Yet another trip to Tacloban

I was back down in Tacloban this week for some workshops and to see some of the shelter reconstruction projects still underway for from Typhoon Haiyan.  The 4:45AM flight down did mean that I got to see an amazing sunrise over Mt. Mayon (one of the more active volcanoes in the Philippines) as we flew down.  

return trip to Coron

I had a quick trip to Coron this week to see some of the fisheries and marine and coastal management work that is being done out there.  Upon take off from Manila you could really see the algal blooms near the fish farms.

We first went to Culion, the former leper colony.  While I'd been before, we didn't have a chance to actually go into the town or see the historic museum.  It was interesting (and sad) to see the history of the colony that was started by the Americans in 1906.  There were two gates that marked the end and the beginning of the colony and they even had their own currency minted since there was so much fear that leprosy would be spread if people shared money.

Jellyfish season in is full force.  This one was bigger than a basketball.

We then stopped at the Marine Protected Area called Siete Pecados where they installed signs that were recently made by students as reminders on how to conserve the area.

And to end the day a stop off at Kayangan Lake to talk about conservation and visit the most photographed/famous view in Coron.

PH Independence Day on Tarak Ridge

For the 3 day weekend for Philippine Independence Day we did a backpacking trip up Tarak Ridge at the southern-most tip of the Bataan Peninsula.  This was my 2nd trip to the ridge, but this time due to the crowds and the heat, we decided to camp below the ridge line and instead leave at 3:30AM to summit and catch sunrise.  It was an early morning, but saved us from hauling so much water up to the ridge for an overnight.

Tacloban (again) and diving (again)

Sometimes you spend you entire day talking about septage management.

And other days you get to fly on the Pacquiao plane for your AM commute down to Tacloaban.

It wouldn't be a complete trip to Leyte Province without a quick stop at the Leyte Landing Memorial.  I never get tired of visiting MacArthur here.  On this particular trip to Leyte, we were inaugurating the new building for the Leyte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office with the Governor, one of the activities we have been supporting as part of the Typhoon Haiyan recovery activities (the capacity building side, not the physical construction of the building).  

A little down time before the flight

Then it was back to Manila on Friday night and down to Sabang on Saturday AM for some diving and spectacular sunsets.