Elisa: the end of Negros

our dinner at Harold's caretakers house where we were served traditional food (an odd thing they do is make super sweet spaggetti) and were invited into their house as if we had been their neighbors


Elisa dishes up a plate


our snorkelling crew (well, everyone else was diving)this was the day I saw a sea turtle!



our lunch of fresh fish with spicy vinegar, sweet mango and "hanging rice"


A view of the coast of the marine sanctuary of Dauin


flower


Britt entertains Elisa as she squeezes a million little limes for key lime pie



Inside Harold's house at his dining room table (quite a contrast to where we ate for the fiesta)


our last guest house in Cebu

Our time in Negros, in in the Philippines in general, is coming to a close. It went by so quickly! Perhaps as all time does, if spent in relaxed places with friendly company. Two nights ago, we had a rather wild night at Reggae Night, after a delicious seafood dinner Ane (Filipino American we met) kindly paid for (he's also managed to pay for two of our lunches, and drive us around the island). My favorite dish was called "kinilaw," which is basically Filipino ceviche with vinegar and coconut milk. So refreshing and incredible! I plan on making it when I return. I've also been eating an inordinate amount of "lecheflan" (sorry Juliette) which is wonderful here. Reggae Night was really fun as kind Filipinos paid for round after round of San Miguel, with lime, which tastes a lot like Corona. We danced and talked until about 3 am. The next morning, we didn't wake up until noon, and so effectively caught up on some sleep we really needed. We had a really calm day just walking around the city and going to the market to buy some fruit and try the cacao drink everyone raves about (unlike most things here, it wasn't too sweet. It was actually delicious). We eat 2 or more mangoes a day now, and carry around jugs of water to get relief from the heat and humidity. Last night, we were invited by Harrold (the really friendly, warm owner of our hostel) to a small party at his friend's house in Cebuland (the town next door to Dumaguete). The house was a small two bedroom hut with a bamboo roof, where the six members of the family lived. Despite their evidently small earthly possessions, they fed us a feast of food ranging from some kind of carrot and beef stew a pork and and cabbage soup and some fruit salad. We spoke to their daughter, who had just gotten married and was four months pregnant, and with her uncle, who has been working in Madrid in a hospital but was back to visit for the summer. After their house, we went across the street and hung out with some younger locals who were drinking beer and eating chips right in front of the beach. I talked to a guy about traveling for a really long time, and he said he didn't have a lot of money (no car, no nice clothes, no cell phone) but that since traveling had always been a priority for him, he had managed to go to 12 other countries so far. He said that mentality was very common here- very poor people make a point to travel, often because they have so much family abroad. But also because of some kind of natural Filipino "joie de vivre" and vibrant curiosity and good spirit that pushes them to explore outside their small island. It reminded me of why I love traveling so much. After a much calmer night than the one before, we went to bed around midnight and are in healthy, well-rested spirits this morning to go snorkeling with Harrold and hopefully see some sea turtles! Tonight, we are going to Cebu, the main city on the main island of Cebu, and spending two nights there before our flight leaves for Hong Kong on Sunday! Hope this post finds all of you well- feel free to leave a message (especially Papounet).