Snorkeling, playing poker and birding

Well, I am still here and enjoying myself. However, I am discovering, as the newness wears off that it is simply a continuation of my life. As the old saying goes, “Wherever you go… there you are.” Haha. That being said I am happy with how things are. My new apartment (actually 2 large 1 room apartments each with a bath, one above the other) is so close to what I envisioned that I can’t think of anything I would change. My balcony view is a garden area and the South China Sea just beyond. No sand beach, just a low sea wall (kind of nice since this means no people) but a sand beach is about 75 yards down the small access road. I have gone snorkeling a couple times but the waters near my apt are not very interesting. Just today I went exploring and found a Marine Sanctuary where fishing isn’t allowed and the reef is protected about 12 miles from me. I didn’t bring my snorkel but was told that the coral and variety of fish is world class. I plan to make it there soon (maybe tomorrow).

My days are uneventful but fun. After breakfast I head to one of the local pool halls to match up or to one of the 2 Texas Hold-em games I found. It has been pretty interesting. They are both no-limit games and the betting feels very big-time but really only amounts to less than $30. It sounds (and feels) very exciting to hear (or say) “all in for 800” (about $17). Both games are an interesting mix of Filipinos and all are affluent. Lawyers, businessmen and once the vice-governor of the province. Dealers are there like a casino game. Been quite an education in my quest to play better and for insight into the culture here. Although, no doubt I'll have better results in both areas once I can understand the local dialect. I know a lot of info is passed around that I'm not privy to.

I have done a little birding and found sort of a field guide. The only birds that seem at all familiar is a sparrow resembling the House Sparrow. Other than that, there seems to be no species even similar to the U.S. except maybe the Sea Eagles and the wide variety of colorful kingfishers (none of which are the same as the ones in the Americas). I brought a hummer feeder but guess what?… no hummers. Only a similar sized bird with similarly long (but curved) beak species called Bee-Eaters. They are extremely colorful (or so they look in the photo guide, lol). I have seen a few different (and interesting) species but none of the spectacularly colored ones yet.