Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina

https://youtu.be/jHCLE0HU5_w?si=tK4_d39lGCyN6pE3

Project Payback Treasure Hunters "Go Fund Me" campaign to help the people of the Philippines To help us help the people, please go to our GoFundMe page "Project Payback". (link will be added shortly)Thank you, and God bless you. *ta...

For those of you who wonder why I went "social media silent" for the last week or so, here is the reason;
Recently God blessed me with an amazing opportunity to join a real life "Indiana Jones" and become part of his team of Treasure Hunters in the Philippines. For those of you who watch my video and have been hearing me say "Stick around, I'm saving the best videos for last"... Here is a taste of what I've been talking about:

The Pursuit of Yamash*ta’s Treasure In a remote part of Southeast Asia, three men are blessed with the information that could lead them to discovering one of the greatest treasure hunts of the ...

I've been saying for a long time "I'm saving my best videos for last". To those of you who have watched you YouTube video series, "Project Serendipity", here is a sneak peek of what will be coming up soon:
*taTreasure

The Pursuit of Yamash*ta’s Treasure (trailer) In an undisclosed region of Southeast Asia, three men are blessed with information that leads them on one of the greatest treasure hunts of the 20th centurie...

"The Gatekeeper"
There are people in my life that always bring a smile to my face.
"Joe" is one of them. He is the gate keeper at Ysla Reina. Our encounter is always brief as he opens the gate and I continue down the unpaved road to Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina. But no matter how exhausted I am from the heat or the long ride from Puerto Princesa, Joe always makes me smile when I see him.
Such people are the real treasures of my life.

This week we will begin expanding the trail from the cave to the western most point of the island. Aside from the North Trail by Serendipity Point, this will be the first time the hiking trails will be expanded beyond the cave.
The trail will begin at the sign on top of the cave, and follow the top of the hill towards the western point of Ysla Reina, giving a beautiful view of the ocean and overlook Ysla Reina for future hikers.

Every year I take a photo of Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina to keep a record and show the progress of regrowth of the natural environment. From start to finish, it has always been my goal to keep my footprint as small as possible.

Testing out my Flying Brick (a.k.a. DJI Phantom 4 Pro)
Can you find my house in this picture?

After my monthly inspection and (plastic trash from the ocean) cleanup of "the Bat Cave", I couldn't help but stop to enjoy this beautiful view.
The rewards truly outweigh the work it takes to keep our beaches (and caves) clean.

It's been a great holiday season, but now its back to monkey business! If you would like to follow me on my video series, please click the YouTube link below. Season 4 begins tomorrow!

https://www.youtube.com/

This is "Bob". (Named by my film director, Mr B.)
Bob struck this pose literally right after I just walked by this spot.
Then when I came back to this spot, I saw the banana was gone, and Bob was already at the other trail camera taking that banana too.
Bob is Fast.
Bob is Smart.
Bob is a Smart@$$!!!
hahaha, We love our local wildlife at Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina. This is to date one of the funniest photos I captured of Bob, making faces at me.

This year we are adding MORE trailcams to Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina ! Lets see who visits them... stay tuned!

During the rainy season, we are planting various types of trees. Not only fruit bearing trees for the wildlife, but also trees with flowers that will be beneficial to the beehives 🐝 we will be installing next year.

BEACH CLEAN UP TIME:
It's been a long time since I've been able to clean up Blacktip Beach. To give you an idea how much plastic bottles end up in the ocean, each 55 Gallon trash bag here only represents about 40 feet of beachfront property.
THIS IS WHY I AM STRONGLY AGAINST PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES:
These three bags only cleaned up about 100 feet of beach, and I still have a lot of work to to to finish cleaning just this one beach.

Annual Reef Inspection:
As a PADI Divemaster, I continue to support and encourage the healthy preservation and protection of coral reefs in the Philippines.
I am happy to see a continual and healthy growth in the corals around Bugsayan region, despite the typhoon from two years ago.
Fish population is moderate, however seems to be less than normal for the coral reefs.
As it is rainy season, much kelp and seaweed covers much of the coral.

Clever insect disguised as a leaf 🍃.
Not so clever, it thinks my balcony post is a tree 🌳
Hahaha!

To better monitor and categorize the wildlife at Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina we will be installing several of these trail-cams that will capture photos and videos of the wildlife in the area.
Soon we will be able to establish a monthly journal that identifies the various species that inhabit the region and evaluate the needs or improvement of the environment.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Here is a 3 hour video of tranquil scenery featuring the view from Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina.

3 Hours of Tropical Scenery Tropical Scenery from Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina.

If only more bottling companies did this.
Aluminum recycle water bottles.
Much less toxic than plastic.

Our greatest goal at Serendipity Point at Ysla Reina is to help preserve and protect our natural wildlife. Here is a sample of the wildlife I have observed to share the land with.
By learning about each of these natural residents of the forest and ocean, we can then learn how we can best help them to not only survive, but thrive in their natural environment

Finally, shoes that speak my language!

This little guy is called the “Palawan Flowerpecker”. Apparently he is addicted to cacao fruits, because rarely does a fruit ripen on this tree without him tasting a sample.
Maybe we will make this bird our “quality control” manager when we start making chocolate from the seeds later?

Our motto for 2023:
Maraming salamat Eddie & Eva Villanueva for the Christmas gift that speaks to my heart. Maligayang Pasko at Happy New Year from Serendipity Point!