Wind Surfing In Cebu
I’ve been talking with a Filipino for about a year now. His name is Adrian. He’s responded to a couple of comment on this site. He’s an avid wind surfer and we’ve talked about meeting up but have never done so. At least not yet.
Last month when I was in Bantayan Island I saw a couple wind surfing and decided to text Adrian. It had been sometime since I last did so. I was a little surprised when his number was still good, but happy. It is not uncommon for a Filipino to change their number. Jessie has had about 5 since I’ve known her! She’s not the only one, many numbers change.
Wind Surfing Chihuahau
Anyway, we made tentative plans to meet at Bantayan Island soon and he’s going to try to get me up on a surfboard powered by the wind in the not too distant future. His girlfriend is planning on jumping out of an air plane and Jessie is interested in doing the same thing. Honestly, I am too but I bet I need to loose much more weight before I’ll be able too. And I don’t know if I could do it. I think I could despite a serious fear of heights. Hey I use to have a fear of snakes but getting a pair of boas made that go away.
Anyway, watching me with all my grace and balance it should be interesting to see me trying to wind surf. I suppose if the chihuahua can do it, I should be able too. True it has much less to balance than I do but it also has a smaller brain. Well, I hope it does.
The problem with setting a date to go wind surfing means that the wind may not be cooperating with us. I know when I’m headed there and its in the near future, it is best if I don’t disclose it before hand. That is because of security concerns.
It looks like I picked a bad time to get back in touch with him as this is the hot part of the year. There’s not much wind at all. I walked down to the Bogo Bay today and there was hardly even a wave. Surely Bantayan Island would have more wind but I don’t really know. It is the Pacific Ocean which means peaceful waters. I believe in this area it is known as the Camotes Sea. Its still connected to the Pacific Ocean.
I hope it works out and that we get to have some fun fun fun in the sun and waters of Bantayan Island.
Tagged with: Bantayan Island • Cebu • Filipino • Wind Surfing
Filed under: Wind Surfing
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Get
To The Philippines Faster
Hi Rusty. Thanks for the article about windsurfing. I hope this will also create more interests for Cebuanos and foreigners living in Cebu to embrace the sport.
It was unfortunate for us that my gf’s jump was cancelled and I have to cancel also our trip to Bantayan. The weekend was too short, anyway. It’s a little costly to transport the van (with the windsurfing gears) so we should get more value for it (by staying in Bantayan longer) lol
Yesterday, however, I tried to visit the local beach here in Liloan and my old friend also rigged his gear. So, there were already three of us windsurfing. Wind was sooo light and very challenging. (Too light and too strong winds are both challenging) I have a picture of it in my multiply account.
Hi Adrian, yep wish you could have made it!
What does it cost to get a van across by Ro-Ro? I’ve always wondered about that. In round numbers.
I think it might be impossible to stay too long in Bantayan.
I do think you would have had enough wind at Bantayan Island until Sunday evening. It got very still then. Almost no breeze at all even on the floating bar in Santa Fe Bay Sunday night.
I saw a sail boat early afternoon or maybe the morning on Sunday, it was moving along nicely. Flags were not vertical but they were flapping a bit.
Nice beeze at the new beach I told you about.
Remember, you’re welcome to become a writer here. You write well just create an account by clicking on register near the bottom right of the page and let me know when you’re ready so I can make the necessary changes to your account.
I will be gettng by your multiply account as soon as I can. Enjoy your pictures too.
We’ll get together, I’m sure. I am looking to rent a small place on Bantayan. I’ll be happy to store your gear then. LOL of course no charge just usage. LOL Seriously, it will likely not be big enough to store your things.
Rusty, the RORO costs around 2,500 two-way and fuel would cost 1,000. I could have proceeded last Saturday but by the time we got confirmation that the jump was canceled, it was already 11AM and the last RORO to Santa Fe was 1230PM.
As to the wind, well it’s just the way it is. It’s a light wind season this year. Last year was very windy (remember we had that typhoon in May, when it was supposed to be summer) but it was just bad timing for me.
Anyway, while on the way home this afternoon, we decided with my gf to go to Camotes Island this holy week. Have you been to that place? I havent been there also and they have a big lake there that might be perfect for windsurfing, if we have some wind…
I’ll keep you posted in the coming days.
I tried to create a blog about cebu windsurfing but I wasnt able to start a sentence. Lol. I’ll try again sometime soon.
Ouch P2500 is costly by my standards considering a room can be had there for P600! At those kinds of prices you might be better off keeping your gear on Bantayan. As you can get the roro for P10 right now if you’re just taking yourself across.
You’d have a little further to go but you’re more likely to have good conditions there, I THINK? just a thought. I really am looking to rent a place there probably one room though, very small as we don’t stay in our room much anyway.
Yes, I remember Frank very well, my first typhoon/huricane and I hope they don’t get any stronger! In Bogo the wind would blow down so hard at times it sounded like explosions.
I’m not complaining that you didn’t come. I stayed busy and did too much as it is. I do remember last year even then most of the time it was too late in the season.
No, I’ve not been to Camotes, I’ve seen pictures of it. I have a friend here that grabbed a sea snake by the tail from there. More power to him, I’d leave that thing be. If you go and get space on your board for a trainee, give me a yell. Perhaps I can do a day trip there. I don’t know if I’ll have the budget to go any further than the Bogo City Bay next month though. II whipped myself out this month and I have a trip to Bangkok in June that is not yet fully funded. I would hate to hang out in the airport for three days!
I had a grand time on Bantayan! I was just teasing you a bit cause we had wend up there!
Yes, RORO is a little costly but the van is not only used to carry the gear alone. It can also be used as a place to sleep if we will not be able to find accommodation. Lol. What you spend on the RORO, you will save on cottage fees. It is also extremely useful when transferring beaches especially when the beach we are using becomes too crowded or there are some wind traps.
I will not be comfortable leaving my gear to one place. That’s the beauty of Cebu, you get to know the beaches well and I would love to try windsurfing to as many beaches as possible.
I think I still havent found the perfect spot here.
If you cant make it to Camotes, maybe I can just meet you at San Remigio or Tuburan or Tabogon. Those are just a town or two away from Bogo. I can also make a trip to Medellin, I heard there are some great beaches there. Well, I promised myself Ill get to go to as many beaches as possible this year as a reward because I was very very busy last year.
Yea for transfering it would be great.
If you were considering only money though, it would be cheaper to rent a place on Bantayan. I saw a place for P3000 but not up to western standards for that price.
Beaches are generally not crowded on Bantayan, very few people except at the new beach that the locals use.
The exception will be Holy Week.
But transportation on Bantayan is costly. Pedicab only P25 per person but when I put three people on it, it fast becommes P100 every time I go some place and that’s expensive. I got a multicab for a day though for P500.
No doubt a van would be very nice.
I was thinking it was the most likely place in Cebu that you’ll have wind but I’m a lot closer than you are.
Rusty, the wind is like a slippery fish. Sometimes, only the northen part (like Bantayan) of Cebu gets wind and sometimes, only the southern part (like Argao). These two have great beaches.
This week, the southern part gets much wind while the north stays calm according to the half-reliable windfinder.com I found myself walking this afternoon in the city feeling the wind in my face, pausing, smiling and soooo landsick! I might take a leave this week and just stay at the beach whole day.
That makes sense, I’ve read about the Northern Monsoon Winds and the Southern Monsoon Winds. They were late in shifting last year which helped lead to the dry season typhoon. La Nina or something again.
Its quite breeze up in Bogo today, skies are clear now though, probably hot and still as a well feed boa constrictor later today. I guess I’ll find out when I go on my walk.
Okay get two pairs of boards.
I have not been south of Talisay. I hear they have one nice dive school that direction.
I plan to go to Sam Remigio to learn.
Since I started windsurfing, I also got crazy about weather forecasting. Well, when I met some American windsurfers who are living in Cebu, it turned out I am not alone. They were crazier!
All night we have been discussing about what caused the Northeastern and Southwestern monsoon, wind theory, coriolis effect, etc. Lol
Northeastern monsoon starts in November when the big landmass in Asia (like Siberia and Mongolia) starts to ice. The cold winds travel south to the equator and passes by the Philippines. Usually the typhoon only occurs during Nov-Jan. I still cannot understand why there was a typhoon in May. (though I am hoping there will be this May but just lighter and does not cause damage to others)
The Southwestern Monsoon occurs after summer when the hot winds from the equator travels to the hotter desert in Asia. Since it travels mainly in the ocean, we get lots of wet days.
Anyway, how does this affect us? In general, the southwestern monsoon is a hotter wind, meaning lighter in the hands, especially when you are learning. The NE monsoon is heavier and cold and is very powerful.
I think we still have about three weeks more of the Northeastern monsoon. Well, according to my windsurfer friends in Singapore, the fat lady hasnt sung yet!
As to the two pairs of board? I actually have 5 boards and 6 sails. We actually use different combination for different conditions (flat water, choppy water, steady wind, gusty wind, etc.) It is not advisable though because the more rig you have, the lesser the satisfaction will be and you keep buying for more to address the other conditions.
This is windsurfing. Once youre hooked, you cant unhook! (remember the hook in the harness?)
I look forward to being hooked, gotta get on one to start with.
The the jump school\club go totally bust? I would like to do that someday as well, well, I am thinking about wanting to do it. LOL
Frank didn’t follow any of the models. It didn’t go where it was suppose to and it was stronger than it was suppose to be. I think it was related to the late change in the Monsoon’s last year. The late change was caused by one of the oceans being warmer or cooler than it normally is. There were quite a few articles about it last year, I thought?
I’ve always been interested in weather, nothing like you I’m sure. talkling about it till the wee hours of the night not on my list of things to do.
But I do understand as I find it far to easy to obsess on things.
I have no update of their jump club yet. I dont know if they will have another schedule for a solo jump. I, myself, have been thinking about it and it’s good to have tried to jump at least once in our lifetime.
Windguru.com was pretty accurate last Saturday. It was blowing pretty hard and lots of whitecaps and big chops in Liloan. It was really no effort speeding up as the wind was very consistent. Funny thing is I keep falling on the same spot four times! Turned out a fisherman placed an underwater net (pukot) without putting a rubber buoy on top and it kept catching my fin! Boy, it was really funny to look at the beach when you are traveling at around 30mph and get catapulted once the board stopped suddenly.
The bad news is that my big sail disintegrated that day after two years of hard use. These newer sails are really good, efficient and light but are not as durable as the older sails. I went home immediately and rigged my gf’s smaller sail but it was too small for my weight. I was forced in an auckward sailing position and my back leg hurts after 30 minutes. Just went swimming with the dog instead.
Rusty, I just created a blog.
http://cebuwindsurfing.blogspot.com/
Adrian, that dog is just awesome! I’ll have my underwater cam soon, would be great for getting pictures of you too.
Sorry about your sail. That sounds expensive.
Aww she was going to do her first solo on that day? You’ve done a tandem jump before? She did?
it has been fairly calm up this way. Not dead completely still. Down on the bay, during thei day there is always a breeze, well almost always. I think I remember once or twice when there was no breeze. Very rare. White caps are also rare.
When I saw the guy at Bantayan he kept crashing in one spot. Probably a net.
Wow – finally found some windsurfers in the Philippines. I’m trying to find some used gear. At this point, any used windsurfing gear would be cool. I’ll be mainly in Palawan. I have gear but it’s in Utah and I think it would be very expensive to ship to the Philippines
Also, check out this guy that does light wind freestyle Windsurfing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stun4xr-ZCc&feature=related
I can watch him over and over.
Hi Jeff, I think you’ve found three windsurfers and one wanna be. The three are Adrian, his girl friend and his dog.
I”m the wanna be.
I know Adrian has been looking for others so I’m sure he’ll contact you soon!
Adrian, There are no nice beach in Tabogon. You’re better off sticking to those other places you’ve mentioned, but there’s none in Tabogon, it’s just a small town.
Any beach free of sea urchins wouldn’t be all bad, but I guess there would likely be lots there.
Is there a lot of trash there?
Seems like a never ending battle probably but I wish the cities would hire someone to pick the trash out that washes up.
Nearly every time I go to the wharf, I see someone throw trash into the bay.
The other day, a ship worker through a large plastic bag into the bay. Disgusting! At bantayan saw a lady throwing bag after bag into the sea while we were on the boat waiting to lave.
People have to start caring, one by one. Each person’s trash does matter.
No, there are no thrash there, except the seaweeds that get washed out from the sea obviously. The beach I frequent is somewhat hidden, only the locals know it, and fishermen still park their bancas there. It’s only a small alcove, but when the sea is still it’s almost like a lagoon.
I’ve just looked up Daanbantayan because I e-mailed you about it. My goodness, I didn’t know there still are a lot of places in North Cebu alone I haven’t explored. Apparently, there’s lots of little islands around that area, some uninhabited, some really good for scuba diving. I’d like to do this when I can have 4 weeks in PI.
I’ve seen you mention worms several times but I didn’t see it in an email. Guess I better go read the one I got.
We just returned from Mary’s Hill which was near your place I think. I saw a sign pointing toward it. Climbing all those steps wore me out!
The beach your speaking of sounds awesome to me.
It is very nice, but undeveloped. I hope it stays that way. I’d hate for it to be bought by someone with money and turn into yet another resort. That will deprive the people of their recreation. It is very natural as it is, except for one hut simply for shade.
I’ve had another look at Daanbantayan. It is absolutely gorgeous!- I wish I could be there now. Our Gold Coast here is 3rd rate compared to the beauty of Daanbantayan or even Bantayan Island for that matter. Then my brother made me more jealous because he and the rest of our extended family is going for a picnic. grrrr!
Some websites described Daanbantayan as an Island, some say it is part of Cebu mainland. I found another site that says Daanbantayan is only connected to Cebu mainland by way of a narrow isthmus. So I guess both are correct?
If you go to wiki site I gave you a link to, you’ll see it is very connected.
Daan means “old” bantayan means “look out place.” I’d be surprised if there is not more than one. There were look out places for moro rebels.. They like to say the war with moro has been going on for 40 years. That’s just with the current government. Its been going on for centuries. From what I can tell, the Spanish put a stop to it for a while. I think all of this was on the wikipedia site as well.
What I was leading up to was that there is probably more than one DaanBantayan. I’ve not been to Daanbantayan, I suppose I should get my but up there. But based on the maps, its very well connected and close by.
Hey, look there are some islands off DaanBantayan that are part of it. I bet that’s what you read about?
grrrr… I really hate it when people dont care about the sea. While on the trip to Camotes, I saw the porters and boat workers throwing cigarette butts to the sea. It’s ironic that while the sea gave them livelihood, they just don’t care.
I haven’t been to Daan Bantayan and maybe it will be on my next list. I heard there are good beaches there.
Christine, thanks for the info on Tabogon. I think I was referring to Tuburan which is on the other side of the island but just near Bogo.
Adrian, the other day while a pump boat “ferry” was in port at the wharf in Bogo, I saw boat personal throw an entire trash bag into the sea. There it was floating for all to see.
He didn’t care, I guess he doesn’t know any better. How could someone not know?
Its gotta be everyone else is doing it so my extra bit wont matter.
Could he even think he’s giving back to sea? Maybe it if was left over food, he would be. But plastic is about the worst thing one can do to the environment.
Daanbantayan is all one word, I shouldn’t have put that capitalization there though.
I think people in rural areas just don’t have any ideas what rubbish can do to the environment or to the sealife from which many of them obtain their livelihoods from. Look at dynamite fishing. This has been going on from since I can remember. Sad to see Filipinos are still practicing this dangerous and destructive fishing. I guess, for the Filipino’s point of view, what matters is now. If I have a peso everytime I hear that word “bahala na bukas” (I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes) from a Filipino, I could have retired years ago. Even here, Filipinos still say the same words when in trouble!
You’re welcome Adrian. Perhaps more govt. education regarding environemtal conservation might help? I think these days, even the poorest of families have access to TV (is this right?). Therefore some campaign might help.
I did looked it up, there’s definitely more websites discussing about Daanbantayan and Bantayan Islands. Very beautiful places. Sometimes, I don’t blame Filipinos for wanting to put up with poverty rather than leave their beautiful island.
I know a Filipina here who come from Bantayan Island. When she told me she came from there. I said to her “you must be mad to leave such a beautiful place!”. She said “what can I do? I fell in love”
Thanks Rusty! Hope we can go windsurfing with Adrian sometime. Adrian wrote me yesterday. I’ve got to find some gear over in the Philippines so I can go.
I hope we get to as well. That guy with the freestyle windsurfing was pretty cool.
What does a rig cost? $1000?
Interesting discussion here.
Anyway, to Rusty, a brand new board is around $1000 while the sail rig is another $1000. I got mine at $1500 because my board is a used one.
Jeff, have you contacted Horst yet? I will be sending my torn sails to him tomorrow for repair. He actually has a windsurfing school and sail repair shop in Boracay. He is very friendly and offers a very reasonable price for his gears.
While in the subject of Daanbantayan, we might go there this May 1. A friend who was folks from there is inviting us over for fiesta! It would be great to go to Bantayan Island for the next two days.
Adrian and Rusty,
I too am on a budget. It’s been a while since I windsurfed. I want to start out slow – looking for a used windsurfing rig for around $500. I might just need to ship my gear over from Utah. Down the road I’m considering the BIC Jungle 4 in 1 board and rig for $1700 plus shipping from BIC. It’s a Windsurfer, Paddleboard, Surfboard, Kayak all in one. No wind, no problem, pull out the paddle and go paddleboarding. I’ve got a lot of research to do before I would buy it, though. Plus, got to earn some bucks before I buy anything over $500.
Hope you sell your stuff so you can get what you want. See you guys on the water sometime. Rusty, I can give you some pointers on beginning sailboarding when we hook up sometime.
Aloha,
Jeff
Hey Jeff, would be glad to meet you. Hope we get the chance sometime!
Okay, gloat Adrian, make us drool.
Hope you have fun. Bantayan is first on the list of my “must visit list”. I plan to arrive on a Friday, so will try to go to Bantayan Sat.
The lightning season just started so maybe we can hit the water in 1 to 2 months yet. Good thing also because I’m sending my torn sail to Boracay for a panel replacement.
First its urchins, now its lighting. man you’re just a bag full of fun. LOL
Haha. Actually it’s sea urchins, jellyfishes, sea snakes, rip currents, sudden squalls (somebody did die in Taiwan last week kiteboarding), sudden wind shifts, sudden wind absence (when you’re far offshore), equipment failure, then lightning!
Well, that makes windsurfing special. You’ll never know what you’re gonna get everytime.
I know about the sea snakes and know you have to really harass them to get them to bite. Once bitten, your in massive trouble.
I saw something about kite boarding the other day about a kite boarder that got into trouble when a gust of wind carried him up about 300 feet. he caught just enough air on the way down to survive and a new quick release harness has been invented because of that episode. I guess the guy in Taiwan didn’t read that memo? But the guy i saw pulled up was pulled upward so fast I don’t know if one would have a good chance of getting loose.
Sudden squall, we had a storm in Bogo come out of no where last year that ended up being classified as a Typhoon, after it was over. That’s pretty sudden!
I read a story about a year ago that indicated that the Philippines has the highest incidence of death due to sea snake bites.
It usually happens when they end up in fisherman’s nets.
No idea if that’s accurate but that’s what the story said.
Adrian you must have a typo there? You paid more for a used board?
I’ve got too many other requrements on my funds right now to buya nything like that. Though if my credit card company increased my credit line by 2 grand, I’d probably by that camera I want so much.
Jessie just left to go pick up my under water camera which will be awesome for Bantayan Island, especially once I go snorkeling. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go any where this month or next month. Gotta build savings back up since I blew it last month.
I hate budgets! Why can’t I just be filthy rich?
I moved some of the converstions to “Questiions” page but I will rename it “The Breeze” like I did on other sites. Its always just a matter of time where there are lots of comments before the comments end up on anything but the post topic. That’s okay, its only natural.
Rusty, the $1500 already includes the board and the rig, 500 for the board, 1000 for the rig. Sorry for that.
Anyway, on the topic of credit cards, two years ago, I had seven active cards with debt totaling 400 grand. I became very hostile with the collection personnel of the cards because i always pay late. After I paid them all, I never had another credit card.
To Jeff, if you are still looking for a rig, I might sell mine. I plan to buy a full race gear and I would need every penny that I’ll get from selling my gears. I was also selling my sailboat dinghy for this endeavor.
I will echo what Rusty said, why cant we be just filty rich??? lol
PS Rusty, I accessed your site yesterday from our house using smart bro and I got a message that the IP was banned? What does that mean?
Adrian, I think Rusty is having problems with a few IP’s. Smart Bro might be one of them. I think he’s sorting it out.
Re-credit cards, I want to get rid of them, but 99% of ISPs here only accept credit card payments – same with Paypal. So it’s a necessity. Pain in the bum, but a necessity.
If dovorce tend to clean you out, wouldn’t that make sense to have a separate account? I’m a big believer in separate accounts. That way you can see what’s actually yours. Like you might think you’ve got $50,000 this morning, but if you share accounts, you might find this $50,000 is reduced to $30,000 by night time.
I think it also discourages dependency. That’s my theory anyway…..
Adrian, got a guy stalking me. I banned a couple of ISP’s. I thought they were much smaller than what they may be. I don’t understand why you would get that message on Smart. I’ve removed the bans now. I’m not going to keep users out because of one. I can handle it another way.
Hey, go charge me a car and the Cannon DSLR I want now that you have your lines of credit open again. LOL
I need to go wind surfing so I can write a new article about it as this one is just not staying on the subject any more. That’s very natural though, one conversation always leads to more.
Adrian, dang you sell that sail boat before you teach me.
I wish I could buy it. how much?
Rusty, I am referring to my biggest sail (8.2 m2) which I will offer for sale so I can buy a bigger sail (10 m2). You wouldn’t want to learn on this big sails though.
In windsurfing schools, they teach with a 3.7 m2 sail. I still have the 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 sail though which my gf uses and will bring when we will travel near to your place (so you can write about your first experiences on a windsurf board).
The sailboat I am offerring for sale is a snark sunchaserII dinghy.
http://www.castlecraft.com/sunchaser_two.htm
I am not using it anymore because I am pre-occupied with windsurfing. I was offering this for half the price of the brand new (bnew is $ 3,850) with free shipping. This should give me funds for the formula gear I am eyeing. I have two interested buyers already but arent final yet
Rusty, I am referring to my biggest sail (8.2 m2) which I will offer for sale so I can buy a bigger sail (10 m2). You wouldn’t want to learn on this big sails though.
In windsurfing schools, they teach with a 3.7 m2 sail. I still have the 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 sail though which my gf uses and will bring when we will travel near to your place (so you can write about your first experiences on a windsurf board).
The sailboat I am offerring for sale is a snark sunchaserII dinghy.
http://www.castlecraft.com/sunchaser_two.htm
I am not using it anymore because I am pre-occupied with windsurfing. I was offering this for half the price of the brand new (bnew is $ 3,850) with free shipping. This should give me funds for the formula gear I am eyeing. I have two interested buyers already but arent final yet
Perhaps you’ll get yet another buyer or two interested. As you know, I’m very much int he rebuilding my life stage so I have very little fun money. If I had that much fun money, I’d spend it on a camera.
I don’t think one can ever have too much fun money or camera equipment. 
No windsurfing school around here?
Even if your not near my place, I may be able to meet you. Depends on the state of my budget.
Pension houses don’t cost a lot. 
Are their resorts on Camotes (sp) Island? I’ve seen pictures of it that a friend took. He also had pictures of the sea snake they caught. I thing I would have left that thing alone.
The nearest school is in Boracay. With very cheap fares nowadays, that should not cost a lot.
The owner of one of the schools in Boracay actually had a plan to set up a school here at Tambuli resort. That was two years ago when I met her to get one of the parts of the boom. I dont know if it did take off.
I already have the pictures in my blog about Camotes Island. If you enjoy camping, that’s got to be the best beach camp I ever went to and costs only 50 which you pay to the barangay. The cheapest private room I saw there was 700 a day.
One thing not in my immediate future for certain is wind surfing lessons. Just don’t have the income for that on a regular basis. I’m living on retirement income. That’s the main reason I moved here.
Though a female instructor would be a plus. 
Adrian, do you have pics of Camotes Island? My Mum had friends there and I spent my holidays there in 1976. I fell in love with the place. I wanted to visit there last year, but my daughter refused to ride in a boat. I think there’s a few foreigners there now. Not then.
Christine, yes, you can find pics in my blog:
http://cebuwindsurfing.blogspot.com/
Rusty, I agree with you. I also dont like to spend money on “not so worth it” things. I didnt go to windsurfing school, just researching through the internet and asking around in forums. It’s actually more rewarding to spend the least amount of money to get the most benefits.
I wouldn’t mind spending it but its way down the list of things I’d spend money on. Water heater, furniture, motor bike, (well rather jusut get a car but probably should get something), even membership at san remigio would come first along with the dive lessons. Camera would come before wind surfing lessons. maybe I shouldn’t do it ever cause if I love it then i’ll want a board. LOL
Naw, I want to try it. Been walking a lot, trying to get in better shape so it wont kill me. I’ve also been smoking too many of those cigars. I gotta cut back as I can feel some congestion in my chest now. I hate that… LOL
Re: sea snakes
Yes, I think it’s logical because since we have lots of reefs and lots of fishermen, we are more prone to the danger.
When I was in camotes, I was about to jump off the board beside a sea snake appearing to be resting. One false move and it could be BAM! Good thing I noticed the thing first so I sailed off farther.
Sea snakes are shy creatures actually and will not attack unless provoked. I always see them wiggling above the water but quickly dives when you are approaching them.
And yes, most sea snakes are poisonous.
Sea Snake is a species and is always poisonous but not every snake in the sea is a sea snake.
The banded sea snake is what seems to be in these waters. There another version, I THINK the spotted and it is much more aggressive. I’ve been learning about these things since I was 8 years old. Not that everything I learned was true.
My first observation of them was on a TV show. Probably Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. My cousin and I watched it every Sunday afternoon. And they made the snakes into these super dangerous creatures that would attack.
A few years back, there were some scientist, I THINK they were scientist, that were catching these things by hand. They were coming to the surface in this show to breed I think. The banded sea snake or sea crate wouldn’t bite but there was a danger of grabbing a spotted sea snake instead. Seemed extremely foolish to me if there was a danger of grabbing a snake that would kill you.
Its TV though, they have to ad some drama to it. Complete with scary music.
A lot of the shows try to scare you to death. I’ve had to relearn a lot so I wouldn’t be afraid to go diving when I finally get the chance to do so. That might take another year but the dream is in target.
I will be going with a guide for the near future, in part, to learn what Ii can and cannot touch.
I know lion fish are a bad idea. 
That tiny nearly invisible jelly fish you guys have here are scary to say the least!
We’ve seen a dead jelly fish (bigger one) and a dead snake in the last week at the wharf. The snake had bands but didn’t have the flattened out tail that sea snakes usually have. Or always have The snakes bands were not as bright as they should be but since its head was missing, its hard to know if the colors were still natural. Probably not.
Jessie said with the warmers being warmer this time of year, they are more likely to come into the shallows.
It is really hard to find out information about the wild life of the Philippines. Jessie didn’t even know that they have deer here. That has to change if the Philippines is going to be serious about protecting the environment.
The other problem is the dense population. I saw last night where it was said the Philippines have about 96 million people. The US has 350 million. The land mass of the us is probably 500 times larger than the PI. But we have only 3.5 times the number of people. That should make conservation even more difficult here.
I think I see signs of progress regarding the environment but it is in its infancy and I fear its just lip service. You’re obviously a highly educated Filipino. What has been your experience regarding learning about the wild life in the Philippines?
My guess has been with so many people limited t one meal of rice a day, that there are more urgent issues for the PI government to work on rather than animals.
And yes, there is corruption here. Its every where but maybe still more prevalent here. Funds sometimes get diverted for personal use. I no longer believe its as wide spread as most kano make it out to be. There’s corruption every where though.
hey, i started a post partially about wind surfing at Living In The Philippines.
Guys:
I am pretty amazed with wind surfing. I am based in Medellin Cebu and often the Habagat caters good wind to surf. I am looking for windsurf gear that is already used. hope you guys could help me. Best Regards!
How brave is that litlle dog! well done to the author for a great article.
It is a nice picture, I didn’t take it but borrowed it from a friend.
Sorry but I links can be to G related sites only.