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Philippine holiday (part 5)

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OLANGO ISLAND

On Friday,14th of August 2005 we went out to Olango (a small island an hour's boat ride from Mactan) to see Ivy's mother's family, many of whom Ivy hadn't seen for about eleven years. It was a very happy reunion. The small town of Santa Rosa is a very peaceful place after the crowded cities, much more to our liking. Everyone was very friendly and inquisitive. The whole family turned out to see us, from the oldest (Ivy's mother's uncle, aged 99) to the newest one year old arrival. It was a marvellous reunion, hosted in grand style by Ivy's uncle. Charles spent most of the time being absolutely fascinated with the tricycle and clambering about on it, assisted by one of his cousins. We even took in a trip to the bird sanctuary on the tip of the island.

On our way to the island.

To get onto the boat, we had to go on another, smaller boat to ferry us from the jetty. This smaller boat was propelled by the boatman wading in the shallow sea and dragging it to where the main boat was moored. It struck us as a bit weird, and was evidently only necessary at low tide: on our return, the main boat moored up at the jetty in a more normal way.

On the tricycle .... this and motorcycles are the only means of transport in Santa Rosa, apart from feet.

Meet Ivy's clan

Okra

The well

The oldest living member of the clan. Ivy's Mother's uncle, aged 99, with Ivy's Mother, Ivy and Charles - four generations together.

OLANGO BIRD SANCTUARY

The bird sanctuary on Olango is a very important stopping place on the Pacific Flyway, one of the main migratory routes along the edge of the Pacific. Obviously, the best times to visit are therefore the Spring and Autumn migration periods, which this wasn't. And the tide was high, which pushed many of the birds to the far side of the reserve where they were difficult to see. However we did manage to see 16 species: Little Heron, Chinese Egret, Little Egret, Whimbrel, Grey-tailed Tattler, Asiatic Dowitcher, Mongolian Plover, Redshank, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Kentish Plover, White collared Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Olive-backed Sunbird and Spangled Drongo. Though this was very good, and several of the species were new to David, it was very noticeable that this is rather fewer than are found at similar reserves in places like Sri Lanka, Argentina and England. The people at the centre speculated that this is because of the general habitat degradation in the Philippines. It is noticeable that, in general, the species density in the Philippines is lower than many other countries. Some of this is no doubt because small birds are hard to see in tall trees; but an hour's walk around a typical village in the Philippines would find between 5 and 10 species, whereas a similar walk in England would find 15 to 20. This is to my mind a graphic illustration of the impact of mankind on the environment. Those areas where the natural environment remains are so much more precious, and so much worth preserving, for that.

The path that will lead to the best viewing area in the sanctuary

Watching the birds, with the guide from the sanctuary and his telescope. Charles enjoyed looking through the telescope, to the extent of demanding to do so all the time!! We enjoyed seeing all the birds, for which a powerful telescope is absolutely required. Philippa found some interesting lizards, and we all saw some bizarre, brightly coloured crabs. As well as a large snail on one of the trees! Along the coast are mangroves, peculiar in their ability to survive in salt water.

View of Lapu-Lapu City from the boat

On our way back the sea was much rougher; we had to reduce power and head into the direction of the swell to keep the boat stable. Charles didn't seem to mind, and rather enjoyed the ride. We suspect that the passengers on the bigger ferries did not fare quite so well.

(We couldn't resist the first picture - Ivy carrying the heavy rucksack while brother Oliver carried her handbag! What the picture doesn't show is that Oliver also spent a lot of time carrying Charles, which is somewhat heavier ...)

(David couldn't resist the last picture: since his job involves selling pollution control catalysts to heavy lorries, it was entertaining to see one which appears a long way beyond redemption! Fortunately it was made by a company which is currently supplied by one of the competitors ....)

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