Ah, I don't think it ever felt so good to be on my own again. I honestly didn't realize how hard it would be to travel with someone. I know that I'm quite independent, but I didn't realize how much of my own time I need. It's tough when you travel with someone and are basically forced to do everything together. You sit down to eat, and you don't have any stories to tell each other, because you were with each other all day. Siquijor (pronounced "sickee-whore") was the perfect place for me to recharge and enjoy my own company again.
I splurged a little bit and got myself a double room all to myself. The best part, I open my door and I can sit down on my patio and stare at the sea just feet from my doorstep. I spent the first day/afternoon settling in and meeting some of the canine locals. I found the cutest little puppy that I named Raiden. He was a sweetheart, but a bit of a little shit as well. He's very much a puppy and into teething. I made the mistake of playing with him a bit rough and he decided to go after my legs as I went to walk away. I distracted him successfully with a stick. I sat down to a great view for dinner and had a delicious meal of chicken curry. About halfway through though, little Raiden decided to stop by. I thought he was going to do very well at first. He sat down and stared at my food which was on a low table. Then he started the whining and jumped up. I pushed him down and dusted the sand off the table. This continued for some time and he even jumped up on my bench for a better angle. After about ten minutes, it was too much for him, he snuggled up next to me on the bench and fell asleep. I petted him while finishing my dinner. Once he was fully passed out, I quietly got up and retreated to my room. The plan was to get to bed rather early (read before 10) to get up, rent a motorbike and head around the island.
The next morning I went to reception and rented a bike for the day. I had google maps in my pocket and decided to just go in a direction and not really stop. Unfortunately they only had automatic scooters, which wasn't as fun as a semi automatic, but no worries, I was happy to be on the road again. There were many places I could have stopped along the way, but I just kept driving. I did manage to pull over to a small fruit stand. I bought some fat bananas from a nice woman and a brown thing on a stick that looked appetizing. It was. In fact, it was some sort of deep fried, caramelized banana. Only 5 pesos or about 10 cents USD. A decent little snack. I got back on the road and continued on my way. I circumnavigated the entire island in just under 3 hours. I was back to the hostel before noon and had time for a quick nap.
I was running out of cash, but still needed to eat, so I popped into town later and bought the most random stuff at a shop: bottle of water, apples, peanut brittle, peanut butter, crackers, delicious sugar coated pastry things and random homemade candy which proved to be a delight. I brought the trove back to my room and gorged on food in bed. It wasn't as bad as eating my leftover pad thai like a burrito for breakfast in Moalboal - I looked like Gollum eating fish and I remember hoping no one knocked on my door because I would stare them down, noodles dripping from my face and mutter 'don't judge me.' After my binge, I had a chat with my sister and brother-in-law which consisted of lots of laugh, and continued my relaxing. I had a few more nights in Siquijor and the plan was to do much of nothing. Read, write, relax, and barely leave hostel.
The next morning I took a stroll down the beach at low tide. There are heaps of little blue crabs working diligently to clear sand and I assume scavenge for food while the tide is out. They are quite humorous as well. Back in Hawaii, we encountered ghost crabs that would scurry away in a hurry if you approached. These guys had a bit of a different tactic. If they sensed that you were getting too close, they would hunker down and freeze. Basically play dead. I tossed one over and he didn't move. I righted him and continued on my way. The water was warm on the edge and it was soothing to just hear the waves and watch the boats and sun. No roosters waking you up! Success!
After the morning stroll, I sat out on my porch, ate some of my oh so nutritious food and started going over my divemaster manual. I alternated between that, reading the encyclopedia of recreational diving, writing, and watching tv shows. I even had a two hour skype chat with my mom which totally revitalized me. It was great to laugh so much again and vent out all of my frustrations over traveling. My day of not doing much was very much needed, though I didn't really realize it. Every night I would pass out watching Big Hero 6 and wake up whenever I was rested, usually around 6. I was apparently more sleep deprived than I realized. I was also growing astoundingly more happy with each passing day. I guess I didn't realize just how frustrated and surly I had become. Taking a step back totally set me right. That night, as I was outside studying, Chris ended up popping by to say hi. I didn't realize he would be staying at the same place. We chatted for about a half an hour and it was fantastic. Sine we had gone our separate ways we had stories to tell each other, and it was almost like it was back in Cairns. It felt good to have my friend back, if only for a half an hour. I realized that for our friendship to be highly functioning, we need that time apart. I was much happier for it and it seemed as if he was as well. I also got to geek out because he had received some IDC study materials and there were equations and test questions and everything! I was getting my nerd back on and I loved it.
The next day I woke rested again at the bright hour of 6:30 and set off on my reading, writing and tv watching. I took care of a bit of business as well, booking the last of my hostels in the Philippines and getting my flight up to Manila booked so that I could make my flight to the Maldives. I was enjoying listening to the radio back home as well. I was getting a bit up to speed on the political circus that was going on and was happy to not be dealing with that. I did enjoy just the little random thing from home like the radio personalities and the commercials for local businesses. I was super content with my own company again and loving the break. I spent a lot of time just looking out at the ocean and getting a snapshot of it in my mind. I didn't realize how much I needed the time out, but I was recharged and ready to go on to the next island...
