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| Our room at the resort where most action happened a few steps from its door. |
Five years ago, my need to interact flirtatiously with the male species has not fully manifested itself. It was stifled by a greater need to explore the provinces around the Philippines which required a lot of planning, energy and financial resources.
As news spread about the presence of whale sharks in a remote town of Donsol in Sorsogon, a female friend and I traveled 14 hours from Manila for a chance to swim alongside the gentle giants of the sea.
After a full day in the water, we came back to our room at the resort with wrinkled skin and no elated encounters. The sky was too cloudy and the whale sharks failed to surface close enough for us to see.
Just when we had concluded that we were unlucky that day, a heavily tanned stranger, with a presence as daunting as the whale sharks with his 5'10 frame, appeared a few steps from our room. We were both surprised as it seemed like he just popped out from the bushes. Had it not been for his amiable approach and boy next-door look, we would have run off as it was just starting to grow dark. The lights at the resort have not been turned on yet and he looked like he can toss us around effortlessly.
"What are you doing here?!", we exclaimed in small voices as though our ages were reduced to half. "
"I wuz waiting phuuuur you." his thick French accent oozed with sex appeal and promise. Confident but charming. Assertive but not offensive, that was the vibe he exuded.
Small talk transpired after that line. He was hoping to find a room in the resort which, was fully booked when he arrived. Now it was getting dark, he’s roaming the streets, there’s us two single girls and our double bed. Unfortunately, the awkward and undeveloped side of our womanhood conquered us. Instead of offering him to room with us, we just wished him good luck, got inside and giggled like we were rolling over a bed of feathers.
We then continued the rest of the night with our usual girl talk and bouts of raucous laughter, completely forgetting that our room was adjoined to another, separated by thin, cogon walls. A few minutes later, we heard someone rambling from the other side of the wall. Our mouths froze, fearful that our noise had disturbed our neighbor. We prepared to hear some ranting.
"Girls, I can hear you!". Our heads ignited with recognition. It was the French guy!
As luck would have it, he managed to meet and convinced the guy staying next door, a solo traveler to let him spend a night at his room. Oh wow,this guy's charm extends to his own specie.
He then asked if we wanted to go out and check out the fireflies tour. We refused. Fireflies with a hot guy in a small town?! That's just too much heat for a night!
The following morning, we found him at the breakfast table, sitting directly across us -shirtless. The sun was out and so were his muscles which seemed to be a life form on its own. Man hair grew abundantly on his chest. My senses roared but shyness besieged my ability at a decent verbal interaction. After a congenial wave, we ignored him, devoured our breakfast and never saw him again after that.
'Til this day, my friend and I still laugh about that shameful encounter. While we have outgrown that awkward stage, we find it meaningful to pay homage to that old self who struggled, felt insecure and thought the world was tough. Those silly moments are not just an additional stories to laugh at during reunions, it helped refined us. Growing up and having strong confidence that you will be handling situations more sensibly definitely makes life more fun.
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This blog post was prepared as an entry to the April 2013 Pinoy Travel Bloggers Carnival with the theme "Funniest, silliest, dumbest travel moments", hosted by the provocative, Lakbay Diva. To read the rest of the entries, click here.
For previous blog carnival entries, check out Langyaw's blog.