was quite the comedian…

We had two great dives.  On the first dive, the dive master actually caught a puffer fish with his bare hands and held it up so Edi could take an underwater picture.  We also saw the biggest frog fish we have ever seen.  Edi got that on video!  On the second dive, I got the pleasure of feeding the fish underwater.  The dive master gave me a bag of bread to hold, and the fish had a field day.  It was so cool to be in the middle of all of those fish…

When we got back to the resort, we had a delicious lunch in the open air restaurant and then just hung out on the deck and relaxed.  We did a little snorkeling, enjoyed the pool and hot tub (which was really a warm tub) and experienced a fabulous sunset…

After a fun day of diving, it was time to head back to the city.  Great diving, beautiful scenery, delicious food, wonderful people – a fantastic day!

Bohol

March 14 - 17, 2014

We finally made it to the beach!  Thursday evening I walked Kona to Edi’s office and we continued to Pup Culture where Kona would spend the next four nights.  We opted for Mexican food at Salud for dinner – what a great way to begin our vacation weekend.

We flew Cebu Pacific, so we took a taxi to Terminal 1 (domestic airport) at 6:00 A.M.  Smooth sailing is what it was.  We got there in plenty of time, checked our luggage and had a muffin and some coffee at an airport café.  We boarded and were in Bohol one hour and fifteen minutes later.  Now, that is my kind of flight!  After retrieving our suitcase, we were guided to the South Palms Resort van, hopped in and enjoyed the forty minute ride.  Our driver was very knowledgeable and pointed out points of interest.  We drove by city hall and one of the historical churches, both of which had been badly damaged by the October earthquake.

Arriving at the resort was a breath of fresh air.  It is absolutely beautiful!  The lobby is open air; Oceanica Restaurant is also open air as well as the Palm Coast Pool Bar which sits next to the infinity pool.  Led to our room, we got settled and then suited up for the beach.  The aquamarine water, the white sandy beach, the nice beach chairs, tables, and umbrellas lined for our use…exactly what we needed after being in the city for so long.

We had a late lunch at Oceanica Restaurant and enjoyed the delicious food, excellent service and gorgeous view.  More time just beachin’ it made for the perfect day.  After a beautiful sunset and late evening on the beach we had a couple of Corona’s at Palm Coast Pool Bar and then headed to our unit for showers.  Not really wanting to get ready, we opted for room service for dinner – another delicious meal.

Saturday morning after a yummy breakfast we meandered around before heading back to get sunscreened up.  We set up camp and did some reading, snorkeling and sunbathing.  We had to call it a beach day early because we were scheduled for dinner at Bohol Bee Farm and the firefly tour up the Abatan River.  Our tour guide, Jessica, met us in the lobby at 6:00 and we drove about five minutes down the road to the bee farm.  What a unique place it is.  It began as an organic farm and has turned into an inn, restaurant and store.  I felt like I was in the top of a treehouse overlooking the sea.  All the food was organic and most was grown on the farm.  It was quite the spread – everything from soup, bread, squash muffins, colorful salad, seafood lasagna, chicken, spare ribs, fish, and lemon grass water to drink – delicious! For dessert we had ice cream, a scoop of ube (purple yam) and a scoop of malunggay (horseradish).  Yum!

The firefly tour was next.  We boarded the boat and were off down the river.  The fireflies are drawn to a particular type of tree in the mangroves.  It was amazing to see hundreds and hundreds of fireflies lighting up these trees. 

After a fabulous evening, we arrived back at South Palms just in time to hear the band on the beach sing their last two songs.  There had been a St. Patrick’s Day celebration that evening.

 

Sunday we had coffee on the terrace and then breakfasted in the restaurant.  We spent the entire day on the beach just hanging out – it was wonderful!  Another beautiful sunset followed closely by the moonrise sent us for showers and then to dinner at the Oceanica.

Monday morning we got up just in time to see the sunrise enjoying every second before we had to head to the airport and back to Manila.