PINOYAPACHE GOES SCUBASURERO

AS THE WORLD’S POPULATION increased, so is garbage produced by humans. These garbage found its way to the coastlines and in our world’s oceans. It is so sad to note that most of our food comes from the sea where most of these waste end up strangling the marine creatures to death or, worse, are found inside its intestines. It is inedible matter and it is death knocking at you soon.

Coastal cleanup campaigns have been here for many years like the annual SCUBASURERO, which was first adopted here in Cebu thirty-two years ago. It is no different from the previous events and it is still participated in by professional and novice scuba divers, resort workers, celebrities, marine biologists, environmental advocates, civil servants, coast guard and navy frogmen, media, bloggers and, for this year, a couple of bushmen.  

Today, September 16, 2017, I got invited by Project Blue for the SCUBASURERO. This is in observance of the 32nd International Coastal Cleanup Day which would be held on selected foreshore and coastal areas of the country. For this particular activity in Cebu, I will get to witness and participate as a blogger and as participant at the Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Barangay Maribago, Lapulapu City.

Also coming with me is one of the founding fathers of the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild – Ernie Salomon. Both Ernie and I are not here on a picnic. We are here to literally wet our pants on an environment that is part of the domain of bushcraft. This time we will not forage food. Instead we will seek out garbage and barely visible items that do not belong to the sea. We will be spending time as volunteers for the coastal cleanup.

Erik Monsanto and Ryan Salutin of Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort welcomed us and invited us to take breakfast at Allegro, the resort’s main dining hall and restaurant offering buffet-style service. Joining us on the table is Balbino “Ka Bino” Guerrero, a noted local tour guide specializing in cultural and historical Cebu. He is wearing his trademarked hat popularized by Dr. Jose Rizal. It is always a wonderful time in Allegro.

 

This is my first time to join a SCUBASURERO and I am prepared for salt-water immersion. Volunteers slowly arrived and boarded a water taxi from the beach to a sandbar that became an island across the lagoon. Overhead, a couple of F-50A/E Eagles whizzed by, currently the pride of the Philippine Air Force. The sandbar is now populated by people with wetsuits and there is someone talking from a megaphone.

We crossed over there and the program is about to commence. Free tanks of oxygene were provided by Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort to support this advocacy and divers were much happy to use it and add the minutes to their dive logs. Tents were also provided as shaded resting areas. Drinking water, meanwhile, are made available free for everyone. It is a very warm day and the coolness of the sea beckoned everyone.

The cleanup commenced after a general briefing by the Lapulapu City DRRMO and the assignment of areas to the volunteers. When I was younger, I yearned to swim underwater like them but opportunity never knocked on me. As I piled up in years, I content myself with skin diving. It is expensive, you know. You do not spend for it one time. You need to visit the reefs and deeper water regularly and you spend more for that.

Facing the Hilutungan Channel is a marine sanctuary. No one had cleaned up this part and I waded underneath the jetty and found unbroken bottles, rusty cans, a piece of plywood and beer cans amidst a forest of sea grass. As I go deeper, I see transparent nylon lines and slowly pull it from underneath the grass. At its end are ingenious contraptions that caught a 6-inch grouper and an elver. 

The underwater traps were left there for a purpose. It is illegal to catch fish with any means from a marine sanctuary. Whoever that person be, he was using his head. I admired the person’s ingenuity and the stealth to achieve that. So bushcraft. But that does not mean I totally agree with him. Let us respect our laws and let us protect marine sanctuaries. These are the breathing places so our stocks of marine resources could recover.  

As I returned with the retrieved garbage and the traps with its catch, Erik hand me a rubber suit large enough to fit me, plus a pair of fins, a mask, a breathing apparatus, a full oxygene tank and an instructor. I was caught off-guard and, then it came to bear on me, that I fancied these things when I was younger. You see, one of the skills that I was very interested of learning in my early years was scuba diving.

I never have that chance, specially now that I do not have the means to engage in it. But, today, I have all the opportunity. Why not? Bring it on. My instructor proceed with his job as he gave me field instructions and safety procedures which would have taken an hour or more to learn in a normal learning environment. After 10 minutes on dry ground, I used the valves to deflate and inflate underwater, navigate in two meters depth and remove water from my face. Standard entry level instructions.

After a half hour of tracking an underwater trail, fighting the current and my buoyancy and re-learning to breathe through my mouth, I felt I have done much for the day. It was a good experience to be swimming underwater with oxygene and I felt a little of motion sickness and a little of nausea. One thing that I missed that would have stabilized my diving were dead weights. Lacking that, I exerted more effort to fight buoyancy and the tide.

My windpipe is burning and dry as I detached the tube from the mask to the breathing apparatus. Slowly, I remove tank and flippers and set my sights to the dispenser, hoping I could squeeze cold water. By now, the volunteers began to gather the garbage on the sand. Someone begins to document the things placed on a weighing scale. A voice from a megaphone elicits a lot of clapping hands, signifying a successful event.  

The tables are now ready for a boodle-fight meal and everybody picked his own place around the tables and proceed with stuffing themselves with the food. I joined the sharks in a feeding frenzy in the middle of the day on the middle of the sandbar. I looked around and I see Ernie. He is wearing the same dry clothes I last saw him. I thought he was also given dive gears. I did not know that Ernie is one of those typical people who are afraid of water. Typical bushman.

We later learned that the garbage retrieved today totalled close to one ton. That is a lot. Where could the garbage came from? A few were dropped accidentally, carelessly and more of that were deliberate. Most of the garbage were brought in by tide and current. We do not know how much volume of plastic garbage passed by the coastlines of Maribago that have escaped our discovery? It could be more. I know it is more.

SCUBASURERO could only do less. It is done just once a year. It is also expensive because organizers and establishments provide pressurized oxygene tanks so garbage could be brought up to dry ground from the shallows and depths by volunteers who are into scuba diving. Nevertheless, because of dedication, some individuals and organizations have not lost faith and continued to pursue this advocacy for 32 years.

These garbage came from people and places far away from here and I know it started from streams and culverts near our homes. It is washed away during heavy downpours and dumped where stream meets channel waters. When will we start disposing our garbage properly? We love to eat food from the sea and do you know how much poison we unintentionally eat every week? Please do not allow plastic and other waste to reach the sea. Help in your own small way.

The 32nd International Coastal Cleanup Day is brought to you by the Ocean Conservancy, the Lapulapu City Government, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, and by the greenest resort of Mactan Island – Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, spearheaded by their own Project Blue.

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PINOYAPACHE GOES TO SAMAL ISLAND

I PROMISED TWO YEARS ago that I would attend the 2nd Omega Pelta Kappa Fraternity and Sorority National Convention to be hosted by the Zeta Chapter of Davao City on September 9, 2017. This, I made in writing for everyone to read, after the conclusion of the 1st OPK National Convention held in Cebu City last September 2015. Later I faced a dilemma, when the date was fast approaching: that I simply do not have the funds to be there. 

It is not easy to just forget about it. No it is never in my character. I gazed at heaven for manna. I was about to give up to that idea when a fellow Peltan, now based abroad, promised to shoulder my airplane fares should I be interested to go to Davao and attend it. Then another of our sister promised to take care of the billeting before and during the national convention. I did not ask for all of that but it came my way. God is Great! Thank you! Thank you my gracious sponsors. You are heaven sent. Thank you.

I was scheduled to fly from Cebu on September 7 but, by the quirks of the regularly delayed flights with which this particular airline is famous for, my flight was rescheduled on the night of September 8, just in time to be with my brothers and sisters celebrating a pre-convention party in Matina Town Center, one of Davao City’s popular watering holes and we occupied the front tables. It was like we were college students again. Actually, this was the day that OPK was founded 52 years ago.

During that joyous affair, I witnessed the military conducting checkpoint on the entrance to the rock concert event. The whole of Mindanao was under Martial Law due to the war against terrorists in Marawi City which had just ended a few days ago. Threats by armed groups are still present which necessitated drastic measures. The military watched us from the sidelines and would always approach anybody who would take a smoke with stern warnings. The musical event ended at midnight and orders of beer stopped.

Tired from the travel and too much of beer, I joined with other Peltans to rest early – at 02:30 of the following day – at our billeting area in Green Windows Dormitel, so we could start early in the morning for the convention site, which would be at Samal Island. At 05:00, my pre-set alarm woke me up and I get the opportunity to use the common bathroom first. My mindset always worked on situations like this which I learned many years ago in training center barracks.

Yes I prepared for this travel under a Martial Law atmosphere that I came “naked”. I did not bring any blade, not even a small Swiss Army Knife, for I cannot fathom it being confiscated or of me getting investigated because of that. I preferred going “grey”, to go places unnoticed and without arousing attention. I compensate what I lacked by increasing my situational awareness. I know how Martial Law worked because I grew up with it in the years of the Marcos dictatorship (1972-86) and I hated it.

At 08:00, we were now prepared to Samal Island and one vehicle of our convoy got caught by radar speeding in a highway while approaching Sasa Wharf. In Davao City, you are not allowed to cruise over 40 KPH. I appreciate that and it should be applied nationwide. The driver, who is from the Gamma Chapter and unaware about this city ordinance, got a warning instead after one of our hosts interceded. We waited for our turn to board the ferry that would cross a narrow channel into the Island Garden City of Samal.

It is my first time to be in this island, which is known for its mother-of-pearl farms producing cultured pearls. Samal Island was also in the news some two years ago when the Abu Sayyaf went out of their way to kidnap three foreigners while they were in their yacht. After 30 minutes, we arrived at Samal and walked just a few meters to where the convention would be held: Camp Holiday Resorts. It is good to know that the sister who sponsored my billeting, took care also of my registration which is a thousand bucks. Again, thank you.

I got registered without a fuss, took a seat around on one of the tables and did a Peltan handshake to everyone. Familiar faces, from the convention of two years ago, arrived and everybody exchanged niceties, good conversations and hearty laughs of funny memories. Coffee and light meals got served. The convention is scheduled for 18:00, so I looked for my room, which I get to share with two other Peltans. It is a nice airconditioned room with a soft bed, a good view from its terrace and it is not cramped.

After freshening up, I went back to the convention hall wearing the event shirt. The room occupants doubled by this time but, thankfully, I reclaimed my seat. My envelope is still there and, in it, is the event programme. My Lenovo A7000 is still at its place near the electrical outlet, charging power. Too much of WiFi hours ago have drained it of life and now it is gaining battery volume. I need the Android phone for the documentations. I came here because of an obligation – a promise – and, second, as an adventure travel blogger.

Travelling under a Martial Law is adventure. It is another adventure if you do not agree – in principle – to this present government’s penchant for extra-judicial killings and ignoring rule of law. I am a dissenting voice and Davao City is the current president’s hometown. Figuratively, I am in “enemy” territory because I am different from you in thoughts. What would be sauce for you is poison for me and let us agree to disagree with that. I am no stranger to the president and Davao City. I climbed Mount Apo in 1994 and, in 1995, I chased and caught alive a serial killer here which got me an audience with the former mayor. We met twice!

As much as possible, I will try to keep to myself, despite the festive affair, and I will refuse any talks about politics. The program started and the chapters are mentioned. Delta Chapter, the one I belonged to, is now a dying entity, so were every other chapter except where OPK is still very active. It is so sad because we are not getting any younger and the law forbids us to do the usual rituals and processes which had shaped our view of fraternities and sororities, and of our own OPK. It does not work that way anymore and we have a dearth of new blood. I do not know if this convention would adapt to change.

It did not. By design, the idea about PISPI was never mentioned. Burying that to silence is the extension of the leadership council to two more years. They have not done their homework for two years and have nothing to show anything promising and I heard no mild reactions. We are still feeling – or reeling – our way in the dark. I was hoping the advocates for change were here because I was very receptive to that idea. There is a rift somewhere and what is there next in this same setup? PISPI would have given me hope instead of reminiscing about the glory days like school reunions always bring.

When the convention ended, I returned to my room and drank beer to toast to the demise of PISPI and what is left of my OPK. I do not see a good future. I kept to myself on the room’s terrace accompanied by a few Peltans celebrating our 52nd founding years from the rest. Personally, I do not like a crowd and I would rather do socials in anonymity, far from the rest. We all will stay here until tomorrow noon. The exclusivity of a room is much better and it works for me here.

 

The second day, September 10, is reserved for recreation and more socials. Early rising Peltans have already occupied two long rows of table on the general beach area. Breakfasts of native delicacies were provided by our hosts and buckets of cold Red Horse keeps you warmed up. You may have to choose the shoreline or an infinity pool to cool off or bathe on both. I do a short tour around Camp Holiday. There are many amenities and rooms but I would not do a detailed description or content without being asked to.

At 12:00, we moved from Samal Island back to the mainland. Many of us from Cebu has flights back but our hosts decided to treat us for lunch first in Flyover Ihaw-ihaw Restaurant at the Buhangin District. Then someone saw a durian and we proceed to McArthur Highway where it is popularly sold. I love durian and I could eat ten pieces in one setting, which I did in 1997. Today, I am just good for four. It is not that cheap anymore. My OPK sisters and brothers brought boxes of fruit and processed durian with them when they went to the airport.

I remained. My flight is scheduled for tomorrow. Brod Raymund Galot and Brod Ody Lee made it sure that I have a place to stay. I do not have a choice but go back to the Green Windows Dormitel. It is much cheaper and there are not too many guests. I do miss the company of my fellow Peltans. On the street to where it is located are many cheap restaurants which would be favorable for my limited budget. There is not much to do except read a book, Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. I always carry a book when traveling.

My last day in Davao fell on a very infamous date – September 11. Subconsciously, that tragic event which came to the US sixteen years ago, could happen anywhere but it has a good chance that it could also happen in Davao now to which a Martial Law preempt such ideas of harm. Brod Raymund came at 11:00 to fetch me. An extended courtesy of my host which I am most indebted to. My flight is at 20:40 yet. We visited first his office to log off from work. He is with the City Engineering Office.

Brod Raymund became my tour guide which I appreciate very much. He brought me to GAP Farming Resort. It is one of Davao’s oldest recreation resort. At its heart is a tunnel system built by the Japanese Army during World War II. After an hour of roaming around, we go down to Riverwalk Exotic Resto Grill. They serve crocodile dishes which meat are sourced from the Davao Crocodile Park. I need to try and I choose crocodile sisig to widen my taste experience. I eat the whole serving to myself.

It is well-spiced to cover something that is related to something fishy. Well it has its own characteristic but one thing that I noticed immediately is that my tooth became achy. It is not a toothache yet but the sensation on my gums indicate that it will. My knees, which once were arthritic, acted like one again, although I could walk without feeling pain. There is just a knot somewhere in there. This crocodile meat has a high uric content or it could be an ingredient which caused my nerve receptors acting crazy. 
 

Brod Raymund brought me at last to the Davao airport at 18:30. In two hours, I would be flying out. A slight delay came. 23:15. I was ready for another delay when an announcement advised us passengers to proceed the boarding gate. I enjoyed my time in Davao and Samal seeing again fellow Peltans and it would take another two years before we meet again with them in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental – the next host. This time, I will not promise. To those I met, thank you all. I could not name all and you are in my heart. Thank you and may God bless all Peltans!

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PINOYAPACHE GOES TO HOMONHON ISLAND

RADIO COMMUNICATIONS ARE an essential means by which coastal and island communities communicate with each other and to government centers where aid most likely would come when in times of weather disturbances and calamities. Regular cellular phone signals are simply unreliable during such times. It only improved a little of their lives and most of that are where communications infrastructures are present like urban centers.

Let me remind you that these same communities have had bad memories of strong typhoons, like the recent Tropical Cyclone Haiyan (Yolanda), which caused so much grief and destruction; and that they have lived everyday with the unpredictable whims of the Pacific Ocean. Radio communications empowers these communities to experience at least a good control of safety and security of their own lives.

 

Travel to and from coasts to islands and vice versa would benefit so much from radio communications due to the favorable presence of a wide body of water that necessitates a good propagation of radio signals. A base radio station on simplex, with antenna properly placed, preferably on a high ground, covers so much area in relaying and receiving messages. While it may have its advantages, its main disadvantage is that it is stationary.

A stationary base radio station, unlike hand-held portables, operates on a system consisting of an antenna, lengths of cable wires, a power source and a power regulator. It only becomes mobile when it is installed in sea vessels, airborne crafts and land vehicles. While it may be effective there, the problem is you cannot operate on a continuous and uninterrupted power supply that a stationary land-based radio station offered.

Let us talk about the post-Haiyan rehabilitation efforts. The Peace and Conflict Journalism Network (PECOJON) partnered with Caritas Germany, the Archdiocese of Borongan, CordAid Netherlands and the Philippine Misereor Partnership in improving the communications capability of the affected areas by installing several base radio station systems along Eastern Samar and off the islands of Sulangan, Homonhon, Manicani and Suloan.

Pecojon contracted C5 Electronics of Mandaue City for radio equipment and services; and, likewise, tapped a Cebu-based amateur radio club, Ham Radio Cebu, for manpower, training and technical support. The first recipient of this grant from Misereor was the Municipality of Guiuan and the aforestated islands in 2015. This author belonged to Ham Radio Cebu and possesses an amateur radio station license, DW7EUV.

 

Ham Radio Cebu is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and given a license by the National Telecommunications Commission to operate and exist as an Amateur Radio Club in District 7 last February 2015. It is a member of the Philippine Amateur Radio Association and legally operates a repeater station. Through the leadership of Jet Manuel 4F7MHZ, Ham Radio Cebu grew by bounds and leaps for just a few years and we now are the most dynamic and most active club in Cebu and District 7.

This association encourages its new members to aspire for an amateur radio station license which could be acquired after passing the NTC examination. It also inspires its current license holders to upgrade to the next level. Aside that, this club is into antenna making done on weekends; participate in DX contests; volunteer as communicators in civic and religious activities; support PARA and DRRM events; and mentor fledgling civic and amateur clubs.

In May 2016, this author was part of the second wave of volunteers from Ham Radio Cebu requested to conduct training, helped C5 Electronics personnel install the antennas, and propagated signals for testing and fine tuning. The recipient was the Archdiocese of Borongan and base radio systems were installed at the parishes located in Borongan City, Lawaan, Hernani, San Julian and Oras from the donor, Caritas.

 

On this same trip, Ham Radio Cebu went back to Guiuan to train fish wardens and coastal management volunteers in the operation and maintenance of radio equipment; taught them phonetics and reporting protocol; and practiced them radio net call. C5 Electronics brought them three base radios, a mobile base, portable units, antennas and their cables, batteries, power regulators and other accessories provided from a grant by CordAid.

Recently, Ham Radio Cebu and this author went back for another mission to Eastern Samar, particularly in Guiuan, last September 1, 2017. We were again requested by Misereor, through Pecojon, to conduct an emergency communications operation based on a scenario of a Signal No. 5 typhoon. We would focus more on the islands of Homonhon and Manicani and mobilize existing village DRRM units and NGO volunteers.

We arrived at the Port of Ormoc early in the morning and travelled overland to Tacloban City where we took our breakfast. Misereor provided the vehicle for the twelve of us while Pecojon accommodated two more on its staff veicle. The scars of Haiyan are still there and it cuts deep into the memories of the people of Tacloban. I could understand their sufferings as I have been here a few months before that storm with its killer waves, called the storm surge, flattened everything in its wake.

I navigated through my mind the memories of houses and buildings and people that used to exist on the very places and streets where the vehicle passed along on its destination to the San Juanico Strait and its famous bridge. There are a lot of blank spaces in between which I barely noticed in my last visit there. I closed my eyes as I controlled my emotions. I peered at the back mirror and each one was in their own deep thoughts, staring at something faraway.

Our convoy parked at the side of the middlemost part of the bridge and it broke the spell. Everyone streamed out from their seats and posed for a group picture with part of the bridge and strait as the background. Then we continued, the highway goes south of Western Samar, passing by thick mangroves and rugged mountains. It passed the coastlines with many bridges and what I liked most was the one where there were karst formations by a river mouth.

We arrived in Guiuan at 12:00 and took lunch at a popular restaurant there. Afterwards, we were toured around the general locations of Guiuan going to Sulangan and back passing by a beach that is a surfer’s paradise and an abandoned American base which, at its point of history, received and hosted White Russians during the Russian Revolution of 1918 and, later, European Jews during the prelude to World War II.

In that old American base, there is still an existing landing strip and around it are spaces that may have housed the asylum seekers before their transfer to countries of their own choice. What struck me odd is the presence of the flag of mainland China. It was mixed with the flags of countries that fought Japan in the Pacific like the US, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands and ours. What would be more appropriate there instead is the flag of Taiwan, a remnant of that original nation usurped by the communists.

We visited the office of Misereor and got to know the staff. Our convoy proceeded to the East Visayas State University and we had an audience with the university president. When it was over, eight of ours, the ones assigned to Manicani Island, stayed at its campus hotel while the rest of us went to check in at a local hotel. This blogger would lead the group that would be assigned at Homonhon Island which were composed of Nick Manuel, Nonoi Ibañez, Honey Alquisola, Loisa Roa, John Sala and Misereor representative, Wilson Catalan.

Second day, September 2, we woke up at 04:00. A van would pick us up at 04:30 so we could meet with the guys staying at the EVSU Hotel, get our equipment and take a hasty morning coffee. My group left the mainland for Homonhon at 05:30 over a very rough sea. We were prepared for that with our equipment and gear sealed inside waterproofed bags. The rest would start to cross to the smaller Manicani Island but much near to the mainland.

Homonhon Island is south of Manicani and Sulangan Island and is between 10 to 15 kilometers from the latter. Sulangan is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Homonhon is about 20 kilometers in length with about 3 kilometers at its widest which is found on the north and about 1.5 kilometers at its narrowest found at the middle where the village of Casugoran is located. We will be staying there in the staff house of Misereor.

This island is mined for chromite deposits by locals and, for that, the southern part is barren, except for a thin layer of vegetation growing along the coastlines. Its northern part is where the original forests are located. The highlands rise majestically about 400 meters from the shores and are very rugged. It is said that it is still a habitat for deer, wild boars, tarsiers, macaques, big pythons and lizards, and rare plant species. Interesting!

Aside from Casugoran, other villages are scattered all around the coastlines of Homonhon like Bitaugan, Habag, Inapulangan, Kanawayon, Culasi, Pagbabangnan and Cagusoan. There is an islet off Inapulangan called Mantukanon. Farther south of us is the island of Suloan. Casugoran is the main village and it is where the St. John the Baptist Parish and the Homonhon Community Hospital are located.

We arrived at Casugoran at 07:35 and took breakfast. We started our Emergency Radio Communications seminar at 09:00 to the village officials and peacekeepers of the mentioned villages. Misereor requested for this activity since they will be turning over the radio equipment to them as their timetable for rehabilitation work was approaching its end. With the approval of the parish priest, we used the church as our classroom.

After an orientation by a Misereor staff, I talked about Introduction to Radio Basics which include radio anatomy, battery, chargers, propagation, etiquette, protocol guidelines, restrictions and priorities. I was assisted by Loisa DW7FFB and Honey DY7FAR. Nonoi DV7FAQ discussed about Basic Radio Troubleshooting and the topic covered general problem areas, emergency communication, vital resources, power sources and deployment procedures. 

As part of that discussion, Nick DV7FCC lent them his know-how in the construction of the Quarter Wave Antenna. The participants were provided the materials and the tools to construct their own after a demonstration was done before them. After this activity focused on antenna making, each was able to make and proudly hold their antennas. A SWR meter provided by Nick measured the nearest possible ratio which required a good propagation.

After lunch, at 13:00, all returned to the church to listen to Nonoi explain the Incident Command System to them. The ICS is the standard protocol adopted by our country to address casualties and damage reports during calamities induced by natural hazards or of a consequence made by humans or just the effect of climate change. For two hours the participants listened intently about this topic.

 

The seminar ended at 15:00 but they would have to perform a simulation of emergency communications operation using their present portable radios issued to them and pairing it with the quarter wave antenna which they constructed for, at 16:00, a general net call would be propagated from the mainland targeting Homonhon and Manicani. Everyone returned to their villages.

Nick, John 7HAJS and Wilson would be stationed overnight at Inapulangan to assist the neighboring villages of Bitaugan, Kanawayon and Habag and Nick has a personal mission for himself later – a DX Contest. Nonoi and Honey would be based in Culasi to link up with Inapulangan, Casugoran and Pagbabangnan. Meanwhile, Loisa and I would stay at Casugoran Base. We heard Manicani performed well since it is near to the mainland.

In Homonhon, only Casugoran, Cagusoan and Inapulangan were able to successfully link up with Guiuan. Casugoran was able to relay the message of Culasi. Pagbabangnan was unheard of. We went to investigate what went wrong. We found out that Pagbabangnan was able to hear Inapulangan talk with Culasi and Guiuan but cannot propagate to same. We also found that Pagbabangnan is surrounded by mountains since it is at the backmost.

There is an existing antenna erected by Misereor on a hill in the middle of the island but it was not high enough to be effective. It has limited coverage which only benefit Culasi and Casugoran. If this antenna could only be transferred to the highlands north of the island, powered by solar energy, it could propagate better to as far as Borongan City on a good day and south to Suloan Island. We have to work with less, compounded by instructions that changed at the last minute. Someone at base control could not handle pressure.

We could do nothing about the problem in Pagbabangnan and we have to return to Casugoran at dusk. Along the way, I saw a forest fire raging in one of the last forested enclaves of the mined area. That is why I saw a few hours ago ashes falling down at Casugoran. Probably, the thick smoke from the fire might have to do with our failure to have Pagbabangnan join the circuit of communications, since it was above it.

When I arrived, I set up my hammock between two trees to include the taffeta shelter. I would sleep outside at the back of the staff house to give more room and privacy to the occupants. Dinner came at 06:30 under a bulb powered by solar energy. Outside of us – the main plaza – it was dark. If that fire would rage towards Casugoran, I would have the advantage of knowing it since I am outdoors. Thank God, it did not come.

The next day, September 3, my last day at Homonhon Island, we ate a very nice breakfast. We left at 07:45 for the mainland. The sea this time was very calm but treacherous since sandbars I saw the last time were missing. Passing by the last coastlines of Homonhon, I saw a very beautiful secluded beach but scraped on a limestone wall are the words “Habag Beach” and other vandalism which destroyed the aesthetics of the place. Further on among bare rocks, I see many carved with “No to Mining”, a wrong means to what could be a good end.

We arrived at Guiuan at 09:15 and proceed to EVSU after our service arrived. We stayed for a while to rest and to wash. Our equipment and bags were loaded to the vehicles. From there, we proceed to a local restaurant for a sendoff lunch. The staff from Misereor were there and we had a grand time of the delicious food. After the meal, we passed by the office of Misereor before proceeding back to the San Juanico Strait and into Leyte.

We arrived at Tacloban City but stopped to stare in awe of a relic of a boat stranded inland for more than a kilometer from its moorings after it was carried by storm surge caused by Typhoon Haiyan. The van made its way to downtown and dropped Wilson, himself a survivor of that sad chapter. I knew Wilson’s story but it would be appropriate that I do not mention that. My heart pains whenever I see him staring faraway.

We arrived at Ormoc City just before dusk and we dined at a very popular public eatery. Serving us food is a beautiful lass who was the winner of the Miss Ormoc City beauty apgeant. I saw Nick behaving this time. We made a beeline for the gangplank into our boat. There were many passengers but we had our cots. At 21:00, our boat left for Cebu. Ham Radio Cebu added another accomplishment to their warm antenna. Did they not say that “HAM is not processed food but a happy person with a warm antenna”?  

 

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BEBUT’S TRAIL XIX: Taro Tendrils

WHEN YOU ARE KEEN on exposing people to creative cooking using unfamiliar ingredients in an outdoors setting, it is just second nature for you to rise up from your comfort zone and heft a bag for the woods. Today, August 20, 2017, I would walk with seven others on the same route I walked last week - “Heartbreak Ridge”. Our destination would still be that shed in Sibalas. It is now a spot well-loved by the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild.

One of those who would hike up the infamous hill is the not-so-little Titay anymore. She will be with his dad Aljew. Titay have grown into a beautiful dalaguita - an adolescent lady – and how time flies. Also braving the bare hill are Bonna, Jhurds, Theresa, Jingaling and Glyn. We left the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at 08:30 after acquiring the ingredients for our noontime meal from its side market.

It is now 09:00 and it is very warm here as was last week. I am worried about Titay so I gave her my elastic headwear to shield her head, face and nape from direct sunlight. She begins to tire when she reached the steel tower and her dad has to goad her gently so she would overcome the last hump. Beyond there are bush and woodland and a shaded trail where many birds found refuge.

 

I bought this time two bundles of jute leaves (Local name: saluyot) which I preserved upside down and covered in loose layers of parasol tree leaves (binunga). I also acquired several pieces of okra, a few green pepper, onions, garlic and two bundles of vine-like taro root tendrils (takway). The main ingredient would be the young taro sprouts which I plan to cook in two different dishes.

If you have 230 grams of taro sprouts, if boiled, it provides you 3.22 g protein, 165.6 mg calcium, 0.92 mg iron, 1534 µg vitamin A, 0.05 mg thiamin, 0.18 mg riboflavin, 1.45 mg niacin and 48.30 vitamin C. It provides you energy with 110.40 kcal. (Source: Cooking Smart by Blecenda Miranda-Varona and David Arsulo Varona, Philippine Publishing House, 2005.) We have about 1,200 grams of that.

It can reduce high blood pressure, controls blood sugar levels, protects the skin, prevents different types of cancer, enhances digestion, increase circulation, prevents heart diseases, improves vision, boosts immune system, strengthens muscle and nerves. It also contains dietary fiber, which plays a very important role in the digestive system. Consumption of this can increase our gastrointestinal health. It also prevents diarrhea, cramps, constipation, bloating, excess gas, and improves the overall health of the body.

We arrive at the shed in Sibalas at 10:15. This wooden structure is built at the instance of Jhurds, currently Camp Red’s head shed, and with the assent of Luceno Labrador, the lot owner. Camp Red helped in reforesting the place with fruit, hardwood and indigenous species. The shed would host outdoors seminar someday but, for the moment, it sufficed as a place where we do “dirt times”.

As on previous occasions, the shed becomes the center of a few hours of camp life. The split log seats are there to give spartan comfort and respite to the tired limbs while the wide center table gives convenience to those who would prepare the food prior to cooking. The table is now accommodating the food ingredients and the tools for cooking. The men among us proceed to forage dry twigs and firewood. The ladies stayed to process meat and slice the vegetables.

Fire begins to blaze by the time Aljew’s firebox and my Swiss Army wood burner were set up. A pot of water is boiled first for that beautiful thought of a coffee drink. I took care of another pot for rice. One of the ladies, Bonna, watched the cooking on my behalf while I busy myself with the taro sprouts. You have to peel the outer layers first as it would cause itchiness on your tongue, gums and throat. It has a substance that is common among taro species.

It would be painstaking work. You have to use the edge of a blade lightly so skin will be stripped away and there are around twenty of these long stalks, which measure around two feet each. As you work on these taro part, you would notice that the color of dark purple adhere to your thumbs and fingers caused by the natural dye that is found on the insides of the skin. When done skinning, you chop the stalks about 2 inches long each.

On the other front, an earthen hearth is prepared for cooking the marinated meat on glowing coals. Aljew and Jhurds help each other that there is sufficient firewood to make this possible. Titay watched all these and sometimes would sidle by her dad and asked a few questions. Aljew taught her how to safely use a knife, chop firewood and feed wood on fire. This is another aspect of Titay’s ongoing education into a better adult that his dad envisioned of her. He is training her in this unconventional setting.

Half of the processed taro stalks, I would cook as a soup. I would not use any meat ingredient (subak) to achieve taste. The taro is the main ingredient and it has its own special taste, which is enhanced by the addition of jute leaves, sliced onions, salt and black pepper. It is a traditional Cebuano fare called bas-oy (vegetable soup) minus the meat.

Sliced okra is mixed with the other half of the taro tendrils. Garlic, sliced onions and green pepper are sauteed first before the taro is dropped into the strong-smelling oil that is simmered a bit. Care is observed not to stir the tendrils while it is cooked for a few minutes so it would not release a substance that causes itchiness. When the texture becomes brown, the okra is mixed to the fare and stirred while soy sauce is added.

On the other hand, the marinated meat took time to cook. Everybody waited. At 13:30, we got our meal. For the rest, it is their first time to taste young taro tendrils. I am used to its slimy appearance but, once you get to like its taste, you forgot about it and you crave for more. The taro adobo is the easiest to cook but it can also be cooked with coconut-based soup, simply fried in a pan, or rolled in rice-paper wrappers.

Plant identification is very important in bushcraft and survival. Today’s session educated the people from Camp Red the appearance of jute leaves and young taro tendrils. They were also exposed to the methods of cooking these. Sharing what I know and showing them how. The pots, plates and spoons are washed in a nearby well. In an hour we would be moving out but, for the meantime, we engage in small talks.

Aljew foraged a green coconut from a short tree and opened it. Titay watched how his dad did it. She drank the natural water straight from the small hole. The coconut was split in half by his dad while Titay scraped the meat with an improvised spoon made from the green husk. It might be ordinary for you readers but bonding with a daughter or son and exposing them to the outdoors is something you would crave for if you have the time.

By 14:00, our things are slowly returned to our bag. We took another trail that led to Baksan. We reach a road and it is a long way back to Guadalupe. We will pass by the Sapangdaku Spillway and going there would all be downhill by a concrete road. We crossed a bridge and walked the rest of the way to the church. Titay felt the fatigue and the pain but her dad never left her side. She reached our destination and she got her fish balls.

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