September 24th 1944, Coron Bay Basuanga Philippines Task Force 38 launched their air strike from the deck of the USS Lexington. Taking off at dawn, they surprised 15 Japanese ships in the Bay, the Coron Passage and just west of Coron Island. Ships ranged in size from small freighters to 15,000 ton tankers. Upon teaming up to take on the ships they were dispersed as follows i) between Tangat and Lusong Islands: 1 x destroyer (DD) or destroyer escort (DE); 2 ...

In keeping with the rest of my time on Palawan, by the time i got to El Nido it was time for another town fiesta. This time was the Foundation Day Fiesta celebrating 60-odd years of the towns existence. Arriving in El Nido inside the bus (instead of on top but by no means any less shaken) after the 9 hour ride from Port Barton i found myself in a beautiful little town in the shadows of huge towering limestone cliffs. I love El Nido and i spend the day wandering...

So, Julie was telling me over a hot chocolate made in the candlelight at night, that she was into adventure racing in her native Czech Republic. This got me thinking but more of that later, so the next day when she suggested we take for a hike to a waterfall she had heard of in the jungle i figured i would accompany and see what 'off-piste' hiking into the unkown would bring. The next morning, we packed up a few useful items and headed off from our beachside bu...

Thiings to remember when riding on the roof of a bus in the Philippines;- Keep your head down, mangoes can hurt you at 60mph try and find something to hold onto, preferably a gas cannister Hang on for dear life as you round the corners...its only 2 hour ride keep an eye on the provisions being delivered to the local villages on route All good fun, if a little hair raising! So basically i have the relatively western Boracay and now am heading further of...

Some random thoughts from the Philippines;- there's loads of kids, and I mean loads, everyone has at least 5 and they all have english names.....Bobby, Freddie, Danny etc, strange for Asians! but not as many roosters <3 each boats are called bankas and buses are called jeepneys you can easily buy guns and ammo ive joined the local police force (PULIS) but the 'guardians' uphold the law videoke is huge and the sesame street theme tune counts!! beer is...