Tag Archives: Asia

Cave People, A Change Purse and a Cockroach

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 1, 2024, Manila- The three titular things stood out, in my visit yesterday, to Palawan Heritage Center. My guide, a knowledgeable, if soft-spoken, young lady named Irene, presented two videos: The first, on the island and its tributaries-which constitute the largest province in the Philippines. There are roughly 1, 780 islands and islets in the jurisdiction. The main island is 280 miles (450 km) long and 31 miles (50 km) wide. It is the mini-Chile of the Malay Archipelago. It is also the only part of the Philippines that was once part of mainland Asia.

The second video raised an issue of humanity: The Tau’t Bato, a small subgroup of the Palaw’an First Nation, live traditional, simple lives in the Singnapan Valley, of southern Palawan. They take shelter in nearby caves, during the rainy season. many of the Tau’t Bato came to live in cities, from Puerto Princesa to Manila and Cebu, in the 1970s to 2000s. They found urban life to be totally at variance with their experiences in the Singnapan, only finding “work” as house servants, trash pickers or purveyors of trinkets. They slept on the sidewalks and were generally treated as curiosities, at best, or outcasts, at worst. Many went back to Singnapan, though some still live in the larger communities. Fortunately, those who have returned to their homeland are protected by the provincial and national governments.

As Irene was showing me several paintings by local artists, a cockroach came onto the polished marble floor. I left it to her to decide the insect’s fate, and a janitor was summoned, whisked the creature onto a dustpan and deposited it in the garden outside. (I do this at home, when confronted with a sewer roach.)

The last item was a handmade change purse, which I bought for K, given her love of local handicrafts. I picked up a “glow-in-the-dark” trinket for myself.

Here are a few scenes of the Palawan Heritage Center..

Palawan Provincial House
Some works by local painters
Dr. Higino Mendoza (top row, second from left) was the wartime governor of Palawan. He worked to keep his people safe from Japanese rule, and was executed for his trouble. He is regarded as the provincial hero of Palawan.
Here are more works by local artists.
Here is a replica of Plaza Cuartel’s gate, when it was intact. The present structure has fallen into disrepair.
This depiction of a babaylan ( a traditional healer) was intended, by the Spanish, to frighten children. The healer was actually a gentle soul, as a rule.
Here is a diorama of a Tau’t Bato home.
This may be as close as I get to a Palaw’an village, any time soon.

In the afternoon, I went with Roger to a small local beach, called Aquaman Beach Resort. It is in a small barangay called Bancao-Bancao. The tide was incoming, but the water was like a bath, so I walked around a bit and took some shots.

A view of the Philippine Sea, at Bancao-Bancao. (Above and below)
Roger, resembling Ernest Hemingway.
Longhouse, at high tide.
Lone tree, and a boat cabana
Long view of Aquaman Beach Resort.
Another “tree islet”
Forest trail, out of Aquaman Beach Resort.

My last day in Puerto Princesa ended with a nice meal at McCoy’s Restaurant, at Bay Walk Park. For now, having returned to the capital, Palawan will continue to exist in my heart. The Philippines as a whole will, as well, after I head back to North America, on October 27. Something tells me, though, that we will be far from done with one another.

Soloing

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Historical, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

September 28, 2024, Puerto Princesa- The shoe, it turns out, was only moved a short distance from its untouched mate. Darkness keeps us in suspense, yet I sense when patience will win out, in daylight. The pair again adorn my feet.

I met another American, this morning. He has settled here in Palawan and farms with his wife, near BM Beach, which will itself be my beach experience on Monday. I have made it known that, so long as I am welcome in the Philippines, next year will bring a longer stay. The “Great Adventures” I had planned for the next five years are better off done with someone I have come to love-and trust- very much. Before them, then, comes earning trust, myself-and so I make that commitment, even with the adjustments this will bring to my comfortable life in Arizona.

Family has only grown larger, over the years, but I have seen a bigger picture than my local scene, since I was four years old. Always branching out, farther and farther-while never forgetting my roots, it has been such a rewarding life. Some of this has been imparted to my son, who is in the rootedness phase of life, and so will be the anchor of annual or semiannual jaunts back to North America. The wider family, though, will hardly shrink.

I felt comfortable enough, this evening, to walk south and west, and take in Puerto Princesa’s Bayside Park, its Cathedral and Plaza Cuartel- the scene of a brutal massacre during World War II. It may or may not be a hallmark of American travelers, but I go anywhere that is not off-limits, or is obviously dangerous turf. Puerto Princesa is not a dangerous place.

Statue of the “princess”, for whom the city is named. She was an elusive figure, it is said.

Peacock Statue (Tandikan)-the provincial bird of Palawan.

University crew members, in practice

City logo, at Bayside Park.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Puerto Princesa

Account of brutality that grew out of fear.

So went my solo visit to Hondo Bay and its interesting park.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 32: Tendrils Out of the Cocoon

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

July 2,2020-

I stayed in, all day, except to step outside, this evening and appreciate the stars and Moon. The galaxy and, in the late night, our solar system neighbours, transmit a certain energy, that does affect our moods and can impart spiritual energy, if we are open to it.

Most of us realize that there is no point in planning to travel out of the country, as long as we, collectively, represent a definite threat to the well-being of people who have largely done their due diligence, have suffered from their own homegrown cases of the pandemic virus and who have embarked on a road to recovery.

That has not stopped some of the more innocent and tender-hearted souls among my friends in other countries from contacting me over social media-asking when I am going to add a Whatsapp account (not until at least 2022, when I still hope to visit Asia and the Pacific basin); when I will get to Africa (2023) and when I can write up proposals that will help energetic, but uneducated, farmers get assistance from NGO’s. I have already begun sending one group some information about Microgreens-a labour intensive effort that will bring a highly nutritious means to food security. Actually putting together a scholarly “grant-type” proposal is not something with which I have much experience-but it’s something I can try, which will certainly be more beneficial to people in disadvantaged communities than sending them money- a simplistic and, ultimately, debilitating act.

The rest of the world does not want Americans to flood out of this country, in the midst of the pandemic. At the same time, the rest of the world is not going to let Americans just sit behind these borders and act as if the people of other nations do not exist-nor should they.

No matter how dire things get, between now and October-or even beyond, we remain one human race and only by caring for one another as for ourselves, can we truly rise from whatever rubble piles up-and shine again.