Homing instinct

Like the Bulusan pawikan (marine turtle), guided by the imbedded earth's magnetic field in its memory and the smell of its mother shore, my coming home is as natural and inevitable. This almost empty floor of our bodega-like home is now filled with my 'busyness' of anything from talking to potatom (my thoughtful and sweet dog), to having conversation with an incognito web friend, to taking this photo (and more photos), to listening to baroque music as interpreted by Wynton Marsalis, to the music of Sean Crowe and Engkanto...and writing about Inggo the fish trap weaver.

My mother to this day after a year of my coming home (she is living downstairs) cannot yet fathom what I am so busy about but somehow accepted my unusual ways without question.

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Hats on a hot anahaw roof

Perched on the anahaw thatched roof of a rural home in Dancalan, are these karagumoy hats (kalo) drying under the heat of the high noon sun. After the extra strips are trimmed off--('gusap' is how the locals call the process), the hats are then brought to the  hat traders in the Poblacion who are also owners of medium to big grocery stores. These can therefore bring home some grocery items from canned goods, rice and even cell phone load depending of course as to the number of hats being delivered. A karagumoy hat exchange rate goes between Php4-5 on average.

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Bulusan's other ancient walls

Few know that these walls exist right in the Poblacion along Sabang Road. Some in the know say that these predates the Spanish walls at the chuchyard. Some say that this is the trail to an earlier Bulusan settlement. Nobody is really sure. But what can be noticed at first sight is how these rocks can hold together for so long without crambling down with little or no cement. Tried pulling one rock myself but the adhesive material (whatever it is) is really keeping the rocks together.  Remarkable technique of stacking of the rocks!

This is the trail being used now in going up to Kapilihan. Not easy to spot because it runs perpendicular to the main road. It is located just meters away from the spillway.

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Sadok

The handicraft store near the Bulusan jeepney stop in Gubat  is selling this updated version of the traditional sadok. The 'tindero' (salesclerk) calls it as the 'sadok na may payong' because of the recycled umbrella fabric over the anahaw top.

The sadok is a rain and sun protection still widely used by Bulusan rural folks traditionally made from anahaw with bamboo framing underneath fastened by nito.

Bulusan sadok crafstmen are vanishing. As of my latest search... I have yet to find a living sadok maker in Bulusan still engaged in the craft.

Bulusan kids

No shades of a country mouse, Bulusan kids are now as savvy as their urban counterparts. Probably brought on by the fast entry of modern communications, cable tv and the internet.

These kids practically prod me to take photos of  them while they gamely pose and then check my camera monitor afterwards to look for photos of themselves near the 'kampanaryo'(belfry).

Payaw

Before the plastic craze these leaves are the dependable wrapper for small items bought in the 'plaza' or public market from dried fish to fresh items sold by vendors like 'turos', 'angol' and 'lato'.

It can be a very attractive material for landscaping in urban places with tropical themes but for now the payaw is lushly growing in many farm patches. These contribute to Bulusan's biodiversity, enhance its ecosystem and provide natural aesthetic wherever it grows. Payaw is wild grown.

Bobo is a smart fish trap for Bulusan's Turos

Ever wonder why the taste of your 'turos' (local species of ziganids) is extra tasty? It is because of this bobo (fish trap). The ones caught in the nylon mess are sometimes entangled in the net causing them to die while still at sea. In contrast with those trapped in a bobo, where the fish can still freely swim inside the trap and therefore very much alive when drawn out from the sea.

Karagumoy Geometry

Karagumoy Geometry, a photo by Alma_images on Flickr.