Summer And The Sea

It was bound to be chaos. Nineteen adults, five children, four cars, and one mother-in-law in a wheelchair. We drove 178 kilometers from our home city all the way to Sipalay, partly because we had never dipped our toes in its famed waters, and partly because there was nowhere else to go. It was the Holy Week, after all, and everywhere else had been booked months before by other irreverent beach-loving bodies.

The proponents of this four-family outing had a noisy alcohol-filled evening appointing committees and drawing up a budget. Then there was the matter of finding handicap-friendly accommodations for Nanay who was still suffering from the effects her second stroke over two years ago.

While the driving committee guzzled their beer, the budget and food committee argued the merits of organic versus imperishable, plastic utensils versus metal, tankinis versus maillots, and whose monthly period was on the verge of gracing the much-awaited four-day weekend. In the midst of all this discussion, the fun-and-games committee scurried in and out of the house, chased by one or the other.

Maundy Thursday dawned bright and early. After several mobile phone arguments about the correct rendezvous place, we sped our way southwards, making only a few stops along the way to buy several large watermelons, and to make water by the side of the road, hidden amongst the tall sugarcane stalks.

By ten o'clock, we arrived at sunny southern Sipalay.

Eli and Wowo, Artistic Diving Resort

Starfish Troopers

Kylot: My starfish can carry the most shells.
Woog: No, mine!
Ia & Eish: Wanna bet?!

Sweet revenge: "death" by starfish

Achieving starfish zen

Isle hop

Atch at Campomanes Bay

DeeDee & Kylot's service de luxe

Yoohoo...! I broke your snorkel...!

Coming up for air

Corals

No Tatay! No Tatay! Noooooo!

Comforting the hydrophobe

"Swimming". With a life vest. By the seashore.

Atchbund & Aifee, Campomanes beach

Family at Campomanes beach


Tito Sam: Get me another bottle, Eli?
Eli: No! Gimme...coral!

HRH, Queen Mama of Langub Beach

Wowo, aboard M/V Spongebob, Langub beach

Pirates of the Langub-ian

Beach belly-boys

Atch & Aif, Langub

Sunset in the shallows

Beached mermaid

Stoned

Caved

The family that "rocks" together....

On the way home, via Mr. Sandman's sea

By Black Saturday, we dragged our waterlogged and sandy selves into our respective vehicles and made for Hinobaan, where we visited distant relatives, and scouted Happy (not-the-brothel) Valley's white stretch of beach, marking it for our next seashore foray.

And then we headed home. But this is not the end of summer...