A bit of a gas…

We ran out of gas. It was a lot heavier on the way back. I gave the driver a little tip for helping me lift the bottle. I’d say we had a blast, but I’m very thankful that we didn’t!

What’s in a day?

I usually get up between 7 or 8am, have a glass of fruit juice, have some breakfast (usually some small local rolls), heat up some water for a bucket bath, get dressed, fill up a flask with tea (there’s no kettle or fridge at the office) and get ready for work. Somewhere in between there’s usually a fight against the crappy internet signal to try and check Facebook, Twitter, and tennis scores, with varying degrees of success and/or swearing!

It takes less than five minutes to walk to the office, down a dirt road (when it’s dry, down a mud road when it’s wet), up another one, and then I’m more or less there.

Still not a fan…

How to…

Protected: Coming to terms with reality

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The fires of hell

If someone offers you coconut oil with chili extract as a mosquito repellent, just say NO.

Not because it doesn’t work (it does!) but because it burns like the fires of hell. It burns even after you think you’ve washed it all off (twice).

But we will

The first thought that came to mind in response to the outcome of the Australian national elections on Threatened Species Day, 7 September 2013:

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.” – Ansel Adams

The Volcano Diaries (Part 1)

My First Glimpses of Bulusan and Mayon

Mt Bulusan (right) and Mt Mayon (far right) in the late afternoon light

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a minor obsession with volcanoes. I guess it all started with the eruption of Mt St. Helens in 1980, which regularly made the evening news.

The crabs of Biri

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Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge National Park

A few hours up river from the small town of Basey, on Samar, are the Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Natural Park. I recently took a trip there with some friends. It’s a lovely day trip and a great way to see something of the rural Philippines and get a glimpse of what the forests that once covered much of the country would once had looked like.