Camotes Island

The kids were so excited when they learned our plan to spend the holidays in our vacation house in Camotes Island. A week before Christmas, my wife Haydee, the kids and myself has a long list of items that we need to buy for our upcoming Christmas vacation. It includes a list of projects that we planned to do during the long vacation like the installation of satellite cable TV, so we will not be totally isolated to the outside world.

As early as 5:00am of December 22, 2007 we started preparing the things that needs to be brought to the island. We launched our speedboat at the ramp of PASAR at around 10:00AM and we reached to our vacation house 30 minutes after. The weather is good and the water is so calm.

EATING TIME

When our stomach started to complain, we immediately look for our favorite seafoods, the delicious seashells and sea orchins that are abundant in the island. The timing is good because several locals were already diving for sea orchins and we were offered one basin of sea orchins for P30 pesos. Fair enough.

A basin of sea orchins for P30 pesos only

The following day, same local offered as half basin of assorted sea shells for P80 pesos. I bought everything that is inside the basin including the basin, hehehe. We had a problem though on how to preserve the remaining sea shells and upcoming supply of sea orchins. My father saw an old fish cage made of bamboo from a friend in Cawit, Mr. Obong-Obong, so I bought it for P10 pesos, but he decided to give it to me because I bought him a Kulafu wine a day before.

Going back to the topic, I anchored the fish cage near the area where my speedboat was anchored and we put all inside including the sea orchins. So everytime, we wanted a seafood, all I have to do is get my snorkel and dive to the fish cage. Yehey, we now have unlimited supply of fresh sea foods.

Half basin of sea shells for just P80 pesos, and that includes the basin

SWIMMING TIME

Kids really like swimming in the water. Mitch and Hannah go swimming almost twice a day. It’s convenient for them because they will just go to the boardwalk of our vacation house and go straight to the stairs to get into the water. Now their skin turn grayish from light brown and barnacles started to grow. Hahaha.

Mitch on the water playing with our utility boat

Edwin, Haydee, Hannah and Mitch swimming in the crystal clear water of Cawit white beach.

WHAT HAPPEN TO OUR PROJECTS?

SATELLITE CABLE TV

The first project that I did was the installation of the satellite cable TV. I grabbed my power tools and started putting in the satellite dish. After the dish was put in place, I started the more tedious job of alligning the antenna dish to the location of the satellite which is 120 degrees NE, then tilt the dish to 64degrees. After several attempts, the received signal quality is still weak so it started to confused me and wished that I have a long range eye so I can see the satellite (hopeless situation). I started reading the installation manual and it mentioned about obstruction - so I hurriedly went outside and saw a branch of star apple tree that partly obstructed the line of site between the dish and the satellite. I instructed my caretaker to cut it off but after cutting the branch, ohhhhhhh no improvement at all.

With the help of my brother, Jeff Coraza, we started re-alligning the antenna dish 100 times but to no avail until we finally touched the LNB, the signal receiving device on the satellite dish like a microphone. I twisted it to the left and it gives us a zero signal but when I twisted it to the right, bingoooooooo - it gives us 98 percent signal quality. I immediately scanned the channels on the decoder and all the channels were in, but the branch of the star apple tree was already cut (poor tree).

LANDSCAPING

During the rainy days, my parents, Mr. Pablo and Lita Coraza planted carabao grass to our lawn so our surrounding is now green. Then I started looking for ornamental plants and landscaping work is still in progress.

WASTE SEGREGATION

Because we’re concerned with our environment, I asked the assistance of our cousins, Mr. Apolonio Coraza and Mariano Canaway to build us a garbage cage for biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Then I instructed our helpers and caretakers to start segregating our trash and contacted our relatives in the island to collect and sale those trash that can be recyled.

This is our own small way of protecting the environment.