Yesterday I woke up to a relentless chopping noice, punctuated every now and again by an earth shaking crash.
There were many dismayed faces here in Angol as we witnessed the destruction of the beautiful old 'fire tree' which has for so long been a part of our scenery. This huge, majestic tree has stood on the vacant lot between Alyssa Resort and Red Pirates for years. Every season it erupts into blazing red bloom, and carpets the ground below it with millions of red petals. A real sight to behold.
But sadly, a few months ago this plot of land was sold, and the new owner has hired a gang of local guys to strip it of all it's foliage.
Quite a crowd gathered nearby to protest, and asked the workmen if they had a permit to cut all the trees. But they just carried on regardless.
For us, it almost felt like losing an old friend, which I have known since I first arrived on the island nearly 8 years ago. I even remember Joey pointing it out to me in all it's glory on one of our first dates!
I was so sad to see that lovely old tree being hacked to pieces. For me, it is a symbol of what is happening all over this island, and a reminder of how little time we have left here before Boracay is totally spoilt.

The fire tree had already been destroyed when I took these photos. The guys are finishing off the smaller trees amidst the carnage of wilting red blooms....

People often ask me why it is that I have chosen to live here on this small island in the Philippines, 9000 miles away from where I was born.
At first I was amused by that question - hadn't they, after all, spent a sizeable sum of their hard earned cash on their long awaited two week vacation in 'paradise'? Isn't it a stunningly beautiful, enchanting place, where most people can only dream about residing?
But I thought, on reflection, perhaps they wouldn't really want to live here. Despite those romantic fantasies dreamed up at sunset after too many Pina Coladas, for most people, the sacrifices that they would have to make would be just too great.
Giving up lucrative jobs, houses, family and all the luxuries of city life (after all, how many of us can afford to live permanantly in a nice hotel?) would simply be too much of a transition, despite the beauty and charm of this island.
Most often, two or three weeks is about as much as they can take here without inevitably becoming bored or restless.
Which leads me to the next question they ask - "Don't you get bored here?"
Well sure, sometimes. but no more bored than I was when I lived back in the UK. After all, most people live a life of dull routine in that cold, grey country - getting up at the same time every day, commuting to work, toiling at the same thing over and over, spending the majority of their time doing things thay would much rather not be doing (after all, it's only the lucky ones who truly love their jobs), commuting home again in the traffic and rain. Perhaps meeting the same friends at the same bar as they did last week...
And many people are satisfied with that, or at least they don't consider there to be an alternative.
Perhaps I paint an overly bleak picture of the UK, but that's how it seems to me now, compared to Bora.
Here, at least, I am not stuck to a routine. I can eat when I am hungry, sleep when I am tired and mostly do whatever I fancy. And while I miss my family (and can't help wondering what might have become of my career had I not left England) right now I am enjoying my time here.
Life in the UK seems so safe and sanitised compared to life in the Philippines. While the island now feels like home to me, I still encounter things on an almost daily basis which make me curious, bemused, awed, shocked or downright disgusted. Life here is so much more colourful!
When people ask 'When will you return to the real world?", I'm not so sure I understand the question any more. How can a concrete jungle full of miserable, harassed-looking people be more 'real' than a life living near the sea in a wooden house under the coconut trees, being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.
I'm not interested in that sad city habit of constant meaningless competition with others as to who has the best car, house, job or entertainment system.
I love the feeling that anything could happen here; that on any given day part of my roof could be torn off by a typhoon, or I could put my foot through my bamboo floor (OK, that hurt!) . It certainly makes you look twice when a motorbike passes you on the road with a large dead pig riding pillion on the saddle. It's fascinating to watch my cat playing with a black sea snake on the beach, and awesome when a butterfly as big as a bird lands on your hand. It's funny when you notice that a little gecko has dropped from the rafters and landed in your rum and coke (though somewhat disgusting too, considering it must have been floating around in my glass for quite some time before I noticed it).
I have the time to read books, sketch and paint, make jewelry, explore around the island on our little wooden boat with Joey, or simply enjoy the luxury of doing nothing but swinging in my hammock with only my thoughts to amuse me.
I regularly get to meet fascinating people from all over the world with many interesting stories to tell over a few cold beers in the evening.
True, raining season can be a touch depressing - fewer people around to chat to and too may hours spent sitting inside watching TV, reading, playing board games and drinking too much Tanduay Rum while it pours with rain outside.
The black-outs (locally known as brown-outs) can be a pain in the arse. Candle light is not at all romantic while you are attempting to cook a meal for a group of friends in a small poky kitchen. And a sudden power-outage during a good movie makes me curse with frustration!
Clothes and books grow damp and soggy. Metal things rust, and wooden things get devoured by termites (hence the foot going through the floor). It's tiresome positioning bowls and buckets under newly discovered leaks in the roof, and annoying trying to sleep while listening to the relentless dripping.
Bills have to be paid, responsibilities have to be taken care of, just as they do 'back home' - only without the safety net of Social Security, NHS and family. It doesn't feel so much like paradise then!
But even when the habagat (south-west monsoon) wind is buffeting white beach and huge waves pound the shore during a typhoon, or when I feel an earth tremor under my feet; when the force of nature makes me feel as small as an ant, I like it that way.
Sometimes people ask me "How often do you go home?"
My answer? "Every night, unless there's a particularly good party!"

Joey is certainly the right man to be stuck on a desert island with - here's a step-by-step guide to building your own beach BBQ "Pirate Style"!

1. Find a suitable spot between the rocks or corals and get a fire going. Tip: having some charcoal with you helps immensely! Use twigs, leaves, dry grass or scrap paper to get it going. A squirt of kerosene doensn't hurt either...

2. While your fire is hotting up, find yourself a green branch from a coconut tree (this may involve some climbing). Strip off the leaves and cut the green wood into suitably sized sticks - i.e, the right length to fit over your fire and rest on the surrounding corals.

3. When it's hot enough, place your fish, chicken prawns or whatever on top of the "grill". Another tip: it helps to have brought the food with you, unless you are particularly handy with a spear gun. You might have to wait a long time before you can flag down a passing fisherman!

4. It should be sizzling away nicely by now. You can fan the fire with something to keep the temperature up.

5. Check it's cooked properly, and serve. Don't forget the cold beer!

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away...."

Maria's leaving dinner was just a small affair, but as usual the boys cooked up a storm. I even ventured into the kitchen and inflicted a beef chilli on our hapless guests. They were polite enough to say that they liked it! Unfortunately Dino had to leave at 10 to play at Judes, but Maria stayed for a chat, while it poured with rain outside. It's been doing that a lot lately.
And we seem to have aquired a new little cat, Blackjack. He just turned up at the door a couple of days ago, and I didn't have the heart to chase him away.

I took this shot early this morning after a really heavy downpour. The rain didn't appear to bother the fisherman though - it's all in a day's work.

We all got EXTREMELY wasted at Rumba's 1st anniversary party last night. Despite the cloudburst, a great time was had by all (at least, from what I remember)!

I'm stuck in an internet cafe and it's pouring with rain outside! Bursting for the loo but can't leave! Argh! Here are some amusing optical illusions I found while trying to keep my mind off my bladder! Found a nice review about Red Pirates too: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/396420.html

I was quite content to let my birthday go by quietly, thank you very much. Birthdays which end in a zero are big and scary! Joe and I had a few drinks at Rumbas with Maria and Dino, then we headed to Hey Jude where Joey and the boys got stuck into watching the football - how romantic! Still, I did get sung a lively happy birthday in Korean - that's a first!

Some of my favourite memories from this summer season 2006...

ZUZUNI






























Though in many ways we are saddened by the relentless development of our little island, one positive improvement is in the amount of decent restaurants we can now choose from.
Eight years ago it was considerably harder (though not impossible) to find a decent bite to eat in Boracay. Now, one of our favourite things is to sample as many of the island's culinary treats as our meagre budget will allow!
And a couple of days ago, it allowed us to visit one of Bora's newest restaurants - Zuzuni.
Apparently, in Greek the word 'Zuzuni' mean a bug or pest, but there were none of these to be seen as we settled down at our table!
This new restaurant is owned by the same team behind the popular Greek restaurant Mati in Makati’s Rockwell shopping mall. Tastefully decorated in warm shades of red, with comfortable seating and cosy cream coloured cushions, it was certainly easy to relax, and the service was very efficient. We just ordered light meals - the full menu won't be available until the 'hard opening' some time next week - but we weren't disappointed.
The Chicken Souvlaki (mine) was mouthwatering, and the Lamb Gyros (Joey's) was really tasty too.
I have a feeling we'll be back next week for some more...

The high season has come to an end, and all's quiet in Angol. Not that we really mind - we're not keen on the crowds anyway. Luckily we still have our peaceful little hideaway by the sea - for now.
The wind has changed, and is blowing from the west (known as 'habagat'). White Beach is fresh and breezy, and soon I expect it will be rainy too. It's hard to believe the months flew by so quickly this year.

Missing, presumed dead...
Tommy Boy was a much loved local character, and regular visitor to our bar. We first met this friendly stray about a year and a half ago, when he arrived at the door and politely asked for something to eat. He was ravenous! After that, of course, he popped in most days for a snack. We presume he had been someone's abandoned pet, though he was quite skeletal looking when he came to us.
He was pretty old, and did end up developing a couple of unsavoury habits - he once puked on Rolly's pillow, and he also took to climbing up on the platform in the garden and taking a leak - which was unfortunate for anyone who happened to be sitting underneath!
But despite this, we loved him. He was a gentle old thing, and adored having his ears rubbed. Like me, he spent a large portion of his day sleeping... He also used to balance on the edge of the water butt in the bathroom to get a drink of water, and when he inevitably fell in (more than once) it was hilarious!
The last time we saw him he could barely walk, and looked really sick. He refused to eat or drink anything, and wandered off into the garden, never to be seen again. Poor old Tommy - I'll miss him.

Another sublime sunset in Boracay

Tinker was playing a very dangerous game with this snake last night. She and Tango were chasing it for around an hour, and I was quite worried that one of them would get bitten. It looked to us like a sea snake, though I don't know what it was doing on the beach. Eventually it escaped up a tree. Snake experts needed! Any idea what kind of snake this is?

It seems that this is the week for strange critters - we found this enormous spider in the bar. Check out the skull design on it's back. It's a Pirate Spider!

This really seems to be turning into more of a food blog at the moment! Here's another of our favourite dining haunts, Manana. The restaurant is located on the beach just south of boat station 1, and has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and nice colourful decor. We enjoyed a hearty meal with our new friends from Malaysia, Switzerland and the US. I'm not the expert on Mexican food, but everything we've ever eaten here has been delicious.
Our table was virtually on the beach, in the restaurant's little garden. We started with the potato cake, which I thought would be a simple affair. Not so! It had a lovely crispy crust, and there was cheese inside. The rounded cake was balanced on a bed of refried beans. Not just a side dish! After that, we had the enchilladas - we ordered the mixed plate with a selection of chicken, beef and cheese/veggie. This comes with tasty Mexican rice.
No mention of Manana would be complete without including the famous Frozen Mango Daquiris - they are so huge, you could almost go snorkeling in them.
The evening gets a little hazy after that....!

A couple of days ago, we returned to one of our favourite restaurants near boat station 2, Cafe Breize (pronounced 'Braz'). We used to eat there fairly regularly when we lived in that area, before it became so crowded and we moved south.
As usual, the food was good - I had a Spanish Omelette (I highly recommend adding ham and cheese to this traditional potato and onion recipe, it's delicious) and Joey had the Pork Normand (in mushroom and cream sauce, with pan fried potatoes). The only small complaint is that the service was unusually slow - it took the staff ages to notice us at our garden table, and we had to ask several times for things like salt and pepper. Maybe because the owner is out of town...
Anyway, we'll be back again for the food!