Casa Buena Vista

Our home base while in the Philippines was a house we found using airbnb called Casa Buena Vista. It was perfect. It was a real house with real amenities, like hot water, a full kitchen, and a backup generator for the constant brownouts that happen in the smaller Philippines towns. 

While the best part of the house was having good quality family time, the view was second to none. The house was situated on a cliff, so we had a gorgeous view of the ocean beyond. The house also sat above one of the best coral reefs in the area, so every morning heaps of scuba divers would come to the waters right by the house and dive. It was fun to watch them come and go. 

The house also had about 200 steps down to a small beach where the owner has a storage room for his own scuba gear and a launch for a small boat. This guy thought of everything! What a setup!

The second night we were there, Brian went to the fish market at 6 am (which was a zoo apparently) and got us two beautiful red snappers which he cooked up for us that night. The price of this fish was about $3/lb. Pretty good huh! And it was delicious. 

Here Brian is cooking with Drew and the house's caretaker Bina in the background. Bina, her husband Gerry, and their 6-year-old son Xyrus lived in an apartment attached to the house, and they took care of the place. Bina would clean and cook if we asked, while Gerry drove us to town for dinners whenever we asked. It really made the trip more relaxing (especially the transportation part). And, they were an incredibly friendly, charming family. 

Xyrus was very shy, but by the end, Brian and Drew had him smiling and saying hello. Brian and Karen even bought him a Christmas present, some Spiderman action figures, which he started playing with immediately. 

 Here, Drew is eating a mango. That's the smile I fell in love with! It was deserved, as those mangoes were the best we had ever had! Drew and I ate about 2 mangoes per person per day. :)

While we only saw one or two cockroaches while we were in the Philippines, the boys were prepared with electric fly swatters!

We did really well with putting on sunscreen the whole time, except for the last full day. Drew and I were out scuba diving, so Brian decided to go snorkeling near the reefs by our house. He put on sunscreen, but I think the water washed it off too fast, and picture tells the rest. At least he was wearing a life vest! Ouch! We were in the habit of getting $12/hour massages in town every other day, but I don't think his massage that night felt the greatest. 

Yay for Casa Buena Vista!