rainbow

i just want to share

the happiest moment of my life
in culion...

actually i already shared this memories
but it was mixed with angst
yet this time it'll be
simply joy & true colors.



"rainbow"

Ten or twenty five years ago during or before the full moon we usually
play many games in this place, like hide & seek, 'taragtagan',
'maro-maro', 'turubigan' and other games. Sometimes we just simply
watched the moon while chatting and sharing our stories & jokes. We
also play some guitars or just the plastic drums singing o "maliwanag
na buwan" and other stupid songs...

Then during the day we will go swimming after our pasabit the
traditional way of fishing at pantalan which I think originally made
in culion. Of course by the pasabit experts Bingel and manong Nonoy
Taal and many more. Some had their pakaskas also on their bancas.
fishing by the dawn...

Culion was where we all learned how to swim. From the first
'langoy-aso' stroke to all the swimming strokes like breaststroke,
freestyle, backstroke and butterfly... then to the daring jumps from
stairs to pantalan. We also went to coral reef diving wearing our
handmade goggles to watch the spectacular beauty of corals and fishes.
We even try to chased the 'tunggaw', 'sap-sap', and 'matambaka'. In this way we'll learn how to dive deeper in the sea holding our breath for a long time. Then on the 'pantalan' with all the other kids holding our hands, we run and jumped to the sea swimming farther to the deep... and when there were wooden ships from manila we'll go to the top jumping from the roof and swam back...

When we already master all the strokes of swimming we'll go practicing
for the swimming competitions in our schools and fiestas and for the
palawan provincial sports meet to the region IV athletic meet, the
STRAA. I still remember when we were practicing for the swimming
competitions, we tracked the coral reefs of Culion proper. A marathon swimming... So those were the years that we produce
or introduce swimmer champions for the whole palawan. not to mention
the future swimmer athelete that is becoming...

During San Juan which is the rainy season the whole community and
families were gathering around the place for picnic and of course
"basaan ng dagat o tubig" with all their snack foods and some drinking
sessions while playing... even there were all kinds of jelly fish we
run around and jump while the rain were showering us. everybody were very cautious about the jelly fish but still some of us were stung by its venomous string-like stingers.

But aside from these dangerous jellies, I remember one time, one of
the magical moment that really happened there that I cannot forget.
That was rainy day when even the sun was shining.... there was a
rainbow right in front of us circling around pantalan that can be reached by our hands... all of us were hypnotized by the beauty of it! then we all jumped straight on the rainbow! We were shouting with joy and laughters. looking for the golden pot jokingly. It was pure happiness, the most enchanting moment of my life in culion...


not to mentioned the rides
at the back of the sea turtle,
and the catched of manta
and sailfish from pantalan
riding to sand island...

the freeing of "lawin"...

the mountain climbings
under the fogs and dews of the
mountain top...

another rides of the the sailings
and banca race during fiestas...

the beauty & romantic moonlights
during blackout with the stars
while watching the satellite passing by
competing with the shooting stars
in a pitch black sky...

the wave surfing along bahura or coral reefs of balala
without snorkel diving with our goggles
the corals and shells by the bay...

the huntings of birds that seems not to end
at baldat and sugod river...

the picnics along the white beaches
hopping amongst the islands until sunburns...

the diving of the sea birds
and the flying of the fishes...

the colors of the dawn
with the silhouettes of bancas and petromax
and the clouds after dusk
in the twilight zone...

the climbing of fruit trees...



this was, is, will always be Culion to me.



can you touch the rainbows?...


....


hope that this will start a new dawn...
a new beginning
a new rainbow
amidst the rains and storms



the way we were...

john