Nothing much of a story to tell, I am just enjoying my time in Alona Beach. I woke up at 5AM, even if I slept at about midnight. Maybe I was excited about something? Maybe. Such as the early dawn skies.
At 5:14AM everything around this side of Panglao is so serene. My camera cannot justify the beauty.
Exactly 16 minutes after, the panorama started to reveal more of earth's wonderful colors...
Those three photos are left-middle-right. If you can stitch them together even in your imagination, that was how beautiful the morning view (that I woke up to, from my room's own veranda) was. Awesome!
Although I did not really have to go out to that veranda to savor the surreal heavenly views..,
Waking-up everyday to that kind of morning tableau, could be one definition of paradise. Won't it be?
That prompted me to go down and "be in the scene" for the real feel!
At 5:41AM.., down on the sand itself.., looking left and right.., it felt like I owned Alona Beach!
What we can't show via pics or vids is that "a bit cool and a bit warm" gentle morning sea breeze. Ahh!
Oh, special mention to my instant guard and best friend who kept following me! I felt safe. Honest!
He has a partner. Another dog colored white-and-black - who will probably appear in my photos later!
From the sandy strip, I turned around for a view of my resort: Blue Ocean Bohol Beachfront Resort.
That is my room on the upper-right-corner! Don't worry, I'll describe that in a separate post. Promise!
I walked up to those tables and chairs for an 'early morning tunganga session' but 'no can do'..,
Grass, chairs and tables were all still wet with the fresh morning dew. Kitchen/Bar also still closed! So I walked around the area -as if inspecting the extent, the realm, the kingdom of my royal highness. Da!
5:59AM, sun started laying its golden rays on the boats, making them look mesmerizingly alluring!
This is what photographers call the "golden hour" (there's also one just before sunset, of course), and I'm happy to have chanced upon it! It is that time of day when everything has that natural golden glow.
I noticed, this manong in blue cleans not only Blue Ocean's frontage (he's been at it since I woke up)!
I later learned from him and his wife, that the big house beside the resort is currently 'abandoned'. Du!
Hey do you see that man in black beyond the manong in blue? Not clear in the picture, but he is on the water with his black dog for their daily morning swim! The dog is a labrador and he's Russian (I think). Why do I say that? Because he looks like one, and the sign on that rock seems to be a good indicator!
Here's that rock with a signboard I can't understand except for a line saying "divers community club".
The advertised resort is actually not literally on Alona Beach that ends on that rock (by the way). It's at a street up and behind that rock. Yep, up there is one of the residential/commercial areas of Panglao.
Oist, di ko alam meron na palang mga kampon si Vladimir sa bansa natin hehehe! Da zdravstvuyet!
Aha! Because I saw those steps beside the rock.., I went up there just curious, and it looks like this..,
Pagpasensyahan nyo na ang batang yan ayaw pang umalis eh, parang kakagising lang at nananaginip pa yata! But that is the view atop the rock - left is the Russian signage, the boat is where I came from.
But the picture above was just looking to the left from atop the rock. Here is what I saw to the right..,
Whoa, there's a hidden little patch of white sand! So that extends the end of Alona Beach a little more!
Alright, 6:07AM, back at my resort, the kitchen-cum-bar-cum-front-desk was already open!
She asked what breakfast I want, told me to go on with what I was doing and will call me when ready.
So I went for a swim. They could see me where I was, and I could see them doing their activities!
One time she hollered from where she was, asking if I wanted coffee or hot chocolate, and I hollered back my reply! Aliw. Felt like I was wading in my own big swimming pool with my own servants hehe!
6:32AM, I witnessed K Groups were getting ready to board a hired banca. Hmm, they start early!
I'm not familiar what tours they do from this beach. Maybe the usual. Whatever, it's good to start early.
Just 2 minutes after and there was this other (smaller) boat taking off with another group (mga puti)!
Baka yun na yun mga kampon ni Vladimir mag-diving snorkeling beach hopping! Dobro pozhalovat'!
I liked this! People watching while mindlessly wading on a warm early morning calm sea.
6:44 the adorable manang hollered again.., this time telling me breakfast was ready. I heeded!
Imagine that! Your Pinoy Traveler who does not even see breakfast that often, was done swimming at sea and was about to devour 3 slices of spam and 2 sunny-side-up eggs before 7AM. A new lifestyle?
Aba pwede!
Over breakfast, I watched the manong in blue and his wife, still cleaning and sprucing the sand!
I somehow yearned to do what they were doing. The activity seems to be a soothing relaxing calming kind of movement - especially that part where they have to drag the broom in straight lines across the sand to create a pattern or design. It is like doing a 'karesansui' everyday! Umandar ang dugong J. Da!
Hey look, I remembered I earlier took this pic of a family on the beach, when I sat in for breakfast.
I realized those are manong and manang with their son and daughter. So it's a family affair! Kalingaw!
7:40AM, I was back at my room for some emails and to wash-up. I saw this happening downstairs.
Local kids playing soccer. Interestingly uncommon - since I often see kids play volleyball or basketball whether on the sand, a hardcourt or elsewhere. Maybe they've been influenced by tourists! That's nice.
About 9AM, I walked on the beach to another resort for a meeting and passed by these little ones..,
They were playing with a live beetle, the kind that feeds on young coconuts though not yet fully grown.
Happy to witness the simple joys of growing as a youngster in a Philippine rural setting - no gadgets.
Ah, and this inviting view was part of the way that I had to pass-by on my walk to the venue..,
Hmm, if I have to live and work in this kind of environment for the rest of my life, it'll be hard to resist!
Let's cut it here first anyway, and talk about the afternoon scene in my next story.
Oras is a pacific-facing town up the northern portion of Eastern Samar. This town's name is not pronounced like the Tagalog word for time. No, not like that! It is [o'ras] where the stress is in the second syllable. The speed and tone is like how you say the English words "alight", "chorale", "amass" or "awash". Okay, that's good enough, I know you got it! Uu da, oke na da it! Asya it! Yesterday, I was in the area checking on some work-related matters. Stayed overnight in this town as I haven't yet heard if accommodation facilities are available in San Policarpo or Arteche (these are the 3 northern-most towns of Eastern Samar). This morning, I was on my way to other nearby places, but.. I got trapped (happily) by a parade! That long white bridge behind them is the only way out south... A youngish set of town officials, I must say. Oh, the girl in the middle is not a muse. She is THE Mayor! But by the looks of it, she migh...
Happy (and thankful) to have seen the center of this town, even if I did not at all dream of being in the place yet! I only wanted to see Tinuy-an Falls and Enchanted River which I thought were both in Bislig ! Only to find out that Enchanted River is even farther away than Hinatuan, from Bislig or Tinuy-an Falls! This place is out of the way if you come from anywhere in Bislig to the Enchanted River or vice-versa! So, how did I find myself here? Nag-detour? Well, I would like to think of this as some kind of a gift! An addition to my itinerary (at no extra cost), for lack of anything else to do and/or any place else to see! Why? Because we were moving too fast from place to place, because: I did not stay long at Tinuy-an Falls or Enchanted River.., because: there were just too many visitors that I did not enjoy it any longer! Whose fault? Mine! Lesson learned: DO NOT VISIT SURIGAO DEL SUR ON A HOLY WEEK! So.., because we were already done with Tinuy-an Falls and Enchanted Ri...
Virtually everyone in Surigao City is related to this boulevard directly or indirectly! It's such a big thing , they even have a Surigao City Boulevard Development Program and a Surigao City Development Authority . I'm not joking. Those are for real. As in! Involved in it are not only their local politicians but also the chambers of commerce. What is it anyway? Foremost it's a 1.8 kilometer stretch of a highway along the seafront. The concrete pavement tells me it is still new. That is it! Walang basagan ng trip! It is an emulation (kumbaga sa Tagalog pa: gaya-gaya ) of Roxas Boulevard in Manila, or pwede rin Dumaguete’s Rizal Boulevard - and many other seafront boulevards. Aside from being a “park” for the residents, it is supposed to be an attraction in the city, showcasing whatever bla-blah-blah to attract tourists from everywhere on earth. While I was inclined to raise my eyebrows, it did attract me. I was a tourist, right?! So okay, without a speck of d...
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