Next Stop: Bantayan Island, Cebu
We travel for different reasons. Sometimes we have reasons in mind then we come up with new ones along the way. In our experience we learn of so many things we never used to know. These new acquirements make us realize how much we didn’t know and make us question ourselves, how much more we don’t know.
Essentially I want to travel for pleasure; get out of the city once in a while; experience some tranquility; experience a piece of paradise, recuperate and get back my exuberance.
The smell of sea breeze in Santa Fe, Bantayan Island rushing through my nostrils, the walk at the beach every morning, and watching the sunset in the afternoon – what more could I ask for?!
Once my Yellow 4 super powers are back, I’m ready to get out of my small corner of paradise to explore new grounds. Oh, and for those who don’t know what I’m talking about when I mentioned Yellow 4, she’s one of the 5 members of Bioman. If you still don’t know what I am talking about, don’t sweat it. It only means you weren’t born yet during the 80’s or you could ask a Japanese friend, if you have any. J
I love my piece of paradise but I don’t want to be stuck in it the whole entire vacation.
No one can stop a curious person like me from poking holes into something to have a glimpse of what’s inside or go places to witness the sights and sounds, brush up on what’s going on in the area, and learn about the locals.
Riding the scooter and getting into the streets of Sta. Fe is always a good start. The streets are narrow and there is no such thing as side walk in most parts but because you won’t see big SUV’s or cars in a hurry to get to the bingo hall or to get home to cook their TV dinner and watch football, that’s not really much of a problem in this area. Next to the road, sari-sari stores are a common sight.
Once in a while you can stop by some properties and have a chat with some of the locals. On the most part they are friendly, unless probably if you look like a cheat trying to con them into selling their only land for nothing. One thing for sure, they always have a smile ready for you! If you are a male American, they’d probably call you “idol” or “Joe”. J
In Bantayn Island, life is still pretty simple.
A lot of the locals are cooking with wood stove.
In this case their kitchen would be outside where they cook their food.
Early in the morning, locals usually go to the open market called
palengke to buy the ingredients, although there are those who grow their own chickens and pigs.
While exploring the island, I noticed that coconut trees are pretty common but it’s not the most common tree. I have seen some fruit trees I’m not familiar with. The island is considered the egg basket of the Visayas region.
They have a huge chicken farm surrounded by neem trees.
Despite that, obviously majority of the locals rely on fishing as a major source of income. These boats that you see in the picture above are the common sights along the beach.
Life seems pretty simple, indeed. But simple doesn’t always mean easy. That doesn’t stop the kids from having fun in the water with their Styrofoam raft, though. Then it occurred to me how ungrateful some kids are despite the fancy toys they get during Christmas or whenever they’re able to
manipulate their parents into buying them new bauble or knickknacks.
Then we all wonder what’s happening to our society?
While heading towards the cottage of one of the resorts I stayed in, I spotted these two little girls picking up coconuts.
Don’t worry because I asked for their permission before I took their photos.
They’re obviously sisters.
But more than that, once again I realized how resilient these people are for still being able to smile amidst the hardship or the difficulty carrying those coconuts.
I’m not kidding!
Those coconuts are heavy.
The elder one, especially, made me think that what she was carrying are giant goodies!
Just made me smile!
This resort has an outdoor restaurant that is built on a rock formation stretched out over the waves. It was a very relaxing place to be while enjoying your fresh seafood cooked to your liking. More often than not, you’ll get smiles and friendly waves from the locals as bonus, and it doesn’t matter if their on a boat or not!
My next stop is Madridejos.
It is the town at the tip of Bantayan Island.
This is also the last town on the northernmost tip of Cebu province.
At the very tip is Lawis.
Technically, you haven’t been to the tip of the island unless you have gone to the very end of the bridge.
The walk on the bridge was even more interesting than I thought. People are friendly and because the bridge is narrow it was pretty coherent that you don’t just stand in the middle of the walkway and block people while pretending not to know what’s going on. The locals certainly know that!
I noticed some people would stop and looked at the water as if the solution to their problems is somehow written on it.
Others are there to relax, obviously.
It was so windy that day that I had hoped the wind would just blow all my concerns away.
Then there was this girl.
She was one of those kids that were swimming and having fun but she separated herself from the group, stood there and stared in space.
I was wondering what could be occupying her young mind for her to isolate herself from her friends which spelled “fun”.
Or maybe, she just wanted to be alone and have a little peace of mind just like the tourists because you know what? Peace of mind is something you have to provide yourself. It is not something that’s handed to you but it’s free!
On the other side of the spectrum were kids who don’t have any care in the world and were just having fun because it was their summer vacation.
No school! Yay!
It was a lot of fun taking the pictures of these kids. They all wanted to be in front as if that’s the only way for their face to be in the picture. It was like a big deal to them. Gosh, I didn’t expect my old camera could be a source of happiness to people! J
Life in the city is so fast-phased sometimes we lose ourselves in it. We wake up in the morning, eat, go to work, come home, eat again, sleep, and go back to work the next day. At work we deal with people we don’t always like and don’t have to like. Who doesn’t want to get out of that once in a while? And when we do, we learn A LOT! We experience happiness beyond what we imagine. There are satisfactions brought by stable income, Christmas bonuses, gifts, and there are those that are brought by the different places we experience and faces we meet when, once in a while, we get out of our little cubicle and head out to a place outside of convention. And when you experience the latter, you know you can go back to work the next day with your sanity intact.
See you on my next road trip! J
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