Day 3 of Catanduanes, Bicol vacation
This day, we packed clothes for 2-3 days away from Pananaogan. We were to visit some of their relatives and stay overnight at Amenia Beach. I remember, this was one of the longest days of my stay in Bicol. The longest and most tiring. This I say because the shirt I wore this day was the most soaked and used. 
Ahh.. that's not all! I remember this day so much because we were all having LBMs! Hahaha!!! Aside from the excitement, the travel provided us with the anxiety to stopover the relatives' houses for comfort. We had to go to the city proper to buy some medicine (especially for me because the LBM triggered my ulcer) and also to shop for some Catanduanes items.
I was surprised to find out that malls (err, I mean, mall without an 's') close operations by noon time! Even the small drugstores ended operation a little bit earlier than noon! What a surprise! For a moment, I thought, this is a direct implication that people of Bicol experience better economy. (pardon the change of tone.. hehe). Since they more or less work for only half a day everyday, it is safe to assume that they earn half as much as the normal wage here in Manila. And moreso, it means that they worry only half of the things we worry about. By further speculation, I realized that they need only worry about shelter and education. They have abundant sources of food and water. I remember seeing a lady by the roadside, she seemed to be picking something from the shrubs, obviously for cooking, and then I thought that it was a simple fact that the place provided them with food and that their lives are only about simplicity and happiness.
Ah, well. I did not find much inside the mall. In fact, it was equivalent to only one store of Bench here in Manila. They didn't even have much shirts with "Catanduanes" prints on them. We found only one store that did have all the stuffs we were looking for. For those who will visit Catanduanes, there is a store beside Midtown Hotel that has all tourists items. This is the sole store that has all, I tell you. Here, I got keychains and small bags as pasalubong for my family and friends. And, I got a Catanduanes shirt at the Bazaar, near the Church of the city.
Before lunchtime, we set off to Amenia. During this time, my honey was running a high fever already (it worsened from that morning's fever) and it was getting me worried. I wasn't worried that he'd miss swimming in the beach, but more so, I was worried of how I can take care of him. I stayed with him every minute, and well enough, in God's grace, he got better by early evening. I took him for a stroll by Amenia's beach so that he'd feel better.
I tell you, I've never seen waters so low in tide as this first beach I'm going to swim in. We were already walking far from the shore, and the water has never reached my knee! Low tide is called hunas in Bicol. The waters are really withdrawn from the shore when its hunas, but when its taub (high tide), its really high! We had to wait for almost sundown for the water to rise higher. We moved in to a spot where it was just at neck level. The real wonder worth noting was that the water was extraordinarily hot at Amenia. Its like you're swimming in a beach that seemed to be a hot spring! Also, the floor of the waters of Amenia is a traitor. Walking towards the deeper spot of its waters is easy, going back was not. The high tide had obviously dug out the sand in its process to fill up Amenia's basin. I had much trouble going back (you know, I don't know how to swim.. 
) ..and the water was hotter by the shore!
At dinner time, we just stayed in one hut and chatted vigorously about the shames we've had all our lives. We exchanged fun stories about our past and our college day adventures before we went off for the night's rest.