Day 13

Dear Parents/Friends & Supporters,

Today the team enjoyed a refreshing wake up at 2:30AM. This was followed by a long coach bus ride to a port city called San Carlos.  The plan was to catch the ferry to the next island port called Toledo city and drive 3 hours into Cebu city to catch our return international flight to avoid being in the country when the typhoon hit.  What would have been a short ferry ride to the island that was in clear visibility became an unpromising search for transport to get back home.   The coastguard had shut down all water travel in the area because of the impending typhoon even though the weather was clear and the water looked like a mill pond. 

We then tried plan B which was to drive down the southern tip of the island to avoid the typhoon path to the city called Dumagette which has a shorter Ferry ride and more protected waters.  When we arrived to the port we were greeted with the news that the president of the Philippines had shut down all water travel in the Philippines. The whole morning, until around 10AM was full of rejection from the coast guards due to a shutting down of all sea passages.  We then tried plan C which was to try domestic flights but on arriving to the airport we were greeted with a closed signs due to the typhoon.  By then we had emptied all our resources with no success and constant rejection despite the efforts of our calm and fearless leaders. However, this day improved dramatically when we enjoyed a classic McDonald’s brekkie. From there, our day improved and took an adventurous turn when the team came to grips with the inevitable unpredictability of the Philippines during preparation for a super typhoon. 

The team briefly settled into their hotel (called Tip Top hotel) then enjoyed pampering, when the boys enjoyed a massage and went to the barber.  The girls enjoyed getting their manicures, pedicures and hair treatment.  In the evening, the team was treated to a night out at the movies where we watched the movie Exodus.  After we had completed watching the film, we dispersed once more into the mall where we bought dinner for ourselves on the budget set by Mr Beacham.  Now on very little sleep, we are all getting ready for a long awaited rest, although many of us napped on the bus and during the movie. Today was unpredictable which made it all the more exciting and we are all looking forward to a new adventure tomorrow.  We are all safe and we are being looked after very well by our faithful teachers who have our safety as first priority.

Love from your favourite homeboys, Josh and Al