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James Reports February 11, 2010

Arrive Manila

After a long flight and a scheduled 3 hour turned into 12 hour hour layover in San Francisco I finally arrived in Manila. The weather was clear and temp in low 80's. It feels good to be warm again. After customs I went to the domestic airport and bought a ticket to Davao. The only tickets left for departure before 2pm (about a 7hour wait) were standby. And what was worse is that standby tickets were about $30 US higher than the standard ticket. So I waited. Bought the regular ticket for 2pm since there was a chance I may have to wait until then even if I had purchased stand-by. About 11am a group of adults and several teen age kids showed up for the same flight as mine. After talking for a while I found out they were a group of teachers and students from Malita, about a 2 hour drive north of Davao.They had been flown to Manila for some kind of awards cermony as they had all excelled in school and were to be honored by the Govt.

They stayed with the Yankee until I had gathered my bags in Davao , and then they carried them out to the curb for me. They would not leave me until I had met Elvi outside. They invited us to go visit their school as honored guest, then we all said goodby. Elvi and I took a cab to Digos, about a 2 hour drive south of Davao, Total cost for taxi was $25.00 US. When we got to Digos it was dark. All the lights were out in town. They are out every night for a couple of hours, until after March. No one knows if it is work on the system or something to do with the upcoming elections.

With Nikki's help, I've arranged for have a small room in a duplex just down the road from Alforque's Eatery for about a month. I am waiting for my apartment to get open. The lady in it is leaving mid March to meet her husband in Canada. I take my meals at Alforque's Eatery every day. The food is good. I will cook some when I get the new place.

It sure feels great to be back in Digos City. The weather is about 75 degrees to mid 80's every day.