Still in Manila
We’re in Manila 3 days longer than planned because the Cheetahhhhhhh was a bit lazy about booking a return flight to Leyte and we couldn’t get a ticket until Saturday. Anyway the Intercontinental “cheap” rooms were fully booked so we had to move to a “Club Intercontinental” room which is much nicer though it costs twice as much. Also now we can go to the “club” on the rooftop which is actually pretty cool, with views of Manila stretching out to the horizon.
My little digital cam died yesterday. I think this was because we shot a few pics in the pool and water got in. Very sad because this digital cam was one of my first purchases with my first paycheck in Korea. That little cam and I have been on 5 continents. Oh well, nothing lasts forever I suppose. So anyway this summer’s hemorrhage of money continued unabated because we went and got a new digital cam. Normally I would have said forget it, but we have a wedding next week and our second honeymoon in Boracay, so a digital camera seems a bit important at the moment. We got an Olympus725SW which is good because it’s waterproof. I think we will have a lot of fun with this feature. However we were in the pool yesterday and we were too afraid to actually immerse the camera.
Vanessa’s new swimsuit
We went shopping yesterday. Vanessa needed lots of pink makeup for the wedding. We needed swimsuits for our second honeymoon in Boracay. And I bought some jeans. Those who know the Cheetahhhhhh intimately just dropped their jaws and muttered “What???” Yes, you heard me correctly. It haven’t worn jeans in 20 years and I’m not entirely sure what overcame me. I think I was inspired by the guy who hosts Game Kanaba.
Anyway we took Little Chris swimming in the Intercontinental pool yesterday. He loved it. He’s a water baby. Here’s a pic. I wanted to post a pic of Vanessa in her new swimsuit, but she’s modest.
Now, I had wanted her to buy a thong. Apparently most of the girls in Boracay wear thongs. She said no, though. I think her new swimsuit is quite modest, at least compared to what I had imagined. Still she doesn’t want a swimsuit pic on the blog here.
Vanessa wants me to remind you to look at the Teggatz Channel on You Tube.
Back in Manila
We’re back in Manila, at the Intercontinental Makati. I’m extremely pleased to be back in Manila. I used to hate this town, but after 3 weeks in the provinces, I’m damn glad to be back. Capoocan is nice but let’s be frank, it’s a town with 3 streets where the biggest news of the day is there’s a white guy who bought the green house across from the school. What I mean is there’s nothing to do in Capoocan. Manila, for all its problems, such as terrible traffic, has everything. I am quite excited to eat a few good meals for one thing.
We’re here for 4 days for some business. Vanessa needs to get her dress, I just picked up my suit… I think I’m going to get myself a Sony PSP for killing the hours in Capoocan.
I’m quite certain there’s a lot of fishing potential in Capoocan, but I can’t get to any of it. Need a car. I think we may get one. It’s not certain yet, but I am considering getting us a Wrangler-ish jeep-like vehicle. That will make Capoocan a lot more interesting. Also there are a lot of babbling streams that look like trout water. I have no idea if there are trout out here, however, if there are, then they’re in the streams I’ve seen. Now Capoocan is a town of fishermen (mostly) and there are plenty of guys who have boats, but they fish by net. Nobody knows flyfishing. I have tried to explain to Vanessa that flyfishing is a whole different ball of wax. I could get a relative to take me out in his boat, but he’s going to take me to some net fishing ground, indeed, I have already ascertained that the local fishermen aren’t landing sport fish such as permit. So to make a long story short, the Cheetahhhhhhhh is sad to say he’s gotten not a single bit on his new flyrod.
The house is done being refurbished and it is quite nice. Vanessa says it’s the fanciest house in town.
Bucket baby–Bug’s swimming pool in Capoocan
In Leyte
We’re in Leyte. My new house is small but cute. It’s also quite fancy, indeed one of the fanciest on the black. We’re one of 2 houses in town with satellite TV and we have aircon, running water, hot water in the shower, and bug screens. It took a lot of money and effort to get all this, let me tell you. The house has a tropical motif, with avocado green and yellow paint. Van picked out some cute things, like we have a nice wood sofa and chairs.
I’ve had a bit of trouble fishing because we’re busy with the house and wedding planning. Also there are no reefs nearby, which makes flyfishing impractical. Also it’s hotter than hell. Also where ever I go, small children follow me around, gawking and saying “Hi Joe.” I just ignore them but it’s really annoying in terms of flyfishing, where I would prefer not to have a dozen small children standing there scaring the fish.
Leyte is worse than Korea in this respect. Indeed I have a new appreciation of Manila, where I can walk around without being gawked at. Apparently nobody has taught their children on Leyte that it’s impolite to stand with your mouth agape when you see a white guy.
Capoocan is a charming small town which I like. The children are becoming used to my presence but at first I just hid inside because of the gawking and “Hello Joe” business. Now they only gawk a little bit. I imagine in a year or two they will have better things to gawk at. The town itself is just a small town on a jungle island. That about sums it up. EVerybody knows everybody, indeed Van is related to 3/4 of the town, and I can’t keep track of the aunties and uncles any more. The town is on a bay which is very picturesque. Bug and I l;ike to walk down to the oceanfront and look at the sea. There is a mountain at one end of the bay which always has clouds gathered around it. It’s a south seas archetypal image. Unfortunately the Capoocan locals throw their garbage into the sea, and so the seafront is a bit marred by garbage. If Vanessa runs for mayor, she’s going to do something about that.
Yesterday we went to a hermitage in the mountains for mass. Yes indeed, we go to mass every Sunday. I couldn’t watch the mass though because Bug got restless, so we just walked around the pretty grounds. Apparently Van didn’t understand the mass too well because it was in the Cebuano language. I was discovered that Capoocan is on the frontier of Waray-land, and further south it’s all Cebuano.
Bug is doing well. He eats everything and is losing weight from being so active. He gets pretty cranky when he’s hot, he’s used to aircon, and so for example we didn’t take him with us to Carrigara today.
Anyway sorry my blogging hasn’t been much but it’s actually rather difficult to get out here to an internet cafe.
