"The American War"

Vietnam

The war museums in Hanoi showcase uncanny war remnants of fighter planes, and bombers, and tanks, and artillery. They also show different sets of images - a Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War, which they call the American War. It succinctly tells a harrowing story of a tiny nation’s fight for survival. It speaks of anguished cries, and torn limbs from small frames and chinky eyes; of carpet bombings and Napalm burnings on the civilian population. Then I came face to face with disfigured third and fourth generation Agent Orange victims in an orphanage. What a haunting sight! Like ghosts of a lost generation, they are breathing testaments to the atrocities of the past.

I have a stash of Vietnam in my drawer containing Born on the 4^th of July, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Saving Private Ryan, Deer Hunter and Full Metal Jacket. I watched these films cheering for my brothers, the G.I.s, menaced by Vietcongs in that hellhole -Vietnam.

It was all propaganda after all. Pure yarns making fallen heroes out of brainwashed troops. With one swoop all the prized DVDs flew off the window.

Mayon

I was ecstatic at the thought of seeing Mayon volcano in Legaspi City. I only see it on postcards - that now ubiquitous Cagsawa bell tower which I thought was a lighthouse. Unbeknownst to me, hidden beneath was a church buried by molten lava when the volcano erupted in 1814. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years. From the rice plains of Legazpi, it rises 2462m (8,077 ft) up in the sky. Like a sentinel, it lord’s over the landscape. I never imagined the town could be so close to it – it lies at the volcano’s foot! As you drive along or stand in the middle of the road, you will not see it all in. Looking at it is like watching a movie on a theater floor at the bottom edge of the movie screen. You need to move your head to see the whole image. If Mayon volcano erupts as in 1814, the people below will be instantly overrun and wiped out by the flowing lava. Armageddon will have come swift and unmerciful. At night, you look up and see a strange orange glow in the sky. It’s Mayon’s glowing peak, beautiful, enchanting, foreboding.

As we were driving towards Legaspi City, we could only see the volcano’s huge bluish base, the upper half being hidden behind the clouds. But as we neared the city center, wind blew and the clouds shifted like a gigantic curtain suddenly opening up. Shafts of sunlight danced to show Mayon’s volcanic peak until the whole perfect cone emerged from the haze. My mouth dropped. For a moment I stood in awe at this unexpected display of nature’s grandeur. Then the volcano disappeared again claimed by the shifting clouds. The show has ended as quickly as it had begun.

Hurricanes, Storms & Surfing

New Jersey   Bermuda

New York      Nova Scotia    

Hurricane Bill was brewing in the Atlantic Ocean. It struck the Caribbean seas before moving up north to hit the shores of northern United States and Canada. While the rest of the population cower in fear, surfers paddle out for the time of their lives. They are the only select individuals who literally rejoice in the coming of storms for the swell they caused and the waves they bring.

Almost at the time Hurricane Bill arrived on that part of the globe, tropical storm Jolina hit the northern part of the Philippines. It originated from the South China Sea then moved up north to the western part of northern Philippines. Local surfers in San Juan, La Union went bonkers with their boards and indulged in the heavy surf of Urbiztondo Beach. As always happens in times like these, there were good rides, serious paddling, and - broken boards! One of which happens to be mine! Craaaaack!

Banaue II

We have to bring the Anfra from Manila to Zamboanga which is going to be a 3-day road trip 24/7. That means it has to be in top condition. Where to go? - Banaue. No, not in Ifugao, but a street in Quezon City. We weren’t prepared for this but here it is: car accessories and repair shops line up this whole stretch of street. Minor repairs were done on the sidewalk. You will hear old upholstery ripped apart, dents were hammered out then polished with sandpaper and steel wool. Whirring sound of portable electric saws and planers fill the air. One by one a drove of mechanics came to us, inspecting the car like surgeons. The engine was already overhauled but it has no air conditioning so we came for a fan which ended up being installed on the dashboard. The old rubber lining of the windows was replaced with new ones. They suggested shiny new tire rims and mufflers and mudguards. How about a new car eh? They were in a frenzy making improvements on an old rickety wheels. Any car owner will feel like owning a Ferrari by the attention it gets. If nothing else, this was a good way to feel like royalty.

Pangan-an island

Going to Pangan-an island by boat is easy, but if boat rides make you dizzy, you can take a walk….

Pangan-an is an island-barangay that belongs to Lapu-Lapu City.  It is situated east of Mactan and right next to Olango.  It used to be a legendary fishing ground with fish stock abundant enough to feed China.  Fishermen from faraway places regarded the waters surrounding the island as a place in which to fish, and the island itself as the place on which to eat - kan-anan (dining area).  In time, kan-anan became Pangan-an and the name stuck, but the fish stock gone.

An old riddle asks, in the middle of the sea, what can you see? The letter “e” you say?  Wrong!  In the middle of the sea is - a waiting shed!  Yes indeed, a waiting shed stands proudly right in the middle of a channel that separates Olango Island from Pangan-an.  It is used by tricycle drivers waiting for riders, and vice versa.  Tricycles, in the sea?  That’s right.  At low tide, the area will be completely dewatered as if a hole underneath sucks the seabed dry.  This is not your typical sand bottom seabed, but an immense flat-coral-bedrock.  You can see the two-wheel mark that snakes across the channel and thins toward Pangan-an.  It is a visible nautical highway.  But who needs a ride, when you can walk?  You will see flocks of birds in v-formation against the backdrop of all imaginable cloud formations.  If you are lucky you will see a distant rainfall or a rainbow.  It is a walk you will not soon forget. 

Halfway through on our way back, water started to seep on our path.  As if having minds of their own, little headwaters crawled toward our feet.  The sea has awakened.  Within minutes, this vast expanse of flat rock was covered with sparkling ankle-high water.  At this time, the waiting shed was half-submerged and we were soon surrounded by waste-high seawater. It feels like Moses’ Red Sea crossing.  The walk was longer and tiring, but the open space and the ultimate freedom it brings was worth tiring for.  On the edges are coconut islets, protected from strong waves by walls of mangrove forests. 

It was late afternoon.  The clouds already started to pale on the horizon.  We met locals along the way, traveling the same path as we did.  I waved hello and was rewarded by shy smiles.  I figured, our ancestors from faraway places came here not necessarily on land bridges, but on foot, just like I did at low tide when seawater retreated to reveal that flat bottom bedrock….