A sunset across the lagoon.
The Deep Blue Resort from the dive boat.
Really a nice place to dive and stay
The Big Bamboo
In 2004 eight Codger Divers went to Grand Cayman. After a hard day of diving we would go to the Big Bamboo Brew Pub, watch the cruise ships sail out of the harbor and drink a few beers. Then we would make Andy drive us home in the Maruti. Weston Robba, the son of Codger Harte Robba, was recently in the Caymans and has reported that the Big Bamboo is no more. Fortunately I saved one of the collectible plastic beer mugs:
It is now a very valuable artifact of the time before the hurricane. I will donate the cup to the Codger Divers Museum for a valuable tax deduction the next time I have any taxable earnings. I went back and found some of my old photos and built a memorial album on Flickr. It was easier than I thought. See Big Bamboo Pictures Here
2004 teaser photo
Bill and Michael
Hurricane Bill struck the coast of Florida last weekend so Codger Diver Michael F. went out paddle boarding. Why ask why. Magi Foster-Grube took this great picture of him styling on an 8′ swell.
Nice photo Magi
Jerry Found
I feel like Columbo. “One more Philippine post….” I’d lost Jerry, our dive-master’s, email address and had to track him down using my CIA techniques. Don’t worry no water-boarding was used in the making of this post. btw Why is it that some people think that water-boarding is wrong but snowboarding is okay?
Jerry is in my estimation the worlds best dive-master and a very good guy. I am using this picture of him as my computer wallpaper. This is a perfect illustration of his style. He is in the background directing an amazing production.
And as one final addition to the Philippines dive trip a small album of the land photos he took.
Including this rare Simon and Howard drinking photo:
Plants that Swim
A couple of weeks ago I posted a bunch of photos of Crinoids.
I know you didn’t believe that they were in fact animals and could swim. So watch this video and see the proof. If you want to save a bit of time go to the two and a half minute mark on the video.
The video was taken by Rainer Otto one of the good people we got to know during the Codger Divers trip to the Philippines. See more of Rainer’s photos and videos here.
Philippines Diving
This is my summary post about our dive trip to the Philippines. You can see all of my posts about the Philippines here:
https://simonburrow.com//archives/category/codger-divers
If you just want to see the pictures click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42316886@N00/collections/72157616453987739/
This is one of my favorite photos:
This dive trip was one of our best and I need to mention the people who made it happen.
- Tom Gorman and all of the staff at Scuba Travel Ventures They organized our trip and they can organize yours.
- Rainer and Toby the chefs at the Atlantis Resorts. Most dive resorts are not known for their food. Atlantis would be worth visiting just for the food. Be sure to try Rainer’s potato salad and Toby’s Sashimi with fresh wasabi.
- Jerry the Worlds Greatest Dive Master. He kept us alive and showed us things that we shouldn’t have seen.
- All of the staff at the Atlantis Resorts and and especially the managers, Bigs at Dumaguete and Richard at Puerto Galera. Where ever we went in the Philippines “we had people.”
Scuba Diving is an excellent hobby at many levels (pun intended) but one of the best thing about it is that it self selects for people who are adventurous, tolerant and fun. Our group of Codger Divers was of course excellent and we met lots of other interesting people in our travels. Sandra, Mike, Paul, Bryan, Kay, Chris, Steve, Goto and many more..Thanks Life Is Good
Nudibranchs, Sea Horses and Clown Fish
These are the little three of exciting things to see on the reef in the Philippines. So I have put together a little slide show of Chris H, Steve D and Gene B’s pictures of Nudibranchs, Sea Horses and Clown Fish on Flickr.
The clown fish were fascinating. They are beautiful and they live in a unique symbiotic relationship with anemones which are poisonous.
The nudibranchs are the newly discovered star of the reef. They are weird, small and easy for the dive masters to show people because they move very slowly. Nudibranch means roughly “lungs outside.”
We saw several different types of sea horses. I only saw the miniature one shown above in the digital photo because it was to small for me to see on the reef through my mask. It is right in front of Jerry’s finger and is about the size of a large grain of rice. In a week and a half of diving Jerry (the worlds greatest dive master) showed us five or six sea horses. In the previous 140 dives I had seen one maybe two. This does not include the elusive red sea horse whose picture you can see by clicking here.
Click on this photo to see the whole set of photos:
you might be able to see the miniature sea horse
Crinoids
Cockfighting in the Philippines
While in the Philippines we went to Puerto Galera to watch the cockfights. We had seen roosters everywhere and when we asked about them Jerry (the worlds best divemaster) had offered to take us.
Cockfighting is still legal in the Philippines in the same way that bullfighting is still legal in Spain. It is a popular sport. The stadium we visited was well built with an enthusiastic crowd shouting for the birds. Here is a video I took of the fights:
My personal opinion is mixed on this issue. In the USA we eat chickens that were raised in little cages. Most of the roosters (males) are killed as soon as their sex can be determined. If chickens could think the roosters would probably choose to live until they were young adults and die a warriors death rather than die as infants.
In the western world we have insulated ourselves from the need to see the death of the animals we eat. I’m not sure that this is a good thing. Having said all that if there were a ballot measure to make cockfighting legal in California I would vote against it. But I must say that in the Philippines it did not seem to be a terrible or unnatural thing.
What do you think?
Philippines: A Libertarians Dilemma
Libertarians (different than Librarians) believe that less government is better.
The Philippine however, by its negative example, makes the other side of the argument. A successful society, it turns out, needs some general rules of human interaction that are respected by all. There need to be some rules about things like Zoning, Property Title, Helmet Laws, Building Codes and Pollution.
My observation is that the people in the Philippines are intelligent, creative, motivated to improve their lot and friendly. The government on the other hand is ineffectual, corruptible and largely irrelevant. The rich buy privileges and exemptions from the law so everybody else feels justified in ignoring laws that add cost to there lives without immediate benefit.
Wire anarchy
Motorcycle helmet are a good example. There are laws requiring helmets that the police don’t enforce and so nobody wears them.
A cow, a pig and three men on a tricycle
The resort at Sabang Beach is the best example.
An undeveloped beach near Sabang
Title disputes caused the beautiful beach to be sold and resorts, stores and clubs to be built on a series of alleys. Now there is an unplanned town where the beach used to be.
Sabang Beach today
There is no sewer system, no road and no beach.
Runoff
I tend to be a Libertarian and always look for nongovernmental solutions to the issues of the day. I always see evidence that the government is a blunt instrument and should be used sparing to solve the delicate problems of society. But the Philippines has shown me an example of a society that is less civil than ours because it has less enforced or enforceable laws. As usual the solution is probably somewhere in the middle.
In the meantime the people of the Philippines are voting with their feet and leaving. More than 15% of working age Philippinios are working outside the country. This is an example of why I support an increased right of people to migrate. Responsible people should not have to stay under the control of irresponsible governments. You can see a lot more of my thoughts on this subject on RadicalImmigration.com