The homes were similar to the one at right, near the shore and their boats.
Left: Nets hanging out to dry and a .rollover image of a closer view showing the

Right: around Mantigue the white sands are made up of the broken coral bleached by the sun.

Beneath is a misty, view of the same mountain, about 30 minutes later.

Early morning sunrise at Alibuag, an hour east of Cagayan de Oro.

The boats of Mantigue Island, called Bangkas.

Right: a bangka with fishing nets still aboard.

Below: poised for tomorrow beside the sea.

A short boat ride brings you to where thirty-seven families make their living and live their lives on Mantigue island. Years ago the reefs were dynamited to float the fish to the surface, and today the area around the island is almost devoid of life. Instead of the brilliant reef corals and tropical fish, there are broken bits of white coral and patches of sea grass.
Left: The locals! They are too young for school, and the grown boys and men were already out fishing.

repetition of .form viewed below on the tropical soft coral reefs. Mantigue is a small island, a walk around the edge takes only fifteen minutes.Beautifully photogenic, there were many more photos I would have loved to put on the web, but many could not be reduced and still show the intricate detail. For example, click here.

We stayed at Alibuag for the weekend, to celebrate Terry's birthday with some underwater diving.

There we met Dodong. As he oversees his property, he is attempting to ensure both the future and the health of the remaining reefs. At his meetings with Philippine officials, he tries to keep them informed about ecological issues he sees in the area. An ardent campaigner against the litter being tossed in the ocean, he is also learning by trial and error the best ways to liaison between the future and the "Way it's always Been." Subsistence fishing has been the traditional way of life, but the whale sharks and commercial fish are becoming rarer, and Dodong is fighting for the future of his eco-tourism business. Recently he showed underwater video to tourism ministers who admitted they had no conception of the living reefs below the surface of the ocean.

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