archipelageo

Archipelageo is an exploration of Philippine geography through my travels. I started travel writing five years ago with nothing more than the desire to defray some of my trip expenses from the proceeds of my published work. The real pay-off was not in remuneration but in the learning and the experience I have gained, on the road, along the way.

At one point, I was on a sputtering banca en route to an uninhabited island of Dinagat when I got a flashback of myself watching Ian Wright on the now-defunct Lonely Planet series on TV, wishing that I had his job, and then realizing that I now had it, or at least some semblance of it, and that I was blessed to do so.

So this is my way of paying it forward, to share what I am able to see firsthand, with those who cannot. It is also a quixotic campaign to fill the gaps in information which books, media, and ordinary travel may not be able to provide. The goal of an exhaustive resource on geographic knowledge may never be achieved but I push myself to weave in a few fibers into the fabric where I can, collecting stories of places, people and events that I come upon.

This is by no means a solo effort, and I welcome any help you can provide -- information, corrections, photos, videos, text, a clean bed, breakfast, a round of beer -- to create a clearer, more complete picture of the Philippines.