We managed to come in to Manila for one birthday and left the day of another, so it's been a holiday full of birthday parties. Caren and Nanay are both a year older now and we were there to celebrate with them as well.
Bulacan is an hour or so's drive north west of Manila, has way too many people, jeepnies and tricycles, and is generally just not my kind of place. We took Rowena's neice with us into Manila to have a look at Fort Santiago. It is an old Spanish fort from the 1500's that the Americans and then Japanese have used in wars gone by. It has the usual tales of executions (the hero of the Philippine independance movement was executed there), atrocities from WW2 (600 American and Filipina prisoners were found dead in their cells when the Japanese retreated) as well as the tourist rides, souveneirs and information you find in most other places like this. So, after celebrating a birthday, showing off koala scars and handing out trinkets and toys the decision was made to get out of there and Nanay (Mum in tagalog), Tatay (Dad in tagalog) and Kuyorlando (nickname, it all gets a bit confusing at times) joined me and Rowie and we flew down to Busuanga Island in Palawan province for a week to have a look around, dive some wrecks, enjoy some peace and quiet, and look around for possible guest house opportunities. The two first time flyers loved it.
The Coron bay area was harbour to the twenty four ships of a Japanese supply fleet when the Americans surprised them in September 1944 and attacked them at anchor. There are now up to a dozen or so wrecks that are in relatively shallow water that make excellent dives. The Kogyo Maru had six holds loaded with cement, cement mixers, compressor, wire netting and a bulldozer for building an airstrip in the area when it was sunk. They can all still be seen quite clearly when the batfish get out of your way or you're not watching to see what the barracuda is doing. The Olympia Maru is lying almost upright and was really good to swim in and out of the cargo holds on. There is another dive in the area that involves climbing over very sharp rocks and down a rickety set of steps, all the while in full dive kit with fins under your arms, to a lake that has very distinct thermal layers in it. The top four to five metres of fresh water was all but uncomfortable at 36 degrees on my computer, then it started to cool down as we got deeper, but there were noticable layers in the water until we got to fourteen of fifteen metres when it got dark, cold and salty. There is meant to be a big barracuda in there, but the locals I dived with hadn't seen it and nor had anyone they knew. They still call it Barracuda Lake though.
On non diving days we had snorkelling lessons, and I had the strange experience of listening to someone giggle through a snorkel each time she saw some colourful fish swim below her. Learning to swim is definitely high on the list of things to do now if Rowena's plan to join me diving are to come to fruition.
We also did some day tripping to see some lots for sale. I was told that: 'this has a lovely beach'; 'this has really good coral off the beach'; 'there is fresh water on the lot'; etc, etc. What I ended up with was scratches from trying to get ashore because banca couldn't beach here, looking at dead coral from illegal and damaging fishing practises and, (more than a few times) terrified travel companions in seas a little rougher than your average bathtub. The decision was made to give up on islands and boat access lots and we concentrated on the 'mainland' of Busuanga Island. We hired a bike one day and set off following a local couple up to the northern end on the island to have a look at some lots for sale. After the hour and a half ride with a pillion passenger that hasn't done a lot of pilioning, I have scars to match those left by that not so sweet smelling resident of Australia Zoo. But we did find a few places that look really nice, saw some more of the island that tourists normally wouldn't see and met some really nice locals at the same time.
An enjoyable time was had by all.
Now we're back in Weihai, wearing thermals and living in apartment blocks with the heated floors and ceilings. By 5PM it is dark and daylight is another thirteen and a half hours away. Rowena has been hit in the face by her first ice flake (yesterday, and is still remindind me). She's has been trying to find some Xmas things but isn't having much luck. Dec 25 isn't a holiday here so finding a tree could prove a challenge ..........
Here comes another northern hemisphere winter.
