summer of one-oh! ocean series: dry and salty

the beach was too beautiful to pass up. it was sunday and the workers were not there destroying the sea wall with their loud drills. it was peaceful. the water was blue and the sand as white and fine as ever (yeah yeah, not as fine as boracay's sugary sand but still beautiful). but before hitting the waters, my mom, dad, his friends and i decided to ride up to the main town of bantayan to buy some of the island's famous dried fish. i don't know in other countries, but here in the Philippines, we can live off on dried fish and rice, matched with tomatoes and maybe, onions. bantayan had a separate market for dried fishes alone and they even had dried squid. we also bought a bottle of 'ginamos' which is  salted, fermented fish and guess what, some caviar for only P60 a pack. woah! couldn't wait to try it when we get back home.

upon getting back, we had lunch at a small 'carenderia' -- a very small eatery by local people, bringing along the crabs and rock lobsters my dad bought early in the morning. eating at a 'carenderia' is the best and cheapest way to get good local food when you're in places like this. no etiquette to observe and no utensils needed either. we dug our hands into the crabs and lobsters, paired with native noodles (pancit) and some tomatoes and onions. yum! the best lunch ever! 

ps. those are aimee's yellow polka dotted toenails. insane! LOL.

floral maxi dress - thrifted

black and white bikini - props

tan leather bag - thrifted at baguio

blue and brown flip-flops - havaianas

blue polka scarf as bandana - thrifted at sindangan

bangles - props | gifted | random

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island love

 some people are allergic to the beach --- some by conscious choice, while others really break out and have rashes. if i were either, i would rather die. i love and live by the beach. this is our farewell to summer.

on may 29 and 30, my family and i headed north west to the island of bantayan. while my sisters and i have been there 3 or 4 times on different occassions, it was my mom and dad's first time there. both of them having recently reached 60, they have resolved to travel as much as they can. that was one of the big pushes for our hongkong trip last november 2009 and for our upcoming bangkok trip this august 2010. 

we stayed at marlin's resort. ironically, just a day before our trip, it was on the news that sea walls in Region 7 beaches are to be destroyed as they are badly affecting the environment.  they change the course of waves. in my perspective, they ought to be destroyed too.  long stretches of beach looks much better and natural for me. the destruction was taking place right when we arrived so the first day was a chillout day. aimee and i came from our night shifts (aimee being a nurse) so we were pretty tired. my big sister just simply doesn't function well during the day...so she says she was tired too...buhu. we just stayed in, most of the afternoon, munching on chips deluxe (yum!), cheetos and popcorn, watching tv and laughing with mom and dad. swimming was only later in the afternoon when the workers left for day. for dinner, we had pizza at balikbayan restaurant -- just 2 blocks away from our resort. definitely a must-try when you're in bantayan!

more of day two on the next post!

on me:

floral bikini - props (yes, props is a store in SM)

white embroidered dress - thrifted

brown wooden bangles - raw materials from manalili

purple wooden bangle - props

faux gold bangles - a gift from india

brown sunnies - thrifted at carbon

on aimee:

white tank top - metro kids' section

striped jumper - thrifted

yellow sunnies - thrifted at carbon