Bantayan Morning Stroll

It is vacazien! Feeling lang! And as I've said over and over in previous stories, these are the days of my life when I get up early to roam around and see the place. I'm not even sure why, but I find mornings to be an ideal time of a vacation day (aside from late afternoons) for exploring locales that I am visiting.

Maybe it's the breeze during that time of day? Or maybe because everything is fresh? Whatever!

At past 6AM, the beach area to my right was as clear as when I arrived yesterday (past noontime)...

Of course the difference was obvious. This time, most folks were still asleep.., while yesterday, when I arrived, everyone was up but hiding from the sun! How sure was I? Ah eh, it was so quiet this morning!

Aha, I remember that store behind the tent. that's where I had my second dinner last night! Me ganun? Yes, because when I passed-by, I saw them grilling fresh fish, it was irresistible so I got two, with SML!

I wasn't sure I saw that tent yesterday afternoon or even last night. And there are even two of them!

I liked it that the second tent is under a Talisay Tree and next to a cottage. Maybe they're companions.

If I did not transfer to Room 8, they could have all been my "neighbors" during this stay. Why?

Well, that room at right (without the white shirt) was the original room I was checked-into yesterday!

Sayang. Who knows, we could've become acquaintances last night and maybe I would've been able to at least see how inside such a tent looks or feels like during the night. I think it even has extensions or attachments to make it bigger/wider! I wondered too how much they paid the resort (if at all they did), to be allowed to pitch tents like that. I am not really interested in doing it - Just curious how it is done!

Anyway, I walked along the street sandwiched by the elementary and high schools, to the church/es.

No masses today, Tuesday. Both the Sto. Niño Church and the Holy Child Parish were closed. Did you notice that they share the same name? Yeah, Sto. Niño is exactly the hispanized version of Holy Child!

But I was able to poke my phone at the door grills of the Sto. Niño Roman Catholic Parish Church.

So there it is, a snippet into the insides of the Catholic church. Teka, but isn't Aglipayan also Catholic?

Something to research about... "what really, is their difference"? That, is a coming new learning!

From between the churches that face each other (ewan bakit kelangan ganyan), I walked eastward.

All I was thinking was to reach the waterfront, as this is the other side of the curving beach from Kota. But got reminded I was here last night! This is the busiest street with restaurants, bars and everything! That place is called MJ Square. Establishments look really different in the morning and in the evening!

Anyway, I went straight on that street all the way to the beach where there are a scattering of resorts.

That thing out on the horizon, after the boats, is actually the Sta. Fe Port, where I arrived-at yesterday.

Resorts and other establishments are side-by-side in this place. There was none last time I was here.

And most of them look invitingly more attractive than the good old Kota and Budyong resorts hehehe!

The above 2 pictures were to my left, but I was heading right towards the Kota Beach area. This way...

Ah, I know what some of you might already be thinking. I will answer ahead... yes, you are very right!

But I got more juice and scoop! Let me describe the pic first...

To the right (before that bamboo fence) is the street where I just came from (Batobalonos?). In a way, I was standing at the beach end of that street from the two churches. Now after that bamboo fence at right is already the compound of Marlin's Beach Resort - one of the, if not THE best & biggest in town.

And after that bamboo fence, the admirably inviting compound of Marlin's Beach Resort greets you...

But it won't be long until you see this,.. which like me, I know many of you will shake their heads...

Can you see the piles of old tires made like a riprap on the front area? That only means one thing, they have built more than what the laws of man and nature would allow them to. And that's very expensive.

Sayang. Because sooner or later, one of these days, that developed 'artificial sand area' (now blocking the natural flow of their dalampasigan) will only be questioned (litigated) by man or plainly dismantled by mother nature - whichever comes first! Yes, that area from the restaurant down to the water's edge.

How do I know? Ah, many of my travels have exposed me to a multitude of such examples, where the laws of man were carefully scientifically thought-out to protect the laws of nature - yet, still disobeyed.

For those who do not know yet, building structures or even sprucing-up a beach or waterline such that the natural contours are disrupted (katulad nyan), is against the law of many countries, including ours.

Eto pa... the waterline of any beach is public domain - meaning it cannot be owned (cannot be part of the property) of any person or family. Sa publiko yan, at hindi nga pwedeng pagme-arian ng kahit sino. Therefore, no one may build any structure or fortification, even if it's supposed to be an 'improvement'. Lalong higit na bawal, ang isasara mo sya at hindi pada-daanan ng madlang public dahil "inayos" mo.

Buti na lang, in the above structure of Marlin's, it looks like pwede naman dumaan kahit sino.

It does look like they made the additional fortifications on a mindset that they privately own that area of the beach, but they didn't close it to public access (for anyone to pass through), probably because, they may have been told that it's not proper, as it is against the law. They may have been fined for that.

Well, if they were not fined (since many influential people in this country are able to circumvent laws), a more realistic penalty will come anyway. Give it 5 years or so, that protruding construction will soon be battered by waves big and small, it will be expensively difficult for them maintaining that structure.

Mark my word! This is not a prediction but a fact "Mahirap kinakalaban ang kalikasan".

That's why I said "sayang".. because what they did actually looks grand and beautiful (for now)...

As you can see in the above pictures, this area is a wonderful place to be. However, everything is/was built above the natural waterline, meaning they have reclaimed and elevated this portion of the beach.

Mahal gumawa nyan. Tapos in the end, after a few years, everything will be ruined, because the ocean will claim what is rightfully part of its domain. Nakalusot man sila sa batas ng tao, hindi sa kalikasan!

So I crossed the supposed 'property' of Marlin's resort, and went down those stairs they made. Look:

I guess the picture clearly illustrates what I have been saying above. They 'fortified' the area, such that they now have a wide resort space, but which is wrong because 1) it blocked the contiguity of the nice sandy beach which is public domain, and 2) exposed themselves to a battering waves during hightide.

We couldn't care less about reason #2, right? But they have actually just started a degradation or drop in economic value of the whole beach strip. It will not anymore be attractive to beach-goers, therefore future developers or resort-owners, therefore future touristic businesses. Talo lahat including Marlin's!

Well, as for me the visitor, there is still Kota Beach, that is about 2kms of continuous sand to Ogtong!

Where's Kota? Ayan, turn right dyan sa dulo. Tara, let's go back there for breakfast. It's almost 7AM na!

It was a nice (and educational) morning stroll, full of realizations. I loved it!