Matukad (Part II)

Finally, our tents were done by five-thirty with the luxury of time for more photography by the beach. My sea-sand satiated kids were later summoned by their mom to wash up as they started to shiver from the, now, cooling breeze. Also by this time, the tide had begun to ebb and waves rushing ashore came relatively sluggish and tamer. Half an hour later, dusk was gradually approaching faster as I saw Ramil, from a far distance, racing back to Matukad with the large hot pot of crabs secured in the hull, I assumed. That, with our pork adobo, veggies and rice, would complete our dinner. He also obliged to bring along with him packed meals for the two watchmen that were prepared earlier by their respective families back in Paniman.

They had just started a small bonfire when I got back to our camp. Soon, dinner was ready where food was arranged over the top of a large sawed-off log serving as table and smaller ones as our chairs. The LED lantern we had brought along competed with the smoulder nearby and dozens of swirling fireflies that kindled the small forest canopy above us. Astonishment on their faces, it was the first time the kids saw fireflies, and that many. 

We were done with dinner by seven and had some chat about life on the islands, SURVIVOR and, again, the armed men of Sabitang Laya that has now become the butt of our jokes. We talked at some length about the legendary upland pond on the island that was home to a sabalo. There used to be two of them residing in the catch basin but someone foolish enough to fish-out one, despite warning from the community, brought home the big fish for his family dinner. Days later, the story goes, his son died under mysterious circumstances. But more mysterious was how those two sabalos ended up in the pond.

Perhaps, the freshwater pond explains the presence of nagging mosquitos that kept pestering us since nightfall and during our scintillating conversation about Sabitang Laya after dinner. But fortunately, our DEET repellant came in handy and a saving grace for that.

Later, my wife and I strolled along the shore in the darkish night fascinated with the amount of illumination coming from the white sandy beach. We retired to our tents close to nine and before midnight, as expected, the drizzle came... twice! Though a weak one, both lasted half an hour each that kept me awake all the time.  But I must have passed-out in exhaustion not knowing the difference between my comfy bed back home and the sandy floor beneath our tents that night.



My other blogs:

Jou San! Sham Shui Po
Traditional Hong Kong Herbal Tea House
Where Is Josephine Bracken?