Travel

We went to see the solar eclipse in Mazatlan. The hotels and flights were super expensive, but Ethan figured out how to make it affordable by going to Culiacan instead of Mazatlan, and staying at a hotel in  Mazatlan  that does not have online booking. All restaurants were great. One note is that restaurants in this area close early (like 6pm) and may not open on Sundays, so call ahead. Itinerary 4/4. Thursday  Fly to Culiacan, Sinaloa ( flight  stop at Guadalajara)  Hotel: Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham  4/5. Friday  Beach: Playita Altata  Dinner: Restaurante Panama  4/6. Saturday  Visited church: Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe  Visited downtown: Catedral Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario  Restaurant Taqueria Compa Layo  4/7. Sunday  Drive to Mazatlan  Lunch at: Restaurant Concha Querida. [Note: The restaurant name is "La Taberna", but on Google Map you need to use " Restaurant Concha Querid...

  Itinerary Day 0. Nov 16. Thursday. United Airlines flight to Manila departing SFO at 11:35pm. Day 1. Nov 18. Saturday. Arrive at Manila, fly to El Nido. Checked in at the Sea Cocoon Hotel (4 nights) Day 2. Nov 19. Sunday. Island Hopping Tour A Day 3. Nov 20. Monday.  Island Hopping Tour C Day 4. Nov 21. Tuesday.  Island Hopping Tour B  Day 5. Nov 22. Wednesday.  Fly to Bohol. Visited tarsiers, Chocolate Hills ATV tour, Loay fireflies. Checked in at the Alona Austria Resort (2 nights) Day  6.  Nov 23. Thursday. Island Hopping Tour to Balicasag. Day  7.  Nov 24. Friday. Ferry to Cebu. Private transfer to Moalboal. Checked in at the Sambag Hide-away Hotel (3 nights). Day  8.  Nov 25. Saturday. Oslob for whale shark watching. Moalboal snorkeling to see sardines. Day  9.  Nov 26. Sunday. Snorkel and relax at hotel beach. Day  10.  Nov 27. Monday. Visited Simala, Cebu city sites, Sirao garden. Checked ...

Claire wanted to skip breakfast, so we just went to the airport at 9am. It was a short 10 min drive from the Maayo Hotel to Cebu airport. Then Claire wanted to eat food at the airport. I should have forced her to eat breakfast buffet at the hotel. Our flight was Eva Airline. Our first leg was to fly to Taipei at 12:30pm. We were served lunch during the flight. We arrived Taipei at 3:30pm. Then we found some restaurants and got a boba milk tea, and some food, paid with credit card. The food and boba were really good. Our second leg was to fly to San Francisco at 7:30pm. All went well. The food was good on the airplane, reminding us why we always like Eva more than United. We arrived at 3:30pm and Ethan picked us up from the airport.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. Since we skipped attractions like Sumilon and did not eat at nicer restaurants these days, I had enough cash to pay the hotel balance (~ 4200 PHP) and did not need to use Paypal. We met the driver Danny at 8:30am and head towards Cebu. Simala This a giant catholic church. We took some pictures from outside. There were hundreds of people waiting in line to go inside to kiss the statue of "Mama Mary". Cebu We visited Magellan's cross,  Basílica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu Basilica. Then we walked and ate at a McDonald's.  Sirao Gardens There were two gardens here. One garden was called the original one, it is further from the parking area with 140 PHP per person entrance fee. It has many spots for photos. It was not the best flower season. We saw some trees called Mickey Mouse plant, they had yellow fruits resembling Mickey Mouse.  The other garden was called Sirao Pictorial Garden, is closer to the parking area with 70 PH...

We spent the whole day either doing screen time in the room or snorkeling in the ocean. Claire practiced dive down to take photos. Now she is a master of taking underwater videos and photos.