Its been a busy month! Angelica's 4th birthday party was great fun. We had a magician who entertained children and adults alike. He was also useful for helping to explain the rules of the English party games to some of the local girls (pic) from the park Angelica plays with as they don't speak such good English. Mario did us proud as usual with a fantastic lasagna for the adults whilst Marc made bolognese for the kids - traditional; party food here is spaghetti and hot dogs! Angelica got more toys than she knew what t do with but the magician was the biggest hit. He made birds appear (very unPC) which she absolutely loved! She also "graduated" from pre nursery to nursery with all the pomp and ceremony of a high school graduation!
I have been to Calicoan island in Samar. Wonderful place - Pacific coast and very different from elsewhere in the Philippines. It was great to see waves again. Stayed at Surfcamp a lovely resort there. (Pic)Went for workshop so only 1 night - a little pricey at P6000 for a family trip. They hope to reopen an old US military airport down there which will make whole area more accessible. Samar has been experiencing terrible weather and there have been landslides and flooding. We were lucky and had a small window of dryer weather. There summer is July August so definitely a possible location for visitors who arrive in the Manila rains. Finished off a Leyte Park hotel on way back where I took my lovely San Miguel pic.
Meanwhile molly Mario and Marc had a few days in Hong Kong. Marc had to leave to renew his visa. Mario and Marc then went off to the rice terraces (pic) they did it over 3 nights and managed to also get to Bontoc.I must get there with a future guest as too far (and probably too boring) for the kids! Its overnight buses in each direction.
We all went off to Mayamaya beach resort overnight last weekend and recharged the batteries. (Pic)Summer seems to have arrived suddenly with the temperatures shooting up to 32 degrees. The kids have broken up from school for 2.5 months so the next challenge is to keep them occupied. I thought 6 weeks in the UK was bad enough.
Gianna has made here commercial debut with a TV ad for Jolibee.She managed to earn more in 6 hours than I do with 3 weeks! They have very strict child labour laws here (although u might not know it from kids on streets selling stuff) I had to go to the employment of labour to have all the rules explained including that she must get at least a third of the money and it has to be put in bank account with her name!
Work is busy - been learning how to edit and make films for my new KM tools! Frustrating at first but easy once you know how! Also introduced the new In country training programme which aims to integrate a learning approach from day one as volunteers arrive. Also new itinerary for our Manila tour which includes a boat trip down the Pasig river. Great way to see a different side of Manila away from the pollution. Theres the slums and kids fishing for rubbish as well as wealthy riverside dwellings. Masses of old industrial land - who knows one day if they clean up the river could be worth a fortune - look at Liverpool and Glasgow in UK! The ferries are clean and airconned and the waiting stations modern and new. At P45 for a 50 min trip from Guadalupe to Intramuros its another great day out!
As usual some great night out - after party of maroon five ( wasn't sure who they were but party was Ok)- BIG plans afoot for the main event next weekend - Will keep u posted
