Happy Easter (belated)

Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/1600s f/5.6 at 14.0mm iso100
450 year old Saint Peter & Paul's Church, Bantayan Town

Happy Easter for last Sunday -with internet here not opening until after 1pm on Sundays, and the roads outside a maddening sea of cars, busses & motorcycles trying to create 3 or more lanes for themselves on a road not 15ft wide WITH people walking...I decided to stay away for a bit.

Yesterday for the 'out' as I call it - was a mass exit of tourists and the roads were jam-packed with the same, and there were STILL crowds on Sugar Beach, so that tells me not all the touristas have left the Island as yet.

I love the local people here, and I do understand it's a chance for them & for all the businesses here to make some money during Holy Week, but it also affects those of us who are long term here because its safe & quiet - at the cheap little eatery on the main road where there are maybe 3 people eating during a typical day, you had to contend with a dozen people in line to order food, certain foods sold out/not available, and 30 people eating inside where 15 would fit comfortably, so there's no room for you to sit - so you just shake it off & try to order something for 'take out', or just cook at home (I can't do that, so I have to get 1 or 2 simple/cheap meals a day out)

Motorbikes that normally rent for P250 a day ($5USD) were going for P750 the Monday of Holy Week, and I'm sure that as bikes became scarse, the prices rose to P1,000 and more as the weekend approached - if you had motors to rent, or tents, or space on land for tents, you made some serious money this week.

Same for hotel rooms; prices trippled & quadrupled, if you could find a room - and those that couldn't had to try to make other arrangements or just sleep on the beach, and the beaches were crowded with people with no other place to go.

I know a few secret places to swim at - I always break for lunch from 12noon-2pm and get outside to go for a swim & to run some errands, so I didn't have to contend with thousands of people crowded onto the beaches.

Since it's only for a week during the year, it's a big deal, but not that big a deal if you can plan for it ahead of time.

Last week I moved into a friends house by the sea, for my last weeks here - I'll be on the Island until April 20th, and will then start the trip back to Cebu, then onto Manila for the flights back to the USA - so with all the packing & unpacking I'm going to be doing, I'll make my best effort to get online - but in reality it's going to be crazy for me from that time onward, and I really won't have more time to get online for updates until I arrive back in the USA - and I'm actually looking forward to getting back to unlimited USA internet time, so I can write more about everything that's been happening here.

I'll be editing images right up until April 19th, but I'm leaving my 17" monitor here (along with the Bose MediaMate speakers) & other things to lighten my luggage load (I was charged extra, Manila to Cebu on Philippine Airlines for overweight luggage) and that'll make it much easier in November 2007 when I'm back, not having to pack & lug the monitor, etc.

But I will be online in both Cebu & Manila, and I'll still be shooting & aiding those Families I help here, right up until the night before I leave Philippines, so there's still much to be done and share here - so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading today,
PJAMES