Day 317: And The World Stops

We were a bit disappointed to wake up today and see that the weather was overcast, but at least it was still very warm outside - about 30 C. In fact, for our entire trip, the temperature never fluctuated beyond 28 and 32 C. The tropical warmth was glorious!

We spent the day doing a bit of shopping and then getting up close and personal with that beach. Oh that beach, oh how heavenly it is! We found a spot to sit and read and it was complete bliss. We went swimming for the first time and it was glorious! The water is this beautiful sea-green colour that is breath-taking to gaze upon, and sheer heaven to immerse yourself in! The soft white sand continues way out past the beach and the water is nice and warm. God, we couldn't quite get over the fact that we were actually there, in those waters, on that beach, after waiting so long for this trip!

We got showered up in the evening and decided to go and have some dinner. One of the many great things about Boracay is that because it's popular with travellers from all over the world, The Strip is full of all these great international restaurants. No matter what kind of ethnic cuisine you're craving, it can be found here. We decided to give Mexican a try first and so we made our way to Manana Mexican Restaurant.

On the way there we passed a bar that had a TV on with a small crowd of people gathered around it...what was going on in the news that was so exciting? It was then that we found out about the terrible disaster that struck a very large portion of Asia that Boxing Day morning. Seeing images of the complete devestation caused by the tsunamis left us in complete shock. It was horrific beyond anything I've ever seen in my lifetime. A 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia followed by a series of enormous tsunamis sweeping their way across the Indian Ocean. Thousands dead already, with many more bodies sure to be found. I was overcome with grief at seeing all that destruction and death and tragic sadness affecting so many countries all at the same time. It was completely overwhelming. It was like the whole world just stopped spinning.

Although the damage was not anywhere near the Philippines, it was too close for our own comfort. A few months ago, when our travel schedule for Boracay wasn't really working out, we had talked about going to Thailand and Malaysia instead. We even had our names on some plane reservations but decided in the end to do Boracay instead when things worked out in our favour again. Had we bought those tickets, our destination was exactly where the disaster had struck. I can almost guarantee that I would have been in those resorts myself the moment those tsunamis came rolling in. The thought sent a chill down my spine... And then we also realized that we have four coworkers who were down in Thailand at that very moment, with the intent of ending up in Phuket. Had they made it there before the tsunamis struck? Could they be among the hundreds of foreigners killed? We suddenly became very worried for our friends... God I sure hope that Chris, Tim, Mike and Kelly are okay...

The rest of the night was really strange. We had a delicious dinner and a really fun evening partying in bars and clubs, but I felt guilty for having so much fun when so much grieving and dying was going on here in Asia. How thankful I am to be alive and safe and sound. I never take my life for granted, but today especially I felt really fortunate and lucky and blessed. Life truly is incredibly precious and fragile. One event really can change everything. This disaster has truly affected the entire planet, feeling the pain and suffering as one connected, human global community.

We went dancing at Cocomangas which is home to the famous "Still Standing After 15" Shooter Bar. This refers to these 15 shooters they have that if you can drink them and still stay standing, your name goes on the wall and your country's tally gets an extra point. Being of the light-weight weak-stomached nature, I decided to pass on this particular venture. We had a blast dancing to some great music before both Katie and Addie were feeling tired and worn out. We went to sleep and totally crashed as soon as we hit our beds!