1. Manila => Baguio => Cavite

Report 1

Hi Everyone,

We are here in Cavite right now with our niece "Lovely". Later today we will fly to Iloilo where Heide's cousin will pick us up. After arriving in Manila we took a long van ride into the mountains and stayed at Denzil's (Heide's brother) place for a few days in Baguio City. The drivers here are absolutely crazy-- passing trucks on the wrong side of the road. I have yet to see a traffic signal or even a stop sign. I think the van ride took 8 hours twisting up into the mountains with twists and turns. I threw up twice. I vowed not to drive while I'm in the Philippines. Virginia slept through the whole ordeal. We had a lovely time with Heide's brother's family. The kids are all good looking, intellect, creative studying at the local universities and are into art, music, computers, martial arts. In fact, Butch, who is a black belt in karate and a wonderful kid, has become our protector. He watches so Virginia and me stay safe no matter where we wander-- and Virginia loves to wander. Being the only white people in most of the places we go, we stick out like sore thumbs. We don't want to be mistaken for rich American tourists bulging with money. Things like cab rides and food are dirt cheap here. A cab ride rarely reaches more than $2. Our bus ride back to Manila, which was very comfortable and lasted about 7 hours only costs $7 apiece. They showed a Bruce Willis movie on the bus-- one of the die-hard movies with a lot of profanity. I didn't throw up on the trip back to Manila. I didn't have web access in Baguio, but have it here in Lovely's house. The jeepney's are fun. They are gaily-colored buses that you have to bend over to get in and out of. In Baguio I felt like I was in South America-- lots of Spanish influence, people selling live chickens in the street. Saw some men carrying poles with baskets at both ends. It was cool up in the mountains. It's hot and humid here in Cavite, which is two hours from Manila. We'll have to see what it's like in Iloilo, which is a port city. Virginia loves it here. She shares artwork with Mutya. The kids are actually around her age.


Here's a photo that shows Smile on the balcony of Denzil's house-- just outside our apartment.



Here's our visit to the Baguio Military academy-- the Philippines equivalent of West Point. Butch, our protector, is the kid with the goatee. Denzil's wife Marilyn is in the picture. She negotiates with vendors so we won't get ripped off as tourists and get the same price as the locals.


Duane and Heide