Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction.Located in the Philippines. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 meters high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.

Legend has it that the hills came into existence when two giants threw stones and sand at each other in a fight that lasted for days. When they were finally exhausted, they made friends and left the island, but left behind the mess they made. For the more romantically inclined is the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl called Aloya. After she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly. His tears then turned into hills, as a lasting proof of his grief.

However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of a impermeable layer of clay. If you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

By: IJsselstein

Sunken Cemetery

CAMIGUIN, PHILIPPINES — This island’s famous Sunken Cemetery, marked by a cross standing in the middle of the sea, resulted from the birth of Mount Vulcan in 1871.

History records show that Mount Vulcan started as a volcanic fissure on April 30, 1871 after weeks of earthquakes on the island. After continuously spewing out lava into the sea, it gained a height of nearly 2,000 feet and submerged areas of Catarman, including the former capitol’s cemetery.

Today, all that remains of old Catarman are the ruins of an ancient Spanish San Roque church, a convent and a bell tower.

Remnants of the structures and gravestones of the cemetery were still seen during low tide until 1948 when Mount Vulcan erupted for the fourth time, which buried the area deeper by 20 feet. In 1982, a large cross was built on the solidified lava to mark this old gravesite.

It is also in the list of the top 10 dive spots in the Philippines. The cemetery is a popular spot, between 5 to 20 meters one can find gravestones already gilded with colorful soft and hard corals inhabited by abundant marine life.
By: Anna Valmero

Perfect Coned Volcano: Mayon

In 1814, Mt. Mayon, in the province of Albay, the Philippines, erupted and devastated the surrounding communities. This is what remained of the Cagsawa church, whose bellfry has remained standing as a mute testimony of the enormous disaster caused by flowing lava. Some 1,200 people sought sanctuary in the church, thinking that they would be saved from the fury of Mayon volcano. All of them died. One could imagine that, in their last moment, they struggled to climb to this bellfry as others below tried to pull them down. It must be a tragic, horrifying experience.

Mayon Volcano (Mount Mayon) is an active strato volcano found in Albay Bicol on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It has a perfect cone shape; It was named after a legendary folk Daragang magayon. It was among the 7 wonders of nature in the Philippines. Mayon Volcano reaches 2,460 meters and is the central feature of the Albay Province, of which Legazpi City is the capital, about 300-km southeast of Manila. It must be one of the most beautiful volcanic cones anywhere in the world and is visible for miles around in the otherwise flat landscape of the region. The volcano is still active and has erupted in 2000 and 2001. There is a research station (PHIVOLCS) located about one-third of the way up that is accessible by road and is the jump-off for climbers. Mayon Volcano is the Philippines’ most active volcano and is considered to be the world’s most perfectly formed volcano for its symmetrical cone. The upper slopes of the volcano are steep averaging 35-40 degrees and are capped by a small summit crater.

The Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy is a 270 km (170 mile) long ocean bay that stretches between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast.


The Bay of Fundy is a globally significant natural wonder that deserves to be recognized as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Here’s why:

Highest Tides in the World
Bay of Fundy tides are 53 feet (16 metres), five to 10 times higher than any tide in the world. It takes six hours and 13 minutes for the tides to go from high to low and for 100 billion tonnes of seawater to flow in and out of the bay twice daily. More water moves through the Bay of Fundy in one cycle than the combined flow of all the world’s freshwater rivers. The amount of water in one tide cycle would fill and then empty the Grand Canyon.

Ecology
The Bay of Fundy has been compared in marine biodiversity to the Amazon Rainforest. Through ocean currents and its massive tides, it is biologically linked to the rest of the world by fish, bird, and marine mammal migrations.

Whales
The Bay of Fundy hosts over 12 species of whales during their summer and fall feedings, including half the world’s population of rare and endangered Right whales.

Dinosaurs and Fossils
The Bay of Fundy has the world’s most complete fossil record of the “Coal Age” (300 million years ago). It is home to the world’s oldest reptiles and Canada’s oldest dinosaurs, and the site of one of the greatest extinctions the world has ever known — the Triassic/Jurassic extinction.

Green Tidal Energy
The Bay of Fundy has the potential to become one of the world’s greatest producers of tidal energy. The Bay is 10 times more powerful than any other site in North America and is already generating environmentally-sustainable electricity.

Culture
The area is rich in the culture and history of its original First Nations as well as European settlers who arrived in 1604 — before Canada was a country. Regional culture and history are celebrated at interpretation centres, historic sites, horticultural display gardens, and artisans’ studios.

Philippines ghost story

This story is from Mario, somewhere in the Philipppines. Enjoy

I was teacher at Central Philippine University. One night, reluctantly, I worked late to prepare the next day's test paper. It was well known that the campus was haunted and true to the accusation, strange things did take place that night.

There I was, in my class, minding my work when I heard a “thud” sound coming from upstairs. I thought, maybe some unlucky soul had to work late as well. Feeling glad I wasn’t the only one, I felt save and comfortable, I went on working.

Minutes of serenity passed, then, I heard someone running on the floor above. I wasn't scared, but was curious to see who was this comrade of mine. So, I got out of my class and made my way upstairs. I saw that the lights were switched on. I thought that was a good sign - it showed that someone was indeed there and that I wasn’t imagining the noise. I looked through the window but saw no one. I called, “hello, hello, anyone there?” but there was no reply. I tried to open the doors but they were locked. I looked a bit more and then gave up, thinking the person could have gone away for a bite or something. I went back downstairs to my work.

Later, about half an hour or so, I heard a laughter. It was a child like, high pitched, laughter! Then, I began to get spooked; lots of things went through my mind. But I wasn't going to conclude anything until I saw with my own eyes what it was. I dumped all my things in my bag, carried it with me and went upstairs again.

What I saw, almost gave me a heart attack! I saw a little hairy thing running across the classroom then disappeared in thin air! I swear it was real! I only saw it’s hairy back. It was around 3 to 4 ft in height. At first, I thought it was a chimpanzee but it was upright, ran on two legs like a little child and it didn’t have long “chimp” arms.

The part that got me to run like hell was its sudden vanishing! It, literally, disappeared right before my eyes!

Hit and run in China sparks soul-searching

BEIJING (Reuters) - Video footage of a two-year-old child run over by a van and ignored by passersby in China has ignited public uproar for what some are calling the immorality of modern society.
Graphic surveillance video of the incident on October 13 and later aired by a television station shows the girl run over by a van, which drives off leaving her to bleed on a narrow street in Foshan city, in the southern province of Guandong.
More than a dozen people over the next seven minutes walk or drive past the girl on bicycles and she is run over by a second truck, state media reported on Monday. A woman then pulls the girl to the side of the street before her mother, a migrant worker in the city, rushes into the frame.
The girl, now hospitalized, is in a coma, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing doctors. The country's official English-language newspaper China Daily, said the girl had been declared "brain dead" and that she could die at any time.
Both drivers who ran over the girl have been arrested, Xinhua said, but Internet users have flooded microblogs decrying the apathy of the people who left her for dead.
China's economic boom and the growing disparity between the rich and poor have made changing social values a contentious topic, with some lamenting what they see as materialism replacing morals.
On China's Twitter-like microblog service, Sina's Weibo, one user called the incident "the shame of the Chinese people."
"Really, what is up with our society? I saw this and my heart went cold. Everyone needs to do some soul searching about ending this kind of indifference," another user who went by the name Xiaozhong001 wrote.
Many people in China are hesitant to help people who appear to be in distress for fear that they will be blamed. High-profile law suits have ended with good Samaritans ordered to pay hefty fines to individuals they sought to help.

See the video at
http://youtu.be/H1UgTZOTjHg

My christmas recipe

Christmas is coming up, winter starts to sneak in. Chocolate chip cookie is the number one dessert when christmas is being talked about. Chocolate chip cookie is perfect when you plug in your lukewarm milk. Just wait for a few seconds until Santa arrives and eat with you. Just kidding. This recipe makes my favourite CHEWY chocolate chip cookie:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
-Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
-In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
-Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
-Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 285
Total Fat: 13.9g
Cholesterol: 43mg

This information came from
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/