After a 16 hour flight to Manila via Tokyo, we arrived at 11 PM Thursday at the hotel in Makati, Manila. The last two days have been spent in meetings with officials at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). The purpose of these meetings were to further discussions on Academy and Philippine cooperation in the area of marine conservation and education efforts, and to obtain the necessary permits to allow us to collect the animals on our collection list. Saturday was spent shopping for supplies to aid us in our collection efforts. Mundane items such as cable ties, plastic containers, PVC pipe, tape and other sundry items were purchased. This morning we are off to Anilao to begin the real meat of the expedition! 