We were both wide awake by 6am today. We were actually both awake by about 5:15 but it wasn’t until then that we acknowledged that no more sleep was to be had. We opened the windows in the loft bedroom of our cottage and found ourselves in awe of the absolute silence of the world around us. We could hear the water lapping but that was it, nothing else. 
Breakfast service here starts at 6:30 so we figured we might as well get a start on our day. I threw on some shorts and a tank top and we walked the little path to the restaurant/lobby area. Along the way we heard rustling beside us and there we saw our first water monitor lizard. This thing was at least five feet long and slowly lumbered away as we approached. We had read that there were monitor lizards here and I was excited that we actually saw one. Breakfast was a delightful spread with many dishes that we would consider non-transitional breakfast items, like chicken and salad. The chicken tocino and puto bread made my taste buds happy and were a wonderful accompaniment to my omelet.
I was definitely more impressed by breakfast this morning than by last night’s dinner. By 7:30am we had full bellies and wondered, “what now?” I really wanted to walk off breakfast so we decided to try to find the nature hike that was mentioned in our activities guide. We walked down the South path from the restaurant and found ourselves at a dead-end, nothing but cottages and steps into the sea. Sea urchins were everywhere and Brandon really wanted to eat one. A baby black tip shark swam past us. I love sharks!
We walked back across the resort and stopped at the open-air lobby to ask the activities desk about the hike that was mentioned in our guide, the lady replied that she could look into a guide for us and seemed confused when we clarified that no, we wanted to know where the one we could do on our own was. “Oh, yes, you can just walk along the cottage paths.” Not helpful. Not at all. We walked up the North path back to our cottage and stopped in to take our malaria meds and vitamins. I suggested that we continue walking down the path just to see where it goes, maybe we’d find the trailhead. We walked past the last 8 cottages and sure enough, the path kept going. Maybe we had stumbled upon it! The morning air was warm and thick and the sun was starting to peek out of the clouds from the ocean. We came across another monitor lizard, larger this time, closer to six feet, and it jumped up the retaining wall to get away from us. His stocky, thick thighs were quite impressive.
Continuing on we stopped short when we approached some sort of maintenance hut and heard massive scrambling. We turned our heads and realized we had disturbed FOUR sun bathing monitor lizards! They were mostly on the smaller side, closer to the 4-5 foot mark and we watched as they stalked inland. Then we heard the scratching. Massive scratching. Something was trying to claw its way out of the maintenance hut. At first I thought we were hearing a person in there but my mind finally caught up to reality and realized that no, no this was no person we were hearing. Something was trying to claw its way out. What the hell was in there. My heart began to pound as we stood, paralyzed, waiting to see what was happening. All of a sudden a claw appeared over the top of the hut, then another, then another, and then the hissing head of a giant lizard. The creepy factor was off the charts as the mac-daddy of monitor lizards slowly emerged, seemingly angry at us for disturbing him. He scaled the top of the hut wall, finding his way to a tree and then back down to the ground. The entire scenario felt like some Jurassic Park shit, especially hearing him claw and climb his way out. This giant was probably seven feet long and my previous desires to pet one quickly slipped away as a I realized that this things really would fuck you up if they needed, or wanted, to!
My heart was still pounding as we continued on and came upon another large monitor lizard on the path itself. This guy led the way for us for a while before finally picking a spot to veer into. Just as my heart finally returned to a normal beat we came around a gentle bend and the path ended at a steep set of stairs down to a beach. We had found a beach! A hidden beach!
Excitedly we walked along the beautiful white sand in awe of the gorgeous turquoise waters surrounding us, and the fact that there was not another sole in sight. The gorgeous narrow stretch of sand actually had a row of three huts with chairs. Large rocks jutted out of the sand seeming to mark the end of the gorgeous stretch of abandoned beach, and being me, I scrambled to climb them. They weren’t tall but slippery and jagged. And worth it. For on the other side I could see there was a small section of white sand beach nestled against the rocky cliffs, and seemingly calling our names. It was warm and the water was gorgeous. We needed to get in that water. But I hadn’t changed into a bikini yet. I was still in my shorts and tank top from breakfast. We had to improvise…
We spent close to an hour soaking up the sun and enjoying the refreshing sea. Our walk back revealed a couple missing boards in a wooden fence that we hadn’t paid attention to earlier and, peeking through, we found ourselves seeing a series of tarps and a couple very basic, small cottages. We must have found the staff’s sleeping quarters! Some of the shelters were literally just tarps like we had seen in town on our drive here. It’s such a trip to see the reality of how people live.
It was barely 10am when we made it back to our cottage and it felt like we’d already been exploring for half a day! I finally changed into a bathing suit and off we went to paddleboard before lunch. And guess what? I did it! For the first time I was finally able to stand-up all the way on a paddleboard and maneuver myself around! The only other times I’ve tried were on rougher seas in Mexico and I never successfully made it off my knees there for more than two seconds! But in the calm resort bay, I prevailed! And now I want a paddleboard.
Having worked up an appetite again we were excited to find how good the lunch was. We filled up on steamed blue crabs, turmeric rice, beef something, pork egg rolls, tuna bites, chicken, and the most delicious seaweed salad unlike any I’ve ever had. These pieces of seaweed were comprised of little bulbous buttons, and I loved it. After lunch we rushed back to our cottage to grab a few necessities as our boat and crew were waiting at the dock for our four-hour private island tour.
And so was our security guard. Apparently a security guard is part of the deal. I’m still unsure what we are missing that has security being such a priority., But at least they are very non-intrusive. It did feel a little overkill though having four staff on the boat just for us two including – in addition to our security – a guide and two crew members. Another boat was there taking outgoing guests back to Taytay and I was disappointed to see 9-0 getting on. Now we’ll never know his story! Who is 9-0? He’s some random dude who was here ALONE. Now I am all for traveling alone, we know that, but this is not the kind of place you come by yourself. We noticed him by himself at dinner last night. It struck both Brandon and I as odd and we wanted to know his story. My theory was that maybe his partner or friend (whomever he came with) was sick in the room or they had gotten into a fight. Brandon’s theories were much better; maybe this was supposed to be his honeymoon and he was left at the altar but it was already paid for. Or maybe he is pulling some 90 Day Fiancé shit and came here to find a cute little Filipino wife. Hence, our nickname for him, 9-0. We saw him alone again at breakfast this morning which made me toss out my theories and jump on the Brandon theory train. But now we’ll never know.
The boat whisked away to our first stop, Nabat Island. But we didn’t actually get to to go on the beautiful beaches we could see. This was just a snorkeling stop. Now, here’s the thing, I am extremely claustrophobic. I have never successfully snorkeled before. I’ve tried. Probably half a dozen times I’ve tried. But I’ve never done more than put a mask on (the WORST) and hold my breath for ten seconds while I looked in the water. I’ve never actually breathed through a snorkel and having my nose covered is hell to me. I’m also not a good swimmer, I can barely swim at all! But here we were, an activity that was strictly snorkeling. I felt very melancholy that I couldn’t enjoy this activity with my fish of a man. The guide joined us in the water and attached a buoy to himself for me to hold onto as we went along due to my horrible swimming skills. I really hated the idea of disappointing Brandon by not enjoying the activity and so I tried. I put the damn mask on my face, let it cover my nose, held my breath, and plunged my head in the water. Yes, held my breath, I wasn’t ready to get crazy and actually try to breathe yet. And I ended up with a stinging nose full of saltwater. I shot my head up and Brandon and the guide, Raul, both turned their attention on me. I’m not going to lie, I was in a bit of a panic. My anxiety was off the charts and the trauma of having my nose covered and then having it sting with sea water was overwhelming. “I’m good, I’m good, I’m just going to float along,” I insisted. Brandon tried to help me put the mask back on and tighten it properly and I about lost my shit, feeling like I was suffocating. Inside I was in full panic mode. I convinced him and Raul to just let me float along and recover. And they obliged.
But the glimpse I had underwater had looked really cool. I did want to see the fishes. Once Brandon and Raul were both occupied snorkeling their hearts out, I felt like I could now work at my own pace on getting this whole snorkeling thing down. I took the mask off and on a few times and practiced getting comfortable with my face under the water. Then I started practicing breathing thru my mouth while my head was out of the water. And then it just clicked. And I did it. I put my face in the water, started breathing through my mouth, and I was snorkeling. This may seem like nothing to most people, but when you are as claustrophobic as I am, this is a major feat.
We were along the edge of a reef and it was absolutely amazing. I was in another world, the world under the sea. I kept calm about the fact that we were literally on the edge of the reef and the ocean dropped away deep beneath us and focused on the beauty in front of me. I held on to the buoy attached to Raul, breathed pretty damn heavy for most of the time, kicked my legs, and took in this newfound nature. The reef was spectacular. Tropical fish of every color flirted around me and the anoenomies danced as clown fish played in them. Giant coral sculptures dazzled and I knew right then and there that our next purchase MUST be a GoPro so we could preserve these memories. I wish there were words that could do the coral reef justice, but there aren’t. I was so glad Raul had the buoy for me to hold and be guided through. Though the edge of the reef was pretty linear with it’s steep drop off into the abyss I could easily see how swimming over to check something out could turn into being massively turned around and disoriented. I am proud of myself for this accomplishment, for conquering this fear and opening myself to a new experience and new passion.
After I have no idea how long, we made our way back to our outrigger and climbed on board to head to our next stop, Isla Blanca. Along the way we asked Raul about buildings we could see on small islands and learned that these islands were indeed private and two of the three dwellings we inquired about were private residences while one was a six-room resort. I want to know who has a residence on a private island that’s an hour boat-ride from the nearest town!
I saw a white sand bar come into view and knew right away that what I was seeing must be Isla Blanca. This little island must be a popular tourist stop as it was stocked with tables, chairs, and a couple little huts. But aside from one lone guy, who must have been the island caretaker, and must live on there since he had two dogs with him (I guess they could boat too but these islands aren’t exactly meant for commuters), and of course our crew, we had the entire island to ourselves. Raul set-up chairs for us and produced a juicy fruit plate while we selected beers from the cooler and stood in awe of the breathtaking scenery. We waded out into the shallow waters and discussed how good life is and how amazing it is to see the world. This was our own little oasis. The crew was napping on the outrigger and the caretaker dude made himself scarce so we were truly alone. Feeling completely alone on a tiny island, in the middle of the sea, in a country over 6,000 miles from home. Just wow.
Finally we were ready to partake in the Isla Blanca snorkeling. And damn I did good! Back at the boat Raul handed us our gear, grabbed his buoy for me, and without too much hesitation I did it! We were along another coral reef and I continued to be in awe of the amazing world beneath me. We even saw puffer fish! But they never puffed. I was amazed at how different pockets of the reef could have such large temperature swings. I was never cold, most of the time I felt in perfect equilibrium with the water temperature and then cool water would wash over me as the temperature shifted. We snorkeled for a LONG time and I only had to pull my head out of the water about five times, never having to take my mask off! I resolved that we WILL buy a GoPro before we get to snorkeling in Thailand. Perhaps the duty-free shop at the airport will have one?
We had moved our tour time up an hour and upon returning to the boat we knew we had made the right decision as clouds were starting to roll-in. Our crew (and security) returned us safely to our island resort. Raul spent the majority of the trip back trying to convince us to schedule another private tour for tomorrow. He even actually had us considering it for a while.
I still wanted to know where the hike on our island is and we had some questions about other activities we could book so we stopped by the front lobby. And found the lady to be useless. She looked at us like we were crazy when we mentioned a hike and told us “we should just about it after dinner when the activities coordinator is back when we tried to ask other questions. Useless!
Happy Hour was upon us so we ordered a couple cocktails and relaxed on chairs on the beach. I was still in a damp bikini and it was quite uncomfortable. The gin in my White Egret cocktail helped a bit, but not enough. As we sipped our green cocktail and reflected on our day and how surreal it still felt to be there it sounded like we went alone anymore. Sure enough, another monitor came stalking behind our chairs. These dudes are everywhere!
Knowing we were probably dehydrated from our day, we next ordered two fresh coconuts to drink. They weren’t as good as fresh coconut water I’ve had in Costa Rica and Cuba. They were a little bitter and seemed like maybe they’d been watered down. It was hot and sticky out, and being in a damp bikini was crazy annoying so a dip in the pool was in order. I tried to practice my newfound floating and swimming skills and was disappointed that without the help of the saltwater keeping me buoyant, I again was more of a sinker than a swimmer.
On our way back from the pool we stopped by the activities desk yet again and finally got some actual answers! We were given directions for the hike that nobody else seemed to know existed and guidance as to how we could upgrade the wine for our private beach dinner tomorrow night. I was just excited that finally someone knew where this fucking hike was! It only took us asking three different employees to find an answer.
Dinner was decent, though not exciting. Except for one of the deserts. I’m not sure what exactly Brazo de Mercedes is but it tasted like a delightfully delicious marshmallow meringue custardy goodness. I must figure out to recreate this deliciousness at home! We stopped by the bar for a game of pool after dinner, not my strong suit. But thanks to Brandon sinking the 8-ball out of order I won! I wanted to play more but the evenings seem even hotter and stickier so we opted to head in to the air conditioned comfort of our cottage instead. We actually really enjoyed being up at the crack of dawn so we could fit so much into one day and plan to be up early again tomorrow. After breakfast we will go for the hike, kayak around the island, get massages, and then who knows what!
Taking On the World 
Great post 🙂
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