the Philippines part1 - China to Cebu

ok, jumping in…to set the stage for those who don't know, the water in the Philippines - gorgeous, the beaches - sandy and clean, the weather in December - warm, slightly breezy, a passing shower to cool things down a little, but otherwise heaven.

years earlier, Carly and I plan a trip to Costa Rica - first flight, VT--->NJ and then to CR from there.  problem was the first leg was cancelled due to snow.  who's been there?  middle of winter, you're working like a dog, there's light at the end of the tunnel, the smell of coconut magically appearing from your Cream of Wheat - and then a 24 hour delay, if the flight the next day isn't delayed also!  we couldn't handle that so we jumped in the car and drove through the night (thank you caffeine) to Newark - only had an hour or two to spare but it was worth it when the morning sunlight gave way to plumes of volcanic smoke out the sky-high porthole.

i mention this story because we had similar beginnings to the Philippines trip - proving that one can endure amazing strife if paradise awaits you.  flight to Manila leaves just after midnight - driver to show up in Suzhou 3-4 hours prior - despite email confirmations, it just didn't sink in that the car to Shanghai was scheduled for the same day as the flight - erroneously slated to pick us up 18 hours after the flight takes off!  i suppose this is fairly common to travelers who don't often fly at "red eye" hours.  no consolation at the time though as we realize a half hour later that no one's coming to get us.  then we realize why, then it sets in that we have to get to Shanghai on our own.

  

it's after 8pm as the four of us, each toting a large backpack, climb into a cab, heading for the train station.  from there, it's a fast train to Hongqiao station, a metro ride to the interchange which should take us to the airport - but the interchange is now closed - it's after 11pm now.  outside we find a taxi, get to the airport - wrong terminal - running through empty halls, we eventually arrive less than 1 hour prior to our flight!  a big thank you to Allison Mindel for helping us navigate the Shanghai transportation maze - mag lev vs. metro vs. taxi…

it's a plane ride to Manila, a taxi to the other terminal - found it interesting that the Manila taxi drivers love tips whereas in China, taxi drivers vehemently reject them.  a short flight to Cebu City…

...and a 4 hour car ride south across the mountains to the small town on the west coast of Cebu, Moalboal…

...and then to the Blue Orchid - we made it!!

Carly loved shelling during low tide out front - the cement walkway allowed for easy access to the reef which maintained up to about 4 meters of depth before dropping away, nearly straight down.  amazing...