The months just kept on passing by so slow as normal without us seeing each other. So in December 2003, I started my second trip to Surigao to meet Bebeth again. It was December 30 early in the morning when I landed very exhausted at the Mactan Intl Airport, Cebu. Bebeth fetched me there alone this time. I was very happy to see her again, although she hugged me with reservation. This didn't surprise me though, as I had read inside my book about Filipino culture, that such acting isn't decent in the Philippines. Had her family accepted me as her "official" fiance so no chaperon was required? Obviously yes...
It was Christmas season but still empty handed of presents for Bebeth's parents, a brand new rice cooker was the suitable gift, she suggested. The old one had just gone out of order, so it was a good opportunity to provide a new one. She despised a Filipino brand but preferred products made by National which were not available at SM (a big shopping mall in Cebu City). So we finally left the store carrying a Philips rice cooker, instead.
Big malls in the Philippines are open 7 days a week especially on holidays and lots of people were inside for shopping, though Christmas was already over, actually. Christmas season highlighted by decorations and songs starts from 2nd week of December until 6th January in the Philippines. Inside the mall I wondered about huge artificial snow flakes made of styrofoam hanging down the ceiling with Santa Claus on his sled drawn by a couple of reindeers in between... a view which made me smile knowing that snow should definitely be unknown in a tropical place like Cebu, but nevertheless this decoration really looked nice and pretty.
Beside the rice cooker I had brought a couple of small gifts for the whole family, which I hoped they would like. I had found out that sweets like chocolate and gummi bears were very popular, also body lotion for the ladies and shower gel for the men. My attempt to introduce typical German Christmas bread (Stollen) and almond paste (Marzipan) to her family didn't work out well. Especially the latter tasted strange, I was told later. Never mind, as it was a try only... 
My main problem was the restriction that airlines typically allow to bring up to 20kg of checked-in baggage only. This may sound a lot, but it isn't...
This time we chose a different ferry company (Superferry) and got a cabin which was much more comfortable compared to the huge dormitory. Surely it cost about the same as going by plane, but they didn't have any restrictions regarding the weight of the baggage. The small aircrafts (Asian Spirit) flying between Cebu and Surigao only allow up to 15kg per person and I had heard scary stories about them before... Another advantage was the possibility to get some sleep on the way to Surigao City, having really nice (separated) beds, which even fit my height. Physically relaxed I could clearly see the ferry's imaginary path on the ocean, which was very calm again, fortunately. The sound of the engines was hardly audible, so we had a quiet and peaceful night and we fell asleep early.
We arrived in Surigao in the early morning of New Year's eve. The family was very happy to see me again and their friendly treatment made me feel at home. This time I didn't even suffer from any headaches, as I had taken some Aspirin during my travelling (highly recommended). Again I was granted Bebeth's room for residing, while Bebeth moved into the next room beside. Still we couldn't stay together, as we were not married yet, of course...
At their home everything was prepared for the Happy New Year party and we also had bought some round shaped fruits believed to provide good luck to the family and friends. Superstitious but true as I turned out to be their Good Luck charm (pity me). 
Apples and oranges are rather rare and expensive, but they look very colorful and tasty together.
Well, I could show hundreds of photos of nice and interesting places we visited together and indeed it was a great vacation again. We went to see the Capalayan waterfalls, Songkoy cold spring, Sabang beach etc. and I finally had the great opportunity to know most of her family members living on Dinagat Island where we roamed for 2 days. Given the choice between Camiguin Island, a tourist place nearby Cagayan de Oro, or alternatively going to a silent place like Dinagat I had decided for the latter.
It was also my first time to feel the pulse of a philippine countryside. It's a tranquil invigorating place almost covered with coconuts, yet unknown to foreign tourists. A concrete hut on the top of a hill overlooking the blue sea could be ideal for my hibernation 20 years later. After all I was already an "indirect" co-owner of the land upon paying 20,000 PhP to prevent its forfeiture. Bebeth's office had granted her this amount as a loan for paying the property taxes by using my name without my consent, as guarantee, otherwise she was not trustworthy of credit among her officemates... This could be the best place for our hearts to speak out their desires but mute due to impractical regards of her obsolete traditions. The time could also be right for both of us to plant a seed of love in our hearts to grow... Boooom! The falling coconut almost hit my head and awakened me up from nap. If "love conquers all" barriers what feelings had Bebeth for me? A nice defect at that time was the lack of cellphone signal area coverage, (meanwhile it's working there). Thinking that Bebeth loved to txt all the time had somehow started to annoy me, but like a miracle she kept her temper.
An interesting event also was the extension of Bebeth's driving license. In the Philippines this needs to be done every few years, which we accomplished together at this time. This process even includes a drug test and health check, which Bebeth completed without any problems.
After two weeks of exploring Surigao it was Bebeth's birthday on January 14 and my chance to celebrate it together with her for the first time. We went to a shop to buy ice cream to treat her office colleagues and she wanted to pay at the cashier using her brother's cash card.
It was rejected due to its invalidity or maybe it exceeded its credit limit. To save us from embarrassment, I ended up paying everything. At least this way a little birthday party could take place inside the office and I think everybody enjoyed the ice cream...
Actually I had hoped to be together with her alone on her birthday, but it was really difficult. Most of the time somebody was inconsiderately accompanying us, mostly friends or family members. Nevertheless I managed to have a nice dinner together with her at "Adriano's By The Sea" which is a great restaurant directly nearby the ocean, but somehow the romantic mood was missing...
Apropos paying...... this was the biggest difference compared to my first visit. While at my first visit we had shared costs and expenses for our common trips, this time it was mostly charged on me alone. I was disappointed to be expected to shoulder parts of the family's telephone bills, cable TV and cemetery fees. These incalculable expenses were literally unbearable for my limited vacation budget but I "showed" my support for "my family". Instinctively strange! Now and then people would shamelessly asked money from me, the amount had an increasing tendency... 
Btw Bebeth still was a way distant and shy all the time, but I could feel she really cared for me (or my money only? 
) and she seemed to appreciate my nearness. Books about Filipino culture describe a Filipina's reservation in the presence of opposite gender especially in the public, etc. There was no option left but to respect her tradition and I kept my patience not to speed up things. Even on our last day together we lodged at the same hotel room in Cebu City, where we had gone by ferry again, but we did nothing more than watching the Sinulog Festival on TV and talking only. She proudly told me about the dancing chorus coming from Surigao and I think they even won a prize that year...
Later on the same day we left for going to the international airport again. A cousin of Bebeth was accompanying us and helped in carrying the baggage. Luckily we had contracted a reliable taxi driver the day before, who had shown us nice places around Cebu City and Mactan Island for a special tour price. Because of the Sinulog, many streets inside the city were closed and our hotel was right in the middle of the festivity, so we needed to hike to the place where our driver had parked waiting for us.
We even crossed the path of the passing by Sinulog groups and surely attracted all people's attention when we were escorted across the street by 2 helpful policemen. This was a seldom gesture may be to impress a foreigner.
Most taxi drivers were attending the festival and I doubt that we would have found another possibility for reaching the airport in time, but our new friend made his way through crowded shortcuts easily.
Last year on my departure, I had left my back pack outside with Bebeth and entered the passengers' check-in terminal without knowing that one normally cannot go back outside to the visitors area again. This regulation was known to me this time and followed religiously so not to instigate the guards again. However Bebeth thought I would return back to her after checking in to leave her my digital camera, as she longed to have it being fascinated by all kinds of electronic gadgets. So I received a more or less complaining txt while sitting inside the waiting hall behind the gate and all my explanations bounced back as they struck her narrow mind. This was my tactic because I actually needed the camera for myself... Actually I had expected to have opened her money-coated heart so it could beat in love for me, like mine did for her. But the feeling was different compared to the first time saying good-bye and if I had been smart, this relation should have ended at this point, eventually.