Wednesday 7th April

The children’s big day out. There were so many of us that there wasn’t enough space in the vehicles to take everyone to the Ocean Adventure theme park on the far side of the airfield in Subic Bay. Some of the older boys were told they’d have to commute half-way there before being picked up by some of the coaches who’d already dropped off a load of us. It seemed like hundreds of us waiting in the car park. All the girls had colourful clothes on and many wore small rucksacks carrying their swimwear. The younger boys who’d travelled on the coaches had already ditched their bags and were running after a deflated volleyball and a smaller plastic ball that we’d bought in the shopping mall yesterday.

Mum and I had been assigned a group of 6 boys in their early teens to look after. They duly introduced themselves to us and for the rest of the morning mum kept trying to keep count. The managers at the park had been particularly good to us. For a nominal fee, they’d granted us access to all the main shows, provided lunch and set aside a stretch of beach for us to play on during the afternoon.

We began with the organised entertainment. After a mishap in the aquarium in which several children witnessed a small fish being eaten by a larger one, we found ourselves at the Sea Lion show. There were two of them and one couldn’t really be bothered to show off. At one point the animal’s handlers asked for volunteers from the crowd. Dozens of hands went up around me but Randy’s was the most persuasive and he made his way through the crowded auditorium to a huge cheer. Once at the front, he was asked to take part in a competition against the Sea Lion by copying its moves. To the handler’s surprise, Randy was better.

First the Sea Lion balanced on one flipper and raised the rest of its body off the ground. Randy did the same. Then the Sea Lion was encouraged to roll across the floor. Not that it wanted to. It took the handler several attempts and swooshy hand movements to encourage the beast to bother. Randy needed less encouragement. He took off his sunglasses and got straight down on the wet floor. Finally, the Sea Lion waddled across the stage, building up enough speed so that it could slide from the middle to the end. The park’s staff sprayed extra water onto the stage. Randy took a run-up and dived to another huge roar. They ended up giving him the rosette that was meant for the Sea Lion. You could tell because they asked for it back as he walked off.

The morning continued with similar displays that included high-platform diving, dolphins and a strange collection of animals that were supposed to be connected to the rain forests but actually included a dog, a cat and a bat that flew away half-way through the performance. The children were incredibly well behaved and seemed to enjoy all the shows despite the stifling heat.


After lunch, most of the younger ones jumped straight in the sea. We’d bought a range of inflatables, balls and other seaside equipment with us, expecting them to be used in games. Although some of the balls were thrown about a bit, most of them seemed to disappear up the children’s t-shirts. They were being used as buoyancy aids as many of them couldn’t swim. Even some of the early teens were frightened to let go of their floats. Many of the adults spent the afternoon teaching them the basics.

The older teens hardly went in the water at all. They hung around in the shade desperately trying to avoid the sun. It seems where we spent the early part of the holiday working up a tan to impress our friends, the Filipinos actively try to make their skin as light as possible. Some even use skin-whitening products. Just before they left, a couple of them did a spot of paddling. On the way home, Becky suggested that some of them might not be able to swim either.

So, another day has come to an end. We’re all starting to talk about leaving and no one wants to go. Brian, John and Alan were working late this evening, trying to finish off as much of the kitchen as possible. They’re still finding problems. Tonight they were trying to fix a hinge to a cupboard door, only to find that it was heavily rotting. Later, Saskia, Becky and I went down to the guesthouse that’s being used by Brian, Ruth, Marian and Tony. We sat with them for an hour-or-so, talking through how much we’d enjoyed the day and the trip in general. Later, the three of us composed a quiz about what we’ve got up to. It’s everything from ‘What was the memory verse that we were asked to learn at the Shine service?’ (Hebrews 4 verse 12) to ‘What is the motto being used by the local 7-11s ahead of the election? (7-Election: Every Gulp Counts – It’s the title of a straw poll in which special drinking cups have been produced with the pictures of candidates on the side. The shops are counting up how many of each are bought and are displaying the politicians’ popularity based on sales). We’re not leaving until Friday, but tomorrow’s our last full day in Subic. There’s still a lot to do.