After getting up with the sun at 5 AM I decided to get a run in. By the time I stepped outside at about 6 the heat was already settling in. I jogged up the mountain a little bit and checked out the town some more, the whole island is very similar in how the huts are built.
Later on in the morning Diane took us up to the center of the island (we went up to around 1500 ft above sea level). Why people chose to live in the danger zone of an active volcano (named Hibuk Hibuk, last eruption in 1951) is beyond my comprehension. Stopping at a geological watch station for Camiguin’s volcanic activity we read up a little on some history. There were pictures showing the eruptions from 1948-1953, as well as some descriptions of the 1870’s eruptions. It seems like the volcano is overdue for another eruption. Not to sound like a chicken, but as soon as I feel a tremor I’m liable to hop on the first boat out of here. It also doesn’t help that I recently saw Dante’s Peak, a movie about a volcano eruption. Basically the ‘Jaws’ effect is at work here.
We also saw some more of Diane's patients in the area. The first kid we saw had one clubfoot with the other having been amputated. After casting his clubfoot and giving him a prosthetic he seemed to be getting around just fine. Another child we saw had been born 3 months premature, had not started walking until she was 2.5 years old, and had acute visual problems. I’ll never forget seeing their hut, their dirty clothes, and the shiny brand new videoke (video screen + karaoke) machine sitting outside. Clearly some skewed priorities at work. While we were going up the mountain we noticed that they are building a road across the middle of the island, which supposedly will be good for the farmers up there to be able to bring their goods down to the markets.
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