Nice to beach you!

That’s why it’s called a holiday!

The rare fun-filled Tuesday is now history. Well, it wasn’t all fun. I kicked things off with a visit to the immigration office for another sixty-day tourist visa extension, which got approved without a problem. I also had to renew my Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) card, so my fees were doubled this time. Oh, well, that’s the price you gotta pay.

Next up was the grocery shopping chore. I gave the Pure Gold supermarket a try in search of things I can’t find at Royal. Wound up spending over 11,000 so I guess it was a successful endeavor. Then, I went to Royal to fill in the gaps and spent another 11,000. Oh, well. The cabinets are full again.

We offloaded the groceries at home, loaded up the suitcase and backpacks, then headed for San Narciso. I turned on my tracker so I could map the journey, and it looks like this:

That’s the way to get there. It turns out it is right at 29K from my door to Mope Resort. That’s less than Kevin will be walking every day on his trek across Korea. In my wildest dreams, I can’t see myself walking all the way to San Narciso in a day.
I have returned!

I got a nice room this time, not that I spent much time in there. We unpacked, I knocked out yesterday’s blog post, and then we headed to the place that makes Mope special…outside seating with beach views. And cold beer, of course!

The view from here
Life’s a beach sometimes
Swan Mope-ing around
She’s such a poser!
But sometimes so am I
Love it while you got it!

Our friend Michael arrived later in the afternoon; then he took a swim in the ocean. He joined us for a beer before we headed to resto-bar a few blocks away named Joe’s Dawgs.

A small, cozy venue
It was nice meeting the American owner, Joe. Originally from Ohio, then he had a hot dog stand in Florida before making the Philippines his new home.
We were the only customers during a visit last night.
That’s pretty cheap for a roast beef sandwich, so I gave it a try.
I prefer a roll to a bun; otherwise, it wasn’t bad.
After dinner beers, and chit chat

When we were done at Joe’s, Michael dropped us back at Mope and headed home. The night’s fun wasn’t over, though. Swan and I grabbed some seats and engaged in our nightcap activities. I had a hankering for some ice cream and sent one of the Mope crew to the store to fetch what I thought would be cones.

I had given him enough money to get something for everyone, and he returned with two half-gallon cartons. We gave one to the crew to share, and I dove into the rocky road.
The look on your face when your sweet tooth is satiated. And you’ve had one too many beers. No Zero in stock, so I’d been drinking the higher-alcohol San Mig Lights all night. As you can see, I got a little sloppy scooping the ice cream, too.

So, it was off to bed for a good night’s sleep in preparation for today’s adventure. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

What yesterday cost me:

  • Tips: 670 pesos
  • Alcohol:1600 pesos
  • Snacks: 800 pesos
  • Dinner: 500 pesos
  • Driver: 3000 pesos
  • Visa Extension: 6200 pesos
  • Hotel: 2750 pesos
  • Charity: 200 pesos
  • Groceries: 22,700 pesos
  • Total for October 16: 38,420 pesos

Good times don’t come cheap!

Eleven years ago, I was hanging out at the Puddlin’ Duck in Columbia, South Carolina, with my dart buddies, Gunny and James.

Gunny
And James

Sadly, both of them left this world behind within a couple of short years after that happy day.

Today’s YouTube video talks about the things Filipinos find weird about foreigners. I’m guilty of most of them.

Humor time:

Time gets on ticking into the future
Me too!

I am literally out of time. No power here and my laptop battery is almost gone. I’ll fill the gaps tomorrow.

8 thoughts on “Nice to beach you!

  1. Why do all your pics of food served on buns have buns that look like an elephant has slept on them, McCranberry?

  2. I’d never make a 29K walk if it were mostly mountainous.

    Is it pronounced “mōp” or “mō-pey”?

    It was nice meeting the American owner

    And as usual, “owner” really means “co-owner”?

    No Zero in stock, so I’d been drinking the higher-alcohol San Mig Lights all night.

    This happens way more frequently than you admit.

  3. Looks like an enjoyable trip. No rain judging from the photos which is always a plus at this time of year.

    Your friend Michael appears very dapper? Was he even wearing long pants? Does Michael dress well as a matter of course or was he making a special effort for dinner? I ask because most expats in those climes dress rather slovenly most of the time and the closest they ever seem to get to a dress shirt is when wearing a barong in their wedding photograph.

  4. I like beer, and I like ice cream. But the combination of the two is something I do not like.

    In this case, the parts are much better than the whole. LOL

  5. Kev, well, it’s all highway to San Narciso, flat and straight. You wouldn’t have a problem (other than heat and dodging traffic). I guess I just hadn’t pictured what 29K looked like until I mapped the route.

    It’s mōp. The owner (or the husband of the owner, I should say) is Australian. I have no idea if Mope is Aussie slang for something, but the name makes no sense to me. And it is never “Mope’s.” Strange. Next time I’m there, I will ask about it.

    Yes, Joe’s wife is the boss. Joe cooks, and she waits tables.

    Well, I prefer Zero, and my local haunts all carry it (otherwise, they wouldn’t be haunts), but stepping out of your comfort zone when traveling is part of the adventure, right?

  6. Yeah, I’m the same Brian. I don’t recall having any more beers AFTER I indulged my sweet tooth. But as you can see, I was pretty wasted by then…

  7. Digory, yep, we didn’t have more than a few sprinkles; so that was a blessing.

    Michael has only been living here a few months and I’m still getting to know him, but yeah, he’s been all over the world, is still engaged in some work projects (part of the reason he is here) and he does probably dress better than most expats. Dapper fits.

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