Outfits: Sand and Sea

SHIP'S LOG: No snow but lots of sun and sand at Kawayan Cove over the holidays. A left the law commentaries and headed to the beach for sandcastle wars and a true tan.



Take out your pens and put this on your bucket list: eat a freshly caught seafood lunch on any of the beaches found on 7,107 islands that make up the Philippine archipelago. You can't go wrong with buttered crabs and frozen calamansi shake after a morning's swim in the South China Sea. I keep telling all my relatives and friends: that no country can compare with the natural wonders of the Philippines—the white sand of Boracay, the underground rivers of Palawan, the roaring surf of Siargao—22,529 miles of swim-worthy coastlines.

Sorry for the geography lesson, but I always get patriotic after a trip to the beach. I love travelling for two or three hours across rice fields and mango orchards, over jungle-covered mountains, until I see the pale blue outline of the sea rising above the near horizon. Then to get out of the car and have my first breath of sea-salty air . . . glorious.



My cousin Albi came over from Switzerland for his yearly tan with his girlfriend (you're awesome, Mirella!) so my brother and sister and I jumped at the chance to go with them to Kawayan Cove. Isn't it ironic that, for a blog called A Plus B in the Sea, we don't go a mile near the ocean until after six months?





It was so much fun! We half buried ourselves in the powdery sand to get an all-natural exfoliation and raced against the tide to build elaborate sand structures. Found it funny how most Filipinos (I mean, you Tiff and Vinz!) were slathering on gloopy sunblock while Mirella and Albi were aiming for that golden glow Caucasians pay big bucks for. Autres temps autres moeurs with a spatial twist. :P



The high-brow literature I brought remained unread (so did the non-fiction on probabilities). Got distracted by beach volleyball, a game that I am not as bad at as I was in grade school P.E., and floating on the waves, rather like a corpse as my little brother pointed out.

Anyway, back at school and studying much, much more than I used to. But it's all good, as I've got the high street sales to look forward to at the end of January and the return of another cousin bearing gifts (my Dooney & Bourke bag! At last!). I'll end with this: if any of you decide to pop into the Philippines  I will take you to the best beaches and a secret market for pearls. Promise!



A wears striped Zara jersey dress, Sock and Sole Co. boater hat, Debenhams swimsuit, Forever 21 sunglasses, and Aldo sandals.