Station Zero: Boracay, Philippines + Thanksgiving

Hi Family and Friends,

We hope you’re enjoying your long Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by loved ones. We were thankful to have participated in gingerbread tile decorating and Friendsgiving with our PH crew, a turkey trot within the village, and a nice quiet dinner at home on Thanksgiving night, equipped with Indian food and a divine cranberry cobbler with spiced custard made by our friends at Hey Pie People. It was all lovely. November as a whole has been a great month, we’re finally feeling like we’re getting our footing as a family of four and notably, the month was filled with birthdays for Margie, Travis, and a milestone birthday for Charity (40). It was even Merrick’s half birthday. To celebrate all of these wonderful people, we all spent a long weekend in Boracay from 11 to 15 November!

This was our second time visiting Boracay. Thankfully this time no COVID prerequisites were required for travel and we didn’t come home with COVID. While we stayed in Station 3 last time, we opted for the more luxurious station zero this time to truly live it up. We chose Crimson Boracay for our stay, after having such a great experience with Crimson in Cebu for Merrick’s birthday earlier this year. The trip was incredible. Station zero is quiet and secluded, boasting only a few resorts. Crimson is nestled in between two rock formations in the water, so as you approach on your boat transfer from the airport you come around the first formation to see your hotel, which feels exclusive and quiet. The white sand beach is gorgeous and provided ample shells and hermit crabs for the finding. There are multiple infinity pools that overlook the ocean, comfy lounging areas, a few great restaurants, and the rooms were beautiful. All-in-all Crimson Boracay delivered.

As we said before, Margie and Charity came with us on the trip to celebrate. This allowed Travis and Samantha to sneak away for two dives without the kiddos, our first since Mama was pregnant with Merrick and before the pandemic. Our first dive was on Sunday morning and we were both a little nervous since it had been so long since we dived. With this in mind, our dive master chose a location that was “shallow” by diving standards and would allow us to refresh our skills. Samantha managed her anxiety well, only taking a few minutes to calm herself and successfully descend. While the coral was a little lacking of color due to damage, marine life was still abundant including puffer fish, lots of clown fish, grouper, blue sea stars and more. Most notable were seeing lionfish for the first time and two different sea turtles. The most incredible experience came with the latter. About halfway into the dive, from only a few feet away, we observed the largest green sea turtle we’ve ever seen. Its shell measured approximately 5 feet. It literally was as long as Samantha. It was resting on the sea bottom in a cave-like indent of the coral reef munching on some food. It’s hard to describe these moments of beauty but floating there with it was truly magical. Then eventually, it swam off into the distance.

We did our second dive on Monday morning with the same crew, at Milky’s Dive Center Boracay. While both dives were back roll entry and line descent/ascent, the second dive required us to enter the current along a coral wall and swim with it as we observed the wall along the way, similar to our gorgeous dive in the Maldives. Descent went easy for Samantha this time and once at depth, we observed the coral and fish for a bit before our approach of the wall and current. It was here where things changed for Samantha. As she swam along the top of the wall and right before she began her swim into the current, she felt her breath pattern “become off” and an anxiety attack coming on. She signaled to her buddy (Travis) and the divemaster that she was not okay and then without words had to make them aware of what was happening. This was terrifying for Samantha at the time because she had never experienced an anxiety attack at depth… only at the surface during descent. The reason this was so scary is because you can’t just pop up to the surface… when you dive this deep and for this duration you need to complete a 3-to-5 minute safety decompression stop at about 5-to-6 meters below the surface to avoid “the bends” a.k.a. decompression sickness. If you don’t complete this pause and you instead ascend rapidly to the surface, dissolved gases like nitrogen expand in your blood turning into bubbles, which can lead to tissue damage or more severe issues like stroke or death (Deep Dive, 2022). To make a long and painful story short, the divemaster got up in Samantha’s face… eye-to-eye so the only thing she could see was him, after intentional breaths for two excruciatingly long minutes, he got her calmed, back on track, and able to complete the rest of the dive. While this situation was stressful and not ideal, it was an incredible learning moment for Samantha and Travis should it occur again in the future. Notable sea life on this dive included a moray eel hiding in the wall, a clown triggerfish, a gigantic conch shell, and our first time seeing a sea snake (i.e., the yellow-lipped sea krait).

Outside of the dives, we had nice quality time as a family. We spent our days on the beach or in the pool swimming, building in the sand, collecting seashells and sea glass, and took a crystal kayak ride during sunset. As a group, we did the beachfront outdoor grill experience for one dinner, where the head chef cooked your choice of raw foods on huge charcoal grills. It was super yum and a gorgeous evening near the water. The kiddos napped hardcore everyday for up to 3 or 4 hours at time, their parents happily joined in. Marg and Charity explored the bustling Station 2 one night and did some shopping. Samantha and Travis enjoyed a couples massage and one dinner just the two of them. Arden started teething right before the trip, so there were some moments where he really struggled but nothing a little paracetamol and snuggles couldn’t fix. As always, he was a champ and remained a beacon of joy. Merrick was in utter bliss per the usual on our tropical vacations. He was nonstop go-go-go… “taking adventures” as we call them, using the water ladle to clean the sand off everyone’s feet, and playing with the colorful egg lights on the tables at night. Overarching themes of the trip were, pruney fingers and naps. It was glorious.

Samantha’s memorables – swim with the massive sea turtle, dinner and subsequent glass of wine on the beach with Travis talking for a few hours, night swim with Merrick in the pool playing with the colorful lights, and comfort snuggles with Arden.

Travis’s memorables – playing horse with Merrick at Caticlan Airport, scuba diving again with my buddy, playing the pool light game with Merrick, 72-hour beef short ribs at Azure restaurant, the Crimson speed boat and lounge experience, being on vacation while my boss traveled into PH to see me.

Merrick’s memorables – looking for sea glass, purple grapes, building in the sand, and riding on the speed boat with the motors.

All our love,

xo Team Jansen