Saturday, September 25, 2010

Lanuza, Surigao de Sur

The View Across the River










'Photo Safari' is wandering the streets with the camera looking for interesting subjects for photography.
Here is an example of Photo Safari - Lanuza, Philippines.
A river flows past the place I am staying. When it reaches the Pacific, sandbars form which makes the waves here.
The light here is just wonderful, especially at sundown.
Enjoy..
Filipino Boy Fishing
Cool Old Building
Future surfer getting a 'taste' of his first board

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Headed South...

The old prop plane


The weather looked nice for my 2 hour flight south to Surigao City. Philippine Air policy for surfboards was to weigh the boardbag [12 kilos] then divide that in half. The result is the charged 112 philippine pesos per kilo. That comes to 672 php, at 44 php per USD thats $15.27 USD maybe the best deal in Manila! 
I boarded to older model prop plane at 11:30 am. We took off on schedule. Then instead of heading south we flew a large circle around the city. The pilot announced that we were landing again in Mainla with a mechanical problem. After a normal landing we sat back down in the terminal. Within an hour or so we boarded another older looking prop plane and took off again. Now...no problems. 
Everybody cheered when we landed.
In Surigao City I found a van headed south to Lanuza.
[200 php + 100 php for the board]


View from the air
I am glad I brought some rope to tie the board
to the roof. 4 hours later and after dark the van drops me at the front door of The Poktoy Surf Haven. Im the only guest at this time as the real surf season is a few weeks away. Its hot here maybe 85* F but a nice seabreeze keeps things comfortable.
Watch for a new blog soon with lots of pics of the resort and the town of Lanuza, Surigao de Sur.
Feel free to share this travel/surf blog with other kind souls.
Peter
My van for the ride south

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Goodbye Manila...

My condo is on the 15th floor of the white building

With a heavy heart I must leave Manila after 10 wonderful days.
I have a 11:30 am flight south to Surigao City on Philippine Air.
Manila is crowded, busy and chaotic city. 
What a contrast to the serenity of the beach area in the south.
Keep checking back for updates from the road.
Feel free to share this with other kind souls.
Peter

There it is!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Manila, Philippines

LAX with my longboard





Greetings from Manila Philippines!.
After a wonderful flight on Korean Air, I am now in a condo here in Manila. 
The check in procedure at LAX was easy. Korean Air gave me a phone quote of $125 to bring the surfboard with a 110" max length. My board with bag was almost 112" I was sweating this as I approached the counter. I arrived extra early in case i had to speed home and dump the board. The travel gods were smiling down on me on this day as the super friendly Korean Air agents never even measured the board just weighed it and sent it thru. Then I was only charged $75! SWEET!
On board the plane seemed new and nice. I sat next to a nice guy from Pasadena headed to Hong Kong on holiday. We shared the same travel strategy of drinking beers till one passed out. I had 7 till I fell asleep for 5 hours. The 12 hour flight to Inchon, Korea was a breeze. I wandered the wonderful new airport during my 2 hour layover till I boarded the 3 hour flight to Manila. Maybe the best trans-Pacific flight I ever had.
Once in Manila I had to convince a taxi to bring my board to the city center. I brought along some rope to lash the board to the roof of the cab. Of course we got some funny looks as we negotiated the traffic [see photo].
The weather is hot and humid as expected. 80s and 90s during the day. The evening brings some powerful thunderstorms with crazy lightning. Im on the 15th floor so the lightning seems to be right on my balcony followed by booming thunder. A golden retrievers worst nightmare!
On Monday I fly Philippine Airways south to Surigao City... but that story is for another blog.
Feel free to pass this along to other kind souls.    Peter.


Manila taxi