February 14, 2008, return to the Philippines for the start of a new adventure:

During two weeks from Christmas Eve 2007 until Jan 6, 2008, Maricor and her co-teacher showed me around the Philippines.  We spent nearly every day together, having awesome adventures and seeing things none of us had ever seen before.  The more time I spent with Maricor, the more I liked her, but we toured together as part of a boringly platonic threesome.  Then, at the very end of my trip something happened that gave Maricor and I a couple of days alone together.  It was the opportunity I needed to let her know that I had fallen for her, and we got a delicious/brief taste of romance, but then it was time for me to fly home to California.

Over the next few weeks Maricor and I corresponded via instant messenger (IM), an internet service that allows you to see and hear each other (like a sci-fi video phone).  Without IM, our relationship would probably never have gotten off the ground, but seeing and hearing each other helped built up our confidence in the possibilities of the relationship. 

I decided I had to go back to the Philippines to see if Maricor and I were as compatible as we were beginning to believe. 

I booked a flight on Philippine Airlines which arrived at 4:00 in the morning on Valentine's Day.  I had asked Maricor to meet me at the airport at 5:30a, but I retrieved my luggage and whizzed through immigration by 4:30a, so I called her and asked what I should tell a taxi driver about how to find her house.  For the record, Manila can be a bit confusing to navigate and Maricor's house is not easy to find.  After the cab driver made a couple of stops to ask directions, I found myself unloading my bag in front of Maricor's apartment.  When the cab driver saw Maricor, he lit up because it turned out he was a family friend.

My plan was to spend a week with Maricor and if everything went as I hoped, I would ask her to marry me.  My heart was about to burst and I couldn't stick to the plan.  The first moment Maricor's roommates were gone and we were alone, I asked her to marry me and she said yes. 

The next day we went to see her family (where her eldest Aunt grilled me about my about my intentions), then we flew to Cebu where we spent one night before taking a boat to Bohol.  On Bohol, after spending an hour trying to find a place with "brewed coffee" (from concentrate!) we saw the tourist attractions (Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers, Blood Compact), and visited a souvenir shop for t-shirts.  Later that afternoon we arrived at the Ananyana Resort where we were greeted with complimentary fruit smoothies, and a peaceful ambience that left me feeling like someone had given me happiness drugs.  We got a diving lesson and spent the happiest days of my life (to date).

Don't forget to see the Video Section below the Photo Gallery, but here's a video I especially like.

A video from Bohol entitled "Kiss"

leg room!	View from Maricor's room	more view	Packing for trip	Big development
Maricor, her mom Corazon and a nephew (Carlos?)	In back row aunt Prez, Angelo, and sister-in-law Janice	Maricor turns the camera on me	Beside me is Maricor's Lola (grandmother) and Corazon her mom, back row from left is father Henry, brother Henry Jr., aunt Lyn (her eldest aunt), and aunt Prez.	Maricor's family
Closer shot of Maricor with her mom and her Lola	The woman in pink is aunt Nita.	I got in this one	Janice, Prez, and Angelo	Nephew Ehron and Maricor's eldest aunt Lyn (who was very direct in her questioning of me and my intentions with Maricor).
a reassuring touch	A boat to Bohol	On the boat	If you don't see a broad smile, the rivets holding the seat were poking up very uncomfortably.	Blood compact monument
In subjugating the Philippines, the Spaniards drank a blood oath together (or something like that).	Icons in an old church	Chocolate hills (a geological formation created by volcanic ash in a way similar to the fairy chimneys of Cappodocia)	It was drizzling when we got there, so the view wasn't great.	The sign on the white pole says "May Peace Prevail on Earth"
Maricor with a "chocolate hills" backdrop	"Man-made forest."	Sleepy little bug-eyed monkey -- Tarsiers are nocturnal and these didn't appreciate tourists interrupting their sleep for a photo opportunity.	Ananyana was laid out very nicely. These were the beach towels outside the front door!	The bananas were delicious.
The common area.	Maricor in the restaurant with the pool in the background.	We took a scuba lesson and a free dive in one of the marine sanctuaries.	My love and I after our first dive.	A creative effect as she combed her hair.
A neighbor took this photo of us sitting near the beach.	The pool, looking towards the beach.	The pool looking towards the resort's restaurant.	My darling the day we flew back to Manila.	A goodbye pose at Ananyana.
And another.	Back in Manila, a goodbye dinner celebrating our engagement (from left cousin Jepoy, George, Nolie, Daina, Lito, M and me).

Click on the pictures above to see the video.  The files can take a couple of minutes to load.  You will need QuickTime, which is a free download from Apple.

c2008

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Last modified: 03/18/09