We tried our luck in Cloud 9. But no surfers. No fiery orange nor pink hues across the sky from the Cloud 9 boardwalk. We waited until twilight and that’s when we decided to enjoy our piña colada, pizza and mango smoothie. The sky was woefully unstained by vibrant colors but that’s ok. It’s only our first whole day. The stray dogs and pearl vendors kept us company, relentlessly trying to make us succumb. I’m pretty good resisting this retail therapy but my niece is another matter. She’s a magnet for vendors of any kind!
January must be off season. I was told it rains a lot the first month of the year. It rained when we arrived but soon enough, the sun was out. Late in the afternoon, the surfers must have gone to bars or for some nutrition as we only found a couple with their boards. The boardwalk wasn’t crowded at all. And there were empty chairs facing the waters from Shaka and X Bars where we picked up our aperitif.
The following day, we set out for AFAM Bridge. Yes, AFAM as in “A Foreigner Assigned In Manila”. The sunset warriors are all here! Some AFAMs bearing beer bottles which they uncork while watching the sun set. Local vendors plying their wares — pearls, shirts and some handcrafted souvenir items. The local boys offer their services to take photos, amusing foreigners with their “human drone” tactics. We tried looking for dining places nearby but found none interesting. Then we remembered our hotel driver mentioning “Jorene’s Homemade Ice Cream & Halo Halo” so we promptly hailed a tuktuk to get there. Thought we’d end the day on that sweet note but there’s this Italian-Filipino restaurant called “La Carinderia” right across our hotel. Actually, I first tried La Carinderia when they opened a Makati branch. Good food, good service, and the most charming couple owners. So yeah, we ended the day with that famous Mama’s Lasagna plus Siargao Salad which I swear is really good. Chef Stefano and Miss Po also trained their staff very well. Good simple Italian – Pinoy dinner.
lifeisacelebration 