I am not sure if the tongue twister that I chose for the title of this entry is something that I was first in coming up with, but yes, it is a portmanteau: opacarophile and thalassophile combined. Opacarophile is the love of sunsets, while thalassophile is the love of the sea. Love of sunset at the sea? Opacarothalassophile.

It has been 18 hours since we left Malolos City, and I started to feel that fatigue was already starting to take toll on me. We did not take the long drive though for us to just miss something in sleep, and that was something that would all the more sink in to me on the day that would follow.

As soon as we got back to the resort from Patapat Viaduct, we wasted no time and headed to the world-renowned Saud Beach. It was not hard to see why it was dubbed as the Boracay of the North as it features white sand beach and crystal clear waters. I have to be clear though: I find it in bad taste to dub a place in comparison to another, as if saying that the former could not be famous in its own right.

Seriously, the beauty of Saud Beach packs a punch.

Real talk: pagod na ‘ko. Oo, aakuin ko. Mas pagod ako kaysa kay Ran. The long haul made me too tired to take a dip anymore, so I just took consolation in capturing photo memories. This is Pagudpud. This is Saud. We made it here. I cannot be prouder of myself. I cannot be happier for ourselves.

My mind was pretty much decided that I would want to stay dry and just wait for the opportune time to capture the sunset. Ran, however, had to combat his inner child, or should I say, the renegade in him. No one can stop him.

Around 06:00 PM, the sun was already poised to say goodbye for the night. I must say, this is the consolation after the long journey that we endured. A very captivating consolation.

This trip made it official: whenever we got the chance, we will for sure catch the sunset. I think more than the visual aesthetics, there is something captivating with sunsets. It marks the end of the day, yet at the same time preludes the coming of a new one. It is a repetitive paradox, a cyclic necessity.

We returned to our accommodation just before the darkness dominated the skies. We washed up then took our dinner which we ordered in the resort. Wala na rin kaming lakas para gumala at humanap ng ibang food options. Besides, tt was about 08:00 PM already, and believe it or not, we won’t even reach the eight-hour mark in our accommodation.

Pahinga? I don’t think so. We were set to leave Pagudpud at 12:00 midnight.