steve and ems holiday part 9 i think

[stevewool]

well some have asked for more, so here it comes, the holiday to bicol with the family all 12 of us, cheaked out the hotel at 6am just across the rroad from terminal 3 and called the family who was making there own way there, will be there very soon was the message. So waiting outside the terminal for them to appear we waited andwaited and waited, no sign, the time is ticking on, the flights were 8.40 am and the time was getting towards 7 am, we had to get all 12 through cheak in and this was our first vacation planned by me, so i was getting a little nervous, 7.20 passes and the van showed up, come on in we go and with no rush from them we trundled into the airport, straight to check in and we all got throught ok, trhen onwards to the plane. This is th first time many had flown infact out of the 12 only 4 had flown so there was lots of nervous smiles from the kids and the adults too,i nust admit Airphils was very good, we all sat near each other and the pictures were taken lots off i may add. Trying to watch there faces as we went down the runway was funny, excietment was all i could see, and that was nice, 40 mins later we landed at legaspi and a van was waiting for us to take us to tabaco and the rain started then, going to differant places is great but all this plannig was my doing so i was hopping it all would go well for Em and the family.It took usaround 1 hour to get to tabaco and the port but before that we had to get the shopping done, no shops on the island were we was staying, so the local supermarket did well out of us that wet day, we had so many large boxes of food with us and onwards to the port for our boat, ups forgot some things from the chemist for the kids , so another 30 mins later we was at the port being loaded into th boat, the trip across the bay to the island went well it even stopped raining too. As we was going round the island to the landing dock for our house the boat hit some rocks and did something to the engine, it just went BANG and there we was floating in the pacific going out to sea, the look of horror on the faces i loved it, another boat came along and they managed to get a rope to us and they towed us as close to the beach as possible, then they used bamboo sticks to get us to th beach

[grahamw48]

Hahaha....always an adventure in the Phils.

Keep it coming Steve.

Here's a pic I took on the same flight at 18,000 feet a few years ago.....shows how mountainous it is in inland Camarines Sur (where the ex is from).

.

[stevewool]

sorry about doing it this way, but dont want to lose wht i have ritten and not to sure what other way i can do this too, so bare with me, On the beach we landed and the heavens opened up the rain just came down so hard and you was wet straight away, jumping of the boat and taking the camera into the house and undressing to just shorts i ran back t the boat to help the others off, by the time we managed to get of the boat the rain stopped but we wa all so wet we just laught, the cases in and the boxes of food into the house too, we paid the boat man and we was home for 1 whole week in a beautiful place, swimming was first for the men and kids, somehow the ladies wanted to put the food away and cook, well thats what i thought. Me and em had the top floor all to ourselves the views was amazing the front of us the pacific to the side tabaco across the water the other side coconut trees and the back we was overlooking the volcano mayon, juts fantastic i thought. Food cooked that night and we all settled in for a nice night, well that did not last long, sickness and diarhea form 1 of the kids poor bugger and poor parents too he was sharing there bed, anyway next day all was sorted out, the local kids came to nosey at us and we soon made new friends with the locals, so friendly they was, catching fresh fish and crabs and bringing them every morning for us to buy. One day the family brought a live goat for me, that was put into the pot that afternoon, poor thing, i did not eat it way over cooked it was , but the rest of the family enjoyed it. Mount mayon did not show itself proper just either the tip or the bottom never a full picture i got but you was amazed by the shear size just over the water, family bonding was made by me and Ems dad he is a amazing man and i do think he is pleased with how we are together me and emma,the kids were just that kids being good and being naughty too, but we all got on very well i think,soon the time had gone and we was planning our return to the mainland then back to manila, but bicol is a place to vist again the house was fantastic too, i would recomend this place to anyone who wants peace and quite, back to manila part 10 to follow

[Doc Alan]

I was one of those who asked for more, thanks Steve I know you enjoyed your trip but it turned out more eventful than you might have hoped, including your own version of the Concordia, thankfully with a safe outcome .

[stevewool]

Alan you dont realize how much you have done on the holiday so many many memories, laughs and pictures, plus knowing Ems father better too,

[Steve.r]

Did you keep this as a journal while you were there Steve or is it all from memory?

[subseastu]

Nice posts steve, read all of them. Bet your fingers (or finger if you type like me!) are sore from all this typing. Sounds like you've had some cracking times out there this time

[mickcant]

Thanks Steve, all good and interesting to read

Have you thought you could type it in Word or notepad or a programme like that, then copy and paste it in the forum

I learnt the had way by typing a post then suddenly loosing it
Mick.

[stevewool]

all from memory lads and i have still another 2 weeks left of stories,

[Rosie1958]

Well done Steve and thanks for sharing your memories with us. My late grandmother tried to send my late dad some goat's meat in the post a number of years ago. I'm glad it was confiscated as I wouldn't have been able to eat it having grown up with Billy Goat Gruff!

I look forward to your next installment

[Arthur Little]

Alan you dont realize how much you have done on the holiday so many many memories, laughs and pictures, plus knowing Ems father better too,

That's true, Steve ... unless you happen to have kept a diary or log you don't realise until the memories (and there are always plenty of THEM!) come flooding back.

Thanks for sharing the highlights of a great holiday ... you evidently had a "whale of a time" ... what with getting to know Emma's dad better ...

... not that I'm suggesting your father-in-law's a whale, you understand!