Farm to market route

The shortest route to the market to sell their farm produce from the outlying village where this couple lives is by following the ocean's water edge. And this means a hike to the endlessly shifting beaches of this part of Bulusan. 

Part of a long stretch of  Bulusan Pacific Ocean coast where beaches shift from boulders to pebbles to black sand  and finally to the the lighter sand at the farthest end.

Miligabiga: Bulusan's Most Enchanting Beach

Miligabiga beach  -  like a morning dance.

Miligabiga beach in Bulusan - enchanted place according to the locals. Enchanting for sure.

The morning sun still casts its magic upon our arrival  in Miligabiga after a long beach walk rather trek of what seems to be a parade of beaches: boulder beach, black sand beach, rock beach,  pebble beach and this (photo)!

Getting there requires a long beach hike. It is worth the effort though for Miligabiga is so enchantingly beautiful. I can stay there for several days without getting bored. Provisions are needed however for this is around 2 km from Poblacion Central, my place.

The beach sand of Miligabiga is the color  fusion of grey to cream. A very pleasant light  khaki hue to me at first but I settled to the color cappuccino which is more nearer to the dominant color of the Miligabiga sand. Obviously clean from the non-stop movement of the waves.

Full bodied ocean waves are the norm in this area with crest suitable for advanced surfers. These waves are always in constant motion producing the most dynamic ocean sound I have ever heard. It is as if there is an unseen maestro conducting a nature's orchestra. Be prepared though because the sound  of the waves sometimes becomes so primal it evokes the awesome power of the ocean.

The entire length of Bulusan coast faces the vast Pacific Ocean.

Full-bodied crest of the ocean waves of  Miligabiga.

Freshly  wave-swept beach sand of  Miligabiga reflects the morning sun.

Photos: Alma P. Gamil

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Lemon Grass a.k.a. Tanglad in Bulusan

Overheard from a very lively elderly woman (obviously a supporter of the defeated mayoralty candidate of Bulusan) while on a jeepney commute to Gubat : "Somebody played a joke on me the day after the counting was completed. I found my slippers tied with what seems to be a 'gabon' (weed grass) but upon my close scrutiny, it was a tanglad (lemon grass)." Laughing heartily after relaying the incident to the delight of the fellow passengers and then making a sigh, "my body can feel the aches now after the campaign..the feeling is heavier since the other side  won. But what can we do? Pierde si Pay (our candidate Pay lost)." I listened and wondered how come this culinary star became associated with the 'losers' of the elections in Bulusan? Some say that this is so because tanglad is the usual ingredient for cooking chicken dish - associating this with cockfighting i.e. losing fighting cocks are still good as chicken dish thus the need for tanglad.

Since ancient times though plants are already used as symbolic emblems. For example the laurel is for victory and olive branch is for peace. This Bulusan association of tanglad to defeated candidates however has a playful humorous twist.

Further research lead me to an information that reed, a kind of plant in the grass family is also used as a symbol for defeat and humiliation. Makes sense since tanglad belongs to the grass family.

Photo: Alma P. Gamil

Stopping by for the familiar flowers

Cosmos sulphureus in our midst. Always present to delight us whether you take notice or not.

In my recent posts to the CDFP (Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines), I focused on the ordinary and the familiar plants seen just around the corner of the Poblacion. It is not because I have not done much of forest and mountain trekking lately to get more photos of the rare and unique Bulusan flora but because I believe that  these common and familiar plants  need also the attention it deserve. They have been around for hundreds or more years in our hometown and no one has even bothered or even had the time to stop and know more about them except of course the local parabolong (folkloric herbal healers). However, their focus are more on the medicinal plants not the ordinary ornamentals commonly seen around in rural homes and gardens.

One of these plants is the cosmos (photos) flowering profusely it seems all-year round and displaying colors of varying yellows along the road, in backyards, in churchyard, in cemeteries - almost everywhere. When I was still in my grade school years, we used to call these flowers as 'kosmos' with the additional description  typically coming from innocent yet irreverent kids : 'an burak na mahangot' (the flower that has this unpleasant smell). Fast forward to this week - I tried smelling  these  flowers at the church yard but it seems that the variety growing now-a-days has a neutral scent or it was just my sense of smell failing me this time?

Back to my post at CDFP - a member, expert in identifying names of ornamentals in the Philippines described  the flowering plant as not native  but imported from the tropical Americas. Scientific name according to another member is Cosmos sulphureus. The family was already submitted by me : Family Asteraceae. The probability that the Acapulco-Philippines galleon route three to four hundred years ago has something to do with this flowering plant is not remote. Who knows? All we know is that these flowers were in our midst for as long as our lola (grandmothers) can remember. Perhaps  these flowers are as old as the town itself.

Photos by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon
Philippines

Joey Ayala's Padayon

"Sharp and graphic" commentary on  the plight of the workers and laborers of our country. Listen and feel the pulse of the working class.

Today is Labor Day.