WHEN
YOU ARE WITH the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild, everything is
interesting on any given Sunday. Their saga continues on and they
could go anywhere they wished to and indulge in their favorite past
time, which they called as “dirt time”. They love to work with
their blades to make survival tools, to prepare their meals and to
talk about its qualities which is just about infinite. Then they
cook feasts, which is the best part of their day.
Coming
with them for the fourth time straight is the Colonel himself –
Thomas Moore. Pathfinder Tom is one of the stars of the high-rating
Discovery Channel survival TV show, Dude You’re Screwed,
which was shown in Asia as Survive That. He is in Cebu to
organize the team for Expedition Philippines, another survival
reality show that he is planning to direct and participate in in one
of the eight episodes.
I
am with them today, October 11, 2015. We all wished to spend the day
at Camp Xi, a nice piece of flat land beside the meandering
Sapangdaku Creek, which is perfect for big outdoor activities. After
securing our food ingredients at Guadalupe, we proceed to Napo and
walk the short distance to Camp Xi. Jhurds Neo is leading the guys,
totally comfortable on the idea of a happy walk and a very enjoyable
day.
Coming
along are Ernie Salomon, Aljew Frasco, Bona Canga, Jonathan Apurado,
Justin Apurado, Locel Navarro, Christopher Ngosiok, Angel Villaganas,
Niño Paul Beriales, Nelson Tan, Cleos Navarro and the Quijano Family
of Richie, Francelyn and 7-year old Legend. With us, as guests, are
Peter Tortusa and his Japanese lady friend, Kaoru. They all would be
glad to spend the day with Pathfinder Tom.
We
will spend another Sunday cooking up another feast. All unsheathed
their blades and begins the process of extracting useful firewood
from debris. A spark from a ferro rod gives life to a fire and water
is boiled, presumably for coffee. Coffee. Oh, coffee. Where art
thou? It came in a short while. Why would people disdain coffee?
Do they not know what it gives to a thirsty bushman? A ton of
inspiration.
With
my William Rodgers bushcraft knife, I go down the river bank and look
for bananas. No, I am not looking for the fruit or its blooming
heart but I need the trunk for food. I rejoin the rest when I have a
banana trunk with me, all quite perplexed when they learned that I am
going to cook it. They watch and they ask a lot of questions which
is good because bushcraft cannot progress if your curiosity is
confined to your eyes only.
Meanwhile,
others proceed on to what they do best. Ernie has his grub wagon
open and Jonathan is a willing subaltern. Angel and Locel blow some
life into a fledgling flame for what I believe a grill session. Aljew kept those coffee in good stead with his improvised billy can
suspended by a tripod. Francelyn just fried an amorous mix of spices
on a small pot. Christopher is everywhere, clicking on the shutter
of his camera as if it is an assault rifle. Click click...click
click.
Tom
and Jhurds joins Aljew and Bona in a little chit chat. Somebody just
got mentioned and laughter roared as if a gang of hyena suddenly got
transported from the Okuvango and wandered here. Peter watch the
separate actions and unleashed his knife to make the best of the
moment while Kaoru is in a daze, witnessing a new experience. A
little while she begins to blend in by throwing a few pebbles to a
faraway target with a slingshot.
Oh,
I forgot about little Legend. He is watching his dad making a bamboo
bow and arrow. Cleos and Justin are also in that observation
platform. When it was done, Legend begins to shoot at imaginary
targets. Her mother, meanwhile, is cooking soup from a dehydrated
kelp which immediately got Kaoru’s attention. Cultural gaps are
better bridged by food and, once the connection is established,
understanding and pleasant conversations follow.
Lunchtime
ultimately came and the food is served. Ernie had cooked a local
pasta (Local: pansit bihon) which he paired with pickled raw
cucumber. The rice is neatly spread on frayed banana leaves to
imitate a popular military style of meal, the “boodle fight”.
Grilled pork are placed above the rice. Seaweed soup is in its pot
while my banana core adobo is in another. Game time!
After
the meal, I organize all the ladies into one group and tour them
around Camp Xi for a lecture of plant identification. This is in
response to Tom who sees a need to involve a contemporary Filipina in
one of the episodes of EP. There will be auditions for that slot
and, before that, I will train prospective lady applicants into
advanced wilderness skills and that includes a plant ID tour.
What
I am doing is just an eye opener since not all qualify as an
applicant for they lacked the basic training in bushcraft and
survival which is a prerequisite. The show do not need actors but
real bushcraft and survival practitioners. We approach a colony of
taros. There are purple taros, white taros, giant taros and giant
wild taros. From among these, there are edibles and there are the
toxic ones. Identifying which from which is mind boggling since
they almost look the same.
We
transfer to a bunch of bananas. I point to them the edible parts
like the blossom and the fruit. I also reminded them of the trunk
which I just cooked which came from here. On a stump of banana which
I just cut, I carved a hole in the middle and, a few minutes after,
water slowly filled the cavity. They looked at the blade of my AJF
Gahum which have stained after contact with the banana. Do not
worry. It is called a patina. It is good for the blade.
We
cross the stream and climb up a path to another level ground. I look
around and I tow them to a tree which bear several strings of round
green fruits. That is a lanzones. Unbelief. I pluck a yellowish
one and opened the skin. Lanzones. I eat a part and pass the rest
to the ladies. LANZONES! And they wanted more. I climb the tree
and found a few half-ripe fruit which the ladies gorge among
themselves.
I
move to a thick growth of birds-of-paradise. Too dangerous to be
near. We do not know what is behind that thick curtain of stems
which have grown so close to each other, but I know there is water
and, where there is water, there could be a predator or there could
be food. I stood on a rock and gaze down below. Some ferns grow and
another smaller fern variety which is very familiar because it is
edible (Local name: paku) is also in this mix-up.
We
cross the stream again and the guys are waiting for us. It is now
14:10 and just about right to pack our things and go back the way we
have started in the morning. Just about right, is it? How about the
part that ends all activities? The knife porn? Indeed, all the
blades has its 15 minutes of fame. A log becomes home to some of the
blades but it ran out of space, necessitating for another log to
accept more blades. Very impressive!
At
15:00, we leave Camp Xi for Napo and, from there, for Guadalupe and
to Red Hours. Tom and I opt for big bottles of the coldest San
Miguel Pale Pilsen to ourselves without drinking glasses. The rest
choose to drink it with glasses. It was a fine occassion to toast
good health and fortune to little Woodlore, the newly-born son of
Nelson, who arrive with her mother. Tom carried Woody in his arms
and the little guy did not let out a whimper.
To
good health and fortune Woodlore!
Document
done in LibreOffice 4.4 Writer
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