A dislocated toe can't stop me..... (Part 1)
We went to Kawayan Cove last Thurs. And even if I didn't go there to swim at sea (which was the whole point of this beach trip), I had a pretty grand time. At first, I didn't want to go. What's the use of paying P450 for the lunch buffet if I'm not going to swim in the first place? So even if I just wanted to hang out and have a change of scenery, I was initially opting to stay home. But, since Kuya Gogs told me to just go, there I was - limping around the sand and stones.
Tita Yeng and Tito Mon invited us to come with them, along with their other relatives and friends. Our group consisted of Kuya Gogs, Kuya Dadan, April, Dana, Motmot, Neneng, and Rene. Jords, who still hasn't fully recovered from his slight fever episode, wasn't allowed by Ma to come.
Pare, breakfast pa lang, masaya na ko e. We left around 7am, and I haven't had breakfast. So for almost the whole trip, my stomach was complaining. We had lunch at Bag of Beans in Tagaytay. Guys, I loooooooved it. I recommend it. Slightly expensive (not like Antonio's in Tagaytay), but the food is good and real filling.
Since at this time I knew I can't walk using both feet (yet), Mot and I had to eat in the tiny little resto, while the others get to walk down the stone steps and have breakfast in the garden. Boo. But this actually turned into a good thing for both of us. Hehe. So they have simple breakfast meals: bacon and eggs, omelette, pancakes, and one other thing. The second I saw the prices, I loudly exclaimed, "Ang mahal!" (P240 for omelette, 2 small pieces of sausage or bacon, and bread?!) But anyway, andun na kami e. I ordered the omelette and since Mot was being his uncharacteristic shy self, I told him to order blueberry pancakes and to stop looking at the kiddie meals. We each also had mugs of hot chocolate. Afterwards, a basket of bread came - 4 na pandesal. Akala ko parang free food yun or whatever, so sige lang, kain. Then, Kuya Dadan came up to check on us. He told us he ordered the empanada, since that was what his friend told him was good. And it was only P80! Leche! Di pala sa amin inabot yung menu with empanadas! Oh well, sabi ko, " Cge Mot, order na rin tayo ng empanada. Tikman lang natin." But the moment they laid the humongous omelette on our table, all thoughts of ordering an extra empanada vanished. It was huge!! Good for 2-3, easy. Well, they had those 2 puny pieces of sausage, but whatever, the omelette was sooo good! Kaya pala 4 na pandesal, pang-dalawang tao na pala yun! Tapos . . . . . nung patapos na kami . . . . . dumating ang pancakes. OMG. 3 layers, freshly cooked, with blueberries within the pancakes themselves, and oozing with blueberries on top. Unbelievable. Haha. Big deal saken toh coz I hardly ever eat breakfast outside, mostly lunch and dinner lang. So this was just fantastic for me. (Haha, sabi ko kay Mot after namin magorder na cge kain lang tayong marami. I said, eat breakfast and make it heahhrrr-ty. . . . then he finished the rest of the line. Hehe. ) Nasira na diet ko . . . . in the end, we had some pancakes left. Kaya ko pa, pero gluttony na e saka may diet pa rin ako. I kept wishing Jords was there so he could just gobble it up. So Mot and I didn't eat it . . . . and even while we're in Kawayan Cove already, we kept thinking about those luscious pancakes we left uneaten. I still keep thinking about it now. Hay nako. Never again. Screw the diet. Lesson learned. Even when you're on a diet, never leave godly food uneaten.
Then, we arrived at Kawayan Cove. A trolley? (nakalimutan ko ang tawag) was gonna take us to the beach from the parking lot. Now getting me up the trolley was a problem. The trolley is about a foot or so high from the ground. My brothers, Mot, and even the drivers were fussing about how to go about it. Since I'm not used to all that attention, I decided to just do it my way. So while they were holding my arms up, each suggesting ways how to get me up, I tightened my hold on the metal poles of the trolley and just jumped up that high step. On one foot. I was sure I can make it, so I did it. But I just heard shouts of shock all over me. Mot enjoyed it, for some reason. He said everyone did. April said, nako maling tapak lang, patay. And she was egging Kuya Dadan, kaya mo ba yun?? I think Kuya tried to do it, di nya ata nagawa. Haha.
Now, walking all the way to our area by the beach was sloooow and irritating. Mot and Tito mon helped me, but I hated that feeling. I hate being slow and being a hassle to anyone. I'm impatient.
Anyway, I was able to find a kawayan bed(?) all for myself. I had Neneng take me there, had a glass of ice water delivered, and settled down with my beach blankets, Mot's pillow, and my bag of goodies. Aside from the essentials, I brought my Ipod, small speakers, a book, and my Starbucks planner. Haha. Even before the trip, I was already listing down what I can do on the beach since I won't be swimming. So I planned to work on my planner, do some journal shit, read, sleep, chill with music, and spend some time by the shoreline. Check, did all that. But then my Kuya handed me his camera and told me to take the pictures for the whole day. Haha. Naturally, camwhoring appeared on my to-do list for the day.
But the most amazing thing was this, something I never planned on doing: WALK. When I woke up after my nap, I was all hot and sweaty. I wanted to go to the bathroom to freshen up. And no one was around, they were all by the water or asleep far away from me. As I said, I'm impatient. So I attempted to walk . . . . . . . . . . . oh good god, I CAN WALK. I wasn't putting weight on my injured toe, just on the other healthy toes and my heel. GAH, I CAN WALK! It took a beach trip for me to realize that! Haha, walking on the sand was a breeze, but after walking a lot of times on the stone steps, my bare feet began to ache. But it's all good, I can walk on my own, baybeh! Watch meeeh!
Then, we had a late lunch. Di na buffet, they just started serving our food on our table. So may ulam na plates namin . . . tas naglalabas sila ng extra food. Tas kapag naubos, madali lang humingi. My god. Para kaming royalty dun. The waiters, armed with Pinoy delicacies and fruits, kept on coming. They answered our every request for more food. They were wearing this long sleeved kamisa de chino paired with malong, very classy waiter attire. Their pitchers of water were covered by this thin see-through cloth with dangling beads by the edges. I tell you, para kaming Pinoy royalty na ewan. Nakaka-overwhelm. (Btw, Dana had a real funny moment when she tried to sip the soup of the spicy sinigang na hipon. :D)
Later, I limped my way to the bar where Tito and Tita were. Tito treated me with a huge glass of mais con hielo! Wheee! As i was eating that, I began to read the book my dad bought for me while me were at Serendra for my birthday: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. (The reviews written on the book are true: it's mesmerizing. Just beautifully written. After a few pages, I'm hooked.) Now the lead character was a doctor; I knew that when I read the summary before I asked Dads to buy it last month. But when I read the first few pages . . . . . it turns out that the doctor is an orthopedic surgeon. What the?? Second orthopedic surgeon for the month, man. And I'm reading all about this one with an injured toe. Is the good Lord telling me to be one???? Hay nako, what would being an orthopedic surgeon do for my family? Ewan . . . bahala ka, Lord. Nakakatawa lang toh e.
Around 4:30, I finally made it near the shore. The sand wasn't too hot by then, so I was able to walk fine. As I was slowly walking towards my brothers and company, I saw that Mark and Kuya Gogs were seriously into this ridiculous game my brother invented in that very beach a year ago. Now he was able to give a name to it: Shot-Put. Ampoooooch. History lang: When my brothers were doing it last year, I thought okay, all in good fun. They were just making small balls of sand and hurling it at sea. They were looking to see who can throw the highest, the farthest, and who can make the biggest splash. Fine fine, I can accept that. I even took a video of it, with me whooing in the background. But now? They were acting like it's some real sport or something. As Mot kept saying to me, "We're passionate about it." They were making SANDBALLS, man. The bigger, the better. And they were appointing the rest of us as judges, giving us categories by how to judge them, marking a line in the sand from which they can throw their sandballs from, talking about the right consisteny of the sand, the right amount of water, different ways of handling and molding the sandballs, designating preparation and throwing areas and what-not. They were even imitating Olympic moves before throwing the sandballs in the air; Kuya even tried to throw 2 sandballs at the same time, using his own version of an Olympic move. C-R-A-Z-Y. And there I was, sitting on my blanket with my poor toe, just taking it all in. Yeah, I might be laughing and joking with them . . . . but seriously? Nakakabobo sila. Oh well. I took pictures of their stupid antics. (And of myself, of course. I made it to the beach! Those need pictures!)
Then at 7pm, we went home, listening to the sounds of Neocolors, Kyla, and late 80s to early 90s music from my Ipod.
Part 2 coming up.