I just had to see it for myself...

For the next 3 days, we traveled by boat to lagoons and beaches all around sea. We snorkled and kayaked around everywhere we stopped to get a good look at all the islands' and waters' secrets. Thank God we're all good swimmers.

This is a typical view of the fish we saw as we snorkeled around the reef...
...and the chance find! We found Nemo and his family :)

Secret Beach (original name, nah?) wasn't the coolest beach we saw in El Nido, but it was by far the scarriest to get to. Its entrance is visible only during low tide and is no bigger than a meter in circumference. The reef is so thick in front of it that our boat had to set anchor in the middle of the water to steer clear of it. We had to swim the rest of the way to the narrow opening in the rock. The secret beach was so secret, that even our boat driver missed it the first time!

My favourite beaches were on Snake Island. During low tide, the sand peaks through the water just enough to create 2 beaches on either side of it...one beach for me and the other one for whomever else ;)

It was barely an hour flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa (Palawan's only city and capital). Then another short ride over the sea to El Nido. Hundreds of small limestone islands popped out of the sea scattered all over for miles beneath us...



Where was the plane supposed to land?!

With only P150/each to use for commuting, find your way to the En Grande tour office in Baclaran. There you will locate Beth and Espie who will help you arrange your trip to El Nido, Palawan.

You can take any combination of transportation, each with its own pros and cons:

• The LRT (subway)

The LRT is the fastest since it bypasses traffic, but it passes @ a 12 minute interval (if you're lucky). It is the most dangerous to take since the station exits are overcrowded with street vendors and sneaky pick-pockets.

Fare: P14/ride

• The JEEPNEY

The Jeepney is the most commonly used mode of transportation by Filipinos (there is usually one every 5 minutes). Rides can be long if traffic is bad, but it can drop you off anywhere you need to along its set route...even in the middle of the road!

Seating @ least 20 ppl at a time, Jeepney passengers are usually those trying to get to work or school. The chances of being robbed here are less likely than if you were to take the LRT.

Fare: P7.50 for the first 4Km

• The TRICYCLE

Rides are more private, since it is just your party and the motorcycle driver, but not necessarily safer. The tricyle has been refered to as being "Motorized Jaywalkers." Used commonly for short distances it will cut through the narrowest spaces through traffic and up on curbs to get you there quickly.

It can seat up to 4 ppl excluding the driver (or one American and his ordered companion).

Fare: P7.50/person (for travel within its district)

• The PEDICAB

Just like the Tricycle, but powered by a man wearing rubber slippers. Rides are similar to that of a tricycle, but more fun since the speed of getting "out of the way" depends solely on the strength of your peddler. (Did you notice we were going against traffic?! I'm sure the the Virgin Mary stickers on the rook of our cab were out there for a reason...)

Fare: Same as a tricyle, but up to 2 passengers @ a time (or 1 American, but his companion has to help peddal ;) I'm just kidding...she walks. :o!

TGIF...my cousins on rotation @ the hospital were finally free to join us for a night on the town. We all went to Bay Walk, where the street stretches along the stinky Manila Bay. There is one outdoor restaurant after another, each with a live band playing their renditions of modern pop songs. There were some truly talented acts.

We settled @ a place called "Retro" and ordered a few rounds of drinks. The merienda I ordered was the only thing I recognized on the menu: calamari. My cousin insisted I try the delicious Sisig dish, but should only have it once because its cholesterol content is gastronomic.


He was right, it was good, but I won't ever try it again...not because of the health hazard, but because I found out afterward that the dish is made of finely chopped pieces of marinated PIG FACE!!!

... when I left Montreal. We had freezing rain overnight. The drive to the airport was slow as we tried to navigate as best we could over the icy streets. We were about to turn into the highway when I thought about my cell phone which I left on a charger on the coffee table at home. It just didn't seem worth the trouble to turn back and get it.

This police car was parked all night in front of the airport terminal.

I made it to the Philippines :D and so did both my suitcases. Thanks to my dad for making them easily identifiable.





Leg 1: The 2 and half hour plane ride from MTL to JFK was short and sweet (after the de-icing process was over! Look at the shiny wing...)



Leg 2: The 14 hour JFK to Japan leg was the sweetest one of them all thanks to the ever-so-nice "Fabien Mendoza" JALguy @ the counter. He hooked me up with 3 seats all to myself on the Upper level. That meant I had a sofa to lie down on and my own personal entertainment center which came complete with a dozen different movies...



...and games to keep myself occupied with.














I also bought a book @ JFK called "What happened to my money" by Robert Kiyosaki to add to my "things-to-keep-me-occupied-on-the-plane" bag. So I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, but I'm caught up on a few movies, I'm a pro @ Connect 4 and I'm a little more inspired on what to do with my money ;)


I love this view the clouds (Somewhere over the Pacific).

Leg 3: Half a world and international date line later...connection in Narrita, Japan. Boarding for this 3rd and final flight took forever! We left 25 minutes late...but I didn't care, I was almost in the Philippines! I zonked out as soon as I sat in my seat though...I hadn't slept in over 30 hours...


Arriving in Manila was CRAYZEE! 3 jumbo jets landed one after another at Ninoy Aquino international airport. Ours was first...thank GOD. The ppl in our jet passed @ customs and at the baggage carousel first. Minutes behind us were the mobs of "Tssssut-ing" balik-bayan (translated: back-to-home) filipinos hoarding boxes of pasolubong (gifts) and over-packed suitcases through the mildewy-dollar-bill-smelling hallways...the music of a 3 piece live band echoing over us...

Almost there! I got hit with a wall of humidity as I exited through the glass doors of the airport...rolled myself down the steep "M-Z" corridor to the pick-up zone...scanned the crowd of "well-wishers" to find my cousin holding up a big "MONICA" sign...I had arrived :)

We surprised our hosts on our last morning by making them breakfast. Eggs, sausage and bagels with cream cheese. It was pretty filling, but the bagels were plain in comparison to Fairmount Bagel!

One last stop @ Jasmine Sola (the store that all made all of us rubberneck when we first drove passed it on our initial drive down Commonwealth)...then across the river to walk around Harvard campus.

All in all, our short visit in Boston was great. It felt like comfortable Montreal there, but with the slightest touch of New York charm. Can't wait to visit again when its warmer :D

The three of us were pretty lucky @ handling our liquor this year. It was the day after New Year's and we were up "early," sober, eager to brave the city again. Our hosts...well...they weren't as fortunate. They had to stay behind while we toured the city on our own.

My fav Boston snack (there's a fried dough stand everywhere), bottle of water and tons of napkins...OK! We're good to go!

We found the Frog Pond...5 minutes to closing! No skating in Boston for me :( It's all good. There were too many ppl on the ice to land my axels safely anyway ;)

So what's still open Jenny? (She was our designated map reader. In a car or on foot, she found the ''X'' that marked the spot.)

"I think we want to go this way?"

We stumbled upon the Boston Public Library because we saw the light display glowing on it from afar. The Prudential building (a.k.a The Pru) was not too far down Newbury from here. Thank goodness 'cause we were getting hungry!

One bread bowl of Boston Chowda later, we only had time to visit one more thing before going home. So we walked through the ever peaceful Public Garden to get to our car, which, by the way, was LEGALLY parked...right across from Cheers!

We found Fenway...but saw no flags.