8 days in Siargao Island

[Queenie O.]

2 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I believe at least some of it is due to the relatively new wealth in some of these still poor countries. Wealth in poor countries??? Yes. So many have workers off island and in foreign countries or relatives who have moved to more well-off nations and money is sent back. So suddenly the islanders can afford junk food, whether from NZ, Oz, USA, Europe, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia? Before, they munched on coconuts, cooked taro or kasava sugar cane or other locally grown and cooked crops. Depending on the location, the boys drank tuba (fermented coconut sap) or kava (from the root of a type of pepper plant) to socialize and get their buzz on. There was no Tanduay or Bounty rum and no beer.

 

Possibly Tommy--I'm not sure. I'm not sure how much conservation is taught in local schools over time. We've asked our neighbor kids if their teacher discusses such things, and they said yes. Littering seems just second nature. Even among adult local fisherman there is a real disconnect at times it seems about the environment that they might depend on to make a decent living or to just to feed their family. Caring for surroundings doesn't come in to play it seems for some. Not to mention that on a larger scale having more tourism draws might come from more efforts to keep environments clean. Lack of emphasis on the environment over some generations has become a problem here and around many parts of the  the world up to now I think.

There have been some efforts by local government in our area to sponsor neighborhood plantings of donated mangrove seedlings by some local citizens with local fund stipends as an incentive. Maybe more of these acts like these will educate and impact over time. I hope so.

Back in the day, rum and local coconut wine might have been drunk from eco friendly coconut shells

[Tommy T.]

22 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

There have been some efforts by local government in our area to sponsor neighborhood plantings of donated mangrove seedlings by some local citizens with local fund stipends as an incentive. Maybe more of these acts like these will educate and impact over time. I hope so.

 

Exactly! L also tells me that there was a sponsored event to plant a bunch of tree seedlings to replace some previously forested areas. I contributed something for the cause to essentially pay for drinks and snacks since the seedlings, themselves were donated. What a wonderful idea to get the kids outside to plant and enjoy the outdoors too!

I have hope, Queenie, but I am afraid it will take some time to slowly change the thinking. And L and I plan to assist with planting more trees in our own way too.

[bastonjock]

11 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Sadly, AK, and others, the rubbish found on the beaches is not just from Philippines. In fact, lots of it washes up from Indonesia and Malaysia. I have looked at plastic bottles and so many come from other places. Sure, Philippines is a major violator - how many times do I observe people , especially kids just drop bottles or empty junk food plastics wherever they go - but they are not the only ones. You would not believe the amount of plastic and other rubbish I have found on some of the most remote beaches in the world - toothbrushes, plastic and glass bottles, never matching flip flops... It's truly disgusting.

A buddy of mine was on an island called "las perla " part of Panama, the island is uninhabited , beautifull beaches etc then you get close and see the beaches are littered with plastic rubbish 

[bastonjock]

On 2/28/2020 at 10:45 PM, -A- said:

Starting a new thread since I didn't want to sidetrack another one

Last year on a 4 week holiday in PI I spent 8 days on Siargao and not only is it one of my favourite places in PI it's one of my favourite places in the world. Very clean with hardly any rubbish or plastic on the streets, beaches or in the sea. Anyway below is a 4 minute video I made which shows a lot of the island and surrounds including Magpapunka rock pools, Sugba lagoon and Sohoton Cove.

I wanted to share some of these experiences which help to explain why I love the Philippines and Filipino people especially when you get away from the cities and tourist areas.

The children on the beach

I rode my scooter down to a place called Secret Beach to the south of General Luna with the intention of going for a swim. But it was low tide so I would have had to wade out several hundred metres whilst trying not to tread on any rocks so I just sat down on the beach to relax and soak it in. Soon after these local kids came over wanting to chat, maybe I was a novelty since I suspect they don't get too many foreigners there. Anyway they were lovely kids, all smiles and after a while one of their brothers who would have been about 12 came over. They told him I wanted to go swimming so he offered to take me out in his canoe. So I helped him drag it down to the water and we jumped in and paddled out far enough that I could slip over the side and go swimming. Then when we got back in and before I left I took them all across the road to a little shop and bought them a treat each.

The dancing men

One day I rode around the island and got a bit lost so pulled over to check my map. As luck would have it there were a group of 7 or 8 men having a party in their front yard and they saw me and motioned for me to come in. I ended up staying for a few hours  It was a Sunday afternoon and they had music playing and I was offered beer, a few actually, and some freshly caught crab. And then a few started doing that dance you see and they wanted me to join them. Which I did and I did my best to copy that style of dancing I think it even has a name? Anyway they thought it was the best/funniest thing they'd ever seen  Eventually I had to leave but it was a lot of fun, no scamming or ulterior motive just a bunch of men having a good time and sharing it with a stranger. 

I've had a lot of these types of experiences on my trips and I look forward to more in the future.

Beautiful place , the only thing that I did not like was the sign at the cove saying foreigners pay more 

[Arizona Kid]

4 hours ago, Queenie O. said:

My husband and I live near the sea, and sometimes we have local neighbor children on a saturday picking up trash (with gloves) and we collect many sacks over the course of a morning, that we have picked up on trash day.  With a small payment, a snack and a simple mini lecture about them having helped in a small way to save the ocean, we have a fun morning.  Win win

Sounds like a fun time. Maybe next time though, encourage the children to ask their parents to not throw their garbage into the rivers. For the uninformed..that's how it gets to the oceans in the first place. They might be picking up their own trash. 

[Arizona Kid]

11 hours ago, Guy F. said:

Arizona Kid strikes again. What a killjoy. Always with the negative waves.

 

12 hours ago, Guy F. said:

Arizona Kid strikes again. What a killjoy. Always with the negative waves.

Sometimes the truth hurts.

[Arizona Kid]

7 hours ago, scott h said:

Here in the Philippines the term "you get what you pay for!" really, really applies! 

You want clean beaches you have to go to a resort. 

There isn't. It isn't the culture here. I looked and looked for the before and after pictures of the popes visit.

In Korea when the crowds left there was zero trash. Here in Manila, if I remember correctly there were 14 garbage trucks full.  Just the way it is 

 

[Arizona Kid]

2 hours ago, bastonjock said:

Beautiful place , the only thing that I did not like was the sign at the cove saying foreigners pay more 

I've heard about that but I thought they stopped doing it. Maybe they figure that the locals can't afford as much?

[Queenie O.]

1 hour ago, Arizona Kid said:

Sounds like a fun time. Maybe next time though, encourage the children to ask their parents to not throw their garbage into the rivers. For the uninformed..that's how it gets to the oceans in the first place. They might be picking up their own trash. 

Well AK that may or may not be the case, but we're just doing a little towards local awareness, and getting a minuscule amount of trash out of the sea nearby. Reaching the generation before is a tough call. You know that saying--light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.

[manofthecoldland]

39 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

Well AK that may or may not be the case, but we're just doing a little towards local awareness, and getting a minuscule amount of trash out of the sea nearby. Reaching the generation before is a tough call. You know that saying--light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.

I'll have to agree with the optimistic sentiment, and more positive, active approach re this blight. 

"Better to light a candle..."

Courtesy of my HS freshman English teacher, who made us memorize 10 quotes while studying Shakespeare's -Merchant of Venice- .......

"How far that little candle throws his beam !    So shines a good deed in a weary world. "

Thanks for the kind acts, Queenie O.