omeng says...: Borawan, Jellyfish, School

Last month I became part of some lagalags to the beautiful province of Quezon, Philippines.

2011 kicked-off my goal of going into a province I have never been to, at least once every quarter, or at least four times annually.So that escapade was the first piece of the puzzle for the year.

Quezon province was simply fantastic. At least the Padre Burgos region we visisted.

It was jawdropping-exciting. I felt very proud I live here in the Philippines. And places like those make me more convinced that our country still has a lot of potential the rest of the world is yet to be surprised of.

Well, as my friends know, enjoying with nature is my vice.

I just so love seeing trees, touching plants, digging soils, climbing mountains and things like those.

That one was an exact picture of it.

A great bang!
Bang Bang!

Somehow I felt like Adam the first man at the center of what I see as a big jungle, with the woman from my tadyang as the only lacking in the picture. Whaha!

There have been lots of write-ups written about the inherent splendor of the place, so I would instead just share those personal experiences I still recall

The Island - Lipata, Dampalitan , Borawan

We met at Laguna and arrived at the Padre Burgos town by lunch time, after around 3-4 hrs of travel.

Then we took a boat to go to our first destination. Borawan was the original plan, but since not a few bakasyonistas were already there that time, the group decided to shift plan and went to the near Lipata island instead. We had our lunch there, after which we went climbing the mountain and enjoyed the silent beauty of its hidden caves.

It was tiring, of course, but at the same time fulfilling. Haha.

I love mountain climbing because it let me see the entire beauty of the island. An incomparable place!

Afternoon that day, we went next to Borawan. That was a smaller island, mostly occupied by large mountain rock formations. We spent the night in that island.

Borawan island

It was my first time to do such a camping activity. Well. I had done overnight stays in beaches during some out-of-town trips before, sleeping on the sand, facing the dark heaven filled with infinite bright stars, letting the streams of photons from the rising sun of the next morning to be my alarm clock.

But that time was different as we’re totally surrounded by silent deep bodies of water. We only got to hear the sounds produces of waves chasing and hitting the shoreline. (Aside of course from the story-sharing of other groups present). I thank my friends for being very prepared for that kind of set-up that it became not hard for me for my first try. HAHA.

I was amused with the idea that we’re completely isolated. There was no way to escape and we would need a boat to get us back to the town of the living.

Incidentally that day was rumored to be the last day of the world. I was contemplating, at least I would enjoy it with some friends, in place that already feels like heaven.

Mushy-Pushy

Hmm. I actually felt slightly sad at the point we transferred to Borawan. When we left it, we also left the old man who had first welcomed us in our first step on its sand.

That old man seemed to be living alone in his house, with just some doggy pets that prefer playing with each other in the sand.

Someone in the group even disclosed how he sensed the gloom feel of the old man who had managed and prepared himself for the coming night with some strangers, only to receive the news that we would spend the night in Borawan.

I’m quite sure he’s used to that, but I really just can’t imagine living that same way everyday.

Vacation , yes. But as life? It seemed torturing for me.

Actually there are some neighbors around, but he had to walk a distance to associate with them. Tapos wala pa siyang kuryente!

I couldn’t help but picture many times the next morning coming for him, which might just be the same as that lonely night, except for the free light offered by the sun.

Hehe, well that’s just a squashy cheesy me. Senior citizens really have special in my heart, especially lolos, as I myself practically grew with my grandfather. I really hope and pray that he would really enjoy the remaining time of his life.

Let’s talk about jellyfish!

Unfortunately, during that time of our stay, jellyfish seemed wanting to welcome us too in the water.

Many would agree that jellyfish can ruin the sea adventure of anyone just by a slight physical contact with them.

innocent jellyfish

In fact, I had been a victim of their kingdom.

I remember taking revenge one time after mercilessly caressed by their soft tentacles.

I catched others from the water and let it die on the sand, under the roaring heat of the sun.

Ironically, those creatures also look like the most innocent thing living in the sea. They seem to me that they don’t ave any idea of what they were doing.

When I catched a really big one and brought it out of the water, I was somehow stirred by his final reaction, like a transparent human heart beating and grasping for final breath.

So I did some research about them to know what they’re really in earth for, to understand them more and appreciate their graceful flying-dancing show in the sea water.

And here’s what I found out.

Jellyfish does not have a brain, head, eyes, ears and even ………. A heart! (Can you imagine people w/o a heart?)

They also have no bones and their body is more than 90% water! (Human body is 60% water!)

They only got networks od nerves to respond, like when they want to hug your smooth legs, but they really don’t think about those things.

And here I am talking about revenge on an innocent creature who had no intention of hurting anyone, just that they are really totally ignorant of their doings. Poor jellyfish. Haha.

The school

On the other corner, in the Lipata island, at the foot of the mountain stands a small classroom. It’s a one-floor building with fence around its vicinity.

When we went down the mountain, we sat down and did chitchats about the room for a while. Their place is also isolated, so we thought it’s very probable that the school’s teachers are also just their neighbors, though we’re not sure if that’s the only school teaching young minds in that area.