Travelling In Macrovision

Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. It is solely a question of focus. Great, beautiful pictures are often spoilt by small adversities. Example: The potato salad was oversalted, so the holiday sucks. It rarely happens the other way round. Or would someone looking at a nude with imperfect breasts assume that the rest of the model is ugly?

My big picture has been clouded for a few days now. No wind, too expensive, boredom. I decide to travel in Macrovision from now on. I zoom in on the details. I then use them to put together a nice big picture.

We cross over to Coconut Garden Resort on nearby Cacnipa Island for two days. A sign at reception warns us to “Beware of Coconuts”. Should I now look up so that none fall on my head, or down so that I don’t trip over any? Or should I just not drink any more fermented ones?

The Coconut Garden is really nice: small nipa huts right on the beach, a park-like garden and good, much cheaper food than at Secret Paradise Beach. Colourful butterflies fly around. Flowers bloom in all colours. The pet monkey is a personal favourite. A group of ducks walk around quacking freely. The beach is white, the water turquoise and the starfish blue.

A jungle path leads steeply across the island up to the highest peak. Lianas twine through the jungle, interspersed with gigantic spider webs. I mutate into Rainman. Everything is quiet at lunchtime. There are only a few guests here, but they tell funny stories. A 55-year-old American woman from Oregon tells how she once almost poisoned her husband with space cakes. His reports from the flight the next morning (stewardess: “Enjoy your flight!”) are even better.

The last few days of travelling together. We take a rest. Read a lot. In the evening, I count how many noises I can make out as I fall asleep: Ducks clucking. A bird chirps on the left, another answers on the right. Another bird. Monkey grumbles. Cricket chirps. Leaves fall on the roof. Dog barks. Sea roars. Butterflies fluttering? Frank snores…