Foot and Fire

Red Tide: A tragedy waiting to happen to humans by feeding the whale sharks* In Oslob, Cebu, Philippines, the sun rises where the sky and the sea meet. Meanwhile, along with the sun, tourists and fisherfolks-turned-tourist-boatmen rise early too to have their meet-and-greet with the whale sharks and have underwater selfies with them. In this otherwise quiet town, the whale sharks, locally called butanding, pass by every morning, and their arrival causes the chaos mix of business opportunity and holiday pleasure. The typical day starts with tourists lining up for registration and waiting for the short orientation on the do’s and don’ts like no touching of the whale shark as it is locally penalized and no use of sunblock. Then this is followed by the business pitch of unlimited taking of photos under the sea for the group. On top of the rent for the underwater camera, one can pay for the picture only or bring home everything in the memory card. The bragging right of having ...

This is not your ordinary love story. While the storytelling in the poem is creative, the facts are all based on research regarding the ecosystem and nothing is made up for the sake to fit the intention of the poem. Thus, it is true that Whale Sharks are not like the usual fierce shark, it is true that they are huge, it is also true that they do eat the algal blooms causing red tide and it is true that shrimps are not their main food. If humans keep feeding them because of tourism, the young whale sharks will never learn how to look for places where algal blooms abound and red tide will most likely occur since it will only rely on the shrimps being fed to them everyday, while the old ones will get full with the ready catch and will no longer hunt for their main food. In short, the chain of the ecosystem will get broken. The human-admirer is the one to suffer in the end, and all of this was realized by the enamored Whale Shark in the poem. Indeed, this is not your ordinary love st...

I did not know  that you were aching  to see my spotted Samson-like muscles  in your waking hours.   Each day, I pass by your shore  and I do not mind you  because I am on a mission. I am no Samson of your circus;  I was born to filter the waters  that is the source of your life.  I am nature's Ecosystem Engineer. Yet you simply admire my monstrosity,  and perhaps, you are only attracted  by the danger attached to my last name.  Do not be fooled.  My bloodline is sure made to fiercely bite while I was created to humbly clear your waters.  You lure me with your tiny reddish catch everyday  and I tend to heed your altogether generous and alluring call. You captivate me, I must admit. But I have to quickly shake myself  from this madness:  If I continue being with you this way,  I will let your waters get red.  And I will lose you. Slowly...

Owing to the new year's long holiday, I was able to watch "In the Heart of the Sea"  (2015) which is a fictional narration of a true event that is supposed to be the inspiration of Herman Melville's book we now know as "Moby Dick." It is a story of how sailors braved the seas searching for oil by capturing whales and extracting oil from them on board only to be met by a big whale that destroyed their ship. Some sailors survived, but not without doing the unthinkable. By the end of the 1800's the whaling industry which provided whale oils used for oil lamps and soap is already giving way to kerosene and vegetable oils by the start of the 1900s. Whaling is now generally banned worldwide. The movie made me think back to the Whale Sharks of Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. I did not swam with the Whale Sharks or Butandings after reading an article that such tourism industry being promoted by Oslob is actually not animal-friendly because it makes the whale sha...

If one is coming to Oslob from Cebu City, one has to stop by this old church called Immaculate Conception Parish Church whose foundation was laid in 1830 but the church underwent renovations after being hit by two fires in the past. Facing this Church is the unfinished cuartel made of the coral stones as well as the gates. Behind the "Cuartel" is the Museum Oslob which was unfortunately closed when we got there, probably because it was a weekend. Still behind the museum is the breathtaking blueness of the high seas lining against the backdrop of the skies. Please take time to enjoy the photos below. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Museum Oslob with the blooming fire tree. *** The view a little farther from the museum arch. ***

Perched beside the national highway, the Church of Boljoon, its Rectory and Escuela Catolica are all a wonderful stopover when one is from Cebu City going to Oslob; it is just about two hours from Oslob. Aside from its oldness, the church ground has been an archaeological site for Japanese goods that dates back before our pre-historic period. (I will be featuring the museum in the next entry.) When one is in the side of the church one can look beyond the highway and lavish at the sight of the blue oceans and white sand aside from the giant karsts and hills standing in protection and beside it.  *** Inside the Boljoon Church. *** The history of the Church of Boljoon *** I don't know if this shot will still make the code effective.  Please try and let me know. *** *** *** The Escuela Catolica which is still used  by old women teaching catechism today. *** *** *** The church and the ...

The people of Oslob are early risers because the whale sharks locally called "butanding" are hungry and feeding them is the easiest way to the snorkeling tourists and the ever-ready camera! For a fee of P550, one can swim with the whale sharks and have his unlimited photos taken by the assigned photographer and later bring them  home in a cd. This is the flourishing tourist attraction in Oslob. When we got there one long holiday of April 2015, there were hundreds of tourists, local and foreign. But rising up earlier than the tourists is the key. The sun may not have shone from the mountain's side this time but seeing it rising from the ocean is phenomenal for me as seeing meteor showers are for other people. I joked that in this side of our archipelago, my kindergarten drawing of a nipa hut against the backdrop of two mountains with the rising sun and fluffy clouds in between them is not correct. Amazing grace it is to feel the early sun on my face, to receive the li...