where i spent my easter holiday

welcome to the work week! while a lot of people are still on leave or having a holiday hangover, i actually went back to the office today, raring to meet my deadlines! eh? but as i sat at my desk, staring at a blank word document on my computer, it went to sleep (the computer ha not me). then came the screensaver, which was photos of the beach and the ocean water and colorful little fishies fading in and out in front of me... haaaay... made me miss the last five days... the daydreaming begins...

last week, the hubby and i were invited to spend holy thursday to araw ng kagitingan—that's five days—on a yacht. wheee who's going to say no to that?? but here's the catch: since we were going to be anchored in the middle of the ocean, there would be no internet and no cell signal!! eh? what the hell, consider that the "sacrifice."

how to get to a yacht anchored in the middle of the ocean: via chopper! wheee!
leaving dirty, polluted manila and manila bay. ugh. how did this happen to our beloved city?
there's taal volcano!
approaching the eastern side of mindoro island, which would be the province of oriental mindoro:
flying over mountain tops (doesn't this look like a painting hanging on a wall?):
crossing over to the other side, which is occidental mindoro:
getting to our destination: the apo reef! beautiful!
according to wikipedia, "apo reef is a series of coral reefs encompassing 34 square kilometers within the waters of occidental mindoro... is the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system and the largest in the country." wow! it is also part of a protected marine reserve, so there are certain rules to follow. you can't just dock on any island, you can't jet ski close to the islands and the reefs, no fishing, and you have to pay if you want to go diving in the area. below is apo reef natural park (also called apo island), the only island you can dock in. it has a lighthouse, people can pitch tents, and part of it is made up of mangroves with a little lake in the middle:
and there was our home for the next five days! (yes, our chopper landed on the yacht!)
let's go snorkeling!
the hubby:
me!
the fishies!
every evening, we would get a spectacular sunset like this:
and, of course, the sunset cocktails to match hehe...
come night time, the moon was so bright! we got a full moon last saturday!
and with five days of this, is there time to miss the internet??