The Philippines #1

Gary and I are in the Philippines for a 2 week scuba diving trip. It took us about 30 hours to get here: A long drive from Chehalis to the Vancouver BC airport where we left, a 13 hour flight to Hong Kong, a 2 hour flight to Manila, a 4 hour bus ride and a 1 hour boat ride. Add to that layovers, customs etc and we arrived exhausted.

Our first adventure was crossing into Canada. They always ask questions and one of them is if we brought any firearms with us. Not remembering if Gary did or not I asked him if he left his gun at home. The officer asked me what I said and I told her. Well, we were asked to pull over. I had to go inside and when I turned around and looked Gary was being held with his hands behind his back like he was handcuffed. They wouldn't let me stay with him. They searched him, our car and luggage. It all was quite fast but it was a little scary. We didn't have anything to hide which made it better.

On our first day of diving Gary got a headache so he missed the second dive. After lunch I felt very sleepy so I went to bed about 2:00 pm and slept until 6:00 am. I guess I needed the sleep. Gary did the 2 afternoon dives without me. The next day Gary got a headache after the first dive and sat out the next two dives. On the last dive for the day he joined me. My high pressure hose failed so I had to go back to the boat and he finished the dive without me. Today we are headed for Verde Island for 3 dives.

The food here is fabulous! Gary is enjoying seafood everyday. The weather has been warm and sunny and the water temperature has been great. I didn't bring my underwater camera but I will try and take some land pictures today. I know my children are breathing a sigh of relief that I didn't bring my underwater video camera. They don't enjoy watching my videos.