;-)
Visiting the (non HK) extended family in`laws actually ;-)
Car engine (motoring link ;-) in a narrow wooden boat with bamboo outriggers. The propshaft was held in by wooden blocks and kept jumping out. A days travel out from Tacloban getting dark and surrounded by islands (one was destination) west of Catbalogan - but all a mile or two away. Suddenly pitch black as the tropical sun dived straight into the sea - a glow on the horizon as everyone on the island turned out with paraffin lanterns...
Yes, Lud. A firefly as bright as a small bulb.. mislead you with toe sucking - sorry. Nibbling more like - sharks actually - seen following the inter island ferries.....
That night yet another fever set in as rock music boomed from large speakers and car batteries charged on the mainland.... In the morning we pulled a trawl net and went to an even smaller uninhabited island - cooking fish wrapped to steam in banana leaves.
Later - went up a river on Samar on one of these boats - crawled through a limestone cave system encountered lots of bats and droppings - later still unable to walk - dragged onto plane only to black out and admitted to Changi hospital (unknown virus) on the first stop.
I could see cars from the window (second motoring link) the Boss took advantage and became well known in the shops in Orchard road.
Arrived home and took a month to recover. Have done this trip every few years (now 20 years) last time around two years ago - became familiar with Betthany hospital on that occasion... Arrived home (just) pneumonia - too much AIRCON..
;-)
Edited by oilrag on 23/02/2009 at 18:43
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Aww shucks, that's pretty much exactly what I was about to guess, doubt you believe me though.. LOL
Thanks for the entertainment Oily...
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I didn't think of a powered dugout. But am glad to say got the general picture in all its glory.
Do be careful what you eat and breathe and take the prescribed pills though oilrag. You don't want to be killed by what you love.
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This is the cave system
tinyurl.com/dn6xlt
Edited by oilrag on 24/02/2009 at 06:02
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Did you go from Basey, up the Golden River in a motor-boat to Sohoton cave, along the walkway, finally by dug-out (near where you can jump off a rock into the river), and get fleeced 200p for a couple of paraffin lamps?
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 24/02/2009 at 10:38
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I think the were 90 Pesos to the pound at the time FT - given the local conditions I would never call that being fleeced ;-).
This was the start of the river
tinyurl.com/bby8fe
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So you followed off to the left you would've come to a sort of bandstand, and near it a short concrete jetty (where I have sat, drinking tuba).
Can you remember what the small island is called, just over 1km out from Basey?
WRT local conditions, yes - some people, especially in cities, have only what they stand in. However, the point about the lamps is "relative", if you get my meaning.
Don't get me started on corruption.
I generally prefer taxis "non-aircon".
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 24/02/2009 at 11:43
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Can`t remember the names near Basey FT. But it was Maputi island west of Catbalogan that i was referring to in the original post.
It`s the plants and insects that really interest me. we have temperate bamboo groves in our garden and I`m always interested in the tropical giants.
Lud, did you see any similar fireflies when you were in Africa? Boarding the sea cat at Ormoc (to Cebu) and looking down into the water - saw a fish about a yard long snatch another - priceless wildlife in action to me - unnoticed normality to locals.
Incidentally - the France trip has now been re-scheduled to May and we are returning to Leyte at the end of next week. Keeping it to 7 days this time as i`m always in trouble health wise after ten - last two trips in hospital..;-)
Will bring more of a motoring context (sorry about this thread mods) to the resultant thread - perhaps with some wildlife included..
;-)
Edited by oilrag on 24/02/2009 at 17:57
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Saw fireflies in my insouciant youth in Sri Lanka of course, but the best ones I can remember in adult life were in New Jersey actually...
I like seeing a bit of nature too, while it's still there. Whenever my daughter saw a decent looking beetle in Oz she would make her husband put it on his arm and photograph it. Got a few frames but don't know how to post them.
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What were the fireflies like Lud? I`m interested as i`ve only seen them in my above mentioned location. From memory, they emitted a surprisingly (to me) bright green light - about a second on and then off repeating at the same frequency as they flew.
I grew up very much in rural Yorkshire as a boy - always out in the fields and woods - but never saw anything like it.
Those were the days when my best mate was a traveller and his father took us to Manchester in his V8 Ford pilot - for a no expense to me day out at the funfair - in particular the big wooden roller coaster called `The Bobs`
Edited by oilrag on 24/02/2009 at 18:14
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The ones in Sri Lanka were, well, fireflies. One tends not to be a close observer when under ten.
The ones in New Jersey - in a piece of private woodland near Princeton - appeared at or just after dusk under some trees. They flashed on and off but weren't flying in straight lines or going anywhere: they were flying up and down between say a foot and six feet off the ground under some trees. Amazing spectacle, very pretty. I liked the sound of the cicadas or crickets on the great plains at night too, music.
We get non-flying glow worms in Sussex at certain times of the year, but I haven't seen any recently and nor has my wife. Doesn't mean they aren't there though.
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