Blogs from Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines, Asia

Thanks to my work and it brought me to the beautiful Region down south--- the Mindanao. This time after my official business, I was accompanied by my colleagues of DOH Region CARAGA to visit the famous Enchanting River in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. It is 8 hours travel from Davao City or if from Surigao del Sur, around 45 to 1 hour land travel. The Chief of one hospital there that I provided technical assistance promised to tour me around once I visited their place. We arrived at the Hinatuan District Hospital around 730 in the morning. We were served with a sumptuous seafood meal for our breakfast and after getting around the facility it’s time to go to this River that everyone is talking about. The sun is up and just right for our trip. ... read more

Only 2 months left!! That’s right 2 years has turned into 2 months and its going very quickly. There has been plenty happening this month with the big event being the rounding up of the Christmas book buying appeal. Just like this time last year it’s been raining - hard, I had my pocket picked in the big bad city and continued to enjoy working and surfing in Lanuza. The rain this year came down even harder than last year causing flooding along my road, I even saw people using canoes to go through their houses! While my house was fine I was up late in the night helping round up pigs, chickens and anything else that could be washed away. After doing the rescue bit we got the cameras and went for a wade around. ... read more

Hello everyone! Not so many words this month but loads of pictures. First up is more about the books for Ibuan school scheme followed by some illegal fishing then the surf contest, cock fighting and finally a coup attempt. A big thank you to everyone who has already sent in donations for books and other teaching supplies at Ibuan primary school. The totaliser (who remembers Blue Peter appeals?) has already been extended past the 20,000 peso mark (250 pounds). A re-arranged schedule means that I will be back there on the 5th of December for photographing the Christmas greetings, a management inspection upset the original plans. A few people have really got into the spirit of things and decided not to send any cards at all this year which is great. For anyone who has a ... read more

Hello Everyone, August has been a fairly quiet month here. A couple of typhoons have passed by out at sea without bumping into the Philippines (Taiwan wasn’t so lucky). The second one was a category 5 super typhoon but it didn’t make the international news anywhere near as much as a hurricane in the Caribbean does. The Philippines will probably get hit by one or two over the next month or so as they start to track further south. That means devastation where they hit land but here we are far enough south that for us it just means rain and the start of the surfing season. For the last couple of weeks I have been glued to my laptop listening to BBC radio, surfing the web and talking to people on Skype. My internet connection ... read more

The opening picture this month is a very pretty snake that nearly killed me! It hitched a ride on my motorbike probably down from one of the forest sites where we had been that day. If I had seen it while going along the highway I would have probably crashed in panic - I have no idea if its venomous or not but wouldn’t like to find out. It appeared when I pulled into my house, my landlord shouted “Snake” I am looking on the floor to find it until he says “on your motorbike” I parked very fast! Its only small but…. After the elections last month, this month has been about getting back to work. For me that has meant an intensive round of inspections and survey work in the forest followed by going ... read more