13 August 2005

Farewell for Who Knows How Long

During the night we where woken by what we thought was rain but turned out to be just some wind. So at 2:00 in the morning we got out of bed and moved our cloths line inside. We had to hang some of the cloths on the water pipes and things in the room. After hanging up the washing and taking some video we finally got back to bed for a few hours ready for the day which was to be one of the hardest days of my entire life.

 

We spent the morning separating all our things into different bags. During out travel we have been using one bag for our cloths and the others for personal and hygiene items. Now we had to separate everything, the first thing that made today a hard day was the thought of us separating for an unknown period of time

 

We had a rest in the afternoon before we went for a walk and had pizza for lunch.

Towards the end of the afternoon Marissa's relatives came to give us a list to the airport. The trip to the airport was a very emotional time and I could see Marissa was working hard to hold back her tears and so was I. At this time we had no idea when we would next see each other or where the next chapter in our life together was to taker us.

 

After I got to the airport and checked in my luggage I went back out and gave Marissa one last hug before I headed into the airport to catch the plain. Today was the saddest day of my life. Nearly 5 months have passed and I still feel the sadness in my heart that I felt the day I had to walk away from her to get on that plane. By the time I was on the plane I was pretty much in tears but I was also relived to know that this trip was not only the biggest undertaking of my life, it was the start of something even bigger. This adventure had been a great adventure, but now Marissa and I have decided to live the adventure of a life time together hand in hand. All this was only the beginning, the real adventure has only just begun!

12 August 2005

Last Full Day for Who Knows How Long

Today we spent the day in Manila. We met with one of Marissa's relatives to talk about our visa application. Today I got to see some shops in Manila. We had some dinner in the shopping area and purchased some supplies for the night.

 

We had a fun night that night. Marissa had done some washing and the bit of string we had for a cloths line was not strong enough to hold our wet cloths so we decided to use the rod from the shower instead. So I took the rod out of the shower and we used that. At the time we thought it was very funny and embarrassing.

11 August 2005

Time to Fly, See You Again Soon Mr & Ms D, Back to Manila, Pansit and Video with Marissa's Aunty

the plain prior to boarding

 

Today was the last morning we would wake up in Butuan City for this trip as we where nearing the end of our travels. Today we did a few things around town like get some phone reload before heading to the airport from where we flew back to Manila by plain. After checking in our luggage at Butuan airport we said our farewells to Marissa's parents. By 12:15 in the afternoon we where at the gate waiting to be called for boarding.

 

Today was cloudy so it was hard to see the views out of the plain but I did get a glimpse of a white sand island as we flew past and also some of the islands that make up the Philippines.

 

We arrived in Manila ahead of schedule and it was raining. We met Marissa's Uncle at the airport who had escorted us to the hotel previously. I guess you can call us creatures of habit now seeing as we once again returned to the same hotel we had stayed in at the beginning of our journey. The view out the window of our room was nice this time because we could see down one of the streets. I had a good chance to take some photos and video of Manila looking down from the hotel room.

 

Manila in the rain - From hotel window

 

Marissa was very tired by the time we arrived at the hotel so she had a rest. After flicking channels on the TV for a while I decided to join my dearest and have a rest too.

 

After a short rest we had visitors tonight. Seeing as we had a PAL compatible TV in this room we where able to connect the video camera and watch some of the video with Marissa's Aunt and Uncle. Marissa's aunt who is her dad's younger sister came to the hotel room for a visit and brought us all some dinner so we enjoyed some noodles (they call noodles pansit in the Philippines) while watching some of the video of our travel.

 

After our day of travel and bidding our guests farewell we showered and went to bed. Our time together for this trip was getting very close to an end but we where not at the end of our trip yet. There was still one more full day plus a morning left. The realisation that we would be parting ways for an unknown amount of time in the next few days was starting to way heavily on my mind during this evening. I was already starting to feel the tension of having to leave Marissa and head back to my home country Australia in two days time. As always I managed to relax myself and fell asleep in the presence of my beloved Marissa ready for the day that was to follow.

10 August 2005

More Relos to Meet, Ice Cream and Butuan City All You Can Eat.

Today was a relaxing day at Butuan City. We had a sleep in and went to Marissa's parents in the afternoon where we had some ice cream and a bit of a chat.

 

After we had visited Marissa's parents we went to visit some more of her relatives. I met one of her cousins and aunt and uncle. Cock fighting is popular in the Philippines and her uncle has some cocks that he puts in the fights so he showed me them, then we had some noodles and took some photos. I did not want to carry the video camera around with me all day today so we only had Marissa's camera today.

 

After a nice afternoon at her relatives house we went back to Butuan and did a few things before meeting Nildz for dinner. Nidlz is one of Marissa's work colleagues and is also a good friend to her. The all you can eat meal was nice. Unlike most all you can eat places in Australia, this one would charge you for anything you did not eat, I thought that was a bit rich so we had to be careful not to take anything we would not finish.

 

This was out last night in Butuan during this holiday as tomorrow we where heading back to Manila.

9 August 2005

A Windy Ferry Ride, McDonald's at Cagayan De Oro City and A Long Drive Back to Butuan

Today we woke up on a very comfortable bed in our room at the Paras Beach Resort. We noticed there was a strong breeze blowing and Marissa was worried it may be too windy to catch the ferry back home but after breakfast we decided that we had to move on anyway.

 

While on the ferry we got out of the van and found a place where we could watch the destination port get closer and see the passing boats. Being able to see the front of the ferry we could see how much the waves where rocking it around and that was making Marissa nervous. I enjoyed the short sea travel and did not feel I was in any danger even though it was very windy and the boat was rocking a lot.

 

We had already decided that we would be heading back to Butuan City today but before we started to head back in that direction we went to Cagayan De Oro City where we had a quick look around one of the shopping malls. We took the opportunity to visit a photography store and have all the digital photos we had taken up until that time put on CD. We had McDonalds for lunch in Cagayan De Oro City before heading back to Butuan City.

 

The drive to Butuan City from Cagayan De Oro City was long which gave us some time to rest. During the day's travel we where behind a bus which hit a child. We heard the noise but did not see the child get hit. Marissa was almost asleep but was startled by the noise, the event was on the news that night.

We finally arrived back in Butuan City and stopped at some hotels to see what accommodation was available. Going on the cost and room availability we decided we would prefer to stay at the same hotel we had previously stayed in. Before we went to the hotel we dropped in at Marissa's parents home. After having dinner with Marissa's family we headed to the hotel and checked in. Unlike the first time we booked in at this hotel, this time the check in was not as easy because they could not find a room that met our requirements but we finally settled on a room and had a chance to shower and clean up.

 

Today was a long day in the van travelling and we where both tired. By now both our health was a lot better but I still had a cold. We managed to have a good sleep ready to face the next day of our Philippines adventure.