Welcome to Page 2 of the photographic tour of the land of "Sweet Potato".

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I have abandoned any attempt to keep the chronology of these images in line with the book's plot so just enjoy them for what they are.  I really need to make another trip back there with my own camera and document things more completely.
To the left is a more detailed map of the four Camotes Islands than was provided on page 1. 

To the right is an enlarged portion of the map showing primarily Pacihan Island where I spent most of my time.
To the left is the central portion of the same map enlarged even more.

The dotted line coming up from the bottom is the route our pam-boat took to dock in Poro.

I then rode the "Smash" from Poro to San Francisco.

Vilma's home is, coincidentally, where the "house" symbol is, just above the number 2.
A black and white
banded sea snake.

I knew to avoid
these but didn't know how lethal they were until I returned to the U.S.

Fortunately the only one I encountered on this trip was about the size of a pencil.
One of the many fish butchers at the Camotes market.
Fighting cocks in their cages.
Pam-boats on a beach with
sail-up convenience stores.
Here's what coconuts look like just before they break loose and fall on you.
An example of the lush local flora surrounding a house.
Here's another way to fit 20-30 people in, and on, a jeepney.

Watch out for low hanging power lines.
A fruit vendor at the Camotes market.
A butcher at the Camotes market.
A concrete stairway
poured right down to
low-tide water level
at a local resort.
A rock resort on Poro Island.

There are a lot of these place
but not many people using them.
Someone we don't know on a beach.
Above and below: the view of Camotes from the deck of a pam-boat.
Two views of yet another rock resort on Camotes.
A view from the shore of the
resort on Lake Danao.
Here and to the right: two views of the carved-wood crocodile on the shore of Lake Danao.  There are real crocodile in Lake Danao
The dock at Lake Danao.  Plentiful
fish to be caught from here for a fee.
"The Mansion" on Poro Island that was converted into a hotel.  Check-in counter to the left and swimming pool below.
Mangodlong rock resort at high tide.  There is normally a sandbar leading to the rocks so you can go out without getting your feet wet.  It was from these islets that I went diving on the outer side.
Two water-level views of the Mangodlong coral islets eroded over time by wave action but still too sharp for bare flesh.
Sunset at Mangodlong Rock Resort.
Two reasonably good sized pam-boats
anchored in the surf on Camotes.
Another view of the same beach without the person we didn't know.
This pam-boat is very similar in size to the one we sailed to Camotes on.
Fairly typical home construction on Camotes when the homeowner has the resources to afford wood construction.
I mentioned that the resorts on Camotes don't get much use.
The empty swimming pool at this one attests to that.
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To the right and below are some general scenes at several resorts.
Starting below are 8 photos of caves on Camotes.  Most of them are of MacArthur cave that I did not visit on the trip documented in Sweet Potato but that I have visited previously and which plays a central role in my novel "Yamashita's Gold".
Mangodlong resort at sunset.  Yes, this is the same photo as the one 8 above.  You win.
Here, to the left, and below are three pictures of sunrises on Camotes.
Above and below: two views of the lobby of our hotel in Cebu.  Note the map on the ceiling.  This place was a far cry from ordinary life in Cebu.
The casino in our hotel in Cebu. 
Above, the structure surrounding Magellan's cross and below, an interior view showing the cross.
The infant Jesus, or Santo Nino, the patron saint of Cebu.  There are long lines to step up and touch the protective glass in front of this icon.