Sitti as Marco first saw her
Marco, enjoying the water in Palawan
Marco had been working at his new job for over two months, and for many of these weeks, he worked six days. He didn’t mind because he needed the money. Even though his condo was furnished, he still needed new clothes, and of course, he wanted his own scuba gear. You never knew what you would get when you rented your dive gear. While he went to school in Rome, he never gave much thought to having a social life. This was mainly because he was too busy with his studies. While it was true that he was good with the sciences, getting a graduate degree in chemical engineering was quite laborious and very time-consuming. Especially when it came down to writing his master’s thesis. Marco did not find it very easy to write a scientific work.
Marco had never been easy on himself, especially when trying to attain particular goals. When he graduated from high school, instead of taking off the summer before he started taking his college classes, he took summer classes. He immediately started taking graduate-level courses when he graduated with his double major. The trend continued until he moved to Cebu. Instead of taking advantage of his week off by recharging his batteries, he pounded out his scuba diving certification. Now that his company was upgrading its manufacturing processes, Marco found himself with a nice five-day break. In the little spare time he had in his first few months in Cebu, he researched the various places he wanted to travel to. The first one on his list was Palawan. It offered everything he was looking for in his first vacation destination. It had jaw-dropping scenery and fantastic diving. Palawan was perfect, down to cheap and short-duration flights to the Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPS); he couldn’t go wrong.
Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPS)
While many of the fancier hotels were charging substantial rates, many deals were still to be had. He found one likely place that only charged $100 USD for four days of lodging. It even offered free breakfasts. The rooms came with refrigerators and small eat-in kitchens, so he was able to save even more money by preparing his own lunches.
With the plethora of sightseeing package deals, Marco decided to splurge and book one of these tours. The Coron Ultimate Tour, which included seven destinations, lunch, and transfers all for $48 USD, you couldn’t go wrong.
If he knew that he was going to meet Sitti, the woman of his dreams, on this tour, he would have dropped dead of a heart attack.
Itinerary
Marco first saw Sitti Maria Santos at the Twin Lagoon, where kayaks and paddle boards were provided. She was just ahead of him on her board. He immediately became mesmerized by her beauty. He knew he had met the perfect woman right then and there. Not only was she beautiful and had a great body, but she was adventurous and fun-loving. When he finally introduced himself to her at CYC Beach, she seemed attracted to him initially. The magic continued as they spent the rest of the day chatting and enjoying each other’s company. By the end of the day, they had decided that there needed to be a second date, so they exchanged contact information. Sitti was also in Palawan for a long weekend, so they agreed to meet the next day in the lobby of her hotel. Instead of going on another tour, they decided to pal around and do some sightseeing on their own in Puerto Princesa City. They explored Puerto Princesa’s historical sites, which included the WWII Special Battalion Museum, Plaza Cuartel, Baker’s Hill, Plaza Cuartel and Palawan Heritage Museum. By the afternoon, Marco and Sitti grew tired of walking, so they took a short bus ride to Rancho Santa Monica, where they went for a horse ride. They ended the day with a nice meal at a local restaurant and a romantic sunset stroll at Baywalk Park.
Even though Marco had a couple of more days off, Sitti, unfortunately, did not. Subsequently, she had to fly back to Bohol the next day in order to be back in time for work. While she did not live in Cebu, Sitti still lived pretty close in Bohol. Even better, Bohol had an international airport, the Bohol-Panglao International Airport (TAG). One-way tickets were reasonable, but the return trip was expensive. Prices varied around $140 USD. This was OK for a once-in-a-while journey, but it was not OK for frequent visits. So that left ferry boat rides, which were around $10 to $15 USD each way. This was certainly more affordable, especially if they took turns. Marco dropped off Sitti at her hotel lobby and gave her a chaste kiss. He told her that he would meet her there in the morning to say goodbye to her when she left for her flight back home.
The next day, they made plans for their next meeting. It was agreed that Marco would go to Bohol for their next meeting. After the arrangements had been made and before Sitti went to her gate, Marco prepared to give her another quick kiss goodbye. Sitti smiled, shook her head, and said he needed to improve. So he gave her a long and passionate kiss, which produced a couple of cheers from the other airport patrons. Marco backed up, blushing, and waved goodbye to Sitti as she disappeared in the crowd. Marco “floated’ back to his hotel room, where he spent the rest of the day thinking about Sitti. He didn’t go anywhere the rest of the day. He even decided not to go on a planned morning dive. Thankfully, he had never booked it, so he did not lose any money. Without Sitti, it just wasn’t the same. The following day, Marco boarded his plane back to Cebu. The flight was uneventful and dreary. The following day, he went back to work. Their next meeting was planned in six weeks. This would prove to be the longest six-period of his life.