On the right is pics of Mokisha completely torn apart - EVERYTHING is out of the boat. Currently, we are working on the port side. Bulkheads are out, cabinets, counters, etc. We.....or I should say my help is quite limited but Alex & Tom are working 6 days a week on the boat. They are fiberglassing, putting back the bulkheads & then new shelves. I'm trying to find Corian type counters & not being entirely successful. The entire bat will get a fresh coat of paint by the time we are done. In any event, it will be fun to post pics as we progress & things start going back the other way. It seems monumental right now but I think it will be better in a couple of weeks. We are waiting for a box that was sent from California with lots of parts & should arrive in about 10 days - this box is going to help out alot in getting stuff done. Another is on the way as well. Enjoy the pics. It's certainly hot, sweaty & dirty work now but it'll all be worth it!
xxxooo
Coco & Tom

In order to get to Boracay we had to fly into Caticlan & take a ferry to the island. We were staying at Calypso Dive Resort - a great choice as it was right on the beach with a bar, beach massage & restaurant. Great dive shop too. Rooms were spacious, clean, bright & comfortable.
Boracay’s diving was much better & we did 3 dives while there. All the pics are in the gallery to the right. The coral was healthy & we saw lots of sea life including a sea snake that was about 6 ft long. The banka that we dove off of is a typical Filipino boat - they look like humongous spiders. We lucked out & were the only ones diving so our dive master Vincent, we got all to ourselves!

Boracay is also quite touristy but I loved it. Lots of places to hang out & each night was celebrated watching the sunset. We found Coco's Bar & the Obama Grill, & we got pedicures in our beach chairs while hanging on the beach. Life can't get an better! It was good for Tom to get some R&R. We also met up with our shipper (Remy) from California. He is also from the Philippines & was home for vacation but lives in Santa Maria, Ca. He showed us around the island of Panay, his home. Sadly, our time went to fast & we headed back to Samal Island & boat work. All the pics are in the picture gallery - hope you enjoy them. We look forward to the next break when we can get away from the boat for a few days.

Xxxooo
Colleen & Tom

Hi All -

Just a quick update on what we’ve been up to -
After arriving in the Philippines, Tom was looking forward to a break as he’d worked about a 45 days without much of break so I went to work looking for some places to go in the Philippines. We decided on Cebu/Mactan Island & Boracay. Both are northwest of us.
We went to Cebu first, about an 1½ hr flight. We splurged & stayed a Costabella’s a nicer hotel with a pool, great food & fantastic mojitos! We were only there 3 days but we hung at the pool & beach. Our last day we went diving. Diving wasn’t really very good even though it was a marine sanctuary. In fact less than a mile away, fishermen were dynamite fishing & we could feel & hear the dynamite go off. I don’t think there’s any more disappointing than to know the reef & fish are being killed daily by these fishermen. It’s illegal but they do it anyway.
The last day our flight wasn’t until 2 pm so we played tourist on the way to the airport.

Remember Ferdinand Magellan from your high school history days? He was the first to circumnavigate the world & discover the Straits of Magellan in the early 1500’s. He landed in Cebu, Philippines in 1521 & tried to take over what is now Mactan Island from Lapu-Lapu the local leader of the island. A fierce fight broke out & the spaniards fought with guns while the Filipinos fought with poison arrows. Lapu-Lapu managed to hit Magellan & kill him with his poison arrow. He is credited to saving his people for 60 years before more explorers tried to take Mactan Island again. Both Lapu-Lapu & Magellan have statues & memorials erected in their honor. Interesting because I never remembered any of that from history! While there’s tons more to see in Cebu, we got a only a short peek but look forward to returning with Mokisha & spending some time there. You can see the pictures on the picture gallery on the right. Enjoy!

Our next 3 days would be spent in Boracay a much more beachy, touristy island. It too, was only an 1½ hr flight. Hello…...Boracay!