Bars, Bars and Barrios

Ahoy Mateys! Been in the Philippines for about a week now.

Heading out from Hastings-on-Hudson, we spent the next 24 hours or so either chasing the sun, or being chased by it. I'm still not quite sure. What I do know is that every few hours it seemed to be a sunrise or sunset. Our flights had departed NYC for Beijing, heading north over the top of the globe. 14 hours later, we landed in China, used the bathrooms, had a sip of H20 and were airborn again. What I didn't realize at that moment as when we were taking off for our second flight was that my bag was apparently not on board with us. It seems that Air China is not quite as versed in the ways of connecting planes as they advertise. Also, they tend to confuse "Chicken or Fish" with some sort of gelatinous gristled animal byproduct. Maybe I should have left a copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma for the in-flight crew to peruse.

So after touching down in Manila, realizing my bag was a few thousand miles North, and being quite disoriented from about 30 hrs of travel, we met up with Pe, (Mark's bro Chris) who then guided us around the city for a few days. So many malls here, makes your head spin.

What an interesting blend though. In Manila, the juxtaposition of barrios and private communities forms a somewhat schizophrenic idea of the Philippines identity. The class differences are pushed to the extremes it seems. In one area on the highway, a mother was scooping polluted water which wreaked of urine into a bucket while her child ran around in front of oncoming traffic. Then a few blocks away we were in an air-conditioned home where a team of maids and cooks were preparing meals and doing laundry for us.

It is fair to say that both of these situations sort of made me slightly uncomfortable. To see such abject poverty is tough to bear at times, knowing that with only a few well-placed dollars, you could significantly help someone. But there are so many people to help. Education is key. 60% of the Philippines is under 20 years old. The population increases by 1 million people a year. As an intensely catholic nation, abortion is against the law.

On the other side of the fence, it was awkward/odd to have someone else pick up after me, cook for me, (besides my parents when I visit - thanks guys!), and clean up after me. I feel obligated to clean up my dishes after meals, at the very least, but even this seemed to be overstepping my boundaries.

Manila offered us many neighborhoods to explore, but we're holding off until Pips is back to really delve into the city.

After two days, during which Pe helped us find our way around and get the items I needed from my bag, we prepared to leave for Mindoro. Mindoro lies south of Luzon, and is a large, mostly undeveloped island, which features many small beach/resort towns along its Northern shore. Just before departing, my bag was delivered to the house! Taking the ferry (large banca outrigger) from Batangas we landed in Puerta Galera.

We headed east to Sabang/Small La Laguna/Big La Laguna, where we spent the last 4 days, staying at little inns on the beach, eating fish, sipping San Miguel Beers, and diving. These 3 coves lay along the same stretch and one can walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes. They're all connected via a path along the beach. They all cater to SCUBA tourists. And unfortunately, they all provide 45-70 year old fat Australian men with the sex-tourism location they've escaped down under to revel in. Maggie and I watched with interest and disgust. More on that another time.

Anyway, we spent 4 days there in the ocean. Maggie got her PADI Open Water SCUBA certification, and I  got my Advanced SCUBA certification, which consisted of a variety of dives, including a really cool penetration wreck dive at 100' depth, and Nitrox certification. Really amazing diving here. Saw see snakes, moray eels, and more fish than I've  seen before. Overfishing/pollution/and climate change, the banes of the ocean, seem to not to have taken hold here yet. It remains one of the last refuges for underwater abundance.

Anyway, I'm running out of time at this internet cafe. Photos to follow once we're back in Manila!!

Tonight we're heading to White Beach, a town to the west of Puerto Galera. Should be there for a few days until heading back to Batangas, where Pips and AB will pick us up. We'll head to the beach house in Matabungkay, the volcano at Lake Taal, then who knows?

Ingat!