A Marriage Proposal for You

To my ever dearest Boots,

Before I met you, I used to believe that star-crossed lovers only happen in novels and movies. Being able to bump into you in this lifetime made me realize that I was mistaken, in the sweetest way possible. Surreal as it may seem, you made me see for myself that star-crossed lovers truly exist, and it was way, way better than the movies.

Ours is a love story which up to now, I feel is too good to be true. Meeting you on the Philippines' highest peak - with you noticing me even though I was more of a taong putik that time, not being able to see you for a couple of months when we went back to Manila, and the confession all of a sudden.

You were my dream come true - an equally adventurous and passionate traveler; in short, my male counterpart. I clearly remember how supportive you were when I initially thought of starting a travel blog more than a year ago, during the days when our only communication was through Facebook commenting. It took me almost a year to finally decide to start one, and never have you given up on your support.

I could still clearly recall our second climb together, on Mount Batulao, where we savored the moment while viewing the scenic landscape surrounding us. Our buwis buhay, treasured moment while island hopping in Marinduque never left my memory at any single moment. Just the two of us spelunking in Marinduque's Bathala Caves will always be worth remembering, and since then, I became thrilled to explore every cave with you. Remember how we spent the whole afternoon inside Sagada's Lumiang and Sumaguing Cave? And how I forced you to follow the itinerary that I made which sent us to a seven-hour train ride straight upon landing in Singapore to Kuala Lumpur just to see Batu Caves? I bet no other man would succumb to accompany me in my simple pleasures in life.

As happy as we were, there were moments when I felt otherwise. When you asked me to restrict my travels from the usual monthly to quarterly, I felt like a rebel kid ready to take you on anytime. You did not tell me that the reason behind it was to save for our marriage - my dream wedding on the scenic mountains. Yet, as delighted as I was, I became torn. I wanted my dream wedding, but I cannot let go of my love for travel all of a sudden. Unfortunately, if I am to save for the wedding, I have to let go of my travel fund. Hence, I had no choice but to limit my travel budget.

It took a lot of self-convincing to make me forget about our plan to return to Palawan. Our treasured moments in Coron are still very vivid in my mind, specially our snorkeling in Barracuda Lake when we were the only ones who dared to try. You were scared of the unfathomable water, and of the barracuda, while I even removed my life vest because I had no idea what a barracuda was. I still see how disappointed you are that we were not able to spend much time in Siete Pecados. I recall how you badly wanted to go back to Palawan, to El Nido, to be exact, after being mesmerized by it when it was featured on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho last April.

Because you are now working somewhere far, and because we have serious savings to face, I am slowly learning to accept the impossibility of our travel plans in the near future. Your departure has made me experience my most emotional adventure to date. The depression after you left just sent me spending part of my savings meant for travel for the doctors and the medicines instead. Now if you would allow me, can I have one simple request?

Can I request for four of your very busy days? Can you take a leave from work for a very important reason? Can you just...marry me? I know, it might be too much to ask all of a sudden. It does not have to be my dream wedding with the mountains on the backdrop, it just have to be you and me. It will not require much money, and our honeymoon would be for free. Just imagine: We will be able to fulfill our plan to go back to Palawan - to El Nido, to be exact, as where you badly wanted to go. I promise to only let you experience what's best: Picture us whiling our time in our own veranda while savoring the scenic landscapes characterized by the impressive limestone cliffs that we have always loved about Palawan. Think of us spending our alone time amid the serene, almost paradise environment of El Nido: white sand, blue water so clear that would allow us to enjoy the underwater events without obstructions, and rain forest so lush green that would definitely take our minds off of the busy world and all the sadness that we had to go through when we parted. If these are not enough to convince you, I promise to snorkel with you as long as I can - whatever underwater scenes we may experience or creatures we may face. I will make up for lost time by spending the days island hopping with you (and hopefully, we have life vests this time). You can kayak race with me if you want, and we will be once again exploring caves together.

And the best part of it all, there would be no better place to start building our little family than in El Nido.

As much as I believed that star-crossed lovers can only be found in novels and movies, I also believe that happily ever after is only for fairy tales. You already had proven me wrong on my first belief. I know you would also prove my second belief wrong. Marry me, and I promise to give you the four best days of your life in El Nido.

(Hopefully, for free. If I get to win this El Nido Resorts contest.)

Officially yours,

Your Dora

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