Good afternoon and welcome back to VibePinas! It’s another beautiful morning here in Daanbantayan, and let me tell you, there’s nothing like waking up to the sound of the high tide rolling in. Back home in Ginatilan, the water is a bit further off, but here, it comes right up to our doorstep early in the morning. It’s the perfect wake-up call, and seeing Jessa already out there washing the car before the sun gets too high was a great start to the day.
The star of the morning, as always, was Liam. The little guy is becoming a proper "water baby." I took him down to the water for a morning swim, and he was absolutely fearless. He’s moved past being scared of the waves; now he just wants to crawl and splash around. I was trying to teach him how to stand and walk in the shallow water, but he’s discovered that crawling is much faster for exploring. We even spotted something in the water that turned out to be some strange local sea creature we couldn't quite identify. Regardless, watching Liam have the time of his life in the sea makes all the challenges of the last few months worth it.
While Liam was busy "swimming with the sharks" (or just the local minnows), I finally had some fantastic news to share. After being blocked for over a month, Jessa finally got her TikTok account back! She has nearly 700,000 followers there, and being locked out was a real stress for us. It’s frustrating because those platforms are so automated; you just get robotic answers until a real human finally takes a look and realizes you haven't violated any rules. We celebrated the news the only way we know how: with a family trip into town.
Our first mission in town was to find me some new glasses. If you’ve followed our journey, you know I’m a bit of a disaster when it comes to eyewear. In the last year and a half, I’ve destroyed four pairs—two expensive ones and two cheap ones. Jessa says I’m careless, but I prefer to think the world is just a dangerous place for glasses! We didn't find the perfect pair in the local shops, but we did get my eyes checked so we have the correct prescription. I’ll just order exactly the design I want online and have it delivered in a few days.
After the eye exam, it was time for—you guessed it—food. We found a great local spot and filled up on liver, chicken wings, and some delicious chicken soup. Liam actually slept through most of the meal, which meant Jessa and I could eat in relative peace for once!
On the way back, we stopped at an incredibly local "wet market" right on the side of the road. It doesn't get much fresher than this—the fish were literally still jumping in the bins. Jessa, being the expert negotiator she is, managed to score a massive pile of parrot fish and other varieties for just 200 pesos. That’s two full dinners for the family for about four dollars! We’re planning a big fish buffet for Monday, just frying them up simply to let the fresh flavor shine through.
We’re ending the day back at our rental, which we’re calling "home" until the electricity and internet are finally restored at our mountain cabin. The roof is almost finished up there, which is a huge relief, but we can't move back until I can actually work. For tonight, we're celebrating the return of Jessa's social media with a movie and some candy. It’s the simple things that keep us going.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
