Glamping is an abbreviation for “glamorous camping”. But since all the manufacturers of such glamorous camping seem to be from the United States and because shipping to the Philippines from there is so expensive, if you bring the tent with you, we’d be happy to pay for it and build you your furniture in advance! Furniture made from bamboo and/or sawed coconut trunk. With juicy fat mattresses brought in from Coron. At the southern end of the beach there are wonderful spots for such glamorous tents, and where eventually we’d like to build small huts. Very private and quiet space where you can catch both sunrise and sundown (certain times…

Since my connection with the caretaker, my situation has felt much more certain. I no longer feel like such an outsider of a village on the verge of pulling out their pitchforks, but someone with possible clout. It went from someone who could be charged by the locals for collecting bamboo washed up onto the beach, to someone who is in contact with the owner of a property they traverse in order to get to the island’s only water supply. And I made sure to mention that when our relations seemed strained. The beginnings of my humble hut. But according to my initial spirit of wanting to maintain good community…

It was five months of misery, which I managed to overcome in my usual adaptive way, but it was also a fun time of making lots of pockets in the jungle for the 30 tents I had accumulated over time. I look forward to being ready for the upcoming high season, as in the past I’ve been approached a few times by larger groups but could not accommodate them. With a few large groups of paying guests, I can start to recoup my extensive investments into tents and other material, now officially in the hole by 140,000p, which is about $3,000. One of the new pockets by beachfront. But misery…

At one of the posts framing the entrance to the D area. Our guests often have fun beautifying our camp in different ways.  D1 on beachfront On the immediate left as soon as you pass through the gates above. A smaller tent snuggled in the shade, 600p for one person or 800p for two. Room for a hammock (we have many) just to the left of the tent. View of the beach and the two trees next to the tent from which you can hang a hammock. D2 A little spot very close to shore but with no view, 400-600p. D3 Walking further inland past that, there is an open…

The following video is of a friend of mine who will be staying with me for three months (perhaps longer, on and off) and who is a certified personal trainer and crossfit specialist on the beach. He filled up basketballs of various sizes with sand to create medicine balls, uses thick heavy fisherman (battle) ropes he found on the beach, an old truck tire, used 5L water bottles hanging from bamboo for barbells and other creative ideas to create intensive 5-10 minute workouts on the beach. The soft fluffy sand makes it an ideal workout for the ankles. In the big hut he has set up an exercise workstation using various…

The delux tent purposefully flattened to protect it from getting ruined, behind a temporary wall of coconut leaves. Letter to mom about Ben, June 10 That’s the owner of the property I’m supposed to be developing. He dropped by the other day, bringing in more bamboo so that I can continue with construction (mostly tables and little things, since I do not have permission for the property I’m actually on to build anything, let alone even be here), came to check out my progress, asked to confirm that I had indeed been here for over a year, and then burst out a little laughter, finding it funny that I can live in this…

The high season starts around the time my favourite volunteers leave, a record ten now staying here, which eventually climbs to 14 staying over a duration of five weeks. Great progress is achieved and everyone loves the space. Jungle trails are built on the new and surrounding islands and the options seem limitless. The internet is mostly fantastic and I conclude that, during the day, the children are in school while the parents are fishing, leaving the tower entirely to myself with internet speeds crushing those found in more populated areas. It is only until around 4:30pm, when the children get out of school, that the speed slows down, probably because…

A few kitesurfers pass through and assess the conditions and my equipment. Although a great deal for less than $500 for two (usually they are a thousand a pop), it turns out my kitesurfing kits are from 2001, well before the extensive advances in harness safety. The kites are good, although many of the valves are missing the part which prevents air from leaking once pumped up. Since the kites need to be pumped up tight in order to work properly, I order some used parts from ebay. The first surfing guest scopes out the island and explains it is not a good one, on either side of it. The beaches…

Before I started these island development projects, the idea came to me to start an island hopping enterprise. A country of 7,107 islands, about a thousand of which are in my area alone. A calm area and more affluent part of the country, with honest folks, little crime and no typhoons. The dream was to explore them myself, equipped with portable solar panels (I expected none or next to no electricity in the villages I planned to visit, but was told there is a mobile signal everywhere), and fill in a database of contact numbers to local fishermen who could take guests to their next destination, while teaching the new…

I make it to the new lot, the volunteers absolutely love it, and soon enough several more volunteers arrive from different parts of the world to bring our working crew up to a record number of 10. Some leave, more arrive, local boat tours are taken, and in two weeks this revolving door of faithful labourers accomplishes quite a lot. Lot of jungle cleared, construction of first bamboo table started. Check out the moon action! Before arriving, on my initial test run, I asked the locals where Ben’s property begins and ends. They specifically earmarked two big trees on the shore. Big trees are nice, and I quickly developed grandiose…