The goings on in Babatngon

This week, we have continued our coastal survey of Babatngon. I thought I'd let some of my favorite pictures speak for themselves.

The stacks of cut and split mangroves wait at the port to be taken by small boat to the market in Babatngon to be sold for 20 pesos per bundle. About 70 percent of people in Babatngon still cook over wood fire, outside their small nipa houses. Although it hurts the environment and natural filtering that mangroves do, it's a better alternative than burning old tires and cartons to cook over, which is often the case.

I like to call this picture, "Product Placement."

As we waited out a rain storm in our little boat, waiting for waves to subside, these girls looked on, wondering our reason for being in their neck of the woods. They were pleased to get their picture taken.

We do our best, collecting small samples of seagrass and mangroves, so that we can compare them to old dichotomous keys and make fairly accurate identification of the species.

Edwin, and his son, Jibi, who has begun to come along with us on the coastal surveys.

One of the countless rocky outcrops along Babatngon shores. The rocks make for a great substrate on which coral grows. However, decades of unimpeded upland mining and development has washed tons of silt into the ocean, killing a lot of the coastal corals. Such is the case in this area.

Sometimes the water's surface is a torrent of whitecaps and furious waves, and sometimes, like this morning, the water's surface is smooth like a tranquil mirror reflecting a beautiful sky.

The sun splatters on the water like paint on canvas, when it's sunny, a raw heat stings the skin, and when it rains, a raw battery of cool raindrops stings the senses.

With coffee cup, our snorkels, some maps, a pencil and paper, and camera, I'm prepared for another day of swimming and surveys.

The mooring area at the town center, a collection of old boats, broken fishing tackle, and crumbled concrete, all giving way to inertia.

A gorgeous frog we found while trekking up in the mountains one day. The mountains are surprisingly pristine in some areas. The only reason natural areas have not been exploited in some areas is due to folklore of witches in the mountains and deep waters. We didn't see a soul on our hour-long hike.