Places

Castaway in Cawasihan

On our back, looms a deep blue open sea that groans of sharks and barracudas. On our fore, a many-pronged giant mass of green on green-black crouches shrewdly, as though the wild creatures its lushness forebodes of, will come leaping at us any second. We are cast away in mid-sea and we are not about to cry SOS!

For one, we couldn’t. The tide’s high and the sandbar where we could carve h-e-l-p is buried in clear blue-green waters. Then, someone’s cellphone rings. We aren’t too far from civilization after all.

Tuesday. Sonieta, Elijah, Nadja and I tagged along with Atty. Jun Amora’s family for an eco-tourism excursion to Candijay. Two hours and several unsaid are-we-there-na’s after, our van finally halted in front of Candijay’s municipio. We woke up from our half-dozes: we are finally here na – not!

Only stopping by to pick up our guide, we had to drive another 45 minutes towards Cogtong Bay. But the rustic barrio sites and sounds along the way somehow comforting. There was a roofed bamboo bridge, a native and much, much smaller version of the bridges of Madison County. (Sweet!) A salt-water nipa-surrounded clearing that made us all the more long to get to the sea. (Now na!) A flowing spring labhanan by the road filled with local women washing clothes. (I imagined overhearing the barrio’s rumor-of-the-week fervently discussed right at that moment we passed by. Or were they simply discussing the previous night’s episode of Gulong ng Palad?)

A bamboo archway that said Welcome Panas-on & Visitors announced our nearness to the shore. And a magnif view of the open sea – finally!

The Boardwalk Eco-tourism Resort. Greeted a hand-painted signage that marked the start of a long stretch of a bamboo walk that somewhat creaked underneath our happy feet. We started the long walk, mangrove forest on our left, the clear waters on our right, the beaming sun above – amazed at the raw beauty of the place and at the same time worried that the boardwalk went all the way to eternity, its end practically too far to be seen. Nobody said the walk was gonna be a walkathon. But not that long for shortly we found ourselves stepping onto a banca that waited for us at the end of the boardwalk. We are not there pa diay jud!

The banca led us towards eight or so dark dots in the middle of Cogtong Bay that grew to be a lonely lane of stilt huts as we drew nearer. The Cawasihan sandbar. But where was the sand?

We didn’t have time to really think much about it because once we got off and stepped onto one of the stilt huts, Candijay Mayor Amora and a table-ful of the freshest and most delectable bounties of the sea were there to greet us. Our stomachs grumbled in unison – it’s about time.

Sinugba. Tinuwa. Kinilaw. Sinugbang baboy, danggit ug bangus. Lambay. Camote. Yum! Tinunuang bat(tuli?)Takubo. Balanghoy. Tinuwa. Hmmm… We had to sample each one of the dishes that all seemed to plead: pick me, pick me! We were only too eager to oblige, with big, greasy grins.

After our gustatory senses were satisfied, it became apparent that yet another force was calling on us to take notice of it. Of course!

The seas are alive with the sound of music! We could hear the playful slapping of surf to surf to surf – swish, swish, swush, swish – as the seas snicker sparkling: come, come, join in the fun! (And I was thinking, Son, why didn’t you tell us, we were supposed to bring swimming gear?) Apparently, Sonieta didn’t know the swimming part either, when I saw her longing gaze at the tempting crystal clear waters beneath us. While the rest of the group played in the water, Sonieta, Elijah, Nadja and I gave up our thoughts of jumping into the water, and instead, shifted our eyes beyond our hut and into the splendor that beheld us.

We are sitting in a stilt hut sitting on a sandbar sitting on a cerulean sea – spellbound.

Tags: beach, bohol, candijay, cawasihan, island, sandbar, tourism, travel