From the Solar Cafe Point of View

We arrived on site early in the morning to set up the Solar Cafe, our venue for engaging the community in what we were doing at the proposed coal plant site. From a distance I could see the volunteer-filled inflatables waiting by the coastline, and the sight of the approaching Rainbow Warrior and all that it stood for still made me catch my breath, even as I was apprehensive about how the first few hours would turn out. Somehow the shipís presence gave me reassurance that everything was going to be okay, that our teams would be safe, and that we would be able to deliver our message loud and clear.



There was a bit of a standoff when the barangay captain first arrived. His vehicle was about 20 meters away, headlights flashing, but he wasnít approaching or getting out. At this point my mind couldnít help but play western movie music as I wondered if and how he would make the first move.



Well, the media decided for us since suddenly they were everywhere, interviewing representatives of the Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE), the barangay captain, and our Greenpeace campaigners.



We had several confrontations wherein we tried to appease those who came and tried to stop us, to the extent of them pulling down our streamers. The barangay captain kept insisting that had we followed procedures and given notice, he would have given his support. Sure. Then there was that whole hullabaloo about PPC owning the land and the access road we were on, so we had to move two meters back from the shoulder of the road, and that the land owner of that land instructed the barangay captain that we couldnít stay there, when in fact we had the land ownerís full support to set up the Solar Cafe, with the help of our RISE allies.



When they realized they couldnít kick us out, the pro-coal leaders immediately launched their own impromptu 'rally,' calling on their allegedly paid supporters and trying to put their pro-coal streamers over ours. The police arrived in several batches and were surprised and amused that instead of finding violent protesters and trespassers, they found volunteers serving them fruit shakes with a smile.



At the height of the sunís heat, things calmed down for us at the Cafe and the scene started looking like a picnic, with our friends from RISE bringing in food, Manong Buko delivering fresh coconuts, and our Cafe Manager serving us coconut shake, guaranteed to make you forget your name. I was still worried about our team in the Camp, and had my eyes glued to what and who was coming in and out, since we were along the way of the only land access to the site where the Camp was built. Nothing out of control, thankfully, as far as when we pulled out the Solar Cafe at around 6pm after a small forum with community members.



Our day with the Solar Cafe ended with village children posing for our cameras, the Rainbow Warrior at a comfortingly close distance, and an orange sunset reflecting off the fishpond waters ñ a nice scenery if not for the belching smokestacks from the diesel power plant in the background. I looked towards the Camp several ponds across and silently wished my fellow Climate Defenders safety for the night. Tomorrow will be another day.

- Tanya Conlu

Day3: Hurray the navy has arrived!

Do you still remember those war movies with scenes that have the protagonists surrounded by their enemies and then all of a sudden the cavalry arrives and then the tables are turned and the heroes are now on the winning side of the battle?

In a way that’s what we felt now that the Rainbow Warrior has arrived.

The day was greeted with hope that what has been so far accomplished since the ship’s arrival here in the Philippines for our Quit Coal Tour will be replicated in this leg of the tour.

Below is a slideshow of the wonderful images taken by Vinai Dithajohn





the Greenpeace site also has an interesting story on the arrival be sure to check it out on this link


-chuck baclagon

Sailing

Yesterday was an exciting day as I found out that we were going to open the sails and cut the engines. We thought we would wait up until late night for that but luck was on our side. We were out of the treacherous waters off Corregidor by mid afternoon and there was a little bit of wind which allowed us to use our sails.

It was the first time I ever really SAILED. And what a glorious feeling it was. No sound of engines. Hot sun. Nice breeze. But more importantly, the breeze filled the sails of the Rainbow Warrior so that it could carry us to our next destination, Iloilo. There, we will join our local partners and communities in fighting coal.

We sailed all night. Most of us sat outside until the wee hours of the morning to enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the stars and have good conversations. This is THE LIFE that many of us are deprived of, just being able to appreciate the grandness of, and the complex yet orderly way that nature functions.

Sailing not only gave us time to appreciate nature but also push our advocacy to combat climate change by walking the talk and using wind power to get to our next destination.

- Beau Baconguis

Manila, Manila

We arrived in Manila last Wednesday after three days peacefully protesting at Pagbilao coal-fired power plant where we were able to get our message across to government. Was happy to be home--10 days is the longest I've ever been on a ship. But what felt better was we went to Manila knowing that the work we had done in Pagbilao had borne good fruit. Congressman Tanada issued a statement calling for the stop to the proposed expansion of Pagbilao plant while Senator Pia Cayetano had filed, and Senator Miguel Zubiri will file, resolutions specifically calling for a phase out of coal use and a massive shift to renewable energy. So...it's the start of something beautiful :)

Work's not over yet for us tho' as there's a lot more to do. But until we arrived in Manila, i never thought i'd look at this city--my crowded, noisy, everything-seems-to-happen-in-fast-forward city--as restful. After our packed days campaigning in Pagbilao, Manila was restful with its cozy familiarity. It's the same feeling at today's open boat in Pier 13 where we're docked. There were hundreds of friendly faces, most of whom i'd met for the first time. Staff, crew and volunteers should've been tired (what with all the activities), but we only felt a reassuring kind of happiness.

If ships had feelings I'd like to think that the Rainbow Warrior is smiling tonight as she sleeps. Tired, maybe, but happy. The Rainbow Warrior leaves Manila in a few days, on to other parts of the Philippines, and then to other parts of the world, but still campaigning and calling out to governments to 'quit coal'. I'd like to imagine that when she's out at sea again in between campaigns she'll look back at these days docked peacefully in Manila, and smile.

- Lea Guerrero

"positive energy"

Today our activists painted the 'Sam John Spirit', a second coal carrier waiting to come in and offload its polluting cargo. They painted QUIT COAL QUIT COAL QUIT COAL QUIT COAL, in large white letters, all the way down the 223 metre long starboard side. I was able to read it from our anchor position, where we are still blockading the 'Medi Firenze', 3 miles away. But the most amazing thing happened some hours later.

I had just finished lunch when Kristin looked up through the porthole and exclaimed "we're moving". Sure enough, the stern of the Rainbow Warrior was swinging rapidly towards the Medi Firenze. I left my dirty plate on the mess-room table and ran up to the bridge, the rest of the crew close on my heels. The Power Station launch was pushing as hard as it could on our port bow, trying to displace our anchor array - this was causing us to swing. As luck would have the wind was on our side and I called out to Dan, who was sighting the lie of the anchor chain on the bow, "set the jib". Whilst Dan made the preventer rope fast, Sarah took the yellow remote controls and unfurled the sail, and the wind filled it. The security launch had no chance. And then, an angel must have passed us by, everyone on deck was looking up at the jib, at its design of green wind turbines. "There we go Sarah", I called out, "positive energy", and the entire ship broke into spontaneous applause. The Power Station launch was being pushed backwards by wind filling the sail.

- Captain Mike Fincken