Back in April of last year, while sitting at home in rainy Vancouver, I was a faithful follower of what has now become a bit of a phenomena - The Global Trip. TGT is, in my mind, "the original" travel blog, though of course it joins hundreds before it. Erik Trinidad has been roaming the globe since late in the summer of 2003. I followed him through South America, then joined again for some of Europe. Eventually, though, I became too wrapped up in my own travel plans to follow too closely. As it happened, our paths crossed in Tokyo, but I only discovered this after I had moved on to Thailand. As I travelled the beaches of Siam, he roamed through China. While I was in Brunei, he was in Thailand. I recently caught up with his blog and found he, too, was in the Philippines. Finally, after a few attempts, I met this guy.

Just as I was formulating my escape plan from Boracay, I received an email from Erik, who not long before had been in nearby Kalibo for the Ati-Atihan festival. Regrettfully I missed this Filipino Mardi-Gras, mostly out of sheer laziness. I learned where he was staying and, although late in the day, headed over there. As it was around dinner he was, of course, out eating, so I left a note and headed for Secs Restaurant. I sat at my usual table and ordered my usual drinks, reading Zen and The Art... alone as the sun set over the blue ocean. For the second consecutive night I was first to fill my plate, and after 4 helping of the roast pig, grilled seafood, curried chicken and other delicious dishes, I set off on the trek home. Each night for the past 3 I had made this trek along the beach, past all the night vendors, live music, and cheery tourists. As I walked further and further north the sounds died down, the people thinned out, and the lights got fewer.

When I arrived at my beach I began to head to my nipa hut for an early sleep (it was only 9:30) when the owner of the resort called me over to a small group of Filipinos chatting in the building that housed a Sari Sari/Tourist shop by day. I was shocked to discover that Erik was sitting there waiting for me! I'm not sure how he found me, as my note was vague, but here he was in the flesh. Here's proof.
We had a pair of SMB then headed back the way I had come towards some more promising evening entertainment.
Past Cocomangas we walked, finally reaching Summer Place, which is the unanimous favourite on the island for entertainment.
We talked a lot about travelling and were on to the third drink when, after a quick stop in the comfort room (CR), Erik informed me that I had an admirer. Sitting back out of sight, far from the activity at the bar, some old guy fancied me. Ike! Stay away from there...
Later we would both be very surprised to learn that someone from across the room had bought our drinks for us. Just our luck, another admirer! The bartender pointed to who the generous buyer was, but his finger wavered and we were unsure who to thank. We both suspected it was the two old guys in the blue plad shirts, but they ignored our glances, and we were hopeful that it wasn't them afterall. Eventually we discovered that it was a filipino girl that had been so generous. We joined her, Christine from Manila, her sister and her sister's boyfriend. Seems that she quite fancied us, Erik and Erik. We spoke with them, learned they were from Manila, and eventually we were all having a good time. At some point in the evening we all found ourselves on the table and stools dancing in the air.
Finally, tired from a long evening, we finished up our Little Mango cocktails and dismissed ourselves from the bar. It was around 2:30 and we were hungry, and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in a latenight eatery enjoying a delicious burger. We bid one another good night and each set out to our respective resorts, both far away.

The tide was far out, the sky full of stars. I jogged along, water lapping at my feet, the dim lights of the resorts glowing on the shoreline. I was quick to sleep when I finally arrived.