Day 5 - Aug 10

Second day in Bohol. Another early day. We were going to watch some dolphins. The waters were rough due to a low pressure area in Luzon. We saw three dolphins only. We then proceeded to Balicasag island. My in-laws and son went snorkeling. I stayed on the beach with my daughter and wife.

The water was warm and the waves were strong. I get knocked out while sitting down on the beach. I got to talk to some locals there. It's quite sad that there is poverty. The boat driver and his assistant are paid Php 200 per trip. That's about CA$5 per trip!

I got sun-burned. We came back to Panglao island at 9:30. We just stayed in our room to sleep. We had lunch at the restaurant right beside the hotel. Food was excellent, mostly grilled. I had not tasted real Philippine mango for 11 years. It is sooooo delicious. Very different from a similar mango we buy in Victoria.

In the afternoon, we went to the Baclayon church again to see the museum. It is quite sad that the museum is not maintained. But, one of the things I saw were the old vestments, articles and even a sacramentary made of carabao hide and skin. I also saw the silver altar and also several other articles.

It was a slow but restful day. We had dinner. I had grilled squid. And called it a day quite early. We found a place that is a lot cheaper than the hotel's restaurant.

I was watching TV and saw something that irritated me. It seems that every advertisement had Gloria Arroyo's face or name. Is this woman so insecure of her legacy that she has to remind people of what she did? It is quite interesting that all government billboards say it is her project. However, if one looks at it, it is not HER project, because it is taxpayers' money that she spends.

Unless she uses her own money to finance the projects, she cannot claim it is her project! This goes for all her cabinet secretaries also. They have their faces posted on billboards. This is such a shameful deed. This is what one can expect from a shameless government.

What a way to end the day! Lesson learned - do not watch Philippine TV before going to bed.