Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 8 - Off to Coron (7/29/19)

Get up for the hostel breakfast which was tiny (a piece of ham and cheese each and 3 slices of bread) so we scarf it down and pack so we can walk to the airport nearby for our flight out. Check in and get to the gate where we board our small plane for the trip over to Coron. Rough landing (maybe for a small plane it is normal but for what I am used to, it was really rough).The island has beautiful green hills which makes for a nice change in scenery. Take a van to Hop Hostel which is up on a hill in the city. Beautiful building with amazing views out over the bay. 

Crinkly is enjoying this new hostel and its views

View from the roof of the hostel

Getting dark as the sun sets behind all the thick clouds

The wifi is spotty throughout the building which was a bit annoying (thats if the wifi was even accessible where one was). Theres a nightly free dinner which is small but a nice gesture. Went down and had a smoothie which wound up being mostly ice which detracted from the tastiness. Take our stuff up to the room where they have both single sized mattresses and queen sized mattresses; the 2 biggest people in the room got the 2 single sized mattresses. Go figure hahah. After we get settled, we head down to the fun and sun dive shop to check in and make sure we are on the same page for our dives the next couple days. After all that, we go back to the hostel to pay them. Shortly after we get back there is a hard rain (glad we werent caught out in that). Rooftop bar is closed since we are in the rainy season but its still nice to go up there when its not raining and chill and enjoy the views. Chill in the hostel as we have some diving to do the next day. 

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 7 - Back to exploring the islands (7/28/19)

Wake up to join the newlyweds for breakfast in the restaurant before going to pack and check out. Hang out at the beach and the pool there at the resort with everyone then have a quick lunch. After finishing the meal, we catch a shuttle back to the ferry to head back to Cebu. Rain stopped right as we were getting to the terminal at Cebu. Walk to our hostel (jiji's hostel) which was out of the way from the action but close to the airport for the morning so works for us. Has good wifi but there was no hot water and bad water pressure in the shower. After settling in, we walk back to the main area where all the food/shopping is to see what we can find. Eat at a little local place called Mang Inasal which was good but really small portions and the red gulaman (if thats how its spelt) was weird tasting to me. As we walk around more, get a waffle sandwhich to get a little more in our bellies before going back to the hostel for bed.

Crinkly enjoying a dip in the pool before we have to head out

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 6 - Lets get these lovebirds married (7/27/19)

Since we are in the wedding party, we get our door knocked on at 4am to start getting ready. We go back to bed as it is too early and they come back and knock at 530 and we get ready around 6 to take some pics by the pool and then have like 100 minutes off as we are free till 8 (the amount of free time and buffer built into the day was so inconvenient and unorganized/inefficient). Eat breakfast at the hotel which was small and not very satisfying. Check out and take the van to the church where we get in place and do the procession in and sit through the catholic ceremony which has lots of weird aspects to the ceremony with a bunch of what seems like self promotion and what not. 

It may be early but that doesnt stop Crinkly from enjoying this view

Just a couple of dudes ready for some wedding festivities

Early morning view over the courtyard

Jefe and Crinkly waiting outside the church to make our grand appearance and get this bad boy started

The front of the church

Crinkly admiring the church

FLAG!!!!

Crinkly chilling by the pool

Crinkly got bored of the pool so now hes playing in the sand.

Crinkly jealous of the swimmers... he aint so buoyant if he takes on water

Cousins meeting up prior to the reception

Such a cool tree. oh yeah the view aint bad either.

The resort next to us had this lil weird island you can swim to and walk around on.

Went across the little water way to get a picture of the party from a different angle. 

Entry way to the reception area... nicely done.

After the ceremony finishes, everyone takes pics and there are people walking around trying to sell pics they took during the ceremony like you just got off a ride at an amusement park; so weird. We take some wedding party pics in the parking lot and then take a van literally across the street to get on the ferry (It would have been faster to just walk). We sit on the ferry for a bit while they try and load everything on and make sure we have everyone. As the bridal party we were in the room that has AC and people keep walking in/out of that room and leaving door open which makes the room get warmer as the room isnt built to cool off quickly. As we are about to leave, they distribute a bunch of jollibee snacks and beers and have coolers with more for people that want it for the ride over to the island. Once we arrive, get in vans to make our way to the Mangodlog Paradise resort to check in. Get to our room and try and find wifi, which we soon discover that the only place that has wifi is the restaurant and it is horrible (over time youll see lots of people congregating near the restaurant to try and get wifi). The bar is an open bar so we get some fruit shakes then wind up with some of the family in their room drinking some local cognac and whiskey as we just hang out and relax before the festivities. Go back to room to get back into the burong as the reception is about to start. Its a very intricate and amazing reception, with games including a match maker game, many speeches, a great band, fireworks, etc. As the reception went on, eventually it started sprinkling. After I go to the room to get ready for bed, the sprinkle turned into a downpour ending the night for everyone else. 

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 5 - Heading onto the big island to start the festivities (7/26/19)

Wake up and check out before heading to the dive shop to eat at their restaurant (hippocampus) where I had the eggs benedict which were ok, not bad but not great which is par for the course for getting eggs benedict at places - very few places get the eggs right. We had been talking with the dive shop owner the day before and he offered to take us to our hotel on Cebu today as he was going down anyway which was incredibly nice of him and saved us a bunch of logistical arrangements which was awesome and extremely convenient. We get to the island and load up his car and then head down to D Coco Palms resort which is where the wedding guests are staying tonight. 

About to load on the boat and head to the big island. Such a beautiful day for a boat ride.

Piece of heave on earth.

Crinkly enjoying the new digs as we get ready for all the wedding festivities.

Crinkly called shotgun on the bed so I guess I got the couch

hotel courtyard, time to chill

Crinkly enjoying the view over the water

Crinkly is destroying  the fruit snacks (believe these are lychee fruits?)

Crinkly found some Filipino brothers

Eat at Jollibee for lunch before getting there but once we get there, we check in and hang out in the courtyard with some friends while we wait for the night to begin. Eventually a van shows up and takes us to the mother of the bride's house where there are drinks, fresh fruit, appetizers, and this elaborate show in the driveway to get the wedding festivities going. After the celebration we go back to the place and it turns out there was a big 75th bday for one of the grandma's associated with the family where we eat a little bit more (def not needed) and hang out for a bit before heading back to the hotel to hang with everyone by the pool for a few drinks before going to bed. Go up to the room to shower and there is no wifi, no hot water, the shower doesnt drain, and the shower head leaks and sprays everywhere which makes it really annoying. Must say, for a "resort", I was not really impressed but they did have a pool and nice grounds.

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 4 - Last day of diving and living that island life (7/25/19)

Jeff wakes up early again as he loves the thresher sharks but I slept in to get rid of the headache so I go to meet him at the dive shop for the breakfast deal again as its awesome and then do 2 more dives near the island at deep rock and north point. 

Crinkly enjoying the morning views as the boats are prepped.

Crinkly sunbathing next to the beautiful waters, dipping his toes in water.

Pristine views

Crinkly enjoying the break between dives on land

Now thats a beach

After the first dive, we go to shore on the north side of the island and chill on the beach for a bit and just enjoy the day in a beautiful area. Go and see some parts of the island before the second dive then head back to the shop. Have some pizza and head back to the hostel to grab a nice shower and chill while reading in the hammock in the lobby area while Jeff takes a nap since he was up really early. I go back to the dive shop to get our dive logs filled out and signed by our guide (Pawex) and hang out and have some drinks with him. Jeff comes down and we all have dinner together and continue to have a few drinks and then head back to the hostel to get some sleep as we leave the island tomorrow.

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 3 - Diving to sea some thresher sharks (7/24/19)

Wake up at 4am and make our way down to the shop in the rain so we can make our way out to Monad Shoal to hopefully see some thresher sharks (the sharks with the long sweeping tails). Its a beautiful sky with the clouds from the morning rains as the sun rises. Go down and they have a few areas where you can sit and hopefully see sharks. We actually get to see 5 which was cool but they are some weird/sad looking creatures. 

Partner boat and us set sail in the wee hours... blessed with a beautiful sky to enjoy the long ride out. 

Let the views begin

So many colors... stunning.

Fiery sky with a boat cruising in the water

We have reached the spot, clearly this is why people come to this island.

Made it back to our lil island after our dive

Look how clear that water is...

Crinkly and I posing with animated thresher sharks

Crinkly is ready for some more diving

Crinkly getting suited up

View of the northern part of the island from sea

Crinkly enjoying the views

More wonderful views

Crinkly met a horsy friend

Day being book-ended with amazing cloud action with sun set and rise. 

Jeff enjoying the sky

Younger bro and a wonderful sky line. Good times.

Come back to the island and grab breakfast at the shop (found out they have this great french toast deal that comes with a drink (either smoothy or iced coffee drink) so I get that and it is delicious. Head back out on the boat and do some dives at Chocolate island and Lapus 1 which both had some similar creatures as yesterday but the amount and diversity isnt nearly as great as it is so close to the island compared to the place yesterday which was 45mins by boat from the main island. Get back and relax back at the dive shop with some dinner before heading out for our night dive. This dive has a strong current and instead of going with it our guide has us fighting it to see things which gives both of us these huge headaches from overexertion. Didnt get to see much either, it was a few cuddle fish and urchins and a bunch of crabs just burying themselves as we come to see them. Once we get back, we drink a bunch of water and head to bed by about 9 to sleep off the headache.