this weekend tim, ariella and i took a trip to the southern tip of our island of leyte, to an idyllic place called padre burgos. the trip involved a four hour van ride to a town called sogod, followed by 1.5 hours in a jeepney. we stayed at peter’s dive resort right on the ocean, and it was luxury, with hot water and food prepared on demand for cheap (fresh seafood of any variety and freshly cut mangos)! the place is famous for its diving; kinda wanna get padi certified now. sharing the hotel were a large group of voluntourists from all over the world who are rebuilding typhoon-destroyed homes in tacloban. we chatted considerably with an impressively side-burned elderly british retiree who spends his time diving the philippines with his considerably younger filipina wife, and a guy our age from switzerland who spends years at a time on epic round the world diving inspired trips, traveling to obscure destinations to see a specific species of fish. he dives with 40 kg of photography equipment.
on sunday we went on a boat trip to the reefs surrounding limasawa island, further to the south. the island was the first in the philippines to be found by magellan. we snorkeled around the reefs and it was quite impressive. a perfect way to spend a weekend!