Portia’s Island

What does one do in gloomy weather when the sun refuses to come out and spread cheer to the world?

Answer: Read. A good book. Or better yet, read plenty of good ones.

Here are some of the titles I have read for the past 2 months, from the most recent to those that I remember.

1. The Swarm by Frank Schatzing—- 10/10!

2. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry — 8/10

3. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison — 7/10

4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - 10/10

5. Economics of the Madhouse by Chris Harman - non fiction, good for modern Communists

6. Confessions of an Economic Hitman - what can I say? Everybody who can think for themselves has to read this book… MUST READ!

7. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig– a twisted nice little fable, bedtime story for Orrin

8. The Brother’s Grimm Fairy Tales - bedtime stories for Orrin of course

9. Countless journal articles on fish behavioral ecology, movement patterns, and a lot of other parrotfish biology related topics

10. Essential Cooking: Vegetarian Dishes

11. Contemporary Asian Bathrooms

And for my advancedChristmas gift to myself, I look forward to getting a copy of Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty for November. And maybe if I can find a copy of Carl Sagan’s books, and this title I have long looked for, Einstein’s Dreams.

So looking forward to the rainy season…..

I finally finished the book after 3 days. At about 800 pages thick, it would normally take me about a week and a half to finish it. But it was just so damn good, I couldn’t put it down. Stayed up to 2 am last night and I would have galdly read till morning light if only my eyes could still take it.

The Swarm was originally written in German by Frank Schatzing, and it wa such a hit it was translated into English. I will not go into details so as not to spoil the plot, but it was basically about the sea fighting back. All of the sudden, whales were attacking humans, worms were causing underwater landslides, and crabs were coming up from the deep to plague humanity with toxins.

I have always thought that with the way humans have used and abused the planet, it will eventually find a way to get back at us. It saddens me that for the sake of profit and greed, our only home is polluted and abused. A lot of species are dying, and we are slowly turning our planet to a toxic wasteland. And the ocean gets the most abused of all. Everybody is concerned about disappearing forests, but its so easy to overlook that we are dumping tons of toxic chemicals into the sea everyday. Who knows how many thousands of barrels of toxic wastes have been dumped into the sea by Western nations with nuclear programs? Those barrels are corroding, and it won’t be long until toxic fish and other marine life appear. In fact, there are signs that the end has already begun.

We take the ocean for granted, and eventually someday, it will get back at us. As my husband pointed out, one of scientists’ favorite quotes is: “It is not a question of IF, but a question of WHEN.” Mankind has to constantly remember that the Earth is 70% water, and the sad fact is, we barely know our own water planet. Governments would rather spend billions on space exploration, when our own inner space of blue is largely unknown…

The book really got me thinking a lot about the connection between humanity and the planetary ecosystems and how we view our home. Christianity has taught us that we are to be stewards of the earth, and this implies that we are responsible for our home—but sadly the majority views us as the pinnacle of God’s creation, and therefore, everything on this put for our service. How sad really. I have always believed that if everybody was thought that all forms of life were just as valuable as human life, half of our environmental problems would never have happened.

I was born and bred a Catholic, but I know deep inside, I have ceased being one a long time ago. There is not point in changing religion though— if I became a Buddhist, or a Muslim, it would feel to me as if I just discarded my old clothes for a set of new ones. Religion is a set of values, and mine are deeply rooted in ecology and a deep respect for the environment that sustains me and 6 billion other humans…

Anyway, I will stop now before this becomes a philosophical monologue about ecology and religion. Those who are interested in discussing the topic, feel free to email me anytime. But in the meantine, those of you who haven’t read The Swarm yet, go and get yourself a copy. It will really set you thinking

And before I finally end, since we are now on the topic of book recommendations, here is my list of must reads for the the intellectually inclined bookworms out there: 1. Confessions of an Economic Hitman 2. The Tipping Point 3. The End of Poverty. Read The Swarm first, and then Confessions of an Economic Hitman… and you will realize WHO the real bad guys are…

On October 20,2007, me and my hubby finally got to Camiguin. We have been wanting to go for many years, and we finally did it. The overnight boat trip from Cebu direct to Mambajao was painful to say the least…no more bunks, and we had to make do with hard benches. And what is more, a group of really irresponsible people shouted their hearts out on the videoke right by the seating area.It was the most horrible boat trip I have ever been. And for the first time, I understood why videoke murders happen.

Arriving on Mamabajao the following was wonderful, the end of an agonizing journey. A ray jumped in the water as if to welcome the new day and our boat as we neared Camiguin. And we even saw a pilot whale mother and calf (or at least, that’s what I thought they were).

First thing we did upon reaching the house of Atty. Jun was what else? Eat lanzones. They were everywhere! They had at least 10 trees that were full of the mouth watering fruits, and I wasn’t gonna stop myself. It was the Lanzones Festival we came for, and eat lanzones we will.

The first day we spent going around the island. We did the usual tourist thing of renting a tourist shuttle and visiting the sites. We first went to the Old Volcano and the Via Crucis, and then to the Sunken Cemetery and the ruins of the old Church. And then to about three cold water springs, Katibawasan Falls,to White Island, and to Ardent Hot Springs. We were exhausted when we got home indeed.

The following day,we went to the Philvocs observatory, and then to Benoni, and had lunch by the lagoon. We took it easy, strolling through Mambajao in the afternoon and visiting the centennial Pili tree. It was really big at 18m tall, and one couldn’t help but feeling small next to it.

The following day was the highlight of our trip. Me and Arne rented a motorcycle to go around the island. With a circumference of 64 km, it was small enough to go around in a day indeed. We must have been an unusual scene: me driving a Honda XRM with a dreadlocked mestizo at the back. We went to Tuasan Falls, which is not as developed and harder to get to compared to Katibawasan, but definitely worth the effort. And then we visited Enigmata, a haven for art and culture in the island. The dinner of wild spinach pizza (which was actually wild fern covered with mozarella….yum!) and fish curry was the best food we had on the island. We were even able to play sungka there!

I must have gained at least 2 kilos on the 3 day trip from eating so much lanzones and pastel (soft bun with yema filling, the best!), but it was worth it.

We will alway remember Camiguin for the sweetest lanzones, the wonderful pastel, the huge century old trees that were everywhere, and  the wonderful people who greeted us with "Hi friends!"

Definitely, we will "kam agin" to Camiguin….