How was YOUR weekend?

Sunset in Galera

Took a trip to Puerto Galera over the weekend. Ryan and the troops went there Saturday morning, and even though I really wanted to go and join them, I wasn't really planning to. There's this little thing called work, see. But Saturday afternoon, his buddy texted me and asked if I wanted to follow them down there (on a side note, I know the word "text" hasn't officially entered the lexicon as a verb, but seeing as how ubiquitous SMS is now and hereabouts, I'm risking it. Besides, it's much more convenient to say somebody "texted" you than to say "he sent me a text message."). So like the typical kaladkarin that I am, I said yes. It was my third time there in less than two years.

Galera is no Boracay, not by a long shot, but for a quick trip to get away from the stress of the city to see sun, sand and surf, it'll do. For a moment when we got there (around 8am Sunday), it looked as if Mother Nature had other plans. The wind was howling and the temperature wasn't what I would call "beach weather." But later after a quick nap and lunch (pork sinigang and steamed shrimp), the sun finally broke free of the clouds and sent its dangerous UV rays down to us. The water was still a little chilly, but that didn't stop us from spending practically the entire day swimming and lounging around by the beach, getting a tan while sipping our fruit shakes.

The night was spent at the bars, where else? Whoever said alcohol doesn't help drown out your sorrows obviously hasn't had a Mindoro sling. A pitcher of that baby and you're set for the night. My friends and I had 2, plus a pitcher of their version of the blue drink Sub Zero, so we pretty much drank enough to fill our alcohol needs for the rest of the week. I remember there was dancing, some acrobatics by the beach and a few cheesy, melodramatic moments which I won't get into here. Good thing we managed to drag ourselves back to our room without further incident and head out to dreamland.

The next day I had a few minutes to myself while everybody was getting ready to leave. Our room was in the second floor and had a gorgeous view of the ocean. I just sat in one of the plastic chairs, put my feet up on the balcony and stared past the beachfront activities and into the horizon. The world is a fucked-up place, no question, but sometimes you just gotta learn to shut up, quit whining and just look at the beauty that's right there in front of you. Notwithstanding the less-than-smooth sailing we had to go through on our way back to Batangas pier (let's just say a few lunches ended up on the boat floor or in the ocean), it wasn't a bad way to spend a weekend. Life's a beach - I've known that all along. But it's good to be reminded of it once in a while.