Hello Everyone, in case you have arrived at this blog, I HAVE CREATED A NEW BLOG FOR MY RWANDAN EXPERIENCE. You access it by going to www.hansinrwanda.blogspot.com . Thank you for your interest.

Our greeting to Canada was mounds of snow and a reasonable temperature until Wednesday when the morning temperature was about 60 degrees celsius colder than what we were used to in Manila. Oh well that's Canada, eh!...but it did feel good to be home.

With this we will sign off on this blog for now. Our future in the Philippines isn't clear but it is our hope to return. We'll keep you posted with future notes.

...and so on Jan 12 our stay in the Philippines came to a close with flight from Manila to Hong Kong and then direct to Toronto by 6pm that evening. Although flying at about 1000 km/hr, it was the 13 hour time difference that put us into Toronto on the same afternoon that we left Manila.

Another meeting was with Congressman of the 2nd district in Isabela, Edwin Uy who already has a large egg layer operation (15,000 dozen/day) as well as a beef operation of carabao and brahman animals. It is his intent to also showcase the potential of dairy operations in Isabela. His wife, a medical doctor, has chosen to dedicate her life to farming and researching alternative agricultural practices.

Our short stay in Manila did allow us to connect with some individuals from Isabela who are interested in starting a dairy farm in their home province. The wife of Congressman Albano, Mylene had expressed interest in dairy on previous occasions. It was the Albano's who had hosted us on our first visit to the Philippines.

On January 2nd we returned to Manila to await our flight back to Canada. Early on we were able to move our flight to the 12th from January 20 while we stayed in a small condo in Quezon City, part of Metro Manila. This is a partial (about 1/2) view of Metro Manila with Quezon City off to the upper right. Metro Manila is home to about 16 million people. We were treated to breakfast with Congressman Uy and family at this health resort about 800 metres above the Manila landscape. At the skyline is Manila Bay.

The specific gravity of fresh pool water causes me to sink at least 10 inches deeper than the sea water. Cathy and our friend Girlie from Manila have a good laugh about my sinkability but starting the New Year swimming still beats shovelling snow which we anticipate in about 3 weeks but not with the same enthusiasm!