#30 7th. January 2003

Happy New Year, Friends of Moalboal!!

Lots of Christmas and New Year parties, my liver didn't like them
much but they sure did put many smiles on my face.
Most of the resorts in Panagsama have been fully booked these last
two weeks. So, sure there are still a lot of tourists. Not as many as
before, but as we Swedes say "a lagom amount"
At the bottom of this page you can read what Kalle at Savedra dive
shop wrote about when he did some Philippine action. Thanks to Jochen
at Planet action, Moalboal is not just Diving and Fun. It's also
caving, repelling, climbing, biking and stuff like that now days. He
also just finished a really cool sea kayak.

When ya'll come and visit Moalboal, don't forget to try the mango.
It's coming in season now and the Cebu mango is probably the best in
the world.

WEATHER:
We've had quite a lot of rain the last few days and it has been
cold , only 26 Celsius day time, but today it's clearing up and
getting warmer

ACTIVITIES:
Soccer every Monday and Friday. Just show up 16:30 and join us.
Beach volleyball and BBQ at white beach, starting around 12:30 every
Sunday. We have now played quite a few Sundays and we are getting
really good at that volleyball thing.

BIRTHS, SOCIAL AND GOSSIP:
Swiss Dave just turned 21. He had a nice birthday party with lots of
Swiss food in the restaurant up by the fish market in Moalboal.
English Dave (new to the beach, friend of Steve) just turned 32.

I'm sure all of you have wondered about why Denise (Swiss, husband
of Elisabeth) always carries his big black bag around, and what's in
it. I personally used to think it was the codes to his secret Swiss
bank account. Well, I can now tell you that it's "Mothers best hot
sauce" in the bag.

Barry (English, Lee Hewitt's old student) celebrated his 17 Th
wedding anniversary a few days ago. After Salah's (Kuwaiti Colonel,
dives at Nelson) good-bye party at Nelsons with lots of beer. Barry
invited us all for an anniversary dinner and more beer at Eve's.
Thank you and congratulations.

PRACTICAL:
In the last letter I wrote that you could get a taxi from the airport
for around 1000 pesos, that's if you are good at bargaining. If you
look like a tourist it will probably cost a few hundred more. I have
had complaints, so I'd better add that, hahahaha

Car Car (small town between Cebu and Moalboal) now has the biggest
shoe in the world, 8 meters something. The will show the shoe at
sinulog in Cebu, January 19. Sinulog is one of the biggest festivals
in the Philippines and it's always the third Sunday in January. Make
sure not to arrive or leave on that day. Sometimes it takes 5-6 hours
just to go through Cebu city that day.

WHALE SHARK SIGHTINGS:

Toni (American, dives at nelson) and Benjim (Nelson DM) saw a whale
shark at Kasai wall Jan 5.

I think that someone at Savedra saw one, but I do not know when or
where.

Reiko (Japanese dive master at globe) says that if you go outside
Savedra Kalles, or my house around 15:30 – 16:15 at a depth of 3
meters you will see mandarin fish. They are by some people considered
to be the world's most beautiful fish, and they only show up around
sunset. Chicago saw two yesterday.

There is now a blue frogfish at 18 meters, SW Pescador. Frogfish
tends to stay in the same spot for weeks if they are not disturbed.
So please don't get to close. Did you know that frogfish has the
fastest movement of all animal? It can open it's mouth in 1/6000
sec. Doing that he creates a, almost, vacuum and water & prey gets
sucked in.

PICTURES:
This is our new headline and we hope to be able to post new pictures
about life here in Panagsama. The pictures will be posted on Planet
action's web site under the address: http://www.action-
philippines.com/picture/moalboal.htm
I'm not sure what pictures we will show this week, but I will try to
add some kewl ones from Nelsons dive shop with us drinking beer
underwater on the day of New Years Eve.

ACCORDING TO NELSON (our diving politician)
They have now passed a resolution that they will enforce the law
that: No buildings may be erected within in 20 meters from the high
tide water line. They have given the people at white beach 6 months
to

YA GOTTO LOVE THIS COUNTRY!
A woman in Cebu got jailed for selling fake shampoo.

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.
If you know anyone that would like to receive this letter, please
tell him or her to send me an E-mail at the address below and I will
add him or her. I've found it to hard to do it through
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/moalboalmail

Best regards,

Lars Starner.

Adventure Sports in Cebu
Join me on an adventure trip in Moalboal, Cebu.
By Karl H. Epp
Moalboal in Cebu is foremost known for its excellent diving spots.
But over the last couple of years, thanks to the guys of Planet
Action Adventure, Moalboal got a reputation as the Adventure Sports
Mecca in the Philippines. Always keen on new experiences, I joined
recently one of the most exciting adventure trips offered by Planet
Action Adventure: Canyoning at the Montaneza Falls. Little did I know
what lay ahead of me.
We started at 9 o'clock in the morning. The huge Action Truck,
handmade and adjusted by the Planet Action Team to jungle terrain,
brought us in a 1 1/2 hour ride up to the deep forested mountains of
Cebu. I heard before that Cebu is deforested, but that is simply not
true. There is still plenty of jungle and clear waters up in the
mountains; even locals visit seldom these hidden places. We went
higher and higher, until we stopped some where in the wilderness. We
unpacked the ropes and climbing material and off we went. After
following a path for 10 minutes or so, we came to the first waterfall
we intended to rappel down. All in all we planned to rappel four
falls, plus a major jump from a lower fall. At the beach we had
gotten an intro in basic rappelling techniques, but now we were faced
with the first 10 Meter fall. We donned our equipment and slid down
the rope, steadily feeding the line, hearts pounding in our chest,
the cheers of our friends in our ears, water rushing all over us. A
great experience and we felt good.
Off we went to the next fall, which was great fun, too. A little bit
further down awaited us another one, and guys, this one was a killer.
We stood high up in a narrow valley, looking at massive amounts of
water roaring down an overhang of about 30 Meters. Some of us looked
back from where we came, wishing to find an excuse to climb back the
falls we just came down. But Jochen and Mario, our adventure guides,
told us that there is only one way out of this valley, put on a
wicked smile and pointed down the abyss. And so we went, Adrenalin
pumping in our veins. Actually, it was easier than expected; it was
just the tremendous height you were looking down at the beginning
which was really scary. After this fall we trekked a little along the
river, until we came to the next fall, this one not so high so that
we just jumped it.
At the end of the valley, the Action Truck awaited us. Victor, our
skilled driver, had already a big barbecue prepared. When we came
back to the beach we all felt like heroes, and in the evening, when
we sat at a nice restaurants by the beach overlooking the sea, the
height of the falls we conquered increased with the number of beers
we drank.

Kalle.