The Secret of Adventure

My room

“The secret of adventure, then, is not to carefully seek it out but to travel in such a way that it finds you. To do this you first need to overcome the protective habits of home and open yourself up to unpredictability. As you begin to practice this openness, you’ll quickly discover adventure in the simple reality of a world that defies your expectations. More often than not you’ll discover that 'adventure' is a decision after the fact - a way of deciphering an event or an experience that you can’t quite explain.”

My RIDE!

This description is a wonderful quote from the book Vagabonding: The Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts.  I have already found that this is true. It is about opening up and believing that the next thing will come to you in its own time and for the better.

For instance, I had booked a “studio” apartment in Danao Beach – just a short ways from Alona Beach, which I fell in love with when my daughter, Vanessa, and I visited Bohol last week. I couldn’t find anything affordable on Alona Beach online. When I arrived, by tricycle (see the picture above) there was “no room at the inn.” Something had gone wrong with my reservation.

So the owner of Villa Juana took me to her friend’s guesthouse, where I spent the night. But before falling into an exhausted slumber, Juana and her husband, Reiner, took me to town so I could have dinner and buy a couple of supplies in Alona Beach. 

After dinner, Juana walked me to a hotel that is absolutely beautiful – gorgeous grounds and right next to the beach and everything I need. Hallelujah!

A terrible picture of Juana & Reinert - sorry guys.

Had I panicked or gotten angry that my room wasn’t waiting for me, I would never have found this fantastic place to stay! I think I’ll learn to appreciate the fact that I have never been the “princess” type. It’s pretty easy for me to adapt to my surroundings, as long as there is some redeemable aspect to them.Try as I might, I could not find anything redeemable in Manila or Cebu, unless it was very American, and that’s not what I am here for.

So far in this latest adventure, I’ve ridden a very Filipino mode of transportation – the tricycle – and had extended conversations with three different natives and a German transplant plus I've landed in just the type of housing I was looking for. Yay! Now THAT’S the point!

Neelo and Tata - my hosts for night #1