This is the last blog of the trip. We are on Seabourn for two weeks but it is all about beautiful beaches and snorkeling. There is little to write about.

If it wasn’t for Monika, there would be nothing to write about. Monika is the lovely young lady in the coffee bar who thinks Gordon is a rock star. She seems to be stalking us. Where ever we are on the ship, she appears and pretends that she is working there. She flirts shamelessly with Gordon despite the fact that she is twenty and Gordon is …………….. considerably older. Whenever she sees Gordon she forms one of those cutesy hearts with her thumbs and forefingers and then holds it over her real heart and makes it pulsate with excitement. Gordon of course loves it. He is beginning to believe  he IS a rock star

But let’s not spend too much time talking about how fabulous Gordon is.

Before we leave Manila we spend a day at Tagatay a two hour drive outside Manila, where there is a huge volcano with a beautiful lake inside the crater

and a small active volcano in the middle of the lake.

It is like one of those Russian dolls, where you open the first doll only to find another identical doll inside.

Close to the rim of the crater is Antonio’s restaurant, voted the best restaurant in the Philippines and one of Asia’s top fifty places to eat.

The Fabulosity Meter has at long last a reason to come out from hiding, especially when we see the gardens where we can enjoy a cocktail under a chandelier!

The next few days we visit several Philippine Islands. They are staggeringly beautiful,

The beaches are deserted

or really deserted

But you can usually find something for lunch

We explore the islands on our own, often renting a scooter and finding the road less traveled

In one of the little villages we see a cock fight, a very common form of sport and gambling in these islands. A small arena has been set up

I will spare you photos of the gruesome sport, but here is the winner being carried off to much acclaim

while the loser is taken off to be immediately plucked and cooked

On that note, I will leave you with a few of the signs that we saw on our travels.

We were lucky enough to enjoy an inexpensive sandwich where the extras were free

Instructions on using the toilet were also included

A local juice bar caught our imagination

And a jewelry shop had an unfortunate name

But not as unfortunate as the trading company

With that I bid you all goodbye until our next adventure