Mindoro Second Day Part 1: Aroma Beach

Here’s the continuation of our Mindoro trip.

June 19, 2009

We woke up to a cool Friday morning.  Yes, we were late risers since we were in vacation mode.  We had a very filling breakfast courtesy of Tita Lety (Thank you so much!).  We were always more than busog!

Breakfast with Age’s mom, Tita Lety

Calamares, salted egg and fresh tomato for breakfast. Mmmm. Mmmm

The beach was a quick tricycle ride from the Miguel’s residence.  Hanging Amihan was blowing so the beach was wavy.  Nevertheless, it’s a beach — crisp water, fine sand, beautiful shoreline.

Aroma Beach in June

We had planned not to swim, even though I wanted to.  I didn’t want to swim alone.  Age’s dad was against it.  So even riding a banca going to the White Island was far from transpiring.  However, I resolved not to leave Mindoro without dipping in the South China Sea.  I remembered swimming in the same sea many times in more rude water conditions during my younger years.

So here we were, all four of us, taking pictures using a grand backdrop.  God’s pinky made all these.  Magnificent indeed!

Age, the talk of the town for her many life’s testimonies

Anne has mastered the art of saying no and waiting for God’s best

Baywatch daw! Haha! I sooo love the beach

Haze, for being so faithful, so deserves this break

Ka, everyone would agree, is a super mighty woman of God

As I looked across the big sea and the clouds that are starting to get heavy, I sighed and thank God for this moment.  If you’re familiar with the book Sacred Pathways, it talks about the different ways or paths to talk to or to feel God.  Nature is one of those.

Sometimes, the purpose of EMOing is for you to find..

a dead seaweed. Don’t revive it. Just laugh it off

The role of a stick is not just to discipline a child..

The stick is also used to write..

words of encouragement for a friend who dropped her phone on the beach (don’t worry, the notes are in the hearts na!)

And so, dear Ka and Anne, don’t worry if your phones were towed away by the ebbing waters.  At least you were able to catch them!  Let’s think of it as a lesson in cutting off communication when it’s vacation time.  Hehe, peace!  Breath in … Breath out … Make a wide grin.  And then jump!

Don’t be washed away by waves of emotions

Feet off temptations

More pictures before we head to the cabin for our first round of videoke.

Anne takes a picture of a photoshoot

Even in taking pictures, Karen angles

Minsan, hindi rin naman pala

In the cabin, we befriended Kuya Dondon, the caretaker of the videoke machine.  And to have a complete group picture, we had to ask him to take the shot.  It was funny ’cause we had to teach him how to take it nicely.  The first time he tried it, he uttered, “Wala man!” All of us can’t stop laughing!  Haha!  So here’s one shot I deem okay.

The ladies smile at the camera and at kuya dondon after an hour of videoke

We maximized Kuya Dondon’s budding talent and asked him to take more shots of us, this time in the waters.

As the song goes … all the single ladies

Be ready when God calls you

And so that was our day at the beach.  I wasn’t able to swim and wasn’t allowed to go the White Island but I enjoyed the company of headstrong and creative ladies.  I can’t wait to be back here.

I still want to go to White Island barely seen in the middle of this picture.  I was thinking if I can just swim to get there.  I can still recall, when I was a child, I swam towards the anchor of yachts in Tali Beach and then back to the shore.  It was sooo tiring but so much fulfilling!

Before heading home, we dropped by a cellphone repair shop to have Ka’s and Anne’s phones checked.  A lesson on wet phones: don’t turn them on immediately.

Bits and pieces and parts

While waiting for the phones to hopefully get back to their normal state, Age and I visted her mom’s agri products shop nearby.

Sacks of fertilizer in the background.

Anne’s phone was okay!  Thank you, Lord!  Ka’s phone, on the other hand, was still having problems.  Praise God for her new phone!  Tired and hungry, we went straight to the house expecting another festive meal.  Tita Lety did not disappont us.

Our favorite part of the day — meal time! Panalo ang Papaitan!

(Watch out for the story that happened after lunch…)