July 26, 2011
Well, it's 8:45 in the morning, and CI is 15 minutes late. There's a good reason for their
tardiness, as we're experiencing a Class 3 typhoon. The wind is howling, the rain is biblical,
and there's at least 12-18" of standing water in the street outside the hotel. I seriously doubt
the visit will happen today - unless we're all willing to tread water. Here's a brief video to give
you an idea of what we're experiencing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE68u79qtiM
I'm expecting to get a call within the hour from CI about what's going on. I think the best we
can hope for is to arrange for Tabaco and Legaspi visits tomorrow - weather permitting. If
that happens, there's a likelihood that some or all of the other kids I'm supposed to meet will
not happen. Insert a big frown face here. Of course, I will leave all the gifts regardless of what
happens.
Since I don't have much to do while we wait, allow me to describe my evening. My room has
no view. Zero. There is another building maybe 2 feet from my window. Nothing but a big
cement wall. Under other circumstances, it would be no big deal, as I am not here to enjoy the
sites. In this case however, the proximity of the buildings was acting as a wind tunnel. The
heavy winds were whipping through the gap, causing some rather ghastly noises between the
window seams. It was like a haunted house, with things going bump in the night, only the
ghosts left town for quieter places.
Oh, and there have been three power outages in the last 12 hours, the most recent one while I
was in the shower. And the wake up call happened 25 minutes late, as they are probably relying
on an automated system that doesn't work so well with the power out. So there I am rushing
around trying to get ready. Then I headed down to the lobby to get my first look at what the
typhoon has wrought. It didn't take long to figure out that not much was going to happen
today. A very big bummer.
More later...
Twelve hours has passed and it's been...interesting. The bad news is that I missed seeing Maila
today. Even had my hotel not flooded, I hear that the area in which she lives was hit as well. I
recall having to pass over a poorly constructed bridge on the way to her home the last time,
and I suspect that it may have washed out. I've called CI to see if there's a way to combine
tomorrow's scheduled visit with Jennevy from Tabaco with Maila. They're looking into it.
As for the poor Hotel St. Ellis, it has the misfortune of being located in a low-lying area and has
no provisions for preventing rising water levels from entering the lobby. They started getting a
hint of water around 8:30 in the morning. By 12:30, the entire first floor had about 8" of
brown, fetid water. Power went out countless times before they shut down the generator for
good. The staff were sloshing through the muck in boots. What a mess. They'll spend weeks
cleaning and disinfecting the place.
It became clear that the waters would not recede for several hours, so they transferred us to
Hotel Venezia, the place I stayed at the last time. We were carting our belongings through the
streets with the water level at mid-thigh to the van. Let's hope the worst of this storm passes
through tonight. The thought of slogging my way 10000km to get here, only to miss seeing
them, would be a major disappointment.
The good news: the replacement hotel has power, lighting, and AC. The bad news: they're
showing really bad Filipino soap operas on TV. It's only 8:30, but the lack of sleep from last
night's experience has me longing for bed. Keep your fingers crossed about tomorrow.
Well, it's 8:45 in the morning, and CI is 15 minutes late. There's a good reason for their
tardiness, as we're experiencing a Class 3 typhoon. The wind is howling, the rain is biblical,
and there's at least 12-18" of standing water in the street outside the hotel. I seriously doubt
the visit will happen today - unless we're all willing to tread water. Here's a brief video to give
you an idea of what we're experiencing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE68u79qtiM
I'm expecting to get a call within the hour from CI about what's going on. I think the best we
can hope for is to arrange for Tabaco and Legaspi visits tomorrow - weather permitting. If
that happens, there's a likelihood that some or all of the other kids I'm supposed to meet will
not happen. Insert a big frown face here. Of course, I will leave all the gifts regardless of what
happens.
Since I don't have much to do while we wait, allow me to describe my evening. My room has
no view. Zero. There is another building maybe 2 feet from my window. Nothing but a big
cement wall. Under other circumstances, it would be no big deal, as I am not here to enjoy the
sites. In this case however, the proximity of the buildings was acting as a wind tunnel. The
heavy winds were whipping through the gap, causing some rather ghastly noises between the
window seams. It was like a haunted house, with things going bump in the night, only the
ghosts left town for quieter places.
Oh, and there have been three power outages in the last 12 hours, the most recent one while I
was in the shower. And the wake up call happened 25 minutes late, as they are probably relying
on an automated system that doesn't work so well with the power out. So there I am rushing
around trying to get ready. Then I headed down to the lobby to get my first look at what the
typhoon has wrought. It didn't take long to figure out that not much was going to happen
today. A very big bummer.
More later...
Twelve hours has passed and it's been...interesting. The bad news is that I missed seeing Maila
today. Even had my hotel not flooded, I hear that the area in which she lives was hit as well. I
recall having to pass over a poorly constructed bridge on the way to her home the last time,
and I suspect that it may have washed out. I've called CI to see if there's a way to combine
tomorrow's scheduled visit with Jennevy from Tabaco with Maila. They're looking into it.
As for the poor Hotel St. Ellis, it has the misfortune of being located in a low-lying area and has
no provisions for preventing rising water levels from entering the lobby. They started getting a
hint of water around 8:30 in the morning. By 12:30, the entire first floor had about 8" of
brown, fetid water. Power went out countless times before they shut down the generator for
good. The staff were sloshing through the muck in boots. What a mess. They'll spend weeks
cleaning and disinfecting the place.
It became clear that the waters would not recede for several hours, so they transferred us to
Hotel Venezia, the place I stayed at the last time. We were carting our belongings through the
streets with the water level at mid-thigh to the van. Let's hope the worst of this storm passes
through tonight. The thought of slogging my way 10000km to get here, only to miss seeing
them, would be a major disappointment.
The good news: the replacement hotel has power, lighting, and AC. The bad news: they're
showing really bad Filipino soap operas on TV. It's only 8:30, but the lack of sleep from last
night's experience has me longing for bed. Keep your fingers crossed about tomorrow.
