#i miss so much of home but every time i see jackfruit at the store my heart hurts a lil | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mechadress · 4 years

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Saw a literary challenge to write about one of your average days in quarantine. They picked Tuesday May 12th. Since all of my days keep blending together, I thought it would help me set a benchmark for how I handled quarantine. So here it is-

May 12th 2020,

My alarm goes off at 7am. I roll over to turn it off and promptly go back to sleep. This was a normal practice even before the world shut down. I don't have set hours at work, but I prefer to start around 8am. Since my work computer is only across the apartment, the motivation to wake up before I absolutely have to is extremely low.

8am rolls around and I can't bring myself to leave the bed yet. It all seems so pointless as no one seems to care what hours I keep and I don't have any early morning meetings. I scroll through Facebook and Tumblr on my phone, I check my email more times than I really need to, and pet whichever cat is closest, usually Sierra. I find a post from a page that I follow that talks about Victorian parlor games and I share it to the Steampunk group I administer. There hasn't been much content in the group for awhile. I wonder if it's because steampunk isn't as popular as it once was or if no one has anything to say. It gets a few likes and one 'Care' emoji. I think it's because it indicates that people miss hanging out together.

Around 8:15 I need to use the toilet, which is enough to get me out of bed and sign into my work computer. CY yells out from his work station at the living room table to remind me to buy the camper table and a spray bottle he wanted for grilling. I order them from Amazon and feel guilty about getting nonessential items in the middle of a pandemic. I spend the first few hours of work scrolling through FB or Tumblr and knitting. While I knit I watch an hour and half long youtube video from ContraPoints about different types of second-hand embarrassment or 'cringe'. I identify a lot with what she says.

I am knitting a pair of socks simply because I have the yarn and I've never done it before. I tested out the gauge to make sure I had the right sized needles and I do. They are long dpns that were given to me by CY's mother once she realized I enjoyed knitting. Apparently she used to knit as well, but it would hurt her hands so she gave up on it. I had tried to use the dpns as intended, even looking up a video and practicing a few times, but I kept dropping stitches and getting annoyed with them. I eventually decided to order a circular needle from Amazon to use instead. I felt very guilty about this since there's all sorts of post-people and delivery people out there who are at risk moving all these boxes around, and here I'm ordering a stupid pair of needles that are a duplicate size to ones I own, but I just don't want to use. The circular needles are extremely nice and easy to work with and it is a pleasure to knit the socks. I still use the dpns as a stitch holder while I knit the heel. Today I'm connecting the insole and knitting along the foot. It's easy and enjoyable work especially after already completing the first sock.

I eat a prepackaged ube cake while I drink my tea and appreciate the nice pairing of flavors.

I feel bad about not getting more of my actual work done. However, I can't bring myself to concentrate on anything related to work. I keep moving my mouse around every 10 or so minutes so it looks like I'm active.

An old D&D friend of mine named Sam posts on FB about how he is proud of his company for continuing to let people work from home despite Ohio loosening some of the Stay at Home restrictions. I reply "We were told to expect to work from home until at least August. I'm grateful since it's one less thing to think about." Sam and I go back a forth a bit more, expressing gratitude and an interest in meeting up again once its safe. It's the first I've interacted with him in about 5 years and it makes me glad to hear from him.

I start lunch early because I don't have anything better to do. For lunch I make myself and CY a sandwich. We have some really good Italian bread we got from the grocery store that we can make into a decent replica of a Philadelphia style hoagie. I already chopped up the veggies so I can just take them out of the fridge and start layering them on. CY likes his sandwich with mayo and turkey. I don't like handling either of those things, but it's easy enough. I make his first then make a veggie version for myself. We use the new hoagie oil which isn't as bad as I had originally feared, but it isn't as good as the name brand one we had before. Pity they were out of it at the store when we went.

My 2019 tax refund from Ohio lands into my investment account. I plan to use it to invest in assorted stocks I feel will bounce back once the economy recovers.

After lunch I watch a few more youtube videos while I knit. One is a career review of the one-hit wonder band 'Living in a Box' and another is a recording of 'the world's worst singer' Florence Foster Jenkins. I had found an article that talked about people who had a medical condition which made them unable to percieve how poorly they performed a skill. In her case, she was a renowned as a very poor singer who believed she was very good and people would come to watch her ironically. I try to watch a congressional hearing where they discuss the health crisis with Dr. Fauci, but it's too depressing so I stop.

My anxiety related to work continues to grow. I figure that I'm not able to bring myself to do any investigation on my own, but I'm still able to ask people questions. I reach out through Skype to a colleague who I believe had worked with this business group before. I am surprised by how helpful she is and how quickly she is to respond. We get on a call and she shows me some reporting she did that is similar and directs me towards a table she thinks would have the values I'm looking for. She recommends another colleague to talk to and I schedule a meeting with him for the next day since he was busying for the rest of today. I feel instantly better. My anxiety about my work plummets and I find the energy and motivation to start investigating another task I've been given. I quickly find 1) the task was way easier than I initially estimated and 2) the data I want isn't available where I thought it would be. I even find out a new way to pull code out of Tableau and I excitedly share my discovery with another colleague. Around this time it's getting close to 4pm, my usual time to stop working and just become available for questions, should anyone need to reach out to me. I feel better about myself and allow myself to take more pleasure in my activities.

I start to prepare for the online D&D game I host each week, Tuesdays at 7:30pm. One of my favorite things about quarantine is that it's given me the time and ability to play again. I've missed having a regular D&D game badly. We had a very good game the previous week and I'm excited to make new material for this new game. I decide to include a villain who is a Banksia Man, one of the anatognists from the Australian fairy-tale Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. CY had helped me over the weekend come up with a cool backstory for him. I take notes and save some pictures so I can display them to my players through screen share.

A group of our friends are doing a Plank Challenge while we try to stay in shape while in quarantine. Colette set up a FB group with a list of exercises to do for 13 days. Each day, you do your assigned exercise then you post to the group to indicate you completed your day's tasks. CY and I made a point to work out for a bit each day after work and were already doing a fair amount of planks so the challenge as it was written was too easy for us. We tend to double the amount of time for each exercise or we double up the reps. My tasks for today are 30 seconds each of planks, rocking planks, hip dips, and up downs. I do all the exercises straight through twice with a short break in between sets then post to FB in the group.

After doing planks, CY and I go out to a nearby park to walk for a bit. We go for about 2.5 miles. It's a nice day, nearly 60 degrees. I am happy to see wild flowers starting to sprout up and the leaves coming back to the trees. Most people in the park are polite and keep their distance. It's rare to see people wearing masks while they are walking or running, so it almost feels normal.

We make it back with enough time for me to start getting my notes ready for game. CY offers to make me food and asks what I'd like to eat. We had just gone to Trader Joe's the weekend before and gotten a truly ridiculous amount of frozen food. He insists I pick something from the freezer to eat. In the end we decide he'll cut up the jackfruit crab cakes and make them into 'seafood tacos'. He even makes some sriracha ranch to go with it. The crab cake is surprisingly greasy, but it's very tasty and filling. Not sure I'd get it again though.

I go into the gaming group call and we quickly realize that only Gene and Aaron are going to be able to join game. We don't think it will be enough to continue the campaign I prepared for so I offer to do a one-shot just for them. I show them a cute rpg I found awhile ago called 'Fuck! It's Dracula' and we give it a shot. We have fun but I feel a bit unprepared since I have to ab lib most of the plot and come up with secret plans on the fly so they can be betrayed by their NPCs. The game is much shorter than I initially anticipated and we finish up around 9:30pm, much earlier than normal. I don't feel like Aaron and Gene enjoyed this game as much as they would have enjoyed the larger campaign I made, but at least we got to play together for a bit. I appreciate the social contact at the very least.

We dismiss ourselves from game and I join CY on the couch. He is watching some cooking tutorial videos, trying to teach himself how to smoke brisket properly. I go back and forth between different apps on my phone, not really paying attention to the TV. I try to read for a bit, but we eventually settle down to sleep before I get very far. I feel good about how the day went and I'm proud of myself for getting work done on the sock and researching my projects. I feel better about my life than I did when I first woke up this morning.

#journal writing #quarantine #may 2020

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vsplusonline · 4 years

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Lockdown treats with leftovers

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/lockdown-treats-with-leftovers-2/

Lockdown treats with leftovers

By now, most of us know that there are perhaps a hundred ways to bake a cake without flour, eggs, oil, baking powder or an oven. That a chakka (jackfruit) 65 could be as delicious as a standard chicken 65. Ever since the global lockdowns to tackle COVID-19 began, the internet has been teeming with food videos as people learn how to creatively work with basic supplies.

The pandemic is pushing home cooks to examine their larders and backyards more closely, as they find inventive, practical ways to use up everything in the fridge, thus limiting both waste and the necessity for yet another grocery run.

Paniyarams with leftover idli batter

“Who can possibly have idli three days in a row?,” asks Krishnaraj PS, a software consultant from Kochi, who is giving a new twist to leftover batter with his appakkara (skillet used to make unniappams). He smears it with oil, and pours batter into each mould to get delightful golden paniyarams. “These made for a great lockdown snack,” he says.

Shreya N, a Kochi-based entrepreneur says the lockdown is taking us back several decades, in a positive way. “This is how our grandparents lived. No eating out, growing and cooking our own food. In a way, I would say we are evolving, food-wise,” she says. “It makes me think of ways to create something fancy out of the mundane,” she says. For someone who used to order in every weekend, Shreya has stopped ordering food, owing to safety concerns.

Black tea mocktail

For those who miss eating out, digital marketing professional Najiya Sheejish from Kollam, has a solution: “You eat with your eyes. As long as it looks good, half the eating is done and it helps cure lockdown blues,” she says. Najiya makes a “mocktail” out of black tea, lemon spritz, a drizzle of honey and a handful of ice cubes. She also makes batter-fried, crisp chicken that resembles and tastes like its retail-chain counterpart.

Businessman Mathew M Joseph has decided to sun dry beef in order to avoid multiple trips to the market. “Especially for those who don’t get it delivered at home, it is ideal,” he says. He cleans the meat thoroughly, salts it and dries it in the sun. “This preserves the meat, which can be powdered and stored. It can be used whenever needed, sautéed with a handful of shallots, grated coconut and chilli powder,” he says. “Sun-drying tomatoes too are a great idea during lockdown,” says Mathew.

Crispy papaya chips

Balram Menon, businessman and food enthusiast from Kanjiramattom, Ernakulam, made chips out of raw papaya, with a lavish sprinkling of chilli powder and curry leaves. “I upload the videos of my exploits with food on Instagram to inspire others,” he says.

When Aysha Abel from Kollam revived an almost forgotten traditional snack and posted it on Instagram, the video was shared over 2,500 times. The “ethakka ball”, which routinely graced tea-time home menus, has been pushed off tea tables by store bought snacks over the past few decades. The simple and wholesome dish, says Aysha, can be made with the most basic of ingredients — banana, coconut, rice flour, sugar and ghee. “The ingredients are thrown in together, mixed and steamed in a banana leaf,” she says.

Mango leaf green juice

Ingredients:

Mango leaves (tender)

Ginger

Sugar

Lemon

Method:

Wash the leaves thoroughly before grinding them in a mixer along with a piece of ginger. Strain the juice and add lemon juice and sugar. For those who want a spicy version, add a couple of green chillies before grinding the leaves in the mixer with ginger, and add a pinch of salt.

“Traditional snacks don’t need fancy ingredients. Almost all of them can be made with basic home supplies,” says Krishnaraj, whose food videos have a number of viewers. “We are familiar with the aval kuzhachathu (flattened rice with jaggery shavings and coconut peels), but a savoury dish can be made too, if you mix flattened rice with a little bit of water, slit green chillies, a pinch of salt and grated coconut. All you need is tea to go with it,” he says.

Mango leaf green juice

Of course there are also plenty of experiments that border on the adventurous now that people are spending more time in the kitchen — ice cream made of wheat, green juice made of mango leaves and milkshakes made of jackfruit seeds. “It tastes so much better than it sounds,” says Shanti MS, a home-maker, who tried these with “great results”.

Making the most of resources and minimising wastage is one of the takeaways from COVID-19, as a women’s FaceBook group says. The discussions of late have been around ingenious ways of cooking with whatever is available.

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chriscoleman · 6 years

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Philippines Trip Report

Pangulasian Island and Manila Spirits

November 9th, 2017 - November 20th, 2017

Chris Coleman & Julia Donald

Julia and I took a trip to the Philippines for beach vacation and Ultimate frisbee tournament. The first half was spent at a eco-luxury resort in Bacuit Bay, El Nido, Palawan. Then we flew to the capital city for Manila Spirits tournament with a group of players from Seattle.

Vacation for our family starts with laying out a big pile of food for the cats and taking Skye to the doggy hotel. This trip was the same, although our longest time away from the buggers. I ate sushi dinner as Julia attended her Project Management Professional course at University of Washington. Flight at 11pm on November 9th after Julia bought face lotion at duty free (from two Filipino ladies).

13 hours later we landed in Taipei, Taiwan at 5am on November 11th. We lost a full day to the time zone change. Meals served on the plane was a new experience for me, which weren’t half bad. Dumplings, soup, and cold oolong tea in Taiwan airport were way better. Plus we got to see the Hello Kitty terminal early in the morning.

9am flight to Manila, Philippines was an easy 3 hours. Once we landed we took a taxi to Terminal 3 since walking between terminals at Ninoy Aquino International Airport is not possible. The buildings are not connected and the shuttle system is horrendous. Everyone leaves the buildings to try to take yellow taxis, but we struggled to find anything but white taxis (even though signs and the internet warned us that the white taxis were not recommended). Wings is a hostel/hotel that we reserved in T3, to rest during our layover. We decided to explore the city a bit before our nap/flight. After dropping our bags we went to the Mall of Asia in downtown Manila. Unfortunately we got swindled by our taxi driver and were forced to pay 1800 Philippine Pesos ($35 USD) for the ride which should have cost 250 ($5). The first lesson we learned in negotiations while riding white cabs. However the conversation with the taxi driver was almost worth the $30 upcharge… He was stoked to talk about American mass shootings, holding up two hands while driving and going Bang Bang Bang. Telling us about their own recent mass shooting at a casino. Plus some political talks comparing their president Duterte and Trump - both “strong” men. Julia realized this might be one country we don’t have to apologize for Trump.

Cultural shock hit when we entered the mall. They had armed security at each entrance, metal detectors and bag checks and pat-downs. Each individual shop also had their own white shirt armed security, continuing the strong show of force.

There were many American chains and your basic department store offerings. It was impressive because of the size. We almost stopped for an ice skate, but didn’t want to risk an injury at the very beginning of our trip. Ensaymada pastry at Starbucks was a treat, a delicious Filipino bread flavored with grated cheese and sprinkled with sugar. The best part of the mall trip was seeing the Christmas decorations and hearing the Christmas music. They are already in full holiday swing and it was fabulous. We later learned that Christmas starts on Sept1 in the Philippines. A common saying is “Christmas is coming”. Dinner at Manam restaurant initiated us to Filipino cuisine - Crispy Sisig and Watermelon Sinigang. We finished the trip with a walk outside along the boardwalk. They were preparing for fireworks later in the evening and we sat on the wall overlooking Manila Bay on the far side of the Pacific Ocean.

The ASEAN Summit was happening in Manila during our trip. World leaders came together to talk about Southeast Asian nations regional issues. The security throughout the city was tight, we even saw hundreds of police officers doing a ‘dry-run’ of the parade route as we went between the mall and airport. We missed them shutting down the streets for their test by a couple hours and returned to the hostel. Trump was in attendance for the summit, although we were lucky to be away from the capitol when he was in town.

Nap at Wings until our 6am flight out of Terminal 4. The showers were a treat and we felt refreshed as we entered our last leg of travel to reach our first destination. Taxi driver talked about Duterte/Trump again - telling us that his life is much better with Duterte in power. The 10pm curfew allows him to sleep at night, keeping the drunks out of the street. We kept our political opinions out of the conversation, it was good to hear local perspective on a radical president.

Flight to El Nido, Palawan was 1 hour. A small turboprop plane out of a cramped waiting area. Once we landed - resort staff took care of us right away. They handled our baggage and shuttled us to a lounge with drinks/snacks. We waited maybe 20 minutes next to Lio beach as they loaded our luggage onto the boat via wooden bridge. This was our first introduction to outriggers with their bamboo pole arms stretched out at their sides for stability. Raul called the boat a big turtle. Regardless it was fast while we departed the small El Nido airport. The transfer took about 30 minutes to get us onto Pangulasian Island. We talked to Raul, our favorite guide, about excursion options before arrival.

42 villas on the island, otherwise no houses or people outside the resort. The crew on the island stayed in a house behind the main restaurant and lobby. We learned later that the main building had been built on top of a cave where the water monitor lizards lived, including a big one called Godzilla who was probably 5 feet big. We never saw Godzilla but we kept an eye out for him. Our home for the next 4 nights was Villa #22. On the way to the villa on our “buggy” we saw our first and only macaque monkeys at the resort during the trip. We were instructed not to look directly at them or smile at them because they can get aggressive,. However they are so cute that is all you want to do. The room was luxurious with a huge bathroom, strong air conditioning, private balcony, and ocean views. As we were introduced to our room, we were also introduced to several Filipino english peculiarities, including the ever present honorific "M'amSir". Having grown up in the South, Julia was not sure how this concatenation had never occurred to any of the southerners she knew as it would have undoubtedly saved them much time in their daily salutations. Endless coconut cookies in the mini-bar was one of the best amenities.

We planned out our trip on a piece of scrap paper. No real itinerary before this, but once in the room and aware of our options we wanted to optimize our time in paradise. We went to the activity director with this plan:

Day 1 - sunset hike

Day 2 - 7am snorkel, 3pm Island tour

Day 3 - 8am Lagoon tour

Day 4 - ???

Day 5 - 2pm boat, 5pm flight

Lunch at the pool after seeing our first small/baby Monitor Lizard. Julia had Rellenong - squid stuffed with pork, which introduced us to the Filipino comfort fusion of Asian, seafood, and Spanish food, plus foamy fruit drinks. Then into the water for our first snorkel of the trip. We saw a blue spotted stingray the size of a dinner plate as we were entering the water. Lots of coral right away and tons of fish all around. We were amazed at the amount of life right off the shore of our villa, the reef was alive! Huge blue clams and blue starfish were highlights, then we saw ‘Nemo’ (clownfish) in a home of sea anemone. We quickly learned that the overprotective dad fish are not just a thing of movies as the clownfish tried to chase us away from their anemone homes. Once they started trying to attack you, it was best to swim away so they didn’t leave any eggs defenseless and ready for another fish’s dinner.

Sunset hike was a serious physical task. Hiking up about 500 feet, counted in 1800 steps, to a lookout tower in the center of the island. The steps were counted out with signs every 200 steps. Raul bounded up the mountain with the speed of a mountain goat and the ease of a man who has only worn flip flops (aka “slippers”) while traversing the jungle his whole life. Took us 30 minutes. We were rewarded with 360 degree views and a breathtaking sunset surrounded by islands of all sizes. We hiked with 2 guys - Nunu and Brunu from Portugal and our guide Raul. Early dinner at 6:30, where we were asked by the entire staff how our sunset hike was. We quickly learned that everyone on the island always knew what activities we were up to at all times. Bed by 9pm, which became a regular thing for all of vacation.

7am snorkel tour at our ‘home reef’ on Sunday morning. A resort boat took us to the west end of the island, about a 3 minute ride. Shallow coral as our guide directed us towards the best spots for seeing baby blacktip reef sharks, as they apparently like to stay in 2-3 foot deep sections of the reef. Almost immediately we saw blacktip reef sharks. About 2-3 feet long, nothing scary but still swimming with sharks. Brunu spotted a BIG shark - quickly alerting us, but it turned out to be the second group of snorkelers from our resort.. HaHa

Breakfast buffet at the main restaurant was massive. Options for all nations… American (pancakes, and bacon), European (fruit and pastries), Asian (rice and grilled meat), plus local Filipino dishes like fish, longganisa, and jackfruit.

A kayak tour around the island was settled upon after much debate. The wind was blowing and I was nervous the adventure would not be easy. It ended up being a wonderful decision all around. The boats were easy to launch from the beach next to our villa. We immediately tested upwind and downwind paddling - discovering we could easily handle the conditions. Paddling clockwise around the .2 square mile island took us 1 hour. The side opposite the villa is completely deserted, with multiple beautiful beaches. A small black monkey was relaxing on one, scurrying back into the woods as we floated by. There were also tons of crabs on the rocks, that also scurried away as we got close.

Back in the room Julia read on the balcony while I soaked up the AC + WiFi until our 3pm tour. Island Hopping is a 3 hour tour via outrigger style boat - called pump boat or paraw boat. There were about 10 other couples on the trip although the boat didn’t feel cramped at all. The crew of the boat frequently navigated the length of the boat by walking on the bamboo outrigger support structures, leaving the middle of the boat where we were sitting wide open. Luckily we weren’t required to wear the big red life vests, so I ditched mine immediately.

The first stop on the tour was called Cathedral Caves, about 25 minutes away. Pictures only as our boat was too big to enter the cave. The second stop was Cudugnon Cave another 25 minute ride. We were greeted by two dogs when we landed on shore. Then we walked along the water to a small entrance which we crawled through. It opened up to a huge room which legend says is a Neolithic burial place. We squeezed our way into the cave and marveled at how it opened up to 40 foot ceilings once we were through the entry. The light shone in a way that was impossible for us to capture on film. It was beautiful. Our 3rd stop was Snake Island, named for the S shaped sandbar that connected the island to mainland Palawan. After securing the anchor we walked the sandbar to a shack in the water. A bar on the sandbar, wonderful! No cash, and no bartenders today, so we just looked around and shuffled back and forth on the 2-3 foot deep sandbar, hoping our feet were alerting any stingrays to swim away and not sting us out of self defense.. Another 10 minute boat ride and we were back at Pangulasian Island resort - home.

We stopped at the pool for a sunset swim. Ordered coconut’s and Julia drank them both. After cleaning up I called for a buggy to take us to dinner. At 6:30pm no one was there, it wasn’t until later in the trip that we learned that the restaurant didn’t open until 7pm - they were just too nice to tell us to leave. Again puzzled where everyone else was, we dove into the exquisite menu, amazed at the quality and selection for being on a remote island where everything is ferried in by outrigger. Two orders of bread, shrimp gyro, and a huge seafood paella was a killer meal. Then a stomach settling beach walk home and we were in bed by 9pm.

Monday sunrise at 5:30am was beautiful from bed. It was raining as Julia scanned for wildlife from the balcony. She spotted 3 big Monitor Lizards coming out of the water, plus a baby blacktip reef shark maybe about 1 foot long trolling the shallows in front of our villa.

Breakfast was another big buffet in preparation for our Lagoon Tour at 8am.

The tour was filled with 22 people including our guides, driver, and security. Gold was the main guide - who I found out is also an ultimate player and planning to attend Manila Spirits tournament. Small world in the ultimate community! The group was: 2 Hawaiian couples Alan/Jira and Russell/Joy, dad from Manila and his 3 daughters, an old French couple, family of 4 with a 10 year old boy and 5 year old girl, and a young Asian couple on their phones the whole time. At this time we were beginning to get to know all the other fellow occupants of the island.

1st stop was Big Lagoon, 20 minutes from home. Pictures only as our boat drifted into the lagoon while the guides gave a history / science lesson. We learned about the limestone cliffs and how they were eroded over time by the salt. This was one region in the Philippines that was not part of the ring of Fire and was safe from earthquakes and volcanoes by its place in the middle of a tectonic plate.

2nd stop was Small Lagoon, 5 minutes away. The rain picked up again but it was warm and it didn’t bother us. There were already 5 or so outrigger boats in the ‘parking area’ leading into the lagoon. Some of the outriggers were from other resorts (including other El Nido properties at Maniloc or Lagen islands) and the others were from “town” a El Nido proper, and were part of the tor packages A, B, C, etc. all looked good, but the tour options had little grills on the back that were cooking excellent looking if slightly fire safety concerning food. We dropped anchor in the tight quarters and waited for our kayaks to arrive. Another group was using them and 1 by 1 they finished so our crew could jump in. Julia and I took the last boat, quickly catching up to the group with fast strokes. Through a hole not much bigger than our kayak we entered the lagoon. Walls were dripping with rain into the clear blue brackish water. A quick swim finished our adventure - then into the boat for a final stop.

3rd stop was Miniloc Resort - also owned by El Nido and on the same island as the lagoons. It was set in a cove in the middle of limestone cliffs. The resort was beautiful but it seemed to lack the beautiful beach that we had at Pangulasian. We were affirmed we made the correct resort choice by a couple of the other travelers on the boat, although that is comparing two especially Fantasia options. The reef just off their shore is home to a school of Jackfish, about 4 feet long - big things! They feed them daily so they zoom around near the dock - one nearly jumping over me as I snorkeled by. A Sergeant Major fish with yellow and black stripes bit Julia’s elbow as we explored the reef. I didn't believe Julia and went in to follow up - it bit my hand. Nothing more than a tiny scrape - but that bugger was really defending his territory well, good for him. Sweet tea on the boat home was a perfect ending. We were back before noon.

Ice cream and fruity drinks for lunch told us we were truly on vacation. Any time more than 3 drinks are in front of 1 person - it’s vacation!

Julia took an afternoon snorkel while I rested in the air conditioning. She saw another stingray and more Nemo fish. Then we relaxed in bath robes until dinner time. Julia even won the daily debate of buggy vs. walk - this time only because the buggy service was busy. We spotlighted crabs using the headlamps I brought from home as we walked on the beach to dinner. Large hand sized white crabs dove into their well dug holes in the sand, while hermit crabs just collapsed inside their mobile homes. Our Hawaiian friends came over during dinner to extend an invitation on their private boat tour tomorrow with their lady friends. We quickly deliberated and decided to say yes.

Tuesday the 14th began with thunder and lightning. We ate breakfast as it stormed all around us. Extra banana jam on my pancakes to make up for the nasty weather.

The tour started at 10am with Gold as our guide. Alan/Jira and Russell/Joy were a bit late, but excited to get going. Secret Beach was the first destination. A hole in the side of a steep wall. At high tide you have to dive and hold your breath 5 seconds to get in. We all practiced holding our breath and confirming what kind of 5 seconds were we talking about? One mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi, or 1, 2, 3. In retrospect, the "mississippi" might have added to the confusion in our clarification attempts. It was low tide so Julia swam straight in, but I still dove. A sandy beach inside was magical, completely closed off from the outside. Unfortunately this is where Julia’s camera decided to die - however we later discovered it was simply a dead battery.

Hidden Beach was the second destination. First we stopped for a quick snorkel just around the corner. A reef on the edge of a 100 foot dropoff. Colorful coral and tons of fish - so amazing to see with our butts in the air. The beach was hidden behind a shallow entrance. We waded through ankle deep water to find another sandy shore tucked away on Matinloc Island. The other 2 boats of tourists were just leaving so we got the whole place to ourselves. Only other person there was a local in a canoe selling coconuts and ice cold beer - how perfect!! Julia ate the soft meat out of the coconut after drinking the water. The salesman even cut a ‘spoon’ out of the coconut shell for her to scoop it out with - genius. My San Miguel beer hit the spot in the midday sun. All of us got coconuts or beer for 400 PHP (8 USD). A good deal.

Lunch at Entalula Island was welcomed at 1pm. El Nido owns/manages a section of beach here with the softest sand of the entire trip. They served us lunch of rice, shrimp, sashimi, fruit, and cold drinks. We only had to sign our room numbers and the bill was taken care of. I could get used to this. When checking out later, we saw all of the receipts where we had signed our room number earlier in the vacation. The stamps for our postcards. The lunch at Entalula. The magnet for our fridge. Imagining them gathering all of these receipts for calculation via outrigger or buggy was humorous.

2 more quick stops at the Cudugnon Cave and Snake Island we had been to previously. We skipped going inside the cave this time. Walked the beach trying to pet the dog and talk to the little girl - neither were successful. Then we waieded in the water and chatted with Russell, learning about his insurance business and life on Maui. Snake Island bar was open this time and we didn’t forget the cash. Bought more beers and coconuts (we learned here our first Tagalog word - Buko - which means coconut) before heading back home.

The private boat tour with the Hawaiians was our favorite adventure during our time on Pangulasian Island resort. We were out almost 7 hours, explored 5 islands, and saw hundreds of fish with new friends. I sure hope we run into these guys again on another vacation!

Black butterflies greeted us at sunset daily. We watched a dark blue / almost black Great-Billed heron hunt on the ocean shore as the mosquitoes began to bite. We also learned about alpha monkeys. Once they became aggressive (stealing clothes off balconies or food from the buffet) an Ecologist would fly out from Manila, the monkey would be darted and wake up on a secluded island. 1 alpha per island, no mates. This has happened 5 times in the past 20 years - meaning that there are 5 islands out there with mad/lonely monkeys on them. The guides told us 1 adopted a cat from a nearby village as his friend, petting it and guarding it. This was the monkey banished to the Sandbar island. We had been warned during our visit not to pet the cat, and it made more sense knowing about it's monkey protector. Hilarious / Sad.

Manila plans were discussed over a dinner of Kare-Kare (oxtail and tripe in peanut sauce) and butter chicken. Super sleepy after this heavy meal. Bed by 8pm, but not before committing to our buggy driver for a 5am sunrise hike.

Wednesday the 15th Julia actually made the 5am sunrise hike. I slept. The guide asked where "Sir Donald" was and she replied, in bed. They discussed ecology on the way up and politics on the way down - a well balanced agenda. This was the first, but not last, person Julia met that was critical of Duterte and the drug war. The guide was especially concerned with the corruption of the cops and the extrajudicial killings. When they discussed the drug wars in both countries, quickly Julia grasped that although the US drug war incarcerates the most people in the world - our drug war isn't killing political opponents in their houses and planting drugs to cover it up. Neither is good, but there is always worse. The guide was worried about the future as all of the political opponents to Duterte were being silenced, and no one knew what would happen at the end of his remaining five years of term.

6:30am I began to pack, reluctantly. Paused at 7am to take the guided snorkel of the home reef again. We saw no sharks but did traverse the entire length of the resort reef - West to East. Almost an hour snorkel with 2 other guys (Australia and UK). We got to see 2 smallish green sea turtles and another stingray. Rinsed off at the dive shop and turned in my fins.

All our new friends were at breakfast. After 5 days it felt like we knew everyone. Catching up with what each other did the previous day and our plans going forward. Many of us were leaving together today so we’d have one last chance to shake hands before island time was over. I stopped at the pool after breakfast while Julia took 1 last snorkel. In true to vacation form, the last snorkel continued a trend we had started on other vacations where halfway through it started raining. When Julia came out, she and Brunu and Nunu (Portuguese guys) all finished at the same time and had a good laugh about "Snorkeling in the rain".

Lunch by the pool, then to the reception desk for checkout at 2pm. Signed the bill for 30,000 Philippines pesos and bought final momentos. Loaded the boat and we were off to the airport. Waiting room for El Nido resort guests was a treat - with drinks, sweets (red bean cakes and cassava cake), and air conditioning.

**Note - Sleep No More is an immersive play based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hitchcock's movie “Rebecca" that Brunu/Nunu told us about. Look into this next time we visit NYC.

Landed in Manila, fetched baggage, and hailed a yellow cab (metered). Only problem is that the driver took us to the wrong hotel. Hotel Manila is WAY nicer than we booked. Felt wrong from the moment we pulled up. German Shepherds working security, ladies in long ballroom dresses, chandeliers, over-the-top Christmas decorations, the whole package... Thankfully the six bell boys on duty were nice (or bored) enough to carry our baggage and arrange our cab. Driver was way more experienced - getting us to Luneta Hotel on the other side of Rizal Park. This is the first time we were explained it was probably not a good idea for us to try walking in the city at night.

Luneta Hotel is 99 years old. Lovingly restored in a beautiful combination of art deco and French renaissance architecture, we felt at home in our room for 1 night. We ate Crispy Pata for dinner at the hotel restaurant. The waiter explained all the ways we could tear into the beautifully twice cooked & deep fried pig legs / pig knuckles. "The tendons are the best". We noted how much easier it was in the Philippines to eat the peripheral / organ meats, and how much we had been enjoying it. In house made ice cream was a treat - especially the Jasmine flavor which was the national flower.

Thursday the 16th was a walking tour. Out the front door of our hotel was Rizal Park. Named after Jose Rizal - a Filipino nationalist who advocated political reform for the colony under Spanish rule. We visited the monument for his execution along with other historical sites in the area. Rizal is the national hero, a true renaissance man who wrote books and poetry, made paintings and carvings, and explored the sciences as a Polymath. His execution jump-started the successful Philippine revolution. Unfortunately, right after the success of the revolution and the creation of an independent Philippine government, the Spanish promptly lost the Spanish/American war. During the peace negotiation between Spain and America, Spain sold Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the US for $20 million. The Philippines sent their best minds to the US to advocate for their self-rule, but the US failed to grant them their own sovereignty they had fought so hard for. Another war- the Philippine/American war - ended 2 million Filipino lives and settled the question for another 40 years of American rule. It was only after the atrocities of WW2 that the US granted the Philippines their independence on July 4, 1946. Families laid on space blankets in the shade as we walked the park, visiting the Chinese Garden.

Intramuros, a historic walled city inside Manila, was the next walking destination. First we stopped at Starbucks to download maps and assemble a plan. Once Julia made the map her phone background we were on the move again. San Agustin Church was our first major stop. A massive Spanish monastery built in 1607. Now a museum detailing the complete religious, economic, and legal colonization of the Philippines, detailing trade routes and gold mining along with the life of monks in the 1600’s. The Spanish were completely successful in their religious conquest, having converted everyone we met or saw into a devout Catholic. Then more churches and old buildings. Fort Santiago was our last stop inside the walled city. Built by Spanish conquistadors in 1571, then upgraded repeatedly until 1730’s. The American flag was raised here in 1898, who drained the moat to make a golf course. During World War II the fort was captured by the Japanese army and use as a killing ground for hundreds of prisoners - especially during the Japanese massacre of civilians during the liberation of Manila. 200k civilians (including lots of religious leaders) died in mass shootings during this last month of urban fighting. Intramuros and the rest of the city was gutted.

Back in 2017 - an Uber driver picked us up and took us to lunch. Dong Bei Dumpling house in Manila’s Chinatown district. A hole in the wall, that was recommended on every corner of the internet, was kinda scary getting to as our taxi driver took us directly through a slum on the edge of the river and the intramodal shipyard. It all paid off when we were served. One of the best meals of our entire vacation - stuffed pancakes, pork dumplings, and xiao long bao. Then we met our 9 year old friend Jarred outside. His dad runs a shop next to the restaurant and he wanted to talk as we waited for our ride. A very nice boy who had to run back to his dad to get English answers for our questions. Then we became Facebook friends - it was official.

Quiapo Market was our last tourist spot of the day. An open-air market selling everything from fruits to pirated CDs. We walked the hundreds of small booths looking for a fitbit replacement for the one I accidentally swam with in Palawan. We were able to find speakers, phone cases, watches, ‘nike’ shoes, bike parts, herbal “birth control” (it is a very Catholic country), 10 min massage, day-old chicks … but no fitbit. After an hour we escaped without spending a dollar.

Jasmine tea back at Luneta Hotel per the waiter's recommendations as we picked up our bags and then an hour Uber ride, with a sleepy driver, to our AirBnB in Alabang. This house was rented by our ultimate team for the long weekend. Just 2 kilometers from the fields in a secured neighborhood. We actually had to fight through the security gate our first time through, trying to prove we actually belonged there.

The house was huge, as were all the ones around us. 10+ beds upstairs, 2 on the main floor, and ours downstairs. There were also 2 house staff and 1 driver staying with us full time. The owners moved to California last year and use the house rarely. The staff are their personal helpers of the family for the entire lifetime of their children - Julia was lucky to get some time to discuss this further with one of their helpers and learn more about this aspect of the culture.

Team dinner was a ‘Boodle Fight’ - a traditional meal served on banana leaves and eaten with hands. Ours was packed with pork, shrimp, octopus, corn, and rice. I sat next to Summer who was allergic to shellfish - but she was able to avoid death with Epi-Pen on standby.

Friday the 17th began at 6:30am with Shawn cooking eggs, bacon, and sausage. The first van to the fields left at 7:45am, with Alan our driver. Ange and Steph were already there with a spot reserved for us under a canopy on the edge of the fields. Each team had their own section blocked off - which proved critical during rain and sun all weekend.

Manila Spirits ultimate tournament is in it’s 14th year. 40 teams from around the world come together for a fun weekend of competition. It’s a co-ed tournament, playing with 4 men + 3 women or 4 women + 3 men. 60 minute games played to 13 points. Our team - Just Saiyan - was 19 boys and girls, the only team from the United States. Ranked 29th out of 40 teams. I looked for Gold and was able to find 5:30 Palawan team, but he was not with them.

Right off the bat ‘For Old Times Sake’ beat us 6-10 first game. They had the Tournament Director on their squad and were all around highly spirited. An excellent introduction to Manila ultimate. It was a tight match all the way to the end, then near a questionably timed soft/hard cap they ran away with it. Finished with a Spirit Circle and hip hip hooray X 3.

The rain started as we walked back to the canopy. HARD rain that flooded our shelter. Everyone hung their bags on the canopy poles and embraced the storm. The fields were soggy but it slowed by the time our second match began.

‘Love Parade’ beat us 3-13 in the second game. Clearly a dominate team, having won the previous year. We didn’t even make it to the 50 minute soft cap. Ouch!

We beat USO third game 13-8 on a sloppy muddy field. They were young, one player only 17 years old. After our victory we taught them the street fighter spirit game, which ended up being a long 30 minute game, happily played in the sideline shade.

Back at the house we washed clothes and hung everything to dry. Ice bath for the feet was sweet, I almost made it a full minute. The team cooked hot dogs for dinner - which were found to be individually wrapped after grilling for 10 minutes. Why?!?

Julia and I chose to go out for dinner to catch up with each other since we spent the day separated.

Julia went to Pagsanjan Falls (a whitewater gorge once used as a set in "Apocalypse Now" movie), about 3 hours southeast of Alabang. Alan, our driver, helped her find the proper bus after he dropped us off at the fields. Then a motorcycle driver picked her up from the bus station and took her the rest of the way to the falls. 2 guides navigated her up and down the river and underneath a waterfall in a dugout canoe and bamboo raft. “Shooting the rapids” is the tourist activity in the area and there is a rotation system for tour guides - nearly 3,000 villages have "canoeing numbers" assigned and about 1 every 10 days they are able to guide. It is one of the major methods of income in the town and I was reminded "Christmas is coming". The guides paddled and jumped in and out of the canoe to drag it over and between rocks, and pushed off of the gorge walls when necessary for upstream momentum. Julia's concept of whitewater canoeing was greatly expanded from her Outward Bound expedition days, as she never considered anything other than paddling as a method for propulsion. Apparently feet is another acceptable and common option. Good to know. Things put into perspective, Julia enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Then the moto driver, Romeo, picked her back up and took her to 2 other random spots in the area with waterfalls, local boys swimming, and a lake at the top of the mountain overlooking Laguna Bay. Beautiful rural areas with farmers, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and subsistence gardening. she would have never found without his local knowledge. Aware that things could be risky, everything paid off wonderfully with Julia feeling very welcomed by the friendly people in the provinces.

Buko (coconut) pie for dessert. Julia got it during the bus ride home. As the bus rides were long and direct, they never stopped for food but rather let vendors come onto the bus for short rides. Roasted/steamed corn was a common treat, in addition to Balut, Empanadas, and nuts - all usually for 20 PHP.

Saturday the 18th was day 2 of the Spirits tournament. First game at 8am vs. ‘Sentinels’. We beat them 13-6 after Shawn’s hucks warmed up. Ange and Steph, our Filipino teammates who encouraged/organized this trip from the start, forgot their cleats at home. During our long 4 hour break they ran home and brought back Halo-Halo icy desserts that were sugary delicious. We relaxed in chairs from another team (which oddly they were mad about - come on team Vicious be reasonable) bought swag, drank smoothies, and watch games. 1pm was our second and last game of the day - which we ended up losing. ‘Breakfast Club’ was an old school team from Manila. They looked easy to beat but we just couldn’t shake our problems. They also called a bunch of questionable catches/fouls that really took the steam out of our high spirited squad. 6-10 was the final score, bummer.

Reviewed the day with Julia over dinner at Neil's Kitchen - a hip Filipino-fusion restaurant in Westgate Filinvest. We had three amazing plates of food, but the one I remember most was their concept of Dinuguan - a black liver and blood pudding dish complete with pork belly and rice. So rich and the best liver dish Julia has ever eaten. She went back to Manila city and visited 2 museums. National Museum of Fine Arts and National Museum of Anthropology. The art museum was beautiful and intense - the long history of the Philippines being colonized by Spain and America showed through in their religious art featuring Jesus and their modernist art featuring the journey from WW2 through the post-colonial years of independence. The Anthropology museum showed a sunken Spanish galleon which had just been excavated and explained a large part of that period of history. Lunch at Seaside Dampa - a seafood market where you buy anything from crab to lobster to shark to clams to tiger prawns and more - then across the street a restaurant will cook it for you. She had tiger prawns and a crab next to a family singing Videoke, a popular pastime in Asia.

Tournament part was Saturday night, which I decided to skip. It didn’t start until 9pm. I’m an old man. Asleep by 9:30.

Sunday was the final day of the tournament. We changed canopy locations to a central spot next to the first aid station (team Vicious ‘kindly’ asked us to move). Half the team was hungover, which gave confidence to the young and spry Sentinel opponent. They underestimated our experience playing hungover. We dominated from the first throw. I think they scored 3 points total, keeping spirit high the whole time. They did our ‘charge up’ cheer with us after the game - it was loud and awesome. The shitty part of this strong start was our teammate got injured. I threw a terrible pass over Amanda’s head, Ryan attempted to clean up the garbage. Feet got tangled as they approached the sideline - sending Ryan hard onto his elbow. Medics on the field said it was sprained (or torn ligament), he was out for the rest of the day. Felt terrible because it happened on my bad throw. Hopefully now that we are back in the US he can see a doctor and get healed quickly.

Game 2 was vs. White Propaganda. It was extremely hot with no sideline shade. Saiyan players were dropping out left and right. I was playing double points by the end of the game. Normally we were in pods of 3, rotating every point so that each person would play 1 of 3 points. Needless to say - we lost. Lots of simple drops added to the frustration, we totally could have beat this team. They were a fast squad, ready to move the disc quickly against any zone we tried to put on. The final score was 6-10.

Steph came back after the game with all our box lunches (so we didn’t have to stand in line with tickets waiting in the sun). Thanks Steph! Rice, pork, fish, and cookies were necessary to keep the engine rolling. I couldn’t seem to drink enough water all weekend - but the shade brakes helped encourage hydration.

Final game was vs. Stacked Stats, a team of players representing 15 countries. Fun group from the very start. We were never in the lead - they easily won 6-13. I was just happy to have survived a hot/humid tournament in Manila, my first international competition.

Finished the tournament with a box full of beers from the vendors. 24 San Mig Light’s while the team sat on the sideline watching the championship match - Boracay Bandits vs. Mulatto. Bandits were #1 and Just Saiyan ended up #32. Not too shabby.

Julia returned from Taal Heritage Town about 7pm. Alan was just asking about her status since it was getting dark, he had helped her get to the bus again and was worried she made it back easily. Taal is a popular tourist destination because it has a volcano in the middle of a big lake. Most people visit and hike to the top of the mountain volcano in the middle of Taal lake. Julia chose a different route - to visit the town and see their history. A wedding at the largest basilica in Asia, restored houses of Filipino Revolutionaries, market with dresses, halo halo, bikers, and a trike ride filled her day.

Ice cream passed around the dinner table on a Lazy Susan was the perfect capstone to a exhausting 3 days of ultimate. Our team was fun and already talking about what exotic tournament to try next year…Hopu Ka Lewa in Hawaii???

Monday the 20th was travel day. Alan began taking people to the airport at 9am. We relaxed and talked to the house staff, Delaney and Daisy, until 11am. They told us about Tagalog bananas and the backstory for the home owners. Alan stopped at the South Supermarket so we could pick up final ube treats for Julia’s coworkers. Then dropped our bags at EVA airline counter. We still had 5 hours until our flight so we got a taxi to the Mall of Asia to waste time again. Ryan was with us too. Lunch at Manam restaurant again, where we talked to a girl heading to New Zealand for a friends wedding. A quick walk along Manila Bay and we headed back to the airport (only to wait in line for an hour to check-in + customs).

16 hours of flying later, we landed 30 minutes before we took off. Monday was a weird day for us. Tuesday it’s back to work while fighting jet lag. The good news is that Thursday is Thanksgiving!

**Tagalog is a hard language to pick up for me. I learned zero words the almost 2 weeks we were in the Philippines. This is all I semi-learned after repeated instruction by various Filipino’s.

hindi = no

oo = yes

mahal kita = I love you

Buko = coconut

Overall the Philippines were a beautiful and adventurous string of islands. We look forward to going back to visit many more beaches (and tournaments) plus more off the beaten path international travel! We picked up a cookbook for one of our few souvenirs so more Filipino food in our future.

Now it’s time to throw the ball for this dog… she needs love!

Cheers,

-Chris Coleman

#philippines #elnido #pangulasian #manila #manilaspirits

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reidfoley80-blog · 5 years

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Considerations To Know About boat trip in kyrenia

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