Power of the sea/Watery World Wednesday

Why do we love the sea?  It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. ~ Robert Henri

Linking to
 Watery World Wednesday

You're an island/Watery World Wednesday

Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents.  Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness.  ~ Kahlil Gibran

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Persistence/Watery World Wednesday

One of the rock islands in Panay Gulf off the coast of Sipalay.

 Formed by ancient coral reefs, parts of this rock formation have been slowly eroded over time into quirky shapes.  I imagined the mouth of a Jurassic fish.:p

"The drop excavates the stone, not with force but by falling often." ~ Publius Ovidius Naso

Linking to Watery World Wednesday

Gone Fishing

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 A quiet morning at the shores of Anhawan Island.  Across the bay is the mountainous coast of Sipalay City.

I will be out of town for a few days.  Will return the visit when I get back.  Thanks for droppin' by.

Anhawan Island: The other side

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We basked in the morning sun, swam in the warm water, and just loving our own private beach at the south side of the island.  Manong, the owner of the island, warmed up to the boys and invited us to the other side where his hut was located.  

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We can either ride in our outrigger and meet him on the other side, or climb the hill.  Naturally, we opted to climb the hill and walk to the north side of the island.  Manong warned us that the vegetation was dense, and we should be careful because there were traps along the hiking trails.  Some of the trails were also misleading to confuse unwanted visitors.  I was the weakest link, as always, and I was instructed to follow Manong's sidekick, Toto, a 9-year old boy, or one of his dogs.

Toto was fast I had to call him a few times to wait for me. I could barely take photos at his pace.

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It was a good 30-minute trek.  From one point, I could see Danjugan Island and Pulo Gamay at the distance.  It's where we came from before coming to this island.  

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This is the north side where, according to Manong, sea turtles lay their eggs.  It earned Anhawan a moniker as the turtle island of Sipalay.  Worldwide, marine turtle populations have critically declined and it was declared that all species of marine turtles are endangered.  This area is also a great diving site.

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Anhawan is an uninhabited island off the coast of Sipalay City in Negros Occidental.  There was no electricity, no fresh water in the island---Manong gets his water supply from the mainland.  I didn't see any crops, only coconut trees.  Manong lives here with his wife, his 9-year old sidekick, four dogs and a he-goat.  They have a house at the mainland but he preferred to stay on the island.  His way of life somehow reminded me of Robinson Crusoe.  

He told us that an American visited the island not too long ago, proposed to buy the island and convert it into a world-class resort.  I asked Manong if he's open to the idea...he said, he's quite sentimental about this island that his family owns for three generations.  

I hope he doesn't sell.

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This was the view from the beach.  The fisherman's hut across the bay was Manong's next-door neighbor.

The threesome---my cousin, Mark, Toto, the sidekick and the he-goat who had a big crush on Mark.

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Join us at My World-Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Anhawan Island [Watery Wednesday]

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We spotted this deserted beach on a small island off the coast of Punta Bulata.  Our boatman told us the island is called Anhawan (or Anjawan) and it is privately-owned---the latter elicited some raised eyebrows.:p  Well, there's a sign alright.  

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And a few minutes after we dropped anchor, dogs ran towards the shore to welcome us!

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Then we met the "owner"---our boatman and the boys talked to the man.  They came back to the boat to tell me that there's a fee if we would like to spend the day on the island.  "How much?" I asked. It's three hundred pesos (or about $7).  There were 11 of us, including 3 kids...I was computing in my head when my brother said, "It's 300 bucks for all of us."  Really?  

Our own private beach for a day for the price of 2 venti cafe mocha at Starbucks?  That's a no-brainer.:p

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Nothing rejuvenates the mind and body than some quiet time on a deserted beach, and being surrounded by the happy sounds of family, gentle warm breezes, the whoosh of turning waves and the smell of salty air. I rested my back on a rock and meditated on the calm, peaceful sea stretched out as far as I can see.

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Get virtually wet at Watery Wednesday

Remembering summer [Watery Wednesday]

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Our outrigger anchored at the shores of Anjawan Island, a small private island in southern Negros Occidental.  Across the bay is the rugged coast of Sipalay, once a mining town, now a tourist destination.  These were taken last summer (early March) during a family vacation.

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.  A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.  ~Ada Louise Huxtable

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My contribution to Watery Wednesday

Cartagena islets [Watery Wednesday]

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Drive-by shots from an outrigger boat.  These are clusters of limestone islets off Cartagena Beach in Sipalay City, ancient relics of coral reefs that violently surfaced millions of years ago.  Most parts of these islets are uninhabited but the surrounding area is ideal for diving because of the rich marine life.  

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These two were spearfishing...and they didn't have to get wet!:p

I wonder if the holes on the coral walls are caves or erosion from thousands millions of years of wave action.

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People say that what we're all seeking in life is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experience on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell

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March 2011

My contribution to Watery Wednesday