On the loose

I loathe salty waters. It destroys my love affair with the beach, the brushing of the waves and everything that connects me to the ocean. When I dive in its sparkling waters, immediately, all my reverence will vanish after getting out of it with hurting eyes due to its saltiness. It’s like being mesmerized by a beautiful woman but ending up disappointed upon finding out that she’s already married. Cordillera Beach, that was the first stop of my trip in Ilocos for my Art Studies class. I made a pact with myself that I won’t destroy my love affair with the ocean. So instead of dipping and diving, I just took photos of the moments that appeared before my eyes. What struck me in that beach was, how vibrant the impact of the water is in the lives of Ilocanos in diverse ways. I thought the act of bayanihan, a Filipino tradition of helping one another, could only be done on land but in Ilocos, they do it at sea. I was able to witness a unique way of fishing wherein a huge net was thrown in the middle of the ocean while its two ends were stretched ashore. These two ends were positioned opposite each other while being pulled by two groups of people composed of men and women. These people exchanged positions as they took turns in pulling the end of the net. The group were drawn closer together as they pulled the net nearer to the shore. I was very intrigued as I waited for the net to be brought ashore. After almost two hours of pulling under the scorching heat, the net revealed its treasures, a school of fish in different sizes swimming in the air. The catch wasn’t as abundant as I expected but, the scene was very vibrant, fish vendors getting their share, each carrying silver basins, a man facilitating the weighing of the fish, children pushing their ways inside the crowd and looking for small fishes that they can play with and just the whole sight of living, of witnessing firsthand the flight of these fishes before they land on our dinner tables. It was priceless.