Weekend Fun

The plan for last weekend was to go dolphin and whale spotting at a location off the island of Bohol but a typhoon earlier this week put paid to that idea. It wasn't a severe typhoon, just a Category 1 but Ken, my driver, advised that the local "pump" boats (called pump because the motors supposedly came from a water pump) become somewhat unstable in rough seas. It may have been a wise decision as in the papers following the typhoon there was a report of one sinking between Cebu and Bohol resulting in 15 people drowning. The Philippines seems to have a notoriety for their sinking boats and ferries.

With hindsight we could have possibly still gone as the weather was calm again by the weekend. Nevertheless, we're planning to go in a few weeks from now. The problem with that is it's now the end of the whale and dolphin spotting season so the chances of seeing anything are rapidly diminishing.

As an alternative we drove south about 2 and a half hours to a place call Kawasan Water Falls and to visit the beaches at Moalboal.

The journey itself was scenic and enjoyable and the falls were pleasant enough. A dip in the pool at the base of the falls gave a refreshing, if not chilly respite from the midday the heat. We had lunch in the open air restaurant besides the plunge pool and my guess is that we were somewhat ripped off, being charged an extra Php300 for having a table in a premium location, which was not something we were warned about prior to being seated. We had roasted local chicken - local

meaning extremely thin. The drumsticks were more like chopsticks. We also had fried rice that was rather bland and oily french fries all washed down with a San Miguel Light.

In support of the local economy we bought a souvenir tee -shirt and some wild honey from two vendors selling it from plastic buckets containing big chunks of the honey comb. The guy was able to fill an old empty rum bottle by scooping the honey out of the bucket and pouring it through the narrow opening of the the bottle without dribbling a single drop of honey down the outside of the bottle, which I found pretty deft and amazing.

The beach at Moalboal is located on a spit of land outside the town, with the town itself being a bustling, busy street which seems to have managed to retain its local charm, although I would imagine this will change in the not too distant future as and when the big resorts become established there, or when the access to the location is improved.

Moalboal Beach

After paying Php10 per person the access the beach, we then had to pay Php10 per person to access the beach. Yes, we had to pay twice. The second time I believe we were being ripped off (again) by some dodgy locals who had decided to indulge in some free enterprise in exploiting the tourists. The beach was white sand and surprising clean. Most of the people using the beach were locals, which again reflects the difficulty in accessing the place. I had a swim and snorkel in the sea and there was a surprising amount of coral close in shore. I say surprising because the area has a bad reputation for the coral being damaged by dynamite fishing, which seems to be supported by the number of limbless locals you see.

After a couple more beers at a beach bar it was time to head back before darkness set in.

Completed Slipform

With regard to work, the slipform construction of the chimney was completed last week so now we are the builders of the tallest structure in Toledo at 97m (318' 3") and which will be the full 100m once the flues have been added.