Vagabonding

Vender Client relationships

2009-06-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been traveling much. Got a part-time job in Gulfport and I'm saving, slowly starting a photography business. I'm doing this in order to free myself in the near future. Free from everything.

Here's another video worth watching...

Town Hall for Hope on Hulu

2009-06-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

Little Evan

2008-10-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well baby Evan had to go back to St. Luke's today. His bilirubin was
high so he's under photo therapy for the night. He should be better
soon!

Another one Down

2008-10-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sunset from St. Luke's hospital.

Video of Evan

2008-10-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick video of Evan that MawMaw just took.

Evan Joseph Heidingsfelder

2008-10-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm an UNCLE!!! Evan Joseph was born at 2:17 pm October 6, 2008. He was 9 lbs and Mary didn't use any drugs! GO Mary!!

Check out Mary's Blog Magnolia Girl Stuck in the Middle of America

Evan Joseph Heidingsfelder

2008-10-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Evan was born at St. Lukes hospital in St. Louis at 2:17 pm today!!
Now I'm an uncle!

Flagstaff Sat. Night

2008-09-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

They sure know how to boogey up here in Flag!

Michelle Shocked Live in Flagstaff

2008-09-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Sitting in Tempe

2008-09-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, here I am in Tempe, AZ. Emailing, trying to get meetings setup with professors at ASU. Trying to find odd jobs for extra cash. Training for my first triathlon.
Not much has been going on the last few days since I got back from San Diego. I Helped Matt and Ruth move out to Cali by driving Ruth's car all the way to San Diego. TONS of fun! Surfing in San Diego was amazing, some of the most fun I've had on the waves, possibly because I was with my best bud? Matt is off to LA to start his acting career, while I'm in AZ figuring out my next move.

Now that two out of the four siblings are pregnant, I feel like life is happening. When is it exactly in someone's life that they go from being carefree, to a responsible adult? Mr. Vacationman doesn't know what he want's to do for 'life' or when he wants to start, but knows that most of the siblings are well on their way!! Pregnancy, phew, glad it's not me! Check out my sister-in-law's blog to vote on my nephew's name!! I think we should all vote for Luke Patrick, no reason in particular, just kind of rolls off the tongue better.

Magnolia Girl Stuck in Middle America

Mary has inspired me to possibly start adding polls to my blog. Hopefully I can come up with some fun ideas!

Check back for more info on my first ever triathlon!!

House of Puerto Rico

2008-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Puerto Rico Day at Balboa Park

Fish Tacos in Ocean Beach

2008-09-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Fish taco time at South Beach in Ocean Beach San Diego!

Ocean Beach Cali

2008-09-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

View from the cliffs

View from Bell Rock

2008-09-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Me, Matt and Ruth took a side trip up to Sedona where we climbed Bell
Rock. This huge red rock is known as an energy vortex! This is the
view from the top.

Copan Ruins

2008-05-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here are a few selected images from the Copan Ruins in Honduras.

Honduras and the Bay Islands!

2008-05-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

We have been in Honduras for about a week and a half. Our first real stop was in La Ceiba. If you know me then you know I have been fascinated with the possibility of finding my Grandmother's land she owned near La Ceiba. This was one of the reason for heading to Central America, find any info I could on relatives and the possible land in La Ceiba. Brittany and I spent a day in La Ceiba searching the phonebook for every name that could be a possibility. We eventually found a Fousto Melendez. He turned out to the be son of my Great Grandmother's brother (I think). Brittany did all the talking, in Espanol but the outcome was not as positive as I had hoped and dreamed. I had dreams of one day coming to Honduras and reclaiming my Grandmother's land for her, but like any good corrupt government it was seized and resold some years ago. I guess I'll just have to do it the normal gringo way and pay astronomical prices for land in one of these beautiful countries.

Here are some pictures from around Hounduras

Brittany learning how to make Gallo Pinto in the Mercado.

Leaving La Ceiba on the ferry to Roatan

They just commissioned a new ferry for the crossing.

This was, no fooling, RIGHT in front of our hotel. Paradise?

We met the nicest cook ever! Vanessa made us taste everything she was selling that night.

The Bay Islands are expensive, we stayed here a couple of nights to cut costs.

Watch for the new Corona commercial to be filmed here. We found our own private beach.

The transportation we had to our own special beach. We rented these for the day and cruised to the opposite side of the island (away from the cruise ship tourists).

More from the Rancho

2008-05-01T06:13:00.001-07:00

Kate Wallace from Australia, one of the coolest girls I've met.

Regan, actually reading Catcher in the Rye.

Regan Bailing at the end of a short ride.

Regan

The group as we were seen most... playing cards.

Janet cooking.

MMMMmmmmm tostones!

Lazy hammock time.

Nine liters of Tona, a deck of cards and two Aussies, we had an extremely fun week in Nicaragua!

On the road to Rancho Tranquilo and my Aussie mates

2008-05-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

We decided to head "Off the Beaten Track" and go to the very far end of a peninsula in North Nicaragua on the Pacific Coast. We picked up two Aussie couples and a guy from New Hampshire for this trip. The bus ride out there was probably the coolest bus experience yet. There were so many people, and kids selling their goods. I wanted a banana, but ended up with a grocery bag full of them. I thought I could use some cold water because the girl just insisted I needed it, even though I showed her my liter full of water. Well instead of just one bag of water, I got five! Haha Gringos!

This was a very interested young kid, I let him take a few shots with my camera. He was so happy!

This girl ended up sitting next to Kate and falling asleep on her, pretty cute.

The bus loader got really excited, as do most, when he saw my 'big' camera come out.

Here is Dennis, Tina and Janet. Tina owns the place, Dennis is the boyfriend, and Janet does ALL the cooking.

Ice Cream man in the morning

More cute kids.

Rancho Tranqilo taking shape. (Just being built really)

The gang, Brittany, Regan and Kate

Isla de Ometepe and Granda

2008-04-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our time at the volcanic Isla de Ometepe and around Granada Nicaragua.

A view of the larger of two volcanoes on Ometepe, from the ferry.

We hired to bikes and rode about 30km round trip to some waterfalls. These howler monkeys were on the trail to the falls.

We stayed at El Zopilote. It was an Eco Farm (aka hippy commune) They had ZERO water. So after about 4 or so days of no shower, desert conditions, road dust this is what you look like. Brittany thought it was funny. Notice the start of the nappy dreads.

La Mirador at Zopilote.

Hectic bus terminal in Nicaragua.

Some of the cutest kids in Nicaragua. This girl was super nice, selling us all sorts of goodies.

The balance is amazing!

This was an artifact found near Granada. Couldn't really understand all of the Spanish description though.

A view of Granda's surrounding mountains.

Street venders in the Parque Central.

Really cool kids in Granada.

More from Costa Rica and Southern Nicaragua

2008-04-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

I know I got a little relaxed on the updating. We are now in La Ceiba, Honduras! Nicaragua was great! Keep checking for the pics!

San Jose Market

We went to the International Art Festival in San Jose, so much fun! It was one of the largest fest/fairs I've ever been to. This was the butterfly exhibit.

Welcome to Nicaragua! We rented an ATV for a day in San Juan del Sur. So much fun. This was me alone making it up a steep rocky grade.

We went on a "Surf Safari".

Here we are, home again. This was on Isla de Ometepe. A volcanic island. We stayed at an eco farm, aka hippy commune!

A new extreme sport being born in Nicaragua, Volcano Boarding. The crew heading up the 1400ft Volcano!

Ready to roll!

We all thought we were going to die.

Hola from Costa Rica!

2008-04-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

We made it to Costa Rica a few days ago. We went to a small surf beach with no waves the first couple of days. Now we're in San Jose and headed to Nicaragua this morning. Costa Rica is nice, the only problem is the costs (and gringos). The cost of living here is nearly that of the U.S. and higher in the remote areas! That's not why I am traveling, to get what I can for the same price as home. There are TONS of gringos here as well. Costa Rica is the tourist capital of Central America. We're going where our dollars will go further, and we won't be contributing to the so called 'eco-tourism' boom. What is nothing more than zip lines through the jungle or 4wd vehicles tearing apart the jungle floor. So off to Nicaragua!

Boarder crossing between Panama/Costa Rica!

Jose Teacher. Owner of Backpacker's Dream. What a character!

Monkey sightings in Parque Nacional Cahuita.

Yea, we saw a sloth, in the wild.

Local making his fishing device. Hook on a bamboo shoot.

Crazy white faced monkey stealing things from tourist.

WHAT are you going to do in Central America?!

2008-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'll tell ya what I'm going to do (in pictures...)

Cooking breakfast outside our room at the waters edge in Santa Catalina, Panama

The view from our room's door.

I taught Brittany how to surf.

Me and our new friend Press got into a perfect coconut that night.

Me and the guys at a birthday party of a friend of Britt's.

Britt sending a package the old fashion way. They were using typewriters in this post office in Anton.

Local Coffee Shop in Boquete, Panama.

Coffee being grown locally in Boquete

Welcome Home. Just below the summit of Volcan Barù.

Sunrise from the Summit.

The Summit.

Over 11,000 ft. We saw both oceans from the same point on earth.

Protect the Earth, it's the base of your existence.

We did it. Over 11,000ft summit.

Brittany, Chefa (her host mom), and me!

More Panama City!

2008-04-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

More pictures from around Panama City!

Bienvenido a Panamà!!!

2008-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

I've been in Panama a week now and have loved every minute of it! This is an amazing country! The first day Brittany and I toured Panama City with our own personal tour guides, Rodolfo (her sister's fiance) and Roberto (her uncle). We went to the old area, Casco Viejo and what is known as the Causeway which was a large marina with really expensive boats.

The Panamanian equivalent of the White house

Streets in Casco Viejo

Funny leg hanging from a balcony.

Women from the Kuna tribe on San Blas Island selling handmade goods

Kuna women making las molas

REAL shaved ice, by hand!

More Kuna women in Casco Viejo

Rodolfo and Brittany by the 'mother ship'. Sailing yacht, looked like about 75-80 ft.

Back on the Road

2008-03-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

After spending a month in Long Beach, I'm back out on the road! My time spent back in MS was awkward at first with a pretty hefty case of reverse culture shock. After that Katie and Aaron's wedding proved to be a lot more involved than I expected. It turned out great though.

I'm now sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport. My flight from here to Panama City, Panama was delayed by an hour and a half. Ugh. Oh well, I don't have a schedule, itinerary, or anything more than time. I'll be spending two months with my friend Brittany Yunker from Seattle traveling. We'll start in her host family's town of Anton, Panama then all points north until we have to head back to the states at the end of May.

I'll be arriving Panama City around 2.30am March 30th we'll see where we go from there!

Rehabilitation

2008-01-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

Not a lot has been happening on the island in the past few weeks. We went on two hikes last week. Both were amazing, pictures will be up within a couple of days. Something pretty unique is going on at UnderWater World and have gotten to play a part in it! We are rehabilitating a Green Sea Turtle! Someone from the village of Talofofo found a small turtle washed up on the rocks inside the reef. So after going through the wildlife people, the Husbandry Dept at UWW got him/her. It has been living in a kiddie pool just outside the kitchen where all the action takes place from day to day. It's a beautiful little turtle, his only problem is buoyancy. He tends to swim side ways and has a hard time keeping his blood sugar in check. There are two glucose level/feedings a day and this afternoon I got to help out with it all! It was a lot of fun. My boss took blood, check his glucose, then we wrapped the little guy up and sat him on my lap for his tube fed mackerel/nutrients. I didn't bring my camera to work today, but I'll take some pictures of him soon, possibly of me helping out again!

He looks IDENTICAL to this little guy!

Tour of Underwater World

2008-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

I decided to bring my underwater camera along on the last day for Scuba Santa. I had a blast and the guest loved me taking pictures of them for a change!!

Santa San!!! This is what I do at work for an hour every night. The peace/victory hand sign is VERY popular in Japan.

Here's the big bad Guitar fish. He's pretty cool, very lazy.

Very cute Japanese girls having a great time at Kaitei Lounge. See the peace/victory sign!!

Here I am as Scuba Santa scratching the shell of Napo, our male Green Sea Turtle

Another shot of Napo. He was hanging out a lot that night.

White tip reef shark just chilling.

Another shot of the White Tip.

More guest living the 'American Life' on Guam. Note the beautiful Filipina taking the order!

This is probably the coolest animal in the tank. She is Aerie our spotted Eagle Ray. I hand feed her during the in-water feed. Growing up I always wanted to be a dolphin, but after seeing this girl flying through the water, sleeping and eating out of my hands I think I might want to be reincarnated as an eagle ray. She is so smart!

This is Lyle our huge Grouper. He is probably 400 lbs. and as large as two men put together. I feed him by hand as well. He eats about 3-4 fish and a couple of squid in one gulp. He opens his gigantic mouth and just sucks everything in. It's really amazing to see up close.

Update from Guam and Christmas Photos

2008-01-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Well, just as anyone that knows me would have predicted, I have been sluggish on updating! Ugh. So here are some more photos from around Guam. I've been working still. I have slowed down at the internet cafe. The Korean lady was asking way to much from me while only paying me ~$5/hour. She said she doesn't have much money to pay me, so that's ok for me!

My new bike in front of the Underwater World in Tumon

This is known as Pleasure Island. It's the tourist spot in Guam. This is standing out front of Underwater World.

Me and Fara snuck into a big hotel and hung out at there pool for a day. Beach in front of the Outrigger.

I biked down to the Univ of Guam Marine lab a few weeks ago and caught a body boarding session. This guy was pretty good.

This is also the 'beach' at the UOG Marine Lab, same day.

Christmas 2007

Jakobe opening his gift from Nick and his wife Maria

Nick and Maria opening there gifts from Jakobe and Fara

Jakobe and his Islam for Beginners book from Nick

I took a walk to an isolated beach to take some sunset pictures last week, pretty neat little area.

My home away from home!!

Commuting

2007-12-20T03:10:00.000-08:00

With these two jobs I'm working, I'be been doing a bit of commuting. The internet job, Gamenet, is just down the street from Jakobe's I usually walk. But to get to the UnderWater World in Tumon it takes me about an hour. Wow! An hour, but the internet says Guam is only 30 miles long at it's longest! Do you ride around in a big loop around the island, then go to work? Well, I bike to work. I've ridden the route three times now. On the first day of work I got rained on! I was soaked head to toe, well not toe, my GoreTex lined NorthFace shoes kept my feet dry! They still do when I'm working at UnderWater world, shielded from water, bleach, fish guts, you name it my toes are dry as a bone! I think It's about 10 miles to Tumon where UnderWater World is located. It shouldn't take me an hour, but my best is 45 minutes. The hills are bigger than I'm used to coming from biking in MS! The hills aren't all that bad, but with a 25 knot head wind AND a killer hill it's tough. It seems like every way I turn on this tropical paradise I'm biking directly into the wind!!
So there you have it, I wake up at 6:30am, leave the house by 7am for work at 8am. Then I leave UWW at 4:00pm, bike home to be at the internet cafe for 6:00pm. Midnight I sleep then do it all over again!
I can't complain though, I'm living on GUAM! Not many people in the States actually know where Guam is or even that every person born here is an American citizen, the currency is American Dollars, or that there is a Home Depot on island!

Underwater World is going to be great, today I got to dive in the main tank, 800,000 gallons, six species of shark probably four different species of rays. I rearranged the coral and fixed a spot on the underlayment. Spent over two hours in the water this morning and loved every minute of it!

Grass Skirt dance

2007-12-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

This is a video of the girls doing the grass skirt dancing (not sure of the proper Chamorro name). They're pretty good. Sorry for the people walking in front, they wouldn't let us stand to watch!

Japanese Festival

2007-12-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since my last post. Time is different here on Guam. Maybe it's just living on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, but it's hard to keep track of the days, the months when the weather is a constant 85 degrees. I'm going to try to be more disciplined and update new pictures regularly. I'm going to set one day a week as my update day. Later that might turn into twice a week. I'm going to be taking lots of pictures in the coming weeks because I had my wonderful parents ship my digital SLR out to me!! Expect them to be of higher quality as well.

In the past week or so: I got a job, well TWO jobs! The first one is at an 'internet cafe' just around the corner from Jakobe's house. The owner is Korean and hilarious! I basically sit at the front desk and let people on the computers. I call it a cafe, but there's no food, just computers. The second job, well, It's at the aquarium, Underwater World! I am a "Husbandry Assistant/Diver". At first I wasn't sure if I'd have the job because I told them I'd be leaving the island in Feb/March for Katie's wedding but they allowed me to work anyhow! Yesterday was my first day and it's going to be a lot of fun. I prepped fish food (actually high quality seafood) and fed most of the small exhibits around the aquarium. I also helped with the surface feed of the large tank. I was feeding the two huge sea turtles! I'll be diving by the latest Sat in the main tank with the sharks, rays, etc. I'm pumped!

These pictures are from the annual Japanese Festival here on Guam.

Jakobe loves taking pictures of me for some reason. I hate it!

Everyone loves a little grass skirt action!!

I don't remember the point of these, but it was a house a group of people were carrying around chanting, whistle blowing and dancing. There is a point and it is a big deal, they walked all around the festival parade style.

These next photos are of sashimi grade tuna being cut. They gave away the entire fish as a raffle prize!

A sunset I caught alone on a secluded beach down toward the south end of the island. Ohh the Island Life!!

More Pictures from around Guam

2007-11-29T22:14:00.000-08:00

We haven't been too active lately, it's been raining daily. I have an interview with the local aquarium, Underwater World, on Wednesday next week for a diver/aquariumist. I'm super excited! I may get to swim all day with the sharks, rays, reef fish, etc and feed, clean, play with them!
Here are pics from the last couple of weeks.

A view from a boonie stomp where I busted my knee up.

It was only about a 200 foot drop to the crushing surf of the Pacific.

Really neat blow hole

This is an ancient Chamorro tool used for grinding food.

The Betelnut It's like a nicotine nut. Pretty gross with a numbing sensation

The practice is to crack the nut in half then wrap the leaf around it, chew on it sort of like chewing tobacco.

Fuji-ichiban! a 24 Hr. Ramen joint.

Fara and Jakobe on one of our beach hikes

This was my first attempt at climbing a coconut palm.

At the top picking my coconuts, one for each of us!

Coming down the palm, concentrating hard. It looked a lot higher once I got to the top!

The prized coconut!

Me eating the young coconut I harvested, and Jakobe carefully opening his.

Opening the coconut, Jakobe was able to keep his completely intact so we were able to drink the milk. I busted both of mine open.

Jakobe and Fara at the War in the Pacific memorial

MMmmm Spam and egg sushi!! Only on Guam.

The Champagne of Beers!

Living the High Life, thanks to Miller!

Hafa Adai, Welcome to Guam, Boonie Stomping and Spelunking

2007-11-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

I made it to Guam, aka Guahan. It's been two weeks and I've had a blast hanging out with Jakobe and Fara. There are tons of hiking trails, I have a book of the best 44, lots of waterfalls and caves to explore. The views around the island are amazing. Here are some of the pics.

Everyone out one of the first nights

Fara on our first hike to Sigua Falls, we got pretty lost!

We could see the falls, but getting there was tricky

This was on an excursion to the south of the island with Jakobe to Inarajan

This is a shot across Pago Bay, looking directly to Jakobe's place.

Jakobe and I decided to go spelunking a couple of days.. Great fun!

These were the best caves yet. There was an underground lake we swam in! It was so dark we used candles for light.

Setting up candles on the roach mound.

That's me at the top of the mound. It was so slick with mud and rocks, I had no shoes.

I kicked a big rock. Good shot for Jakobe though!

Motor Bikes and Leaving the Philippine Islands

2007-11-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well it was a great last day in the islands of the Philippines. Filip (click to see his blog) and I rented motor bikes and toured the island of Panglao, Bohol. It was great, we felt like celebrities riding through the small villages. I think we were the first 'white' people some of them had ever seen.
The next day I flew to Manila and stayed the night with the family again. They took so many pictures of me with everyone that night it was crazy. I also had another chance to try Balut. HA just kidding. It's not the balut, it's called Pinoy. They couldn't tell me exactly what it was, but it looked like just a soft boiled egg with only the whites. There was no yolk. They told me it was a dud, and it was supposed to be all yolk. It wasn't that good either way!

Tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol

2007-11-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from around Bohol. We went to the Chocolate Hills and to see the Tarsiers, the smallest mammal. At the Chocolate Hills we had a nice dose of tropical rain, so the view wasn't that great. We took the public bus 2 hours to get there, and walked up a hill to the visitor's center. When we were ready to leave there was a bus waiting at the main area. We just assumed it was going to Tagbilaran, where we needed to be, we asked and no one would really answer so we just jumped on and found a seat. As I looked around, I saw a lot of little kiddies giggling, well we were on a field trip bus! We got off and walked down to the bus stop.

Quick update

2007-11-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

I made it back to Manila! I had a great conversation with the taxi driver on the way to Edna's place in Pandacan. Basically he thought I was rich (every white man is) and that no American's eat rice! It was pretty funny. I'll be leaving Pandacan at 5 am tomorrow for my 7.55am flight to Guam. I'm on Northwest flight 82 from Tokyo to Guam and arrive at 1.15am local time in Guam.

Malapascua Island, diving and snorkeling

2007-11-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

So Filip, my new travel friend from Poland, and I made it from the overnight ferry 5 hours north on the bus to Maya, then on to Malapascua Island. It is a very low key diving destination north of Cebu Island. The main draw to the island are the Thresher sharks. We did a 6 am dive to try to see them, but only saw devil rays. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling the nearby reefs and exploring the island. The people there are great, like all of the Philippines. The children were the happiest. They loved speaking English to us as we walked through the villages. Life on Malapascua is very different, there are no roads, no cars only motor bikes. Most live in small huts with dirt floors. There were about 5 villages throughout the small island. The bones, well they are human remains. We had to walk through a cemetery for one of the dive spots and there was an open tomb and piles of bones with the bucket. It was on Halloween!

More from Boracay

2007-11-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more shots from around Boracay

This is the overnight ferry from Iloilo City to Cebu City. Yea, I had bottom bunk! It actually wasn't that bad. Me and my travel buddy Filip from Poland met some really nice Filipinos on the trip.
We then went to Malapascua Island for three days. More pictures to come as soon as possible!

View Larger Map

More of the Philippine Islands

2007-10-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Sabang was great, but I had to get on the move. It was such a sleepy little town, until the 'Discos' got kicking about 10pm!
I met two girls from Denmark that were also going to the next hot spot, Boracay. The trip down was a long hard road, well path actually. It started on the Jeepney to Puerto Galera, not a bad ride about 20 min. The next leg was a Jeepney to Calapan. Well, the Jeepney was FULL before we got in, three Westerners with large backpacks! It was quite the spectacle. I sat on the rear tailgate with an older Filipino guy. He would switch from hanging off the back to sitting when the monsoon rain got too bad for him! The road was not paved for much of the journey and I'm pretty sure we almost slid down the mountain a few times. The views were beautiful though. Next was a minivan from Calapan to Roxas, uneventful but long. In Roxas we were to take a ferry to Caticlan, but the ferry was leaving as we were getting out of the minivan. Oh well we weren't planning on catching it until 6pm, we arrived at 1pm. Well the guy at the port said we were better off taking the 12am boat because it was a four hour ride and once in the smaller town of Caticlan the ferry to Boracay didn't leave until 6am the next morning. Had we taken the 6pm ferry we'd have to sleep there in Caticlan. We waited, and waited.

Well, 11pm rolls around and I decide to find out about tickets. Well, the same port guy, after a few minutes of deciphering, said the midnight ferry wasn't running due to the rains knocking a bridge out. It was a roll on roll off ferry so no cars/buses, no ferry! We waited and took the 6am ferry to Caticlan. Then got the 9:30am or so ferry to Boracay. Moving around the Philippine islands is difficult.

I found a room at a place called Sander's White. Near Boat Station 2 on White Beach. It is P500 a night, so roughly $12.

I went kiteboarding for two days at Isla Kiteboarding
I got level three IKO certified! It only took 4 hours for me with instructor JoJo. It was a great time!

Another pic of White Beach.

The weather hasn't been great, so I'll take more when the sun comes out and there's actually something to look at!

I will stay here in Boracay until Tuesday, probably. There is a group of kitesurfers coming from around the world to film a video starting Sunday. Hopefully the wind will pick up while I'm here in Boracay.

Diving and Trekking

2007-10-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

I'm still in Sabang. This village is magnetic. It seems like people who come to Sabang come for the diving and stay for weeks on end! I'm leaving on Saturday to head to the tourist destination of the Philippines, Boracay.
I've met quite a few people here from Filipinos in town to travelers from around the world. Two guys, Nick and Graham, from UK and South Africa went on a trek with me to the nearby lighthouse. The views up and around were amazing. The lighthouse wasn't much due to construction of a new one by the Philippines Port Authority. We found a small trail that led from the road down to a beach that was amazing. There were kids hanging out so we didn't linger long.
Some views around the area.

I also went on a dive with the VIP Dive Shop, there are so many here, but Jamie at VIP hooked me up with my room when I first got into town. Real laid back drift dive along some coral. It was a good dive, but nothing compared to the coral around the BVI.
Tomorrow I'll head to the local Tamaraw Falls and hopefully the Python Cave. There is supposed to be a 2m python in a cave 2km off the road along a trail. If we can find the trail I'm checking out the cave!

Out There

2007-10-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well I finally did it! I'm no longer in Manila!! The Philippine Islands are beautiful. What I've been doing... Thursday or Friday I did laundry back at Edna's. All of the Filipinos on the block were laughing at the American doing his laundry 'manually'.

Saturday morning I got on a bus to head to Batangas City where I got a ferry to bring me to Mindoro Island. I was initially going to Muelle's pier, but I met a group of Filipinos that all worked together at a Verizon call center. They invited me to join them for there weekend at White Beach. I hung out with them for the evening took a ride on a banana boat, and had another Filipino Drinking session! I ended up sharing a room with the guys Sat. night.

Sunday I went to the town of Sabang and going to do two dives today and check out the area around here. Beautiful place! More pictures to come!

More Pictures of around Manila

2007-10-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't done too much in Manila. It's just another big polluted city. There are so many people! I'm slightly scared to pull out my camera like a tourist in the streets. I get stares from just about everyone! I have only seen a handfull of other white people here in Manila, and I'm pretty sure they weren't even American. I also feel like a giant. I have to duck to go through some doorways. Here are a couple of pictures from around the city. Most are from going to Intramuros, the walled city within Manila and Fort Santiago.

Me in my room at Edna's, around the city, Pasig River, and Edna's daughter Dheena.

Pictures

2007-10-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

Philippines and Balut

2007-10-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Manila a few days ago. My first night was spent at Mabini Pension on Mabini St. It was a decent budget hotel with a fan and private bathroom (WITH OVERHEAD SHOWER! AND HOT WATER!) The next day Redie came to fetch me and brought me to Edna Sotomayor's home in Pandacan, Manila. This is Julious' family, who is in Guam with Jakobe. They are super nice and have helped me so much already!

My first room at Mabini Pension.

Balut, well, in short it is a delicacy and also known to be an aphrodisiac here in the Philippines. The balut is a half developed embryo of either chicken or duck that is boiled and served hot. Last night the Chicharon Boyz put me to the test! A street vendor came by rythmically chanting baaaLLUUT! BaaaaLLUT. The Boyz put down the pesos to give me a real Filipino initiation, as if the many liter bottles of Red Horse Lager the night before wasn't good enough.
The egg is peeled half way just like a boiled egg, then salt and vinegar is added. The entire embryo should be eaten at once, which made me think of an oyster but larger.
I did it! As featured on Fear Factor.