Author: Nicole Isaacs

BORACAY | PHILLIPPINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Boracay is the fun party island of the Philippines and it is absolutely beautiful. Boracay is where I swam as a mermaid. I also tried  BALUT which is a common food in Southeast Asia. Balut is a developing duck embryo boiled alive and eaten from the shell of the egg. It’s supposed to be a good source of protein. I was absolutely terrified to try it but I had a small taste and it wasn’t so bad. I also tried chicken intestines on a stick from a cart on the beach which I actually enjoyed. Take a look at some of my favorite moments from my time in Boracay (including a video of me fire dancing in the rain!). Also, if you haven’t seen me swim as a mermaid, check it out here!

RICO’S LECHON | CEBU, PHILIPPINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Fresh out the ocean after swimming with whale sharks, I changed in the car and went straight to Rico’s, a famous place where they are known for having the best “Lechon” on the island of Cebu. Lechon is roasted pig and is a popular food in the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and in Latin America & Spain. Lechon is a national dish of the Philippines and in fact, Anthony Bourdain claimed Cebu as having the best pig in the world. My friend and I went to Rico’s to try their spicy Lechon. It was phenomenal. I love anything spicy, so this lechon tasted extra delicious. If you are ever in Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines,  you have to try Lechon and Rico’s is a very well known place for it. It was a hole in the wall but packed with a line out the door. They were chopping up the pork so quickly, things were messy in there as you can see from my pictures. That’s my favorite kind of food…messy and delicious. …

CEBU, PHILIPPINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

My trip to the Philippines was absolutely amazing. It was so beautiful there and the people were extremely nice and friendly. I started in Manila and island hopped from Cebu to Boracay to El Nido. I did everything from swimming with whale sharks to dancing with fire in the rain, being a mermaid and zip lining over the ocean. I already shared with you a couple clips being a mermaid and swimming with whale sharks, but here are a couple of my favorite pictures from Cebu (including Kawasan Falls). Next blog post will be on an amazing hole in the wall where they serve the best “Lechon” in Cebu. Stay tuned! To see more photos of my trip and me dancing with fire check out my Instagram @NicoleIsaacs.  

I’M A REAL MERMAID…BORACAY, PHILIPPINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’ve been obsessed with mermaids my whole life. Mermaid everything growing up. Even my AOL screen name was “mermaidcutie” (I know, horrible) and I knew every word to the Little Mermaid (still do). Anyway, my Aunt sent me a link to this Philippine Mermaid Academy and said she thought of me and I had to do it. This was months ago before I even booked a trip to the Philippines. Sure enough, my best friend has been trying to get me to go to the Philippines, I had work off, so I finally decided to go. My dream finally came true! I got to be a mermaid…check out a sneak peak of my mermaid experience. More video to come, stay tuned!

KAWASAN FALLS, CEBU, PHILIPPINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’m in the Philippines! After flying into Manila, I had a couple hours to kill before my flight to the island of Cebu. After landing in Cebu, I drove for 3 hours to get to Kawasan Falls. It’s a beautiful waterfall in the lush mountains of Cebu. After we parked it was about a 10-15 minute walk along a beautiful, clear freshwater river leading to the waterfall. Right when we started walking it started to rain (just my luck), but it was a warm rain so it actually made the experience unique and kind of special. Stay tuned for more of my Philippines trip on the way!

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I finished up my Tanzania trip in Zanzibar. It was the perfect end to our incredible experience in Africa. Many people don’t know that the Eastern Coast of Africa lies on the Indian Ocean and has beautiful beaches. Zanzibar is an island right off the coast of Tanzania. We explored the main island of Zanzibar first. We went to a slave site where they used to auction and sell Africans as slaves and transported them by boat to the United States on slave ships in the 1800’s. It was really intense to see the slave quarters where they held them and the areas where they auctioned them off.  They used to keep around 60 slaves underground in a tiny holding quarter with barely any light. There were no toilets and they were chained by their hands and feet. It felt very eery to be standing in the slave chambers where people were being enslaved and treated like animals because of the color of their skin. As hard as it was to be there, it was important to learn more …

SERENGETI, TANZANIA | FOUR SEASONS HOTEL

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’ve been meaning to post the 2nd half of my Africa trip and I’m finally getting around to it.  Our second leg of the trip we spent in the Serengeti and Zanzibar. I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from the Serengeti. It was an unforgettable experience. We stayed at the Four Seasons Safari lodge which is located in the middle of the Serengeti. We saw every animal from the view of our hotel room balcony. It felt like we were in the middle of a zoo, but we were the animals and the animals were the onlookers looking at us…we were in their home. We spent most of the day relaxing on our hotel balcony looking at elephants, zebras, giraffes walk by. It was unreal. The Four Seasons resort was beautiful and I highly recommend staying there if you ever take a trip to the Serengeti. We saw so many animals driving from the air strip to the Four Seasons. We didn’t even need to do an actual safari. We also did …