Wade a minute!

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Took a walk on the wet side yesterday morning. The Wednesday Walkers group did a beach walk from Barretto to the lighthouse just outside the entrance to the old Navy base. It’s probably been a year since I last ventured out this way, and I was surprised just how much things have changed, and not in a good way.

The Wednesday Walkers who showed up yesterday

The first thing that happened was our normal beach access was blocked by a locked gate. So, we walked through the Outback Hotel pool area to reach the sand, which is uncouth, but I’ll stop in for a beer or two soon to make up for it.

Having achieved our waterside objective, we discovered we had arrived at high tide. I knew that was going to mean wet feet at some point in the hike, and that point turned out to be immediate. The water was higher than where the fence line ended, so I waded on out and around it.

My fellow hikers opted to hop the fence. I didn’t bother because I knew what lay ahead, including two river crossings. Sometimes at low tide, there are ways across that keep you dry, but not on this day.
On the beach
On the water
In the water. Man, it is hard to complain about getting wet feet when you see a man in a wheelchair enjoying being rolled into the bay.
A low-maintenance pier.
A joint US-Philippine military drill is taking place this week—the largest joint exercise ever between the two countries. Hopefully, China gets the message.
The first river crossing. No way over that wall. Welcome to the freedom of having wet feet!
Water wasn’t the only obstacle; there were also rocks to climb over.
A little tricky but doable.
Up and over, and watch out for the burning pile of rubbish!
Enjoying the view
And then there was this. Whether it was intentional or not, it sucked to have to jump into water that luckily ONLY came to just above my knees. I suspected the property owner on the other side didn’t like people walking on “his” beach, so he made passage difficult by destroying the walkway.
Back on the beach
Then back in the water. Some construction had the beach blocked past the waterline.
Looks like someone forgot about high tide
Beachy keeno!
The last time I passed this way, that house was occupied. Things change.
This property is owned by the Gordons, one of Olongapo’s most powerful political families. The caretaker made it very clear we were not welcome.
The end is near.
The end (for him) is here
The lighthouse objective is achieved!
SBMA, aka The old Navy base

And that’s where we ended the hike. Caught a Jeepney back to Barretto and grabbed some lunch at Sit-n-Bull.

When it was time to feed the girls at Hideaway, I stopped at the Andoks chicken store and gathered some foodstuffs.

Roast chicken
Fried chicken
And some pork liempo
With my brownies for dessert, of course.
In Joy

My bar tab at Hideaway was over 2000 pesos. I was a little overly generous on the lady drinks, I suppose. So, the money I fritter away in the bar made me feel a little guilty about the money I’m declining to fritter away on the gals besieging me with their requests for assistance. That’s my excuse for ending my night at Wet Spot and slipping Aine the cash she had requested. But I did make clear to her it would be the last time. And, while the Messenger connection worked for her request for help, it apparently couldn’t transmit a thank you. Good to know.

On a more positive note, I have achieved the level of status at Wet Spot that affords me the benefit of a personalized beer coozy. Hooray for me!

As usual, I was up early this morning and catching up with the blogs I follow. That’s where I saw the news on Kevin Kim’s Big Hominid site that Elon Musk had destroyed a BBC “reporter.” And it didn’t take long for the memes to pop up on my Facebook feed. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Heh!
Buried alive!

In other news, Nerissa asked if we could get together on her day off, which is today. I figured, sure, why not? It’s my floating bar day on Baloy, so I invited her to join me, and afterward, I’ll treat her to dinner, probably at Da’Kudos. Not to worry, she is completely in the friend zone with me. Not sure what I am to her, nor does it matter.

I’ve also been chatting with a gal I just met on the Date In Asia site. I’m not getting ahead of myself with her, but she checks all the boxes with no red flags so far. I am looking forward to our first date, which will have to be next week since I’ve already made plans for the weekend. Should be fun to see if we have any chemistry when we meet in person.

Hey, maybe things are finally going to get interesting around here!

Not so much since I broke up with Gin.

2 thoughts on “Wade a minute!”

  1. This property is owned by the Gordons, one of Olongapo’s most powerful political families. The caretaker made it very clear we were not welcome.

    So that photo was taken while you were on the property? And you were informed of your unwelcome status after the pic was taken? Just trying to put together a chronology of events.

    But I did make clear to her it would be the last time. And, while the Messenger connection worked for her request for help, it apparently couldn’t transmit a thank you. Good to know.

    Wow. I didn’t know Aine could be an ungrateful dick. She doesn’t look as good to me anymore.

    Chicken and pork all look good. Brownies, too, of course.

  2. Kev, The photo was taken as we first entered the property. As we walked by the building, the dogs started barking, and the caretaker came out and pointed toward the beach, saying something in Tagalog. I said, “Sorry,” and continued to the other side of the lot and exited there.

    Re: Aine, at least it will be easier to say no next time she asks for money.

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