Steaming crap for my birthday

David and I decided to go out to celebrate my birthday a few days
early while we were in Baguio. We went to an excellent restaurant that
serves local, organic foods. The meal was amazing. On the
recommendation of Greg, who writes for Lonely Planet Philippines, and
who visited the farm we are staying at to check out Enca farm and
Wwoofing, we decided to try a local specialty with our desserts: civet
cat coffee. Civet cats are a kind of wild cat that lives in this area.
They like to eat coffee beans. I don't know who discovered this in the
first place, but if you take the coffee beans that have been digested
by the civet cat and roast then brew them they make what is considered
one of the best coffees in the world. Greg told us that it would cost
$50 to try civet cat coffee in London but only 150 pesos (around $3)
to try it here. A three dollar coffee is pretty extravagant in Baguio,
but we thought it would be a fun splurge. The coffee was very good,
but I found it strange to get my mind around the fact that I was
sipping a hot mug of poop.

We spent the actual day of my birthday in Acop. We skyped with family
members and enjoyed the chance to catch up. David baked a chocolate
cake and served it with whipped cream and fresh mangoes. We shared
dinner and cake with the family who owns the farm we are volunteering
at.