Contrast/OWT & WWW

Overlooking a small, crowded pier at Culion Island.  

Moved my camera frame a few inches to the left and captured this serene scene---strikingly different from the jam-packed pier.

We do not live an equal life, but one of contrasts and patchwork, now a little joy, then a sorrow, now a sin, then a generous or brave action. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linking to Our World Tuesday and  Water World Wednesday

Persistence/Water World Wednesday

People are always blaming their circumstance for what they are.  I don't believe in circumstance.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.  ~ G.B. Shaw

Mangroves in Atwayan Beach, Coron Island

Linking to Water World Wednesday and NF Waters

Burning in the Skies/SWF

I used the deadwood to make the fire rise

The blood of innocence burning in the skies

I filled my cup with the rising of the sea

And poured it out in the ocean of debris...

~ by Linkin Park

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Calamianes: At day's end/Water World Wednesday

Going back to Busuanga Island after a day of island hopping and snorkeling.  We were tired but happy, and looking forward to another exciting day. 

Linking to Kim's  Water World - Wednesday

and NF Waters

Journey/Watery World-Wednesday

Like you, they are headed to the same place and no matter what they may appear like to you, they have taken the perfect form for their journey.  How strong our relationships would be if we could see and respect that we are all perfectly imperfect for our journey.

Linking to Kim's Watery World-Wednesday
 and NF Waters

Roofs/Blue Monday

Blue roofs among the greens. 
One of the island resorts we passed by in Calamianes.

Linking to Blue Monday

Contentment/Water World-Wednesday & NF Waters

Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase. ~ John Balguy

A pearl farm near Dynamite Point in the Calamianes

Get your eyes wet over at Watery World - Wednesday

and NF Waters

Coron Island: Lush/Water World Wednesday

Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature  and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable,  Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend  is my religion.  To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious. ~ Albert Einstein

Coron Island, Calamianes, northen Palawan

Linking to Watery Wednesday and Water World Wednesday

Drive-by in Calamianes/Watery Wednesday

Drive-by shots of limestone mountains and islands in Calamianes while were in an outrigger boat. Most of the islands are uninhibited, some are privately-owned.

Calamian Group of Islands, northern Palawan

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Coron Island: Atwayan Beach (part 2)/OWT and WW

More photos of Atwayan Beach in Coron Island.  Atwayan is a short strip of white sand in one of the coves in Coron Island.  We snorkeled in the nearby coral garden, had lunch here and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Calamianes: Green rolling hills

These are not flood-washed mountains.  Some of the  islands in the Calamianes are rich in a certain mineral that makes them ideal for grazing.  In Busuanga Island alone, more than 10,000 hectares are used as grazing by the Yulo King's Ranch. The coastline is protected by mangrove forests.  I also captured a small fishing village at the tip of the island.

I am sorry I have not been very active in leaving comments on your posts. I moved to a bigger apartment a few weeks ago, and my internet connection is still not stable.

Thank you for your visits and wishing you a hopeful and prosperous 2012!

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Calamianes: Pearl Farm [Watery Wednesday]

Somewhere between the islands of Busuanga and Culion, I noticed this floating hut near the shores of a deserted island.  I wondered why someone would like to stay in a floating hut in the middle of nowhere.  Then I saw lots and lots of floating black balls, so I asked our boatman about it.  He told us the area is a pearl farm.  The huts are for security personnel and they are armed with automatic weapons!

I have not seen a pearl farm before.  I knew about pearl farms in Mindanao but didn't know there are pearl farms in Palawan.  Turned out, pearl farming in the region began in the early 1900's.  The clean waters of Palawan have attracted investors to engage in pearl farming, particularly in the island municipalities.  A total of more than 44,000 hectares are under lease for pearl farming, and the lease period is generally 25 years.

Pearls are cultured by transplanting a tiny piece of mantle tissue of an oyster shell into the shell of a young oyster.  This graft forms a pearl sac and precipitate calcium carbonate into this pocket.  Over time, this grows into a pearl.  It takes 2-5 years for a pearl to mature. Source

The world's largest pearl, the 9.45-inch Pearl of Lao Tzu, was found by a diver in Palawan in 1934 and is now valued at US$42 million. Source

Get virtually wet @ Watery Wednesday

Calamianes: Cagbatan Island

Cagbatan Island in the Calamianes, also known as Coron Youth Club (CYC)---is a tiny uninhabited island ideal for swimming, snorkeling and camping.  Diving beginners also train here.

The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision. ~ William Arthur Ward

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Emerald sky [Watery Wednesday]

My soul is full of longing

For the secret of the sea,

And the heart of the great ocean

Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

One of the many islands we passed by on our way to Culion Island.

This post is linked to Watery Wednesday