Philippines as a Tourist Paradise

I spent a good many years in hot countries.

Okay, so you have to eek out a retirement. Not so good for you. Not all of us are needing to eek out anything. On the weather, I am not sure that typhoon dodging is very appealing after a while.

Almost all the mining is in the Caraga Region of Mindanao which spans five provinces in the north of the island. Davao which is in the south is nowhere near any mining activity, although there are a few inactive and abandoned gold mines in the mountains above the Compestela Valley north east of the city. Due to the geography of the region, none of the rivers discharging into the Davao gulf pass through a mining area.

John..We have already discussed typhoons etc.. I suggest that you do some research on the typical Typhoon paths within the Philippines.
Normally Typhoons develop in the south east and usually hit land in Southern Leyte.. The common path is North onto the east coast of Samar and then of course Masbati,Catanduanes and the Bicol region to Marinduque which is where they usually turn towards Manila and Baguio then northwards towards the Batan islands and then towards China where they gather strength over the China sea..

Occasionally,there are Typhoons like the one last year that landed in the east of Mindanao traveling west where the typhoon generally loses power before it arrives in southern Palawan..

Probably the best site for you to study Philippine Typhoon season is http://typhoon2000.ph/
Perhaps then you will begin to understand why typhoons in many places in the R.P are a rarity.

If I were in the UK, I would be eeking-out my retirement and that encompasses much more than the financial aspect. Here I don't. Nor do I have to dodge any typhoons - look at a relief map of the region - and Typhoon2000 - to see why. Furthermore, I live in a city whose natural water supply is the second best potable in the world (according to the WHO) - second only to an area in the Pyrenees, I believe. And it is one of the top 20 most liveable cities in Asia (according to Asiaweek Magazine).

Apart from the mercury of course. Do you drink from the tap?

http://emilights.com/entertainment/...hilippines-davao-city-tap-water-safe-to-drink

"Studies made by U.P. Study Team and Ateneo Chemistry Students reveal that our surface water, such as Davao river, Talomo river, Ilang river, Lasang river, and Lipadas river, is not as safe as our ground water. Although our rivers arer not declared biologically dead, or as polluted as Pasig river, it is still not safe for human consumption. The studies show that there is a considerable amount of nitrates and pesticides, harmful bacteria, and some other chemicals and wastes, that if taken internally, would cause harmful effects to man. In fact, our beaches in which the Davao river ends was declared as unsafe for human contact, hence, Davao river itself is polluted. The pollution to our surface water has been caused by, as pointed out by Philippines-Canada Environmental and Economic Management (PCEEM) Project, non-existing sewerage system for our city. Domestic waste water goes directly into the storm drainage system, which discharges into the rivers. Davao city households still practices the predominant method of “throw and burn.” Another reason pointed out by PCEEM is the population growth which causes the production of more wastes eventually disposed in our rivers. Another cause is the chemical and pesticides within the river areas made by agricultural plantations. Therefore, it is entirely impossible to tap surface water to serve the city’s demand. Thus, there is no other way but to use ground water, which we ought to preserve and maintain.
Source : http://ichii14.multiply.com/reviews/item/9?&show_interstitial=1&u=/reviews/item - (Download PDF version)

We conclude that it is not advisable to rely on the Bankerohan River for drinking water because of the presence of bacteria that are found onto it. We must not take also the water near the river or even at the middle of the river as our water in taking a bath because it can cause an infection to our skin. It can also cause many sicknesses to use especially to the person that has a weak resistance. So, we should stop using the water at the Bankerohan River."

Where Have All Our Fish Gone? This article relates to fishing in the Davao Gulf.

"In his study, “Assessment of the pelagic fisheries in Davao Gulf,” Villanueva found that 45 to 50 percent of the total fish caught daily by most of the fishermen in the gulf are juvenile—too young, not marketable and, therefore, wasted. “If this will continue, there will come a time that we can no longer catch fish here,” he warned."

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/weekend-davao/2012/11/03/where-have-all-our-fish-gone-251500

They are being Gobbled up by 100 Million Filipino`s!
The only thing that will save the fish population are Condoms!

I like it!

There are very strict controls over the use of all heavy metals, including Mercury, and heavy metal pollution of the Davao Gulf is at insignificant levels. Now that was a report issued by DENR in 2008 since when gold mining - the only local pollutant in the Compestela area has ceased.

And yes, I do drink the tap water - but not directly from the tap as it's too warm, I refrigerate it first. Perfectly fine and we prefer it to bottled water. We do buy bottled water for our baby but once he reaches 3 years old, he'll go onto tap water too.

As for your quote relating to the rivers, only those living on their banks draw their water from that source. Davao City gets its water from artesian wells deep underground. It is perfectly true that the rivers are polluted by, among other less savoury things, as agricultural pesticides. But I'm not drinking that.

Strangely fish prices have remained low for the three years I've lived in this city and haven't risen much above the level of inflation. Unlike Cebu, however, where prices have risen quite sharply over the last 12 - 18 months but even there, fish remains a very cheap source of protein. Cheaper than chicken, pound for pound.

Well, obviously the ecological credit card isn't quite fully maxed out yet.

Yes. I don't doubt your word, but there is no status quo when it comes to weather. I realise the general direction is probably not going to change much but Bopha proved last year that the routing on the way can indeed change. Whats more, the super typhoons are becoming more prevalent.

And on Davao:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/318285/typhoon-pablo-awes-davao-residents

"Usually" is probably a good term here but just now supertyphoons and a change of direction is the new normal."

"Super-typhoon Bopha (locally called Pablo) that hit the Philippines on 4 December 2012 was one of the worst storms the region had ever seen. The category 5 storm produced wind speeds of up to 195mph. It was the world's deadliest typhoon in 2012, killing 1,067 people, with 800 left missing and 6.2 million people affected. The cost of the damage are estimated to reach $1bn.
The amount and intensity of storms in the Philippines might reflect changes caused by the current climatic trends, the Newspaper Guardian suggests. The authors point out that scientists are also registering steadily rising sea levels around the Philippines, and a falling water table which appears to increase the likelihood and incidence of extreme weather events. "Extreme weather is becoming more frequent, you could even call it the new normal," says Mary Ann Lucille Sering, head of the Philippine government's climate change commission."

http://www.un-spider.org/about-us/n...n-bopha-philippines-prepare-next-super-storms

Typhoon Where it Wasn't Expected:

I don't think typhoons are worth worrying about, if you live in a reasonably typhoon proof building, but they are a awful bore if you are on holiday somewhere and you and your family are reduced to playing card games and chess by lamplight.

So, from the tourism point of view, they are a pest, but from the point of view of everyday life on land, they are not worth worrying about. If you have a boat, then things are a bit different.

I always saw some of these sub tropical countries and other hot countries being the flipside of living here it the UK. Basically at both extremes there is a tendency to want to stay at home, either with the heating on or with the air conditioning on. (I saw this in Houston but in a slightly different way. Folk didn't really venture out into the ambient air during the day as it was too hot, only really going from air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned mall etc.)

My wife has explained to me that the tendency is to stay indoors during a typhoon. Presumably that is quite normal? Only going out if you really have to. Also, when I was in the Philippines in June I noticed the disruption that typhoons caused to everyday life, on the roads in Manila, internal flights in particular and schools etc. We managed to visit the UK embassy and get stuff like that done etc but the typhoon weather made it very difficult. A lot depends on which part of the typhoon you get caught up in aswell as its magnitude.

Points worth noting about typhoons, in general:

1, Small animals, birds, and taxis, become hyper-active some hours before the typhoon arrives. Once the wind starts to increase and the rain comes, small animals, birds and taxis disappear completely.

2. Most of Manila disappears under several feet of water. When this happens, it is advisable to make it quite clear that you are not American, because everyone blames the Americans for the bad drains. Point out that you are British, and that in Hong Kong the drains work perfectly.

3. It is advisable to stay indoors, for fear of being decapitated by flying sheets of corrugated iron torn from adjacent roofs. Convesely, in an earthquake, you are better off outside. In the event of an earthquake and a typhoon co-inciding, pray.

LOL thats near enough exactly what I said to my wife's immediate family. They agreed wholeheartedly. Better drains needed.

Apparently Bantayan supplies fish to Mindanao. Presumably there isn't enough fish stocks in the Mindanao region. However Bantayan use a sustainable approach to fishing in the Visaya region. Idea being not to deplete fish stocks in the region. The region is also patrolled to prevent dodgy fishing techniques etc.

I know they produce a lot of dried fish in Bantayan and the northern part of Cebu but I would be very surprised if they supplied fresh fish to anywhere barring Cebu island. There is an airport on Bantayan but there are no commercial flights and the journey time from Bantayan island to Cebu City is around six hours.

There are fish farms in northern Mindanao, around Surigao, and more are being established including in Davao Gulf. Most of Davao's fish comes from the Gulf and waters further afield with the catches being landed early each morning at Sasa Port's fish dock. Some Tuna is locally caught but most comes from General Santos and is either flown-in or comes by road.

They supply fresh fish to Negros, evidentally. I wonder how they get the eggs to Manila, presumably fly them from Cebu...

Well Negros is really rather close to Bantayan - closer than Cebu City. Oh and they do have chickens on Luzon - even in Manila!