#10 8th. November 2000

Moalboal November 2000

Hello Folks!!

The newsletter is back again. I got sick and had to go back to Sweden for a few months. Now everything OK with me. Hopefully you will be able to read about Moalboal more frequent in the future.

We now have another dive shop since Norma's is opening up. Kasadya is their name. They do not have an instructor or divemaster but the do have at least 2-3 sets of equipment :-).

A few mini bars have popped up on the main drag and Hondas restaurant have changed owner. It would be interesting to know how many places you can have a beer at between Gabonillas sari-sari store and Chief Mau. If anyone cares to count them all I would be more than happy to put it in the newsletter.

The low season is really low this year. We are all looking forward to November, more tourists, more partying and less Abu Sayaf. There is not much talk about the Muslims and hostages anymore, very little news in the papers (but apparently many bombs down there). To those of you that have never visited Moalboal, Cebu or only have been here for a short time, I'd like to point out that: Even if there is a lot of media coverage in the world about the Philippines, violence, volcanoes or hostages, it is very seldom that this affects Moalboal. In this small fishing village everything goes on as normal (We dive and drink beer). I first got here just after they had thrown Marcos, the dictator out of office, and not even then did life change in Moalboal.

The bowling alley they are building (300 meters east of chief mau) is coming along nicely. I do not know when they have planed it to be ready, but it should be sometime next year.

Last week the Peso hit an all-time low, 51.95 to the US$ and the newspapers are talking about a bottom at around 60 pesos to the dollar unless Estrada resigns. Now is really the time to come and visit. With an exchange rate like that you can stay at Mollies for less than US$2/night.

WEATHER:

We had it quite windy here for a few days, but nothing like what they are experiencing up in Luzon. I heard that the 2 typhoons made 130,000 homeless

ACTIVITIES:

Jochen and Tommy will be back from Germany and Switzerland any day now so the sunset soccer games on Mondays and Fridays should soon start.

Last Monday Joris (Sub Maldive instructor) managed to touch the whale shark that has parked him self here on the house reef. Mark (Nelsons) spotted him today as well (not Joris . . . the whale shark)

BIRTHS, SOCIAL AND GOSSIP:

Roland Guisy and Ruffa / Magnusson (the Neptune legend) and Rosella / Steve (former Nelson DM) and Rebecca are all about to have kids. Magnusson's is due any day now. Jack (Visaya DM) had his kid just a couple of months ago. Aj aj aj, there will be a lot of cigars handed out on the beach.

The old mayor, Marcelo Abrenica, just recently passed away. The funeral was last Sunday and they had a 16pig, 2cow, 1softdrink and 2beertruck wake afterwards.

LETTERS FROM ABROAD:
None this time,

ACCORDING TO NELSON (our inside man into politics here): In November there will be another 600 meters of concrete road between Panagsama and Moalboal. (When they started last time they only finished 200 meters.)

YOU MAY BE MARRIED TO A MOALBOAL GIRL IF:

*You throw a party and everyone is fighting to chop the leathery skin of roast pig.

*Your phone bills are all international and average 3 hours.

*The rice cooker is on 24hours a day, uses up 50% of your electric and food budget.

*On your trip to the Philippines you have 18 giant boxes and your carry- on luggage requires a small forklift truck.

GENERAL:

If anyone has any information that they think would be interesting for people on this list, please do let me know and I will add it in. You may check the list web site - http://moalboal.listbot.com - to have a look at the message archives for this list or to subscribe and unsubscribe from this list.

Best regards,

Lars Starner,
starner [at] hotmail.com