The Philippines (2) Drongos, tarsiers and a bloody drink!

Dawn breaks at 5.45 next morning Tom's still asleep and so I slip out with my binoculars and my 'Birds of the Philippines' in an attempt to begin my Philippine list.My first bird is a little Pacific Swallow, a lone bird gliding through the palms.I suspect that it's hunting insects as the rising sun warms the thatch on the bungalows. Obviously, the proverbial 'early bird'. A few minutes later it's joined by several others.The next bird announces itself with cat-like purring and harsh metallic squeaks,it's a Spangled Drongo or rather a pair of Drongos. I've seen them before though in Australia and so it's not 'a lifer', in birder jargon, for me. Later I do get 'a lifer', a Chestnut Munia in the frangipani tree in front of the veranda where we breakfast.
 I know however that my bird watching will be limited because Tom is not a birder, it's not one of my passions that he has inherited. He's more of a city boy.Raised in Paris, he is more at home in the bustle and bright lights of the city.His passion is football and he prefers PSG (Paris St.Germain F.C.) to tramping around the bush looking for birds and so the next day we book a day tour around the Island of Bohol in a
four wheel drive vehicle with our own driver.We share the trip with  Steve and Tania. They teach English in Taiwan, are very widely travelled, interesting companions and great people to be with.The tour takes up the whole day and luckily the vehicle is air-conditioned because it's very hot and the humidity is high.
 Our driver takes us first to a tarsier sanctuary.The tarsier is the world's second smallest primate and indigenous to this area of the Philippines.Initially, we are a little apprehensive because we've heard that some of the so called 'sanctuaries' are little more than squalid little zoos where the tarsiers are kept in cages.No need to worry though, this one is large and comprises an area of tropical forest where the little animals live free and are allowed to roam within the sanctuary.We are guided through it by young experienced Philippino guides who are knowledgeable about the tarsiers and the other animals and birds which live in the reserve.It's good to see an initiative which gives the local youngsters work and looks after the environment as well.
  Next it's on to the Chocolate Hills,strange, pyramid-like limestone hills formed over the millenia by the action of water when this area was a shallow sea and after by erosion. Signs everywhere inform us that this is 'a gun-free zone' and advise visitors to check in their firearms before entering the area. A few days later  find the same signs and security checkpoints in a shopping mall in Tagbilaran. The Philippinos are very vigilant because unfortunately terrorism and gun crime is an ever present threat.
On top of one of the hills we are lucky enough to see a pair of Brahminy Kites quartering the rice fields below us. No, it wasn't a 'lifer' for me either but always a beautiful bird to watch nevertheless. The last one I saw was on Fraser Island in Queensland. It always amazes me that some species of birds are so widely distributed whilst others are so localised.
  The day is long and we visit a good number of sites but one in particular merits a particular mention.On our way back to Panglao we stop at a statue alongside the ocean which commemorates a pact made between an early Spanish explorer and a local chieftain in 1565. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi like, his fellow 16th centuary compatriots in the Americas,arrived in Bohol in search of gold and spices.In order to ensure he was not attacked by the indigenous peoples, he made a pact with a local chieftain, Dato Sikatuno.The pact was  sealed in blood-the two men apparently drank each other's! The ceremony is know as the Sandingo (one blood ceremony' and is celebrated in the Tagbilaran region every year. The large statue comprising several figures,priests, soldiers and local tribal dignitaries depicts the ceremony on the outskirts of the city.Ironically, in recent years historical research has suggested that it took place further along the coast but the residents of Tagbilaran insist that theirs is the authentic site and are naturally anxious it remains so.
  As we drive back through the mangrove swamps and jungle along the coast I reflect that I am the only member of my family to have been in the Philippines since my uncle served there with the Royal Navy supporting the liberating American forces in 1945. Later he went on to Japan and helped to secure the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atom bombs had been dropped.Needless to say he was never the same afterwards.