State of Grace | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Photos
1998 Photo Album
Philippines April, 1998 Page 1
The Tagaytay house.
My brother in-law's company built this house. It has five bedrooms and an attic.
Sunset in Tagaytay.
Easter Sunday before the egg hunt.
The hunt.
After the hunt.
"Stop right now-thank you very much" the Spice Girls fans performing after the hunt.
Natxo and Tali with crazy laughter-must be the Easter candy!
Affa eating those Easter eggs.
We then went back to Manila and the following day took the evening ferry to Cebu.
Approaching Cebu the next day.
Tubbing on the ferry.
The Badjao (sea gypsies) awaiting the ferry. They are actually begging. Passengers toss coins and they dive for it. They are proficient skin divers.
The Port of Cebu. Cebu City was our command station. From there we took several trips to other parts of Cebu and to several islands,
This is Mactan Island, a short drive over the bridge. This is where Chelong and I got certified.
Scuba World.
Our first open water dive. Chelong is to the left.
The ferry which we took as seen from Mactan.
This was one such trip. A few days in Bantay Island. It was a very small island with a resort that had several cottages. Because it had a generator supplying the power, they would shut off at night and we often had no ice, or refrigeration. What a disappointed lot when they got the news: "no mango shakes."
My cousin Joey, his wife and two kids also came along. They live in Cebu. This is Joey and Bea, his youngest girl.
Beached in Bantay.
Fishermen and their sail boats in Bantay.
Next adventure. Ferry from Cebu to Bohol. Jaime, Joseton and Tali. Bohol is one of the Islands of an Island group known as Visayan Islands. It is in the Southern part of the Philippines.
Our little "Popeye" Natxo and mom. This was a fairly short trip, only about an hour and a half. The ferries are very good, especially the Aboitiz lines. They have food and movies.
The white sands of Panglao Island, Bohol province. It is hard to imagine, but at night, I would call the US right on this beach with a cell phone!
We had three rooms at the Bohol Beach Club resort, where Isa, Lucia and I also stayed in 1996.
The beautiful bougainvillea grove leading to the rooms.
These are the diving boats "banka" leaving for Balicasag Island. You'll see pictures of boats like these in other places. They range in sizes and have engines in the middle of the hull. For stability it has an outrigger on each side. The largest ones called "Baslig" are pretty substantial and are used for fishing in the middle of the ocean.
Dive boat to Balicasag island. Met this guy from Pittsburgh and exchange student from France.
Natxo relaxing in a hammock.
Very informal dining outdoors.
Underground cave swimming.
Raft we used to go up river. About 30 minutes from the resort.
After lunching at the raft. The island boys: Big Daddy Joseton, Big Bro Tinton and Tough Guy Jaime.
Locals clowning around. Hanging and diving from this fallen coconut tree.
State of Grace | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Photos