THE PHILIPPINES
There is something so magical about the Philippines. Some of the most beautiful places in the world are found in this country but what is even more beautiful are the people! We were amazed at how the local people welcomed us with open arms. They absolutely loved Alexa and Chloe and pretty much every where we went people would stop us so that they could take their picture with our girls. Our favorite things did in the Philippines were the boat tours we took to magical islands, the drinking the best smoothies in the world! I find myself craving Philippine food and trying to recreate it wherever I am. There is something so wonderful about a simple breakfast of garlic rice, fried egg, and fried ham and I have been dreaming of going back and having a traditional Philippine breakfast!
We went on a few boat tours on the islands of Coron and Siargao. They are a little different at each location but equally as breathtaking. Hopping on a little boat as a family and journeying across the water was one of my favorite and most relaxing moments of our travels in the Philippines. The girls and I felt like Moana and we were not sad about it. Sometimes we were met with pure beauty and sometimes we had to work a little bit to get to the promised land but it was all worth it. One of our stops included a good amount of swimming. Not much for an average swimmer but with two little ones just learning how to swim it to us a while to get where we were headed. Once we reached the lagoon is was absolutely magical! We were very tired but enjoyed the fruits of our labor. Another stop included a pretty scary climb on some slippery steps. If I knew what we were getting into I am pretty sure I would have stayed on the boat but we made it safely over the rocks and down into the beautiful clear water. What an amazing journey and an example to our girls that the best things in life are not easy. If you want to experience something amazing you are going to need to work for it. It makes the view that much sweeter when its after a challenge you have overcome.
Before every boat tour we would head to the market and pick out food that our boat captain would cook for us on the boat! We would stop at a little island and have a picnic lunch in the middle of our day. We had some of our favorite meals this way. It was always a delicious lunch with an even more amazing view! Bonus when the girls were done eating they would just go play in the sand and Bradey and I could continue to relax and enjoy our time together!
After each adventure we would go in search of Mango Shakes (smoothies) and that was one of our favorite times sitting in a little restaurant drinking our Mango Shakes and talking about what we learned and enjoyed from our adventure that day. It is really important to have these bonding moments as a family on the road. It is always fun to get the girls perspective on things. Sometimes the hard things don’t seem to affect them and sometimes we get some really amazing teaching moments when they are struggling.
The food in the Philippines is something I still dream about. The chicken is the best we have ever eaten! There was one restaurant in Siargao that we couldn’t help but keep going back their for breakfast because of how good their rice with fried egg and ham was. I am getting hungry just thinking about it! The food was simple a lot of rice and meat but the way it was executed was absolutely delicious.
Another one of my favorite memories from the Philippines was in Coron. The hotel we stayed in was so cute and felt like home away from home to us. There was a huge porch that overlooked the city and we would spend every morning there drinking coffee and the girls had some space to run around and play. The people were also some of our favorite we have ever met traveling the world. They invited us into their house church on Sunday and it was such a special experience that I will never forget.
The Philippines is now one of our favorite places in the world and we can’t wait to get back to the beauty of the county, the food, and the people!
