This doesn't sound like any kind of vacation I'd want to be on!

I make it sound bad, what with the ants and all, but it's been a great vacation. Swimming in warm water, white-sand beaches, fresh papayas and mangos picked right off the tree. And we've lucked out on the weather so far, no rain and not too hot. I get up around 2 or 3 AM, when it's still in the low 70's, and wait for the pandesal man to come around. He sells still-warm little bread rolls that are great with coffee.

As soon as I started to write this, it began to rain. Not drizzly rain like back in Seattle, but torrents, like in Florida. The temperature dropped 10 degrees and I had to run out and stand in the rain for awhile, much to the amusement of the others. They already think the "Kano" is a little nuts to begin with.

Last night we left the radio on until a little later in the evening, and to my surprise and delight the music format abruptly changed from all-Kenny-Rogers to prog rock! Mostly Filipino bands, playing very tasty stuff indeed, interspersed with a few 70's classics.

I'd already known there was a healthy prog community here, but this has to be the only place on earth where it's still played on the radio. I'd go see some live if I was in the city, but we're waaay out in the country here, on a small island that even most Filipinos couldn't find on a map.

Later today we'll go into town to the market. Woo hoo! Chinese bootleg movie DVDs, 19 for $3. All on one disk! Some of them are in Chinese, though, so you take your chances.

I'm glad you're enjoying the other stuff.  Be gone--vile ants!  Good luck, Bit.  

You could always go old school on them … do you have a magnifying glass with you?

 I guess the bugs know all the nice places too. Shame they seem to like feed  off our body parts. Had ants in the house this last week. They were actually inside my studio but had come in a crack around the front of the house.

 Hope the foot is better . Sounds like you hit the muther load with those Chinese bootleg DVDs lol.

Yesterday I provided some entertainment for the neighborhood as I got a haircut in the driveway. I hadn't cut my hair in two years so it was pretty long. And too damn hot for the tropics. I should have taken pictures, it was comical getting a haircut with an audience. I did save my ponytail, not sure why but it should be interesting explaining what it is to Customs.

LOL @ where this thread has gone! Thanks for keeping us posted on all this, bit. Hey, if Kenny ever comes back on the radio, you could always sing parodies to his songs and at least have a laugh. You know...stuff like, "you picked a fine time to leave me Lucile...with 400 children, and a crop on ant hills" :) Stay safe brother.

-Danny

I kind of know what you're going through. I once went to Jamaica in July. I thought I knew what uncomfortable felt like, I was wrong. Scorching hot and sunny all day, followed by a thunderstorm late in the afternoon and a rainbow for sunset. Tropical flowers outside the front door.

And on the other side there was eating lunch while the dinner entree's walked in and out of the cantina, pecking at the floor. And lets not forget the nightly fight matches. You bet on either the big spider or the little lizard. Who would survive. No AC, and people offering to buy your foreign currency at attractive rates. Rum $8, Pepsi $26.

Strange little bits of paradise and quite the land of contrasts. I just can't do the tropics anymore. You need to be in shape to do well in the tropics.

Have yourself a great vacation, the memories last a lifetime.

Jamaica in July? Did your travel agent not raise an eyebrow? I hope the hotel rates were really good. No way I'd be HERE in July. For starters, that's typhoon season.

We had a nice downpour this morning and a lightning show tonight, and that's enough entertainment for me. I've seen the aftermath of a typhoon - couple years ago we lost almost every tree and half our roof. No thanks. Unless the airfare's really cheap.

The first week our weather was quite good. Today it decided to give us a taste of summer: 93 degrees, humid, and no breeze. I'd just stay in the ocean if I could, but I already look like a cooked lobster as it is.

So the ants like lobster then?