TravelStream™ news feed for member mandy13082 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mandy13082 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:41:40 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/14/1223656680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/14/1223656680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/14/1223656680/tpod.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:41:40 -0500 IUCN Barcelona 2008

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Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands

For one week, just a few months after starting my new job, I got the opportunity to travel with my company to the IUCN Conference! It was a busy week, filled with Conference activities, as well as Board group dinners which was great fun. We hosted a reception aboard our ship, which was a huge success, and I met so many great scientists around the world! On just a few evenings I was able to walk around the city and see some Gaudi architecture. Otherwise, I got my feel for the city while taking local metro transportation, walking in Las Ramblas, and enjoying the local fare = tapas! I can't wait to see Spain again!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/13/1214837400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/13/1214837400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/13/1214837400/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:55:40 -0400 Aruba Getaway!

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Oranjestad, Aruba

Just wanted to let you know that we are safe in Aruba. Lisa called her mom yesterday, but was worried about the charges, so I didn't ask to use her phone. My phone is roaming, but I'm keeping it turned off. We have internet at the hotel and it's not too expensive: $3/30 min. EVERYTHING else is VERY expensive. Lisa's out for a run right now while I email and maybe get some Dunkin Donuts as my breakfast. She only wants to eat out for dinner - so we're buying food for breakfast and lunch from the grocery store. Our room is ground floor by one of the two pools and is about a 3 min walk to the beach. The room is big - full kitchen, dining table, living area, 2 tvs, king sized bed. The hotel staff are nice and there was a welcome cocktail hour last night with a dj, free drinks and some snacks. After that we decided to go out for dinner and Lisa couldn't wait to eat any longer and so we ate next door at a place called Mango's. There are lots of Americans here and we met a couple from California who I talked to at the bus stop. We both had grouper for dinner with a lime sauce and I have a sundae for dessert. Just water to drink and no appetizers - my meal was $30. The hotel said most places are like $40 for dinner! EEK! Didn't know it was that much more expensive than the US. I asked where I could find cheaper food and they didn't seem to know, but I've found enough places to eat each night at a $20-$30 range. I think we'll do a snorkel trip tomorrow afternoon, which is only $33 and I'm treating Lisa to it as her bday present. Today, we're going to the beach once she's done working out and then the grocery store this afternoon and hopefully somewhere fun for dinner. There's a lady that sells jewelry at our hotel and they have pearls similar to what I got in the Philippines for maybe $12, so I'll see if I can pick up some jewelry. I haven't looked at it in depth, though. Otherwise, we haven't found what's really unique to this island. It's typical Caribbean style, but reminds me a lot of Mexico/Honduras. I also want to say "Salamat" or "Thank you" in Tagalog, but I'm not in the Philippines! They speak 4 languages - Papiamento, English, Spanish and Dutch, so it's fun to try to figure out if we know what they're saying. I don't think I've heard any Dutch yet. I know it sounds like we've explored a lot already, but I don't feel like we've done a single thing!! I imagined everything would be along the beach, but you have to take a taxi or bus to most places. Nothing's THAT far considering the island is only 6 miles long.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1205103900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1205103900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1205103900/tpod.html Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:23:54 -0400 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

Up at 7AM for Nescafe and breakfast at the hotel, Orchid's in case you've forgotten. :) Ricky showed up at 7:30 to pick up the 12V battery we borrowed to have it charged and ready for the boat. I thought I was going to transfer some points last night and so we borrowed the battery to run the Garmin, but I couldn't figure out what i wanted to do. I think we have enough space for a few more days, so I'll decide then when I run out of room on the memory at 1500 waypoints! Julius was on-time at 9AM and of course my Dad got sucked into some conversation with another American at the hotel. It's nice learning about other people, but if we don't get out early enough in the day, then we lose our daylight too early in the afternoon. We were out on the boat by 10 and surveyed ALL DAY until 5:30PM. An hour short yesterday, but an hour extra today. Okikalang! [it's ok!] Today we paid Julius 100 pesos and he bought lunch for us - pork adobo and green beans [pork 'n beans? kinda] with okra and maybe yams of some type?, with... you got it! WHITE RICE! It was a really tasty meal! We ate with our fingers on the semi-washed plates, enjoying a break from the work... although, Yapoldo and I were the only ones working. Julius & my Dad yakked away ALL DAY LONG while Yapoldo diligently held the camera string, I watched the video and collected waypoints, AND gave the boat gas when we needed it! Ricky was down below where the engine is.. sleeping I think? Julius let me get in the driver seat [a plastic lawn chair that shifted as you drove on top of a thin bamboo floor, separating your feet from the water in the bottom of the boat... is that water supposed to be there??] and I gassed it! Go faster Daddy! Nobody fell overboard or anything, but I wasn't shy. Yapoldo really liked the way I drove and said "Ayos! Ayos na!" [good! perfect!] and wanted me to drive home, too, so I did :) The day started out cloudy with a bit of ulan [rain], but turned out to be sunny, fixing my snake peeled tan lines and finally giving me a fabulous brown glow. God, I love it here. Can't I just stay forever?? Where could I work... how about opening a coffee shop? hmm... oh, the possibilities!
After work, I quickly showered and rode with Julius on a motorbike [3 people on a little moped] to his sister's house to meet her. She lives in a bamboo hut off the mainroad that I've probably walked by before. The floor was linoleum and the downstairs was probably the size of my roommate's kitchen, if that. His sister was cooking rice for dinner on an open fire pit, but I didn't see anything else to eat. She has two children, but there were many more hanging around. They all looked at me, smiled and said hello... but kept watching as I came in, probably thinking "who is this white girl coming into my home with Julius?". I do NOT want to be a stereo-type, so I hope they understand that Julius & I have become good friends. They sat down to dinner and I explained that I was eating with my father later. Not much conversation because we were all shy, but Batista and World Wrestling was on so I watched some American TV for a bit. The furniture was all lawn furniture, but the TV was as big as mine at home. Surprising!
We walked down the street and caught a motorbike back home outside a billiards place that had some REALLY nice pool tables! We got off at Station 3 and he introduced me to another one of his cousin's who is a hairdresser. He was really happy to meet me and we talked more comfortably than with his sister. I think girls must have skeptical eyes when their filipino brothers have a Caucasian by their side. It's ok, I know we're just friends. We walked back to Orchid's with various friends of his saying hello and asking who I was. I thought everyone would know by now since we've been working together for a week or more already!
I went back to Orchid's at 7:30 and my Dad and I caught a motorbike taxi [he was surprised to ride 3 on the bike, too] down to D*Mall to have a pizza dinner at Aria's. I was really sleepy - probably too much sun, so we walked back to wake me up instead of taking a taxi. I stopped at the Turtle Inn to hang out with Julius and his friends for awhile again. It's nice to be around people my age because we tend to like the same kind of music. Even if we don't have the same everyday lives, there is a connection. To bed around 11:45, AFTER my Dad for once!
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Boracay, Philippines

Awake at 6:45 to have a farewell breakfast with Trevor & Ellie at Blue Mango on their way out. My Dad decided to sleep, while they happened to treat me to my french toast breakfast! They had already eaten when I arrived, but stayed and chatted for awhile. We shared some farewell hugs and parted ways - me to the internet cafe because I was falling behind on my blog!!
At 8AM, I returned to Orchid's to find my Dad had more equipment problems and so we worked until 12:45PM on the camera, trying to make it safe enough to put in the water. The silicone had cured over night, but we weren't sure about the glass of the camera - if it would stay in place or not. So, he put more silicone on it, just enough that the lens and single, sad little light could see out. We also re-inforced it with some waterproof tape... It's funny how different this camera looks than it did when it came in the mail!
Finally on the boat, we surveyed until 5:45PM when it was getting dark and CHILLY! After unloading & showering, we walked down to Casa Pilar for dinner. It's a well-put together restaurant that my Mom would probably find romantic, on the beach. :) I had grilled grouper [lapu lapu] and garlic rice with a banana shake for dinner. They grill the entire fish and then I have to peel back the skin to eat it. I like it a bit better if the skin is off, but fish is fish and delish'! I was shivering at dinner [while my Dad was breaking a sweat!] and decided to head to bed directly after dinner at 9:30 while my Dad went to the internet cafe.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204940580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204940580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204940580/tpod.html Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:58:08 -0400 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

Alarm at 7:15AM, greasy, sweaty face. ICK. I jolted awake out of a deep sleep. I'm finally able to dream here, but as many of you know, my dreams are NOT restful at all! I quickly dressed and went to the internet cafe to download data & check email for just 30 min. Coffee & breakfast at Orchid's @ 8, then waited for Julius to show at 9. He was late again. We walked to MV Trading hardware store on the main road to buy some silicone because the camera is falling apart. Somehow the camera is getting extra electricity, shocking us with 12V everytime we touch it, and is causing the stainless steel eyebolt and camera face to corrode in just 1 week! By the end of the day, my Dad was able to simply break off the eyebolt with his hands - NOT GOOD, could've lost the camera!
We were finally on-board @ 11:15 and headed north. What a beautiful start to the day! A rumor was spread that Julius was pocketing 200 extra pesos from us, so he and his brother [also his boss] had a falling out the night before and made Julius be in a bad mood. Boo!
We began our continuous recording at the north end and passed various well-known dive sites. For lunch, we bought some live fish [parrot and doctorfish], JUST CAUGHT, from fisherman snorkeling nearby... Julius said they weren't supposed to be fishing there. This area has no fish left anyway, so I felt gulity eating these sole survivors. At least they were more tasty then the local freshwater milkfish. He grilled them on the boat and served it with rice.. that appeared the be leftover from our last meal on-board... which was when??? I try not to think about the fact that they use some really dirty jugs or either nt-purified drinking water or seawater to clean our dishes that we eat off of, when in Rome... and never to insult!!! We worked until 5:30PM, but discovered 5 of the 6 LED lights had gone out!! MAJOR problem! This camera has certainly not been tested in the "real world", I think. After work, we showered up and headed to dinner at 6:30 with Trevor & Ellie for their last night in Boracay. We casually walked down to Summer Place for Mongolian BBQ on the beach [everything is on the beach] and enjoyed a native Ati-Atihan dance and fireworks on the way at The Regency Hotel. I felt really young at dinner with them for the first time, but it was great conversation as always! We headed back around 8:30 and I decided to stop at the Turtle Inn Dive Shop where Julius' cousin works to hang out for a bit. We enjoyed some San Mig's Light and joked for awhile. We tried to go sit on the beach, but it was raining outside and so we stayed inside the bar. I went home around 11:15, just as my Dad was coming back from the internet cafe. He decided to mess with the camera and basically jury-rigged it up with silicone until 2AM. I was asleep by 1AM, and he asked Rodelle for help. It looked ghetto, but we'll see if it works!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204850580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204850580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204850580/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:55:32 -0500 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

Awake at 6:30AM. Kinda tired! Journaled until 7:30, then Nescafe, mango juice, muesli and yoghurt for breakfast. Chad at Blue Mango suggested hiring a yacht to do our surveys, but I think he also may not have understood how much help these boat drivers have been to us. We honestly could not have done what we're doing without them - once we get started, the essentially take over. With that, I also wonder how much more fuel woiuld cost for the yacht and I think it would be a bigger "kite" in these leeward winds, despite having more power. [Thanks for all your good thoughts Chad, we do appreciate all your help!!! - I know you'll be reading this :) ] We decided to keep working with Julius, Ricky & Yapoldo until it became impossible, but everyday is different and I'm still collecting the data that I need. We met Julius at 9:30 and the windy conditions made us wait until after 10 to board. We decided to stay further inland and headed north a bit. On this survey, we discovered we could do continuous survey finally! We originally thought the winds and current were too strong, not allowing the camera to get deep enough. Instead, my Dad or Julius figured out that if we put the boat in reverse with just a tad of gas, then it gives us the perfect picture. All day we essentially sailed along, stopping for lunch around 2. We grabbed a quick bite at the food cart that's at the end of the walkway from Orchid's to the beach. They certainly had a BIG menu for their 4ft x 3ft cart! I'm prreeetttty sure they have their food made next door at Arwana's. We finished our continuous recording at 6PM and came for the day. I cannot believe how COLD the weather is here - I mean, it's still in the 80s, but I'm just shocked that it's not SWELTERING. The clouds keep us cool on the boat, so I appreciate that but it makes you chill post-swim. During the continuous recording, I got in the water and photographed the underwater camera a bit, holding on for dear life to the outriggers in the winds and current. FUN!!
After work [I can't believe I'm considering this WORK!], I had a massage from Vivian who does massages at Orchid's often. She has a very strong speech impetiment, so it is very difficult to understand her sometimes, but she's learned to use hand signals and to write so we can communicate well. She is such a sweet woman and gives a FIRM massage with menthol coconut oil. It was worth my US$7. :) Don't be jealous!
After the massage, we went to Kurt & Magz German/Filipino restaurant for dinner where they even charged us for ketchup with our fries! Ay!
Internet cafe and to bed at 11PM.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204729920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204729920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204729920/tpod.html Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:42:34 -0500 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

I had some strange dreams and woke up at 6:45AM. I showered before breakfast and then we waited for Julius. While we waited, I tried some tihol [warm soybean puree with vanilla and tapioca] and some local rice cakes. YUM! Apparently there was a mis-understanding and Ricky came to pick us up first, without having gotten Julius from Panay. The ride was ROUGH going to Panay. We came back and began the survey at the southern tip of the island, under looming skies. The wind was so strong that it blew us 200m off-course in about 30 seconds!!! After an hour of battling the winds and trying to figure out other methods, we had only collected two points. I pulled the plug and decided it was a waste of fuel and time, so we headed in. It was already after noon by this time. Onshore, it was calm and sunny, without any indication of foul weather offshore - although it was easy to see the chop on the water. We decided to take advantage of the afternoon off and Julius rented motorbikes to ride up to Mt. Luhol to see the entire island from a special lookout tower. I rode with Julius on a motocross style bike and my Dad rode with Julius' brother [Jay-u] on a more moped-ish bike. We weaved in and out of SCARY traffic and got way ahead of Jay-u; I forgot to mention the driving habits to my Dad...! Off the main, paved road, we rode up rocky dirt roads where people [typically Koreans, actually] were riding ATVs and dune buggies. On the way up a steep hill, one girl began to lose control of her ATV and were headed straight for us on her descent. Julius stopped, but we still lost our balance and fell over... so I guess I was technically in my first motorcycle accident! I have a burn on my ankle [which was from riding the bike itself, not from the fall] and a bruise on my shin... but that's it.. and yes, we were wearing helmets. Julius' uncle had been in a bike accident the day before, and died during the night, so I reminded him to ride carefully. He actually invited us to the funeral on the last night of the wake, but it's overnight so I'm not sure I have to time to give up. He said his family would be happy to have us and for him to bring friends. We were happy that he cared to invite us! How thoughtful and surprising!
At the top of the hill, we stopped and waited for my Dad... and waited... and waited... and waited. I was worried they had wrecked, but he thought my Dad was probably asking a lot of questions and taking pictures, stopping a lot. We decided to ride back down some, only to find them a short ways behind us finally. It turned out that Jay-u had missed the turn for Mt. Luhol and had ridden to the end of the island to Puka Beach. We went on to the top and paid 50 pesos each to go to the rickety lookout tower made of bamboo. The winds were UNREAL up there! I've never been so cold on Boracay as I have been lately! I just cannot believe how different it is now, when it's supposed to be the HOT, DRY season and it's been rainy, windy and cool. The lookout was great because you can see the ENTIRE island! After taking picts, we headed to Puka Beach to maximize our rental time. We were bombarded with "mam!" "sir!" to buy necklaces and shells. We found two things my Mom would like, so we're excited to have bought our first gift from Boracay! In the meantime, Julius has been reminding me of "gusto nikao" and I am having a hard time explaining how different our lives are. If I were to stay in Boracay, where would I possibly work? I'd have to start my own hotel! He says he could come to US, but I just fear for him that he is already too attached. I hope he can see me as a friend and care for me just in that way. I never led him on, but he says he hopes to find someone like me some day. What a romantic place for a compliment like that! :) It's crazy how much he reminds me of my friend, Jon Pang, from home. It's truly uncanny, so I wonder if I have a natural connection or attraction towards him for that reason. Anyway, we returned the bikes and the vendors wanted more than our promised 500 pesos, another mis-communication... we really need to get it in writing or something. Julius promised it would be ok, that it wouldn't hurt his reputation. At this time it was 4:45, so we quickly washed up some and headed to Red Pirate for Gaz's birthday celebration. I invited Julius and he was very shy to come, but I told him my Dad didn't know anyone else so they could continue to talk. I met two fun French Canadians, the Filipino bartenders, a Swede, and another Brit at this little party, including the other staff from Blue Mango. By 8PM, I was well-done with my 3 San Mig's and a shot of Sambuca, and ready to move on to dinner. It began to rain lightly as we left the party. We parted with Julius for the night and went to Yellow Cab Pizza for a veggie & ground beef pizza. We gave our leftovers to come tri-cycle taxi drivers because we knew they would appreciate it more than we would later.
I've realized it would be fascinating to study the dynamics or anthropology of this island. Tourism studies over time have been conducted, but I think understanding how the two separate local vs foreigner communities co-exist. They don't interact as friends, but only in terms of business - hotels, restaurants, vendors, etc. I personally enjoy getting to know the locals and wish it were easier to keep in touch with many of them after I leave. Julius' family owns land on Carabao where a new int'l airport is supposedly going to be built. Some say it'll never happen, but Julius' family hopes to take the money they make from selling land to the airport to start their own resort. For his family's sake, I hope they get a good price for their land, but too many filipinos are low-balled for their land. He is such a hard-worker, I hope he gets some kind of break or better success in his life. Not that I would ask for him to be like an American by any means, but to be of a more comfortable status as a filipino.
After dinner, I returned to Orchid's, immediately going to sleep while my Dad headed for the internet cafe.
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Boracay, Philippines

Awake. 6:20AM... and so begin the well-known bathroom problems of mine in Boracay ;). On to breakfast with nescafe at Orchid's. I downloaded the previous day's data and we waited for Julius to show up until 11AM! Lynn was MAD, but it turned out that the rudder had fallen off the boat into 30m of water and they had to make a new one!! YIKES! It cost them 3500 pesos for a stainless steel rudder. We loaded at 11AM and headed north. We finished our transect where we last had traveled, but could not go as far north because the water was rough and windy. Instead, we turned the boat around and headed south while Julius cooked fish, pork, rice and potatoes on a TINY grill on the stern of the boat, right behind the driver. We ate with our fingers, dipping everything in a vinegar, soy, calamansi [lime] sauce. Ah, what a good life! At around 2PM, we resumed work at the south end of the island. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO windy!!!!!! VERY difficult to steer these bancas in high winds. The camera also has a leak somewhere now so that when you touch it you get shocked with 12V. I keep trying to get the guys to touch it to their tongues, like my cousins used to have me do! Anyway, we battled the wind until 5PM and headed home by 5:30. After unloading, Julius [AKA Bobot, a nickname] took us shopping to buy a tunic just like one that he has. None to be found. We walked to D*Mall and showed my Dad around a bit. Julius gave us a local radish to peel and try. It looked like an onion, but had the texture of an apple and a mildly sweet taste. We took a look around D*Mall and walked slowly back to Orchid's. I was surprised he spent so much time with us after working all day. He seems to really enjoy talking to my Dad and he said that he likes learning more English, too. He also tells me "gusto nikao" [I like you], so I know he also just wants to be around me, too. He's a hard worker, funny and a very nice person, so we enjoy learning about his filipino life, too. I ran into Ryan Long Hair on the way home and he's married with a newborn now!! Oh, how things change in 1 1/2 years! He still performs acoustic guitar and the beat box down at "Boom Boom", so I'll have to check him out this weekend! I also stopped in at Juice Bar to see if Jay was around, but he's in Manila for a bit. After parting ways with Julius, we walked to Blue Mango for a late dinner - a mango pancake for me and jumbo prawns for my Dad. I also stopped in for the internet before bed, but my eyes were so droopy I couldn't get totally caught up on my blog [as you can see!]
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204593240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204593240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204593240/tpod.html Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:33:58 -0500 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

Awake to roosters [duh!] at 6:45AM. Out of bed at 7:15 after journaling for some Nescafe coffee and an "American Breakfast" at Orchid's. Julius was actually early and for once, we weren't ready when he arrived! We boarded the boat at 9:15AM at Station 3 and immediately had a dip in the water because I accidentally lost my sunglasses... of course they proceeded to break as I grabbed them. Like any true Filipino, Julius had them fixed in a matter of minutes. *phew!* We began our first transect of the day at 10AM. I've decided it may not be worthwhile to collect algae for a handful of reasons - the bottom is not consistent along the shore, so the urbanized areas may have sand and nowhere for algae to grow, while them others areas are rocky and have a palce for macroalgae. The places where I can find it is too deep for free-diving, but still just a bit shallow for SCUBA. I can't seem to find enough dictyota, but am finding the slimy green algae [most like seaweed salad] that I could collect instead... does it count? Also, it's REALLY beginning to stink up our bedroom!!! At 11:40AM, we were almost done with the line when we goosed the engine too much and the clamp holding the transducer to the boat came loose and fell into the sea! I jumped from the front of the boat to the bank in one fell swoop, smashing my knee in order to save the transducer. Ricky cut the engine and we grabbed masks and jumped in to find my Dad's beloved, and rare, long clamp. After an HOUR of snorkel in the location our GPS said it was overboard, we called it quits and decided to resume the survey. I ended my search with a few dives off the bow, and clambored up the outriggers the way a filipino would. :) By 1:10 we had returned to the south end of the island and decided to skip lunch for the day, working straight through our 6 hours. With just 2 more hours to go, I was certainly already delirious and dehydrated a bit - it was fun. :) We finished at 3:10!
Back on shore, I chugged a bottle of water with some M&Ms and then headed to Da Mario's for a light "Frutti de mare" pizza. Tree House & Da Mario's is for sale for a mere 400 million pesos; ~US$1 million. Any takers?? It's actually QUITE expensive for it's location. We walked back past Blue Mango in search of Trevor & Ellie [our newly befriended Americans] to go up to Lynn & Herman's for Happy Hour/sunset. I realized it was 5:15 and knew they were waiting for us at Orchid's. When we walked in, Herman said they had just gone up to the house. We hustled up the steep, rocky hill and became sweaty, per the usual. It was so strange to be back at their house without the rest of the JMU students this time. They still have their huge cage of green parrots, as well as some red parrots, 5 dogs, a salt water tank and a monkey named Monday. We all went up to the rooftop with our San Miguel beers and Tanduay rhum & Coke's to visit. We could see most of the island and watched the sunset around 6PM. Herman flew a bright, giant kite that he got in China and we shared in deep, stimulating conversations. Trevos & I talked about love, life, and death in a total romantic sense. He recited a profound poem by Sarah Teasdale that began with "Atoms as old as stars". He told me to "look into the oracle" and Google it. :) haha, hadn't heard that one before! He also suggested that I may be likely to become an ex-patriot because of all my worldly travels. I don't see that so much, but one cannot predict the future, only guide it. I agreed that I do not create a community for myself in the places that I live, in Wilmington for example, but have a community of people around the world instead. We discussed the beauty & finity of life, and to enjoy it fully. We all sat on the roof until well after dark, which was only 8PM and decided it was time for a light meal. I first showered and then Dad & I had a sleepy dinner at Blue Mango[!] I wasn't too hungry, even after my 2 San Mig's, so I opted for their fabulous PB&J that I like so much. We shared a delicious mango split with vanilla [VERY vanilla] ice cream and chocolate sauce. I skipped going to the internet cafe again and went to bed at 10:30PM.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204506600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204506600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mandy13082/12/1204506600/tpod.html Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:11:00 -0500 Boracay, Philippines Research Trip #3

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Boracay, Philippines

5:15AM. Awake to my Dad snoring away [sounds like he's gargling!], he tossed 'n turned, and sprayed for bugs. I finally fell back to sleep until 8:15 - first day that I actually slept in! We had breakfast at Orchid's and talked politics and family until nearly 9:45, so we had to rush at the last minute to get ready. Julius was supposed to come at 10, but like a filipino in Boracay, it was 10:15 before he showed. Dad wanted to test the lipstick camera for some lines we were seeing and accidentally plugged it into the 250V plug when the camera was only good to 125V!!! IT SMOKED, but thankfully still works. We went to the boat and had to wait on-board for Ricky to get a new fan belt, which, of course, was too small... somehow they made it work anyway. It's the Filipino way. It wasn't until 11:15 until we were actually underway and setting up for research. We headed to the south end of the island and began collecting points. The wind blows over the island and then blows us further out to sea, so it's a constant battle to stay on track and collect points that are in a scientifically acceptable distance apart. We got 3/4 up the island before the winds picked up and the water became too rough to continue. I'm not sure how we'll collect enough data at the north end because it's always rough! Also, I finally realized how I could see our tracks, waypoints, depth and position all on one screen on the GPS. My Dad took it an extra step and added the sonar track on the screen, too. I think the tracks and points may be too far apart, but I'm really not sure it'll be possible to fill in the spaces. We'll continue at the interval we are collecting and will go back to do a crosshatch in an attempt to fill in so I can make better contours on the GIS at home. Today, we also began to teach Ricky how to follow the track on the GPS. When we first met him, we thought he didn't know any English, but it turns out he can understand it well and actually speak some too! We collected points until 2:30 and decided to call it a day because it would be too late to have lunch and go back out for 3 more hours before the sun sets. Rain/ulan was looming to soak us, but it held off. I was also still pretty sore from my red skin. My Performance Fishing Gear [PFG] shirt from the Keys is FINALLY getting some use!! We had a late lunch at Arwana's for sandwiches and then Julius met us to go sunset sailing at 4:30. Palan & Jan-rey joined us on the Wave Song, which is a banca that I've always seen parked on the beach near our hotel and thought it looked fun. We rode out under low-hanging clouds, south towards Panay. We went into the channel, past the boat jetty where we came in originally, past Shark Island over to Crocodile Island, with Carabao Island in the distance. We sailed through the deep [100ft] waters just sitting a foot out of the water. The boat wasn't more than 25ft long, with the hull only 18 inches wide! It was also an out-rigger, like most bancas here, kind of like a catamaran, but made from bamboo and nylon string. Everything on these bancas is held together with nylon. We sat on the woven nylon wide-mesh that was strung between the two out-riggers. In a frantic change of wind as we approached the mooring buoy to snorkel, the boom knocked the back of my head [twice] and nearly threw me into the water [luckily Julius' passing knee hit my forehead back into the boat!! HAHA]. The wind pushed and pushed us back, so it took two passes to get it right, and Jan-rey still ended up in the water, jumping for the line. I only snorkeled for about 20min and my Dad never found his comfort zone with the mask, fins, snorkel and waves, so we swam instead. It was a pretty shallow reef, so I was able to take some photos. I saw some LARGE boulder corals and they almost looked fake, so I wondered if they were Reef Balls. I stayed in until I couldn't get anymore decent pix due to lack of sunlight, so we headed back. We stopped at Panay to drop Julius off, riding with the wind into a rocky beach that looked like a cement wall! I was surprised to see Julius shouting and so he seemed nervous to be coming in so fast. We sailed back in the dark, tacking WAAAAAY out into the sea before riding into shore with the wind. We sailed without lights [like most boats here] and without any motor for back-up. We sailed among other dark boats, beneath Orion's belt towards the bright lights ashore - far enough out that I could not make out the buildings themselves. We heard the drumming of a native Ait-Atihan performance on the beach. Ashore, there was a slightly sour moment over payment, but we paid what Palan asked and decided to settle it with Julius tomorrow. We showered and headed to a late dinner at Blue Mango. The chicken quesadilla was good, but a bit too spicy for my taste! I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and was asleetp by 9:45 while Dad went to the internet cafe. Dead tired as always.
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