Pahabol Summer Getaway

Our pahabol summer getaway was so much fun because we spent it with dearest friends and my sister. I am glad that our little Lucas enjoyed his first trip at the beach. Sure, there were challenging times (our son is after all, just 22 months old and is bound not to behave himself 100%) but as my husband says, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Welcome to Kalibo! We got the 7AM flight. Little boy was amazed that we were riding the big plane. He was just a little bit scared when we took off. After a few minutes, he asked for "dodo" and fell asleep.

Lucas enjoying his popsicle. Dungis dungis. Right: We weren't able to check in immediately. While waiting for the 2PM check-in, my boys decided to swim in the pool. Astoria' s pool is really nice.

"Swide, daddy! Swide!"

Little boy got tired with all that "swiding". By dinner time he was still sleeping. JJ and my sister decided to get takeouts from Deco's (the Original La Paz Batchoy) and Jonah's fruitshakes. After dinner, we decided to call it a night. We were all up  by 4AM given our 7AM flight and we all needed the sleep.

DAY 2: 

Stroll before breakfast

After breakfast, we again decided to have a stroll by the beach. We encouraged Lucas to walk for as long he wanted. But I was always near him as there were lots of broken glass by the beach :(

Swimming with Mommy. Lucas was saying "akkkk!" each time he'd taste the water. He enjoyed the beach but he had more fun in the swimming pool.

Daddy was building a "sand train" for Lucas.

Lucas loves playing with the sand. Probably thinking, "Why is Mommy letting me play with dirt?Hmm, might as well enjoy the moment before i hear her crazed 'Nooooo! Lucas!'".

We had dinner at Hawaiian Barbecue and frappes at Starbucks

Lucas enjoyed dancing to the tunes played  by the solo performer in a restaurant near Astoria. By the musician's smile, I'd say he was delighted with his audience too.

DAY 3:

Our day began with a boat trip around the island. Pics were taken while we're waiting for everyone to finish breakfast.

At Puka Beach. While this pic has all the makings of a "posed" candid shot, it really is not. This is just us convincing our son to move near us so we can have a decent family picture.

Family Picture. This is the best that we can do, given the circumstances :)

He loved chocolate popsicles

Group lunch at Hawaiian Barbecue

My son is notoriously a picky-eater but he eats a lot and with no complaints whenever we eat out. Go figure.

Beach scene

Night swim with Mommy. Daddy stayed out of the pool to be the photographer for the night.

DAY 4:

Our flight to Manila is at 2:45 PM. As we were set to leave the island by 11AM, we took one last stroll after having breakfast. It was a rainy morning. The gloomy day mirrors how we feel about leaving the island.

Looking back, I knew I was sad to leave because I had a nice time with my boys. From these pics, I do hope the hubby had fun too...

Still "swiding", until the last minute...

Bye Kalibo! Hopefully, we'd be back again soon :)

~*~

As much as I loved the trip because I was with my family, I was disappointed with a couple of things.

1. There were lots of broken glass and cigarette butts by the beach. I wonder what happened to the daily cleaning thing these days?

2. The algae. Enough said.

3. JJ and I had minor tummy troubles our whole stay. The culprit is probably the purified water we brought from a sari sari store. It's Natural Springs. Wonder what they put in there???? Good thing Lucas had his rotavirus shots and was not at all affected.

4. Most heartbreaking of all was when we snorkeled near Crocodile Island. The marine life was probably just 20% of what I saw when I snorkeled in 2006! That was just 4 years! I wonder what my son will see when he's old enough to snorkel :(

A few days after our trip, I read an entry entitled "Bora-cry" from Anton's website. I do hope that something can be done to save the island.