Manananggot

This guy climbs all the coconut trees (no harness) to collect the juice from the premature fruit stalk which he then makes into a tuba (local coconut wine).

(Word mananaggot comes from the rootword 'sanggot', a curved knife used to etch a young fruit stalk. Manananggot is the tuba gatherer and maker and sanggot is the tool of the trade.)

Manong Sorbetero

Sorbetes of course, is 'ice cream'. Kids love this. I had 3 scoops of peanut flavor.

Pabitin

It's a children's game at parties where the kids grab the toys they like. The frame (usually made of bamboo) is lowered up and down with a rope and the kids try to jump to grab the toys they want. A kid usually cries afterwards. Must be fun for the adults.

Fan lady

At a tabo (marketday)

Buying dried, salted fish and squids (pusit). Good for the heart ;D

Beach life

Sometimes small fishing boats would come in from the sea with their catch. The act of meeting a boat and buying fish directly from them is called 'pagtapo' in our language. The photo above is of the fish we bought from a fisherman. Grilled at the beach, sprinkled with kalamansi juice (small citrus).

Beach photos

This is how I'm spending my summer.. watching boats pass by, taking photos of coconut trees and the sand and the beach.. and getting sun-burned.

6 days to go

To the Palarong Pambansa (National Games) to be held here in Tacloban (and the whole of Leyte province). Added game is the skimboarding in Tanauan which is said to be the place where skimboarding started, although other towns might challenge that claim. Overall.. I'm avoiding the overcrowded downtown area these days. (Photo taken yesterday.)

Beach photos

Tuba

Local fermented coconut wine, dyed with barako.

Empty beach