Hottt!

It has become incredibly hot here since the week I was on the boat. Back in college I had read certain books that came up with ideas as to why 3rd world countries tend to be along the equator and 1st world countries in the northern lattitudes including disease, resources. My own theory is it's just too hot here to do anything. Back home during a "hot" 75 degree day it's very easy to keep working hard, especially since we have basically 0 humidity...and then of course the cold of winter makes you want to work hard, or sit by a fire and educate ones self, but here, 95 degrees 95 percent humidity, nearly unbearable unless you're in the water or on a boat with a breeze. I tend to be more motivated than most for some reason, so I still took an 8km walk to the beautiful beach of white beach and nearly everyperson along the rural road was understandibly snoozing in the shade on a hammock or under a tree. It's just hard to get much done in the heat for them I think

Dove two dives today. One at Pescador Island and the other on the house reef. Both very nice, but no near the fish abundance of Tubbataha. Still, some some very unique and unusual fish: two scorpion fish, a frog fish, a very rare ghost pipefish, a free-swimming eel, and a new species of triggerfish I'd never seen. I was the only one on the dive, so I had the guide all to myself.

I met a very nice canadian couple taking diving lessons. They were about my age and are travelling for the year like me from Nepal and India all the way down to Bali. But they had done the same year trip (S. Amer) last year. I asked how they could afford such trips (they were on a budget, but not an incredibly tight one as they were taking dive lessons, had a guide in nepal, and were flying places to save time on ferries), and their trick is they work only 5 months, but lots of hours 60 hours, but live with their parents, so that they put away 95% of their paychecks. Hmmm....wonder if old Dad would be up for that!

After the dives I walked the 8km to white beach and just read in the shade for a bit. A very nice, deserted white sand beach frequented by pilipinos on weekends I guees. The walk over was slow as it was hot and I made a few stops to get coconuts. The kids seemed to be overly excessive with their asking for money on this road and I decided to attempt to teach a lesson, so one group of about 6 I asked to climb a coconut tree and get me one. One kid climbed the tree, another cut it for me, and a 3rd made the spoon to get the flesh out after I drank the drink. I gave a few pesos to each of those 3 kids, but none to the others asking for money, and told them, see if you do some work, that's how you can get some money

The beach was very nice. No one there, and very white and long with good views across the strait to Negros. Sat in the shade for a bit and read and then headed back to Moalboal for some dinner. Some guys were playing frisbee so I joined in with them, which was fun as I hadn't thrown a frisbee since Lucas and Sari left.

I eat dinner in moalboal which is much cheaper (meals for 50 cents compared to 5 dollars at the lowest on the beach) and then I walk the 4km back. All the trike and moto drivers can't believe I would walk and just think its so terrible to walk, but I enjoy seeing the countryside and you see and do more when you go by slowly...like last night a group invited me in for a few karaoke songs and a beer as I was walking. Maybe the same will happen tonight...