There's nothing that can make you feel so alive as traveling. One of my best friends from JMU, Miss Kelly Abbott, came out to meet me in Taiwan on my last day of work. Since then, we have only been on the road for three short weeks but the amount of things we've done and seen is amazing. We started with a Taiwan tour that was the perfect end to an epic year. Some of my good friends from Kaohsiung met me at various points along the way so I didn't have to say all my goodbyes at once. We camped in the pouring rain in the middle of a beachfront restaraunt, rented a scooter and drove through the mighty Taroko gorge (also in the rain). We were literally driving through waterfalls with our huge backpacks and two people on a scooter. It was something of a spectacle. Needless to say we wound up with a wet bag full of wet clothes, but it was totally worth it.
It was upsetting and a bit nerve-wracking to leave Taiawn. I had made a home for myself there and despite excitement to come it's never easy to say goodbye. Things quickly got pretty exciting though.... i'll continue.
We left Taipei exhausted and dirty (a state we've been more or less in since). Our first destination was the beautiful island of Palawan. We latched on to a Dutch girl at our hotel and the three of us traveled north from Puerto Princessa to the spectacular El Nido. We found a homestay and paid the equivalent of $5 each for a room overlooking the ocean. The long balcony with waves crashing under us easily helped us to overcome the smell of wet dog and dried fish wafting from the lower floor. We were in paradise... and we intended to make the most of our time there.
The next morning we embarked on a private island hopping tour. The islands of the coast of El Nido are something you'd have to seee to believe. Limestone cliffs dive right into the ocean, but there are little treasures around every corner. At the "secret lagoon" we had to wade through the water fighting the waves before crawling though a little hole in the mountain. On the other side of the hole, completely hidden from the beach is a swimming hole. Even while we were floating in the calm water, it was hard to believe that this place existed. We dined on fresh fish and bananas and drank coconut milk directly from the source.
We made friends with the local musical talent. They attempted to teach us to play the bongos... It turns out my drumming skills leave a lot to be desired (earplugs for instance). My ukulele skills however are steadily progressing. I've been toting around the little orange intrument which is more an accessory. I'll be on the big stage soon, I'm sure of it.
We unsuccessfully attempted to leave Palawan many times. We planned to take a boat but then watched it leave the harbor as we were eating breakfast. We booked a flight but got turned away at check-in because the booking was rejected (after it was initially accepted). While stuck in town, we made another friend who joined us for a walk around the graveyard. The locals all gather at the cemetary on All Saints Day to celebrate the people of are hanging out on the lower level. We got to talk to some truly amazing people. We finally left for Cebu which is where a whole different adventure began. I'll save that for the next blog instalment because I can't possibly begin to write it all down now....
All in all we are living and loving our lives. I don't think it could possibly get any better than this.
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