Waddies and Kape

Writing this in Roxas, a little town that the Puerto-Taytay bus stops at.  Just here to meet with Mavic, of WWF-Philippines, who is on a crazy travel schedule, but has been incredibly helpful to me for this field season.  The hotel here actually has soft pillows... R, the Peace Corps volunteer in Taytay, and I just discussed last night how the Philippines seems to be the land of lumpy pillows. Doesn't seem to be anything really in Roxas, but it's a nice enough place, and I had a very masarap guyabano shake with dinner, so life is good.  Getting some work done while taking breaks to sing along with the karaoke going on next door.  "Baby, you're all that I want, when you're lying here in my arms..."

Had a fantastic two days, with 'waddy sightings and plenty of fisher interviews.  I am happily exhausted - the kind of exhaustion that comes from 11-hour days in the field, boat rides, staying up late in a karaoke bar with new friends even though you know you'll have to wake up in 4 hours.  And the first sighting of a dorsal fin gliding through the still, early morning water makes waking up at 5:15am worthwhile.

Today was only my third day ever trying to get photo-ID-worthy pics of dolphins.  My first day was with bottlenose dolphins in San Diego; their relatives here in Malampaya Sound are much less obliging when it comes to showing me some fin.  But I love it...I definitely need more practice, but I'm already improving.  And my left arm is going to be BUFF by the end of this season - it's a pretty good workout, supprting the camera and 300mm lens (the latter awesomely lent to me by legend Bob Pitman) while on a gently rocking boat.

I do need to discipline myself to keep my eyes on the water and to always have my camera ready.  Yesterday, worried about the quality of my photos, I kept checking my camera's playback...and missed not 1, not 2, but 3 spyhops...I saw them, just couldn't get the camera up in time.  Same thing today - was fidgeting around with the GPS unit, only to hear E say "oh...spyhop.  You missed it!"  E, Z, the boatman, and a ranger who came out with us today were getting really into spotting the dolphins: "Tara, one at 10 o'clock!"  "3 o'clock!"  "No, E., I think it's more a quarter to 3..."  "Dolphins all around the clock!"

Being on the water with the dolphins is so invigorating.  I forget to eat breakfast or drink anything until we leave the dolphins and take the boat to the fishing villages to interview fishers.  Fortunately, E and Z make sure I get my fill of Energen (instant hot cereal), and the fishers are often quick to offer me kape (coffee).  I don't drink coffee at home, yet I find that the fishers of Malampaya Sound have me borderline addicted to super-sweet instant coffee with powdered creamer.  I started shaking a little yesterday.  I think I may need to start eating food prior to visiting the fishing villages.

People have been so very accommodating...it's not just the kape (and the snacks that sometimes accompany the kape).  Almost as soon as they see that they have visitors, the fishers or someone in their house pulls out a bench or chair for me to sit in, or vacates their seat and offers it to me.  Often, the wives and children of the fishers will gather around, smiling at me, laughing delightedly whenever I speak Tagalog, asking questions about me and showering me with compliments ("maganda siya!"), shooing curious dogs and wandering chickens away while E and Z are bombarding the fisher with interview questions.  People will help guide us to the next cluster of homes.  Women who run the small sari-sari stores will cook a modest lunch for us - we pay, of course, but only for the ingredients, and they serve us in their home and often offer food that we didn't pay for. One woman even did so while in the middle of re-thatching her roof.

It's really been lovely to have the chance to meet these people.  It's also nice to recognize interviewees out fishing while we're looking for dolphins - they always wave and broadcast a big, friendly smile.  I wonder what they think of the American woman who comes around to pester them with questions, gets easily distracted by puppies and piglets, and wanders around in a boat taking photos of dolphins.

And I wish there were some way I could help them out of their poverty.  I wish there were some way I could repay all the kindness they've shown me, a complete stranger, over the fast few weeks.