The Bungalow

In this remote place where ghosts and vampires do not exist, traversing this beach is rather exclusive and enjoyable.  The myths and legends are just for kids while those they found themselves aware are passionately telling those stories and experiences.

The zephyr touches the lush leaves of ‘barok-barok’ producing the hissing sound of claps and twirls of its branches in a surrendering craze.  The cicadas feverishly sing its music like a lullaby to make someone rest.  The long and sandy beach sandwich by these ‘barok-barok’ and ‘bakawan’ is lonely and quiet.  In every turns you anticipate someone to emerge from harvesting a ‘sagkad’ or someone with ‘sagad’ full of fish like the ‘banak’, ‘sandig’ and ‘malagapas’ but no one aside from the singing of ‘taray-taray’ and the seldom cry of ‘tagak’.  

The thin and high coconut trees shades further the lonely canopy. The fresh juice of young coconut is a welcome relief from the excruciating summer heat.  The footprints are wiped by the surging tide.  The workaholic ‘amamaypay’ are fearless in digging their home in that long and winding sand. The relentless growl of the waves while breaking its fury amongst the rocky shallow part of the island ledge is drumming a melody of life.

When breaking the sight of white beach, the crocodile shaped Canimog Island is a refreshing view from afar.  At dawn, the sun breaks and emerges from the towering peak of Apuao Grande Island and looking like a powerful god on a the flattened island of Quinapaguian.  The island triumvirate is mightily defending this place from the pounding of the Pacific Ocean.

The lazy scene is a kilometer walk from the near shore where you parked a ‘baruto’.   When high tide comes you can paddle a ‘baruto’ in the ‘bakawanan’ that provide narrow passages towards the tip of the beach.   The ‘bakawanan’ is home to various mangroves specie that thrives fearlessly through time like the ‘pagatpat’, ‘kuyapi’ and ‘sapinit’.  The shallow water is home to ‘bungkang’, ‘an-it’, ‘tuhoy’, ‘balilit’, ‘bagungon’, ‘takal’, ‘bugkat’ and ‘tihim’.

During the night when the moon is dark and those clouds hide its distinct light you can see glowing trees with ‘kuti-kuti’.  The ‘talisay’ trees are noisy and uneasy at night.  The ‘kabog’ are busy dining in those sweet pulps of the ‘talisay’ fruit.  The prominent red light of Canimog lighthouse is a beacon of safe distance of the coast.  The tingling suck of ‘nuknok’ is a reminder of some company.

Just before the river cuts the sandy beach, an old familiar pile of sedimentary rocks towering from the blossoming leaves of ‘bakawan’, ‘barok-barok’, ‘talisay’, ‘palomaria’ and wild grass once stands the mighty bungalow where myths and legends told.