Day 5

 As I said in my last post, Friday started out with a headache. After some very light yoga, a shower, and some breakfast, I felt a lot better. Today's challenge is to find some clothes for my yoga practice. I managed to leave home without my exercise clothes and without a swimsuit. The problem here is that everyone is itty-bitty and they don't have clothing made for people that wear "plus" sizes.

Determined and open to other possibilities, I headed for the beach. Along the beach is a string of little shops that go on for a couple of miles. Down near the end is what they call "D'Mall". It is a large group of shops that go back in away from the beach for about a block. Almost all of these shops have cheap, tacky, tourist junk. There were swimsuits galore if you didn't mind wearing a bikini or board shorts, but nothing for a larger, modest woman. As far as exercise clothes go...nothing. On my way back home I noticed a shop that I had missed on the way in. They carried the "Lonely Planet" brand which is a little expensive, but I looked around anyway. I came across one pare of extra large men's biking pants. I tried them on and they fit. Yah! I figured they were stretchy and non-restricting and would do the job; they will just look funny for doing yoga. Next...a tee shirt. I found one that fit and gleefully headed for the checkout counter. The purchase came to 2279 Pesos (about $55.00).
I handed over my Visa card...and it was declined.

Dejected, I headed back home, but I wasn't paying attention and ended up getting lost. I ended up in what Tom calls "the under belly of Boracay". It was narrow filthy alleys that open up to areas with several downtrodden people and then merge into other alleys. I am sure the people wondered what this white woman was doing wondering around their turf. When I realized I wasn't going to find my way out, I had to backtrack through it all and just smiled at the people for a second time as I passed by. I thought about asking someone for help to get back to Mandala but I was afraid they would think I had money if I said I was from Mandala. I eventually made it back to the beach and found the alley that led up the hill to Home. The first thing I did after that was to e-mail my bank and let them know that I was in the Philippines and to let me spend my money!