Akong kauban ug akong kalaban

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for me to share my weekly column from SunStar Davao, Davao City’s largest circulation newspaper.

Since living in the Philippines, I have a lot of different kinds of friends or companions (kauban), different than I had in the USA.  Friends from many nations.  Of course, a lot of Filipinos, and also expats from countries all over the world.  My list of friends is like a veritable meeting of the United Nations, it seems!  I also have a few enemies (kalaban) here too.  Today, there is one kauban and one kalaban that I want to focus in on.

My kauban is a new friend, I just came to know him a week or so ago, but we seem to be best of buddies.  I would have never had this friend when I was living in the USA, that is certain.  They don’t have this kind of friend in the US.  My kauban is a butiki, or a small lizard!  Ha ha…  yes, it’s true.  I have a new friend who is really a small lizard.  It started about a week ago when I was sitting at my desk in my office and I noticed this little lizard running across my desk.  Bata pa sya (he’s still a baby).  This little fellow is about 1 inch and a half long.  He seems to be my constant companion, though.  I don’t know where his Mom is… I’m not even sure if mother lizards take care of their young after birth.

This little fellow (or is it a little girl? I’m really not educated in how to determine the sex of a lizard!) has been hanging around on my desk for a week already.  He’s not afraid of me anymore either!  Even if I put my hand right over next to him, he just stays there, kind of checking me out.  If I get a drink and put it on my desk, little butiki goes over and runs around the glass to see what it is.  Maybe he’s thirsty, I don’t know for sure!  But, one thing I do know is that he is curious.  As I said, he is also unafraid!  Despite seeing many butiki every day since living in the Philippines, I never saw one like this!  He is my first butiki friend!

Now, what about my kalaban?  Well, that’s an Iring (cat).  I’ve been a cat lover all of my life, and for some reason, cats have always been comfortable around me.  Usually, with any cat, we become fast friends.  But, this cat…  well, I don’t think it’s going to happen.  It all happened more than three years ago when my kids wanted a new cat, so we got one.  It was just a kitten, only a few weeks old.  At first, she (yes, I know how to determine the sex of a cat!) was friendly to me.  After she started getting a little bigger, though, she came to hate me!  I’ve never known why she hated me, though.

If I go anywhere near this cat, she stares at me, looking like she is about to pounce on me anytime!  It’s like her mortal enemy just walked into the room.  If I reach out to give her an affectionate touch, she will hiss at me, and reach out to claw me!  I’ve been injured by this cat on more than one occasion.  She hates me.  In my heart, I still want her to love me, though, because I’ve never had a cat in my life that didn’t like me!  But, what can I do?  She seems to be unable to ever befriend me!

Hey, cat… don’t you know who is buying your cat food?

So, well, those are my current friends and enemies at this moment.  I have to say that I never expected either a lizard friend, or a cat enemy!

Hmm… where is that little lizard?  I’m looking around my desk and I don’t see him.

Fleeting friends…

Pig Gets Nervous! Feista Days Away!

My mother-in-law’s pig in the backyard is getting nervous. Really nervous. No, it doesn’t have a name. I just call it ”the pig”.  My wife Melinda feeds him all the time, and our little two year old niece Amiel likes to go in the back to visit him.  And  I know the pig is caged in a concrete bunker. If the pig is not locked up, the pig WILL be stolen. That’s how it is here. Fiesta time is fast approaching, and the pig‘s sole purpose is to be the main meal for the Fiesta. Everyone has been anticipating the Annual San Miguel Jordan Guimaras Fiesta like I waited for Christmas as a young kid, counting off the days one by one, so anxious, it just couldn’t come quickly enough. That’s the way it is at Fiesta time. It is the BIG social event of the year!
Family, friends, strangers will be stopping by; carnival rides and food vendors at the Crossing (San Miguel’s main drag), disco music blasting until 3 or 4 in the morning. Guys peeing in the public streets (well, that’s any day here in Guimaras.) Fireworks mixed in with random gunfire (that’s any day here, too.) It’s Fiesta time!

The kids are out for school the two days of the celebration (this Sept. 28th and 29th); no snow days here for the kids.  Our local priest has been shooting off fireworks the past week before the 5 am mass to get ready for the festivities (and my wife says to wake people up to go to early mass. I sleep in. )

Cousin Chris from Guimaras, and his brother-in-law from Bacolod, are going to be here to prepare and cook the pig. Sainted Patient Wife Melinda says the pig will not be roasted this year, but will be cooked; the head will be roasted, though. Hey, it’s my wife’s gig, if they want to cook and not roast the pig, that’s her option (but I do love that roasted pig.) I wisely always defer to the asawa (well, most of the time.)

Spent a bunch of pesos at Iloilo City SM City Supermarket and the cart was loaded down with goodies for the Fiesta. Bought some cases of San Miguel in San Miguel here in Guimaras at Cousin Emma’s Jade Market, have to keep the family drinkers and relatives happy; Emma’s place is near “The Compound”, our humble dwelling with thirteen current occupants, but as you know here in the Philippines that occupancy rate can rise faster than flooding streets in Iloilo City during a low pressure visit. Don’t want to haul all those cases of bottled beer on the pontoon boat from Iloilo especially if the waters are rough that day. And Emma says that at 360 pesos a case we’re getting it cheaper before the price goes up during the Feista.

Well, have to start cleaning myself  up for the big festivities. Have to shave for the big day,  and pour buckets of cold water over my head for my shower in the CR (after I check for spiders and lizards) and even put on a clean t-shirt. Yeah, I know, I’m going all out for the big event. But it’s Fiesta Time (plus the wife is making me!)  You married guys know what I’m talking about.

Sweet Juliet

Sweet Juliet

Well, not a lot sweet about Juliet.  She’s a very naughty girl too.  She’s very jealous, can’t stand it when my girlfriend touches me.  Juliet, well she acts a lot like a monkey.   No, I mean really, like a Filipino monkey cause that’s what she is.

Those that have followed my articles will probably already know that I’m the proud papa of a 12 pound monkey.  I’m just guessing about the weight.  When I first got her she was just a little under 10 pounds but she was skin and bones.  Very thin and probably close to death.  She couldn’t maintain her body temperature.   She was having chills on a regular basis.

She’s doing so much better now.  She’s not skinny at all.  She has a large cage which she has to stay in more than I or she likes.  But, since she’s a  little monkey, its hard for me to take her out when I go walking.  Plus, I’ve been too lazy to walk.

Its taken a while, but she seems to trust me now.  When I give her food she doesn’t jump to the other side of her cage when I hand it to her.  She has made friends with some of the neighbors but its a guarded friendship.  She may turn on them at any moment with teeth blazing.  Some of the neighbors she doesn’t like at all.

She hates the male cats but there are a couple of kittens that she doesn’t bother.  They can get under her cage and she only looks on.  Even their mother, which she use to love to scare, she no longer harasses her.  Let the male cat come any where near her and she has herself a fit, throwing whatever she can to let that cat knows who is the boss.  The tom cat, he’s too cool to act scared.  Well, he tries to act cool but often she takes the cool right out of him as he scampers away with this tail tucked between his legs.  He will then turn around, look at her and walk away with his cool stray cat strut.

People often come by to share their snack with her, which she will take and eat.  Then lunge at them to watch them scream and scatter.  Every so often she gets a hold of someone by pushing her arms through the cage.  This thrills her.  She’s much worse if I am out there.  When I’m not there, I hear she makes a lot of friends.

Shower time is always interesting.  Since she has been outside, she doesn’t smell as much as she did.  She usually only gets a shower about once a month or less.  The only way to do it is take one with her while she holds on for dear life.  Her fur feels so much better after a shower, well to me, but I don’t know if she agrees with it.  I doubt it.  I haven’t given her a shower since we got our water heater.  Maybe she wont hate it so much now that it is not a cold shower.  She probably will though.

She never threatens me.  I have no fear of her any more.  She’s a bit afraid of me but likes to be with me.  Usually just outside of my reach.  If Jessie touches me though, she leaps onto my shoulder while glaring at Jessie and her hair standing up.

She wants to be part of what the family is doing.  Today, our little human reached his third birthday.  There were balloons and cake with ice cream.  Jessie gave her some ice cream while I gave her some cake.  She had seen us in the dinning room and was hanging around at the corner of her cage closest to us.  She liked the icing of the cake before eating the cake.  She held the ice cream by the cone and licked the cream of it before making the cone disappear as well.

Juliet loves to play catch!  It doesn’t matter what.  A ball or a can.  We put milk in her can, once the milk is gone she throws the can, usually at Jessie.  She never throws it my way.  After Jessie caught it a few times, Juliet started catching it too then throws it back.  She likes to play ball with Jessie too.  She tries to get under it though.  She will get on top of the ball and try to balance herself then fall off.  While laying on her back she will try to get under it.  Once I put a ball in her cage.  That lasted for about three days.  She managed to deflate it.  I came out one morning and it would no longer bounce, hitting the ground with a thud.  Not sure how she managed that one but there was a nasty gash in the ball. Would hate to see what she could do to skin if she really decided to bite.

She did bite Jessie hard once.  She got Jessie’s bucket of knitting supplies and I took it away from her and give it back to Jessie.  Next thing we knew, Juliet was clamped onto her leg and had sunk her canines into Jessie leg.  It left a scar.

One night, Juliet had been on my shoulder.  When she jumped to the ground, I noticed her chain was off.  I tried to grab her but poof she was gone.  As she ran toward the neighbors I shouted at warnings to no avail.  They couldn’t understand me.  The people scared her as they were sitting out side their house.   So what does Juliet do?  She goes inside their house!  For many Filipino that is bad juju.  For me?  I could see massive detestation in my near future.  She went in their house, not once but twice.  Then I got her in between Jessie and myself.  She leaped onto Jessie’s arm and started to bite.  I got her off before she did too much damage but it upset Jessie.  Juliet left her calling card in the form of teeth marks but they were not deep.  It upset Jessie but didn’t leave any scars this time.  She wasn’t trying to hurt Jessie that time, she was one scared little monkey.

I gave Juliet a last name.  That last name being Kong.  You see, this pint sized little monkey has a gallon of attitude.  As far as she’s concerned she’s Kong.  She might even put Kong in his place as she’s the biggest and baddest around.  She seems her position in the troop as second only to me.

A few months ago, Bob came to see us in Bogo.  We had a nice afternoon with Bob.  Bob is an awesome friend.  We went for a walk and Juliet came with us.  She made friends with Bob even if it made him and me a little nervous.  It went well though, she jumped on his shoulder and climbed on his head.  She was thinking about biting his ears though.  She loves to give love bites to the face.  Problem is, she isn’t all that loving.  She bites as if we have monkey skin and we don’t!  She doesn’t realize that though.

Juliet can become completely wild at the drop of a hat though.  We learned that as Joe, from the States came buy to meet her.  He tried to play catch with her.  Instead she took that as an attack and wow!  I saw a side of Juliet I had never seen.  She was on her chain but had Joe pinned to the burglar bars on our windows, just out of his reach with her teeth in full display and new monkey sounds I haven’t heard before.  That’s why I don’t take her away from the house.  Once she tried to jump on a passing woman’s head.  I’d probably still be paying for that.

She’s sweet to me though.  She will jump into my arms as if she feels safe there.  I consider it quite an honor.  It took a lot of patience to get her to this point.  I hope my slightly over weight monkey will be with us for a long time as she adds much joy and a bit too much excitement to life.  It helps me to fell a little bit Filipino.

If you’ve had experience with an exotic pet, either yours or someone else, I’d love to hear about it.  Also, tell us what makes you feel a little more Filipino.

Sounds of The Philippines

This morning, I was awoken to a sound one doesn’t often hear in the USA nor  probably any other developed nation.  Its not a very pleasant sound.  A piglet that is screaming for its life, but to no avail as it has already been selected to serve as someone’s lechon.  It doesn’t take long, maybe five minutes at most.  The farmer will cut the jugular and the pig soon bleeds to death.  It sounds more scared than in pain.  Its sad to hear the life drain out of them, but once they get weak they go fast.   Its not a drawn out thing.

Pigs

Now not everyone in the Philippines is lucky enough to live next to a piggery like me, so don’t’ worry, you’ll probably not have to endure this.

I know its kind of a sad, ghoulish topic but people, most of us, are meat eaters and sometimes I think we don’t really face that.  That’s the Ted Nugent in me coming out though.   If you ever saw that madman’s reality show, you’ll understand that comment.

Roosters

I once read a blog about a travelers first night here.  The first sentence  on their first blog entry about there trip was “There sure are a lot of roosters in the Philippines.”  I don’t know why but that struck me as very funny.

Yeah, there are a lot of roosters in the Philippines, like sand on the beach and stars in the sky but noisy.   When one crows for attention in the middle of the  night, every rooster in town gets going.  Since I live in a rural town, every other house has a rooster or three.  They do crow back and forth to each other.   As it is quite, one lets loose, then another and you can hear them getting further in the distance.   It is a chain reaction of rooster ego for all the world to hear!

A couple of times, I went down stairs late at night.  It always feels creepy there, like your not alone.  Don’t ask me why, I don’t now why, I just know what it feels like.  One time I heard this strange sound, as my heart started to beat up and the adrenaline began to rush, I realized it was a freaking rooster flapping its wings!  Big tough guy I am, yeah right.

Ice Cream Vendors

Awww, the bubbly sound of the ice cream vendor.  I wish there was a good way to describe this sound.  Its extremely pleasant  (if your the type of person that likes to drive spikes through your eyes) when several of them congregate together.  They like to do this late in the day in Bogo City.  One can often find them down on the wharf.  Either there’s a lot of people on the wharf that want to buy ice cream, or they are just trying to kill off the last  hour of their shift.

In the Philippines, at least in the areas that I’ve been too, the ice cream man comes on a bike, not a truck.  Gotta be a hot hard job.  Most Filipino are extremely hard workers though, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.   Oh they party hard too, the rest better than any group of people I know, but they do work very hard.  Of course, there are exceptions.  I have seen very few over weight male Filipino.

Depending on the source, the Filipino often call this dirty ice cream.  Its not really dirty but they call it that, I think, because they don’t know who made it.  Its a family operation rather than coming from a chain.  My girlfriend tells me she has a cousin that prefers it.  He always  wants dirty ice cream and not that which comes from a well  known vendor.

Bread Vendor

There are fewer bread vendors, but they make an even lovelier music.  They have a different sound.

Oddly the bread vendors have the same “song” here as they did  100Km away, down in Talisay.  The bread vendors, also have the same “music” that I heard in Cebu City and Talisay.

There is a bakery with awesome smelling bread on every street, or so it seems.  I don’t know why they have to peddle it to  our homes too.

Both the ice cream and bread vendors create their music as they peddle their bikes.  It provides the energy source for their not so beautiful music.  It sounds a lot like a bad midi that one use to encounter on so many websites during the early years of the world wide web.

Church Bells

I once heard a sermon where the pastor included the questions “Why did we take the bells out of the steeple.”  I don’t remember if he had an answer or not but we certainly have bells in the steeples here.   There was a catholic church near my home in Memphis that played music from theirs before they had mass or other events.

In the Philippines, at least where I’m at, the churches have real bells.  They just love to ring them.   They love to ring them around 4am here.   In Bogo, they must have mass of the rooster every day, not just during the Christmas Season.  They are not unpleasant at all, I enjoy them.

One can also hear mass that is pipe through the PA system.   Some times there are cantors too.  Perhaps not quite in the style one might find in a Jewish synagogue.  Not that different though.  A bit more of a spoken word, rather than pure song.

Balot Vendor

There are various vendors through out  a city.  One can hear them  calling  out.  Reminds me of the area my grand parents lived in in Jackson, Ms. during the late 1960’s.  I would often see a guy pulling his cart, sometimes with his children helping him.

Here, they usually carry a basket with their wares, sometimes balancing their fruits, vegetables or balot on their head.   Balot too is usually delivered via a bicycle though, rather than walking.  There is  usually a basket  on the bike that helps keep the balot warm.  Often wrapped in towels to provide insulation and a cushion.  I usually cannot understand what they are calling out.  Sounds mumbled to me but they stretch it out.  Baaalllloooootttt in a low pitch, almost like they are in pain.  I think it ads to the charming atmosphere of the Philippines.

Barrio Festival

Thump, thump, thump is the sound of the bass from a distant speaker some where in the city pounding out the music for all those in the barrio or neighborhood.   Sometimes though, its not so far away and you get the full effect of the music as if it where blasting from your teenagers room!

Karaoke

In the Philippines, everybody is a singer and they blast it out over their home karaoke.  It doesn’t bother me when I’m out about town.  It usually drives Jessie crazy.  They may think they are singers but they are not good singers.  Every now and then you’ll run across someone that can sing well.  Most Filipino don’t seem to care.   I admire their confidence in singing regardless of the way it sounds.  not only sing but amplify it.

I don’t usually notice it until Jessie points it out, unless I’m at home and a nearby neighbor starts up and doesn’t stop until 4am, kind of hard not to notice that.

Horn Blowing

Driving here brings its own “music.”  If you blew your horn like this in Memphis, someone would get shot.  Here though, people blow their horns to be helpful.  They may give a couple of beeps as they approach an intersection or when overtaking to let the other driver know they are there.  It ends up in a lot more horn blowing.  Of course there is the occassional long, how dare you blowing of the horn, but that’s kind of communication is much more likely in the USA.  I have yet to see the middle finger come up any where in the Philippines.  Can’t talk about sounds of the Philippines and totally leave out the horn blowing.  Try not to live on a busy street.

Its always important to remember when speaking of the Philippines, it is easy to make the mistake of applying local experiences to the entire Philippines.  Doing so will often lead to incorrect conclusions.   It wouldn’t surprise me, if Davao and Makati are quite different.  Makati is a more upscale area near Manila while Davao has laws that most other cities don’t have.  I don’ t know if they have various noise laws.  Perhaps someone can tell us.

Did I forget anything?  Let me hear from you!

Beautiful but Painful

I went to Bantayan Island with “Honky Joe” an expat currently visiting the Philippines.  I shouldn’t have spent the dollars but that temptation thing got me again.  Like I said in a previous post, the Philippines are the land of temptation.

Joe came through Bogo City and mentioned he was going to Bantayan Island and I just couldn’t resist.  It also gave me a chance to use my underwater camera.

As we were returning to shore, Jessie spotted this creature waiting to give one of us a bad day.  It was the first time I have spotted one of these but we went out a good deal further as the tide had gone out before we got our lazy butts out of bed.

Actually, I got a great nights rest for the first time in a while.  I keep waking up to early but going back to sleep.  I woke up at 5:20 that morning and started to get up to go take some sunrise pictures, but I decided the sun will rise another day.  LOL

I spent probably three hours in the Visayan sea over two days and got a sunburn on top of my head.  Talk about adding insult to injury!  I guess one knows he’s loosing his hair the first time he gets sun burned on his scalp!  And the insult is obvious, accepting my hair is almost a memory.

We stayed at Tristan’s Resort which is right on the Bay of  Santa Fe.  Its the off season and our room was only P800.  They have these buttery breaded pork chops that have to be experienced.   I’ll be writing a full review on Bantayan Island Tours but I have not started the article yet so I don’t know when it will be published.

As always, you can also follow my adventures in the Philippines at HeyJoe.Ph.  If you have had the opportunity to visit Bantayan Island, please tell us where you stayed and how things went for you.

If you have not been to Bantayan Island, get yourself over there before the rest of the world finds it.  Right now, its likely you’ll have the beach and the water to your self.  That can’t last forever.

Ouch! Dangerous Animals

I thought of this article when Rebecca talked to her family and asked about her uncle who was bitten last year by a snake. It got me to thinking: What else lives in the Philippines that can hurt you, animal wise? A quick search online revealed very little in terms of real information, so I thought that I would look into what creeps and crawls around these islands.

Disregarding the obvious jokes about poisonous politicians or taxi drivers, there are animals here that are better left alone. Most unfortunate encounters occur when these creatures are stepped on or threatened… Remember, most of the time, you are intruding into their territory and home and not the other way around. I think most people have a fascination with wild animals. I mean, let’s face it… Who watches the idiots on Animal Planet running around picking up snakes and spiders without secretly hoping that they’ll see them get bitten? Obviously, I’m not the only one, since those shows certainly have many viewers. People also have fears of these animals, mostly irrational, including myself, as I’ll describe below.

At one time, prior to Spanish colonization, the entire Philippine Archipelago was nearly completely covered by primeval jungle. Today, as a result of deforestation, only about 5% of the country is virgin rainforest, most of which is protected. That is where most of these animals live, and there is no reason to fear encountering them in Manila, Cebu, or Davao. However, there is always the chance that a Cobra could make its’ nest under your house, or that if you visit the provinces, you’ll have an unwelcome encounter. So, my listing of animals best left alone:

Snakes

There are around 179 species of snakes present in the Philippines, of which, 14 are poisonous or harmful to Man. One of the world’s most venomous snakes, the Philippine Cobra, is native here, and it definitely is not an animal to mess around with. It is described as aggressive, and is very, very common. Shorter and squatter than the King Cobra, it is very common near rice paddies and anywhere there is food (mice, rats). I have seen a couple of these up on the farm, and if you encounter one, give it a wide berth, since these are spitting Cobras. Also native here, are many species of sea snakes, all of which are also highly poisonous, but shy around people. Some species are amphibious (They are a type of Krait if they go on land, a true sea snake if they stay in water), and can travel on land near water. Unless you step on one while swimming or are fishing and it gets caught in your net, you will most likely never encounter this snake, but if you are unlucky enough to be bitten, you have only around two seconds left to live, so worrying about them won’t do you much good. Speaking of Kraits, there is the common Krait, which, unfortunately for humans, likes to seek shelter in places like sleeping bags or boots. If you camp in the Philippines, it is best to check your shoes and gear before jumping in. The venom of a Krait has 15 times the potency of a Cobra. Wagler’s Pit Viper, green and commonly found in trees, is another one to be aware of. While traipsing through the jungle, that vine you are reaching for might not be a vine… Lesson learned the hard way. Additionally, there are several other vipers present in the country… If it has a triangular head, then leave it alone. To keep from getting bitten, shuffle your feet while walking, and be careful picking up logs and such. Finally, wearing shoes and long pants when walking in snake-infested areas is always a good precaution. (As a side note, at the Abulug cemetery before All Soul’s day each year when the graves are being cleared, Becky’s family nearly always encounter several snakes.)

Spiders

First off… I HATE SPIDERS. Yes, I know they eat bugs. Yes, I know they are mostly harmless. If any come across my path, they are instantly squished. They are evil incarnate and should be wiped from the Earth (And yes, I know about, and have watched with a queasy stomach, the “sport” of Spider Fighting in the province… Why can’t some people be content with cock fighting???). Fortunately, the only truly harmful spider in the Philippines is the Red Back spider (The same species as in Australia), and it is not too common. Unfortunately for those like me with arachniphobia, there  are several different species of a different native nasty here, in the form of a tarantula, known as a Bird Eating spider. I haven’t seen one, and if I ever do, I’ll probably die of a heart attack. It lives in the jungles, eats the birds for which it is named, and its’ legs can reach 10 inches in diameter. YUCK! They are supposedly harmless to humans, but I sure as hell am not going to go try and pick one up.

Scorpions

There are several poisonous scorpions found in the Philippines. Though the stings are painful, they won’t most likely won’t kill you like their African cousins. Again, they eat insects and will leave you alone unless you happen to try and step on it or squash it. These are found in foliage, at the beach, and under logs and such.

Centipedes and Millipedes

There are some really big centipedes in the Philippines, and one of only three documented cases of  “death by centipede” in the world occured here, from the Scolopendrida species. These suckers can grow to 8 inches long, and looking at them, you wouldn’t want to necessarily pick one up. Most bites are not harmful, though they are painful. Additionally, many centipedes and millipedes excrete toxic or caustic substances as a self-defense that can cause blisters or rashes. We have seen several good-sized centipedes at our house in Quezon City (But none of the really big ones, as of yet. Again, common in rural and jungle areas.

Caterpillars and Leeches

Leeches are native throughout the Philippines, and if you venture through rice paddies or work in them, you most likely will have more than a few attach themselves to you. Primary harm to humans is infection from the bites. When Rebecca was young and working in the fields, her grandmother used to pour salt on them to make them let go. As to caterpillars, many, many varieties here can sting, and some can be deadly. Same precautions as with spiders, except that a common hiking guidebook recommended with caterpillars: if it looks poisonous, it most likely is poisonous.

Crocodiles

There are two species of native crocodile in the Philippines. The Asian Freshwater Crocodile is very common, can get quite large, and will try to eat you if it thinks you are food. We frequently see them up in Abulug. Riding in a banca up a river with your hand lolling in the water may not be the best of ideas! The second species of crocodile is the Philippine crocodile, which is usually only a meter or so long, is highly endangered (so you probably won’t see one), and is unknown to hurt humans (more accurately, humans tend to eat the crocodile here).

Things that Swim

There are dozens of species of sharks in Philippine waters, though most don’t consider humans as food and will generally leave you alone. There have been shark attacks here, so precautions like not swimming with open wounds would be wise. In addition to the aforementioned sea snakes, there are moray eels, which have been known to bite divers, stingrays that can sting if you step on them, and many, many species of jellyfish (some deadly). There are also many species of octopus, which have a poisonous bite, but generally shy away from people. Additionally, there is one species of cuttlefish that can kill you with a sting, and the Philippines is also famous as the home of the Lionfish, which is familiar to people who keep aquariums (Those spiny fish which look like they are wearing draperies), and stepping on one would be a really painful and potentially fatal experience. Finally, for those who like to collect seashells, the Cone Shell is native here, and if the animal inside is still alive when you pick up the shell, that will probably be the last time you will ever pick up a seashell (The poison has killed people… at the very least, it is painful). Basic precautions while swimming: If you see the beach littered with jellyfish, don’t go in the water, obey shark warnings in places like Boracay where they are issued, and shuffle your feet while wading to shoo away creatures who live nearby.

Other Animals

There are various reports of encounters with the Philippine Bearcat, but they are so endangered that it is highly unlikely a visitor would encounter one (Disregarding that the local lore has evolved into a legend similar to that of the Chupacabra… Don’t believe everything you hear). There are several species of poisonous frogs in jungle areas, but unless you pick one up or eat one, you are unlikely to be bothered by them. Several coral species are poisonous, but those who dive here already know what to look for in most cases.

Actually, the creature that has caused the most deaths of humans in the Philippines is the smallest and most dangerous: The mosquito. Disease from these little buggers is the biggest wildlife threat the casual visitor is likely to encounter. Common sense precautions should keep you safe from the other creatures. The answer is simple: Watch where you step, where you sit or place your hand, and keep calm.

Blood Sport Philippines

As you might know, I am a Spaniard.  OK, yes, I am half Spaniard.  But, I grow up watching the bull fights.  I love the sport of bull fighting.  It is part of my culture.  The bull fighting of the Philippines exists too, but here is Cock Fighting!  It is what a lot of people call a blood sport, same as bull fight.

This week is a big week for cock fight in the Philippines.  This week is World Slasher Cup II, an 8 Cock International Derby to be held in Cubao, Quezon City.  This derby has entries from over 100 competitors from worldwide!  From Zamboanga Peninsula, we have our own team of cockfighters competing, the MJRG team!  I, of course, will be rooting them on.  The cockfighting is called Sabong here in Zamboanga, and we have many tournaments right here in Zamboanga, but not as big as the World Slasher Cup II.

I know you animal lovers do not like the cockfighting.  Cruel to animals – blah, blah, blah.  It is culture for us.  Including me to see cockfighting.  These cocks are animals, not people.  Why the blah blah blah?

Do you know that additional to bull fighting we also have cockfighting in Spain?  It is in Andalucia, Spain, and very popular.  Maybe it made me almost Filipino to love this sport as they do here also.

No bull fighting in the Philippines, though!  Maybe we can have water buffalo fighting!  What they calling it here, Carabaw.  But, they might be too slow for good fighting!  I did not yet see a Carabaw mad, though!  Maybe they like the Filipino people, never get too mad.  Their blood here is cool, not spicy like my people can be!

What you think?  Pro-cockfight?  Anti-cockfight?  You like chicken soup?  Plenty of chicken soup for the winners every sunday!  He he…

See you at cockfight pit!  Oh, I love my cockfighting!  Maybe I buy some cock soon and start training.  Manny Cockiao!

Bob's special announcement

As I told you at the end of my article yesterday, I have something very important to announce today.  Something happened last week when I was in Cebu.  I didn’t expect it, nor did I go there looking for it to happen, or even hoping for it.  Sometimes, though, you simply cannot fight what Mother Nature has in store for you.  You have to take things as they come even if they are not what you expected.

So, here it goes…

I have a new girlfriend in Cebu

Yes, you read it correctly, I now have a girlfriend in Cebu.  I met somebody new in Cebu, and we hit it off.  I talked to Feyma about it, I don’t keep secrets, you know.  I was happy when she was actually kind of excited about it!

Without further talk, here is a picture of me and my new Cebu girlfriend:

Her name is Juliet!  That’s right, she is Rusty’s Philippine Monkey!  To be honest, I think that the way things worked out, it turned out that Rusty was actually a bit jealous of the relationship that Juliet and I built up while I was in Bogo!

Before heading to Bogo, I had told Rusty that I just might kidnap Juliet and bring her back to Mindanao with me.  Rusty told me that he was not worried, because Juliet doesn’t like people too much, in fact, that she only likes him.  She can be somewhat mean or jealous of other people.  In fact, if Jessie shows affection toward Rusty, Juliet gets mad at her!  Rusty has even said that Juliet wants an exclusive relationship with him.

So, when I first went to Rusty’s house and saw Juliet in the cage, I approached her with some caution, and held my hand out to her.  She grabbed me and wanted to bite me.  But, I persisted a bit, showing her that I was not a threat to her.

Later in the day, when we were going for a long walk, Rusty got Juliet from the cage to bring her along.  Juliet rode on Rusty’s head along the way, and from time to time she would jump down to the ground to walk on her own (she was on a leash).  Along the way, we stopped to buy some balut (a partially developed duck egg that is popular here) for Juliet to eat.  While we were waiting for Jessie to get the balut, Juliet jumped from Rusty’s shoulders over to me!  She climbed up on my shoulders, and started nibbling on my ear, which Rusty said was a sign of affection.  Rusty was definitely a bit jealous now, because he said that Juliet doesn’t even do this to him!  After a short time, Juliet went back to Rusty, but the new relationship had already been established!

Juliet loves MindanaoBob!

We went out to the pier on the bay in Bogo, and Juliet ate her balut (2 of them!).  After eating, she kept going back and forth between Rusty and I, as if she could not choose between the two of us.  She also kept rubbing her underarm on my head, which Rusty said was her way of “marking” her territory, and showing that I was hers!

So, the deal is set, I indeed have a new Cebu girlfriend!  I am so excited, and I enjoyed Juliet’s company so much!  I hate to break Rusty’s heart like this, but I hope that he will continue to be my friend!

Me and Juliet… more relationship development is yet to come, I’m sure of that!

Old videos

I was going through some of the Videos I have and I have found a few short videos that are difficult to categorize, so here they are with very short explanations.

This first one was of a Lizard I found in my garden.

The second video is when I was in Manila and along with Migs I went to a shopping mall that had a fantastic roof top area.

The last one will need your patience as it shows my daily trip last year toFelis resort from my then home in Lanang. Is your travel to and work like this?

Its amazing what you find in the archives…some just cannot be shown!  wink wink

Easter Sunday with old friends and new

Spending a day with old friends and making new friends at the same time always makes for a great day.  Mixing that together with a special holiday, and also some wonderful food and spirit only makes it that much better!

A week or more ago, our old friend, Father Franco Uras, an Italian Priest who has been living in the Philippines for more than 40 years now texted me.  He told me that he was putting together a special get-together for Easter Sunday and asked if Feyma, the kids and I could make it to his place for the event.  Of course, I gladly accepted the invitation, and we made plans to venture up to Buda, a small Barangay on the Davao-Bukidnon border, about 90 minutes away from where we live in the City.

On the way up to Father’s house, we encountered a terrible traffic accident.  A big 18-wheeler truck had smashed into the back of a jeepney.  It was a terrible scene, and both Feyma and I said that we would be very surprised if nobody had been killed in the accident.  I told Feyma that I would actually be shocked if anybody survived the accident, it was that bad.

Upon our arrival at Father Franco’s place, we saw that some other old friends would be in attendance, Maej Villanueva and Mandy Dinglasan.  We used to spend a lot of time with Maej and Mandy, but in the past year or so, we seem to have lost contact for some reason, although I am not certain why.  In addition to these friends, we also met a lot of new friends on Easter at Father Franco’s house.   There were several German Doctors in attendance.  There is a German operated hospital near to Father Franco’s place that treats the poor people of Buda, so we enjoyed meeting some of the doctors giving their services to the mission.

Also, we were so happy to meet some new friends at Father’s house too.  This was a group of three women.  Two were sisters, and the third was their mother.  The first sister was Marianela, she has been living in the Philippines for 19 years already!  Her sister, Erica has been living here for 5 years now.  The mother, Cela has now been living in the Philippines for about a year.  The women are from Peru.  The two daughters do missionary work here, and they live in Davao.  We certainly plan to get together with these ladies and get to know them better.  The two daughters can already speak Bisaya, and of course their native tongue is Spanish.  As they spoke Spanish, I felt the language coming back to me, although I have not spoken any Spanish for more than 30 years already.  It felt kind of good, and I was able to converse with them a little bit, although I found myself wanting to mix in Bisaya words too.  One interesting thing that Marianela and I talked about is that she has already become a Philippine citizen, something that I am also considering doing.  Meeting these three ladies was really a highlight of our day, and as I said, we intend to get to know them better in the coming months.

For lunch, we had spaghetti (you can’t go to Father Franco’s place without a plate of pasta – he’s Italian after all!), roasted pig heads (I was a little concerned about this, but it was delicious!), lechon karnero (roasted lamb), french bread, rice, apple pie and blueberry pie.  There was some other stuff, I’m sure, which I’ve forgotten.  It was absolutely delicious.  The lamb turned out to be a bit tough, but we managed to eat it anyway!  When I ate some of the roasted pig head, I was shocked at just how good it was.  I was tempted to eat a pig ear, which was sitting on the platter in front of me, but I decided to leave well enough alone.  Maybe I’ll have an ear next time!  All I can say is that the food was delicious!

After the meal, Father broke out some of his famous home made liqueurs.  As always, excellent!  The liqueur that I had was much stronger than I have ever had from Father, but still delicious!  One shot was all I needed, after that I enjoyed watching the others partake – I was driving home after all!

The big surprise of the day was that Father Franco gave our kids an Easter gift.  A baby rabbit!  So, the kids came home with their own Easter Bunny.  The rabbit is a black and white Dutch Rabbit.  I have had pet rabbits over the years, since I was only about 10 years old or so, and I have always loved rabbits, so this was a treat for me too.  The kids always love going to Father’s house anyway, and today they came home doubly happy with their new pet.

The drive home was about 2 1/2 hours instead of 1 1/2, thanks to a really bad storm along the way.  Most of this drive is up in the mountains, and when there is a storm in the area it usually is a bad one.  Visibility was nearly zero, and there were tree branches in the highway, and flying through the air too, which made the drive interesting.  Heavy winds, super strong rain, black skies, what a drive!  We did make it home safely, though, which is always a blessing.

I hope that all of you enjoyed your Easter as much as I enjoyed mine.

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