788 replies to this topic

[Macman]

Well, yesterday we took a long trip to the beach with some of Angel's family. Even though our town is on the bay, the beaches here are not the best, so we decided to take the more than 2 1/2 hour drive to Canigau Island. Angel's cousin had told me to make sure I got her up early because they would pick us up at 4:00 AM sharp. I asked if that was "filipino time" or real time. I was assured that it was real time. There was a terrible thunder storm that night, and Angel and I were still awake at 1:00 AM, kind of hoping we'd be rained out because of the late time we were getting to sleep. We weren't, and we got up at 3:00, made breakfast and got ready. We were picked up at 5:15. I think that was a compromise between real and filipino time. It actually took us about an hour longer to get there because we stopped along the way to pick up goodies and for pit stops. The ride was most memorable. For those of you who have been to Southeast Asia, it won't seem like much, but for me, it was an eye-opener. I've traveled in America, Canada, Europe, the UK (I think they like to be kept separate from Europe), Japan, even Iceland, but riding in a canter truck was quite different. There were a total of 21 of us who went; 3 guys riding in the cab of the truck, 15 in the cargo area (4 of whom were kids 3 and 4 years of age), and 3 guys on 2 motor bikes following us. The equipment here leaves much to be desired. A lot of it is held together with duct tape, wires, straps, spit and prayers. Being an open truck that was rattling and creaking with every move, and had things falling off it from the undercarriage, it felt as if we were going 130 kph, although it was probably no more than 73 or so. Angel and i were told to bring 2 kitchen chairs because it would be crowded. Needless to say, there is not a whole lot of stability in a chair like that when you are constantly speeding up and braking suddenly because of tricycles and putt-putts in the road, not to mention the bumps and potholes. I couldn't help but think that the only person in The Philippines who knew the phone numbers and addresses of any of my friends and relatives in the States is Angel, and she was sitting right next to me. If anything happened with that truck, God knows how anyone back home would have found out. I made a mental note to leave some info with some of Angel's friends.

We all made it to the beach in one piece, and I must say it was a great day. The weather was perfect and the water was absolutely beautiful and crystal clear. We brought lots of food and beverage with us, and bought some freshly caught fish along the way, which we roasted there. I spent a lot of the time helping the little kids build sand castles. I was very conscious of Pacman's warning about the tropical sun, and although I didn't wear sun screen, I didn't allow the parts of my body that were free of my golf tan to be exposed for any amount of time. My feet aren't lily-white any more, although they're redder than I would have liked (no pain though). Holy smoke, any longer in the sun and I would have been spending a lot of time thinking of Pac's warning from a hospital bed. They had men circling around selling ice pops. I love them, and mango is my favorite. The first stick he pulled out looked okay, so I just took it. Not exactly a flavor I would have chosen for ice cream (see below).

We left the island around 4:30PM. The ride home involved a little bit of drama. As we sped along, we passed a group of people crowding together on the side of the road. Our driver slammed on the brakes, causing Angel and I to do a quick improvised balancing act on our chairs. A pregnant woman had been riding with her husband on a motor bike, and they were struck by another bike. Two of our guys jumped out of the cab of our truck and climbed into the back with us, and we put the woman and her husband into the cab. We then sped to the nearest hospital, about 20 minutes away, using the horn like an ambulance siren, non-stop honking.

We arrived home at about 7:45 PM. Angel cooked a quick dinner, we showered, and hit the sack at around 9:00. I slept for 12 hours, Angel for 13. A great day.

Macman

Attached Files

•  Canter truck.JPG   89.96KB   297 downloads
•  Canter truck 2.JPG   67.09KB   297 downloads
•  Canigau Island.JPG   32.13KB   297 downloads
•  Canigau Island Beach.JPG   37.93KB   297 downloads
•  Canigau Island beach 2.JPG   35.83KB   297 downloads
•  Ice cream stick.JPG   54.93KB   297 downloads

[Macman]

After almost 5 years as a forum member, I figured it's time for a new avatar. I never liked the one I had anyway. When you use a human-type one, I think people have a tendency to think that you look like that if they've never met you. For instance, if I ever meet Patrick, I fully expect him to have a very square, green head, and I somehow suspect that may not be the case (although, maybe it is. hmmmmm). I don't look anything like the avatar I had before, so I picked The Phoenix, since my new life seems to have me rising from the ashes.

[dixon cox]

...avatar. When you use a human-type one, I think people have a tendency to think that you look like that if they've never met you.

When people meet me they commonly see the obvious resemblance in mine :|

Keep up the entertaining posts Mac, always an enjoyable read

[jayarr]

mmm frozen cheese

[zokk]

if they have them in the Philippines you should consider buying a couple of bean bags for your next trip in the back of the truck, much more comfortable.

[Legend]

nice update man.
i wouldnt fancy the truck ride, about an hour would have been my limit.
but looking at the beach, it looked to have been worth it.
but then, the ride back............

did you get a ferry over, or a home made raft.?

[Macman]

I'm sure that's not true, DC, and thanks for the encouragement.

You're right, PT, I doubt if I'd be doing a lot of the stuff I am except for her, and thanks for the kind words.

I don't think I'll be getting that flavor again, jayarr, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

zokk, a beanbag would have been perfect. It was really a scary and precarious perch in that kitchen chair, although probably better than the plywood benches, which kept cracking and breaking.

Anthony, we took a small, covered, motorized boat called a bangka (I think). It only took about 10 or 15 minutes. It's has a very narrow hull with these 2 balancing thingamajigs on the side, hanging above the water. (As you can see, I don't know a lot about boats.)

By the way, as tired as I was, there was no way I could even think about sleeping in that truck, but of course the kids did, and a couple of the adults too. Angel tried, putting her head in my lap, but as great a sleeper as she is (she can usually fall asleep whenever she wants to, and no matter how much sleep she's had before), even she couldn't doze off. It was still a good day, though.

[Surin Nix]

Great post Mac. That was about the most ambitious day-trip i've heard of in awhile. Do you ever see the "Phillipine Rabbits" - old red school-busses which serve as public bus service? They used to be prolific on Luzon, and I enjoyed the next-to-nothing fares as I traveled to some out of the way places. I thought those were pretty ramshackle, but compared to your conveyance, the Rabbits were almost Mercedes-like in their ride!

Nice new Avatar. Interestingly, I've always imagined you looking like an American Bald Eagle.

....and i am here to report, that, having met him, Kliome looks exactly like his avatar! (actual photo).

Now, Sev7en.....I'm having a hard time imagining....

Nix

[Macman]

I've never seen the red ones, Nix, but we have what they call "jitneys" here, which remind me of the small New York school buses (we have a few different sizes back home). They are painted in all kinds of crazy multi-colored designs. The big difference between the jitneys and the school buses home is that we seldom have people piled on top and hanging off the sides and back of the ones in NY. They also have some larger ones, pretty similar to a regular school bus, that travel between cities, also packed.

Nah, not bald yet, but sure getting there. What used to be a part in my hair has turned into a chasm.

Macman

[thailover57]

It's a great read Mac. I'm not very good with TR's and such. You have a way of bringing the experience to reality for us. Keep up the good work and continued enjoyment of your choice.

[Macman]

Thanks again for the kind words, TL57.

My social life is taking a bit of an upswing. This morning, during our round of golf, one of my playing partners told me that his son, whom I never met, would be waiting for us at the clubhouse. (He's also a member.) He said that he (his son) was going to invite me to his home for dinner. He added, "You can bring Angel." I'm glad he said that because I was going to face a big moral dilemma if he didn't. It would be one thing if we were going out to dinner "with the guys", but an invite to the home of a married man should most definitely include my partner. I realize that it is a different situation because of the fact that she's transgendered, and that it might offend some people, but I think that I would have had to decline the invitation if she were not included. Actually, I hope that I would have had the guts to do that. I say that because it probably would have been the end of my golfing life and new-found connections had I turned them down. As I think about it now, I'm quite sure that I would have done the right thing. Angel is too important to me to do otherwise. I know I could have told her I was just going out with my golfing buddies, but I can't start going down that road. In our discussions about the move I made, we made a big thing about what we consider the most important part of our relationship as far as making it work; honesty and communication.

My friend's son and his wife drove me home from the club so that we could become acquainted prior to the dinner. Remember the mansion that is next door to me, the one I showed earlier in the Google Earth screen shot? Well, the woman who lives there is the niece of my friend's daughter-in-law, whose home I'm going to tonight. Maybe my next step will be dining at the mansion. Oh, yeah, we're movin' on up. I plan on asking Angel to wear a dress. She always looks so nice when she dresses up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Macman