After finishing the packing we took a walk around the hotel and then decided to hail a taxi and take a trip to downtown Manila and spend some time there. We went to my favorite chicken restaurant and had our lunch there. My hubby liked it more than all the fancy and expensive places that we had eaten at before. Later in the afternoon, we came back and had our dinner at the hotel buffet. There were many tasty goodies to choose from. My hubby’s favorite was the prime rib and I liked the shrimp. For dessert they had a flowing chocolate fountain that we used to dip fresh pieces of fruit.
We left the hotel at about seven o’clock in the evening to make sure we had plenty of time to get to the airport.  My hubby had not flown in quite a while and forgot about the increased security that would no longer allow friends and relatives inside the airports to see the travelers off. He had been thinking that I could come in and we would be spending a few more hours together but when he arrived he realized that was not going to be possible.   Neither one of us was prepared for the quick goodbye as he decided that the best thing would be to send me back in the cab that brought us to the airport.   Maybe that was a good thing. He quickly ordered the same taxi driver to take me back to the hotel.  I broke down in tears and sobbed all the way back to the hotel.

Time flies so fast, especially if you are having fun. The three weeks that we had together seemed to fly by like it was just a few days. By the time we were getting ready to fly back to Manila I was already feeling a sadness come over me. I knew that we had only one day left together before he left and it would be a long time before I would see him again. I had a really hard time controlling my emotions knowing that he would soon be flying back to the US without me.

The flight to Manila was less than two hours. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into one of the five star hotels by the ocean. He was trying to get my mind off his leaving so he suggested we take a walk and go sightseeing around the area. We toured the entire hotel including the outdoor pool area and all of the indoor and outdoor restaurants. I had never experienced such luxury and beauty in my surroundings. It all seemed like a dream.

Later that evening, we took a walk down by the waterfront. We came across a film production of one of the Philippines favorite TV shows. We watched for a while and then decided to have dinner at a seafood restaurant we found at a point jutting out into Manila Bay. The food was great but I couldn’t taste it . My mind was still thinking about his flight the next day. We arrived back at our hotel room after dark and by then I could no longer hold back the tears. He tried to console me and cheer me up but I couldn’t hold back what I was feeling inside.

The next day after the pool and dinner get together with friends and siblings, my new hubby and I went to my home village. It was his first visit to the place where I grew up. He was surprised when all of the neighbors and their children came to meet him. He said that he felt like he was being treated like a rock star, especially from the kids. I told him that kind of treatment was normal there in my village, especially if you were a foreigner.

We spent the day there in the village eating my favorite dishes and chit-chatting with friends and relatives. Even though the village is only forty miles from the city, I had not spent much time there recently because I had so many things to do in the city preparing for the wedding. It was a great day to relax and for my hubby to spend time getting to know my family.

At that time my family still did not have running water in the house (that has just been recently installed). Since there were no nearby appropriate accommodations (shower and indoor plumbing) we needed to return to the city that evening. Since you can only rent a car with a driver there, we would have had to put him up overnight as well. That made it very inconvenient to spend much time in the village. We were limited to one day excursions back and forth from the city. Fortunately, they opened a nice new resort on the lake a couple of years ago only a few miles from my home. We stayed there two years ago when my sister got married.

We spent most of the remaining time my hubby had there at the resort in the city. He could only afford to spend three weeks away from his business and the time was going by way too fast.

Despite my nerves I was able to fall asleep and when I woke up later in the afternoon I felt fresh and well rested. Then, just about dark, the group began to arrive. The first thing on the agenda was our swimming party. The pool was a beautiful lagoon style with built in water fall. The girls especially, had a great time splashing and swimming. After a good deal of time in the water it was time to come out, dry off and get dressed for the dinner.

The open air pavilion near the pool hosted the large buffet dinner that seemed fit for a king. It was a great time for friends, family and fellowship and we all had a good time stuffing ourselves to the max.

As we departed the ferry, I was greatly relieved to finally get back on hard land. Feeling lucky to be alive, all I wanted now was a nice soft bed to recline on, a pillow to lay my head and relax my mind.
It was not until a few weeks later that I learned that the ferry had actually been badly damaged and had required extensive repair in dry dock. And oh, one other small detail. The smaller boat that we had collided with in the middle of the night? It was, in fact, a gasoline tanker! It doesn’t take much of an imagination to guess the picture that now came to my mind. Now I could not only imagine being eaten by the sharks, but also sauteed before being served.

I was panicking and did not know what to do. My husband calmly told me to get dressed and put on my life preserver so we could go outside our cabin to see what was going on. Everyone on the boat had the same idea. They all rushed to the rail with their life preservers, wondering if we were going to sink. The motors on our ferry had been shut down and we glided to a stop. After a few minutes the captain came on over the intercom urging passengers to remain calm while they checked out the damage. Easier said than done. After about a half an hour of sitting there dead in the water, the captain came back on the intercom and jovially commented “no problem, just lost a little paint”. We would be back under way in just a few more minutes.

I tried to get back to sleep but understandably had a very hard time. I couldn’t help thinking about the sharks that we had been feeding just a few days before and the bigger ones that we might have been feeding that night. Daylight and the shore line of Mindanao couldn’t come soon enough for me.