Our Beloved Shore

Being in an archipelagic country gives its citizens the right to choose what kind of beach they want to go during the dry season. An island can provide different kinds of shores and beaches. In those 4 months we can choose a sandy beach-white or black, coral sands, small rockies, big rockies or boulders, or steep walls without any shoreline. Our town is historically under the sea, although it is not written how many centuries ago! Being a peninsula we are almost surrounded by water, and our seas are endowed with corals and marinelife that give us wonderful scuba diving privileges. It almost follows that i should be good in scuba diving, but i don't! I can't even explore waters up to my neck, and if you are curious about the reasons, that might be explained by deep water and height phobias. I am one of them, so am deprived of our underwater views. But i am happy i can be easily pacified with terrestrial landscapes. 

Saluyan Beach

 We are just about more than 2km upland from the sea, and that is only 15 min by motorbikes or tricycles. So one hot Saturday afternoon we went to this part of the shore, just for fun. It was the 84th birthday of my mother, so we brought some food and drinks and a lot of laughter.

 My nephew and I explored the rock crevices. I remember that in the past we can walk around that rock during low tides, however now we cannot reach the other side as the water is high there! Is the water level really rising? We content ourselves in this stretch of rocky shore. I am happy we have this shore quality, as it is here where more marine animals can be seen, unlike beaches with very fine sand.

 To the other side of this bay is the Batangas International Port, and where big refineries like Caltex and Shell are located. We can easily see their building structures even with a low magnification binoculars. Big boats ply this route because this is the sea highway to Mindoro and Romblon islands.

 Seen above is the Isla Verde Island, one of the bigger islands seen on the way to Mindoro. But there are more small islands behind it and to the right approaching Mindoro, not to mention the islands at the rightmost portion not seen here.

 Those two knolls in the horizon are what gives more beauty to my sunrise views. The sun peeps in between those knolls, and they provide the structure in an otherwise vast pinky red mornings.

The big island at the right side is of another town Tingloy. It is only about 40 minutes from our shore to that island, and until now I am still surprised why i haven't been there. Never mind, maybe before i leave earth i will still be able to go there, at least to say i reached every island i see on our shore. The above cute, mini boats are used for fishing near the shore when the waves are still. I confess at this very minute, I cannot ride those mini boats. But sometimes i even see small children riding them using just small paddles!  I am not envious, that i can fully give them the privilege of doing. I am not even enticed to try, that is final!

Our World Tuesday

Nature Notes

Outdoor Wednesday

Morning light on coconuts!

A very typical view while inside a passenger jeepney along the seashore in an early morning. I go home to the city for work usually on a Sunday afternoon. This time i tried leaving early Monday morning. I realized i should try doing this more often, but hopefully i have a few minutes to shoot the beach.

These are young coconut trees. This is a stony seashore so not very much frequented by swimmers. But fishermen with lovely small boats ply these waters often.

A Watery Moment

At the small jeepney terminal where we wait for the jeepney to be filled up of commuters to the provincial city for the bus terminal to Metro Manila, I got off first to the nearby shoreline. I was hoping to see a spectacularly beautiful colorful stone to be brought to the big city for a friend. However, the water is high and most of the lovely stones are under water. I gave up the idea and instead looked at the horizon.

 colorful stones are still under water, we have to wait for the low tide for them to be accessible

 the water was calm good for some leisurely boat rides, i envy these teens spending their time here

 the three young teens at the back are just having some fun, while the 3 men in front might be going for some fishing on the deeper areas

 Colorful motorized boats ply these shores. At the background is where the Batangas International Port is located.

 Look at that boat, it is so beautiful, and the man's hat looks like the traditional Vietnamese hat. Not many of us are using these hats here. The conventional baseball caps are the most common for boys and men. And look at the trunks holding the soil not to be profusely eroded by high violent waves, during typhoons! At the right is a 'talisay' tree, Terminalia catappa, which are volunteer trees in our marginal areas. At the left however, is the commercially famous industrial crop, the coconut or Cocos nucifera, where the famous Virgin Coconut Oil and the now becoming famous coco sugar is produced.

I bet this is just a leisurely ride for these young teens. They are making the most of the calm waters, as these is not happening often in these parts of our shores.

    

Dramatic Beach Stones

For some reasons, my intention of posting these rocks and beach stones was always put to the background. Flowers and plants always move forward. But who can compete with very colorful flowers, or butterflies? Then when i put these stones as my screensaver, i started to realize they are like flowers too, they are very colorful. At that instant, I decided i will be posting these too and share to each one of you.  Can you blame me? Will you agree?

These are series of random shots i took at different dates but on the same stretch of our beach. I love to just walk and watch some marine organisms found in this beach. A little difficulty in walking here is neutralized by the diversity of organisms, and of course the beauty of the multi-colored stones!

    

Our Little Corner

The map of the Philippines above left has a small red dot on it, enlarged at the right. The red dot is Mabini, Batangas, my hometown in Southern Luzon. It is like a tongue, almost a peninsula surrounded by water. And that is my little corner of the world, where I get most of the tropical garden photos posted in my posts. I have also written in my previous posts that our area is facing east, overlooking the Batangas Bay. It is reached from Metro Manila in 3-4 hours depending on circumstances, meaning 3h by private car and 4h by public transports. 


Decades before, travels allowed commuters the full view of an extended shoreline, but developments deprived that privilege these days. So whenever i had a few days to spare, it is always a treat to go to the shore or to the mountain, a few beach scenes i will post here. 

 Above is a typical calm day 

Different types of shorelines are found in this east side. Some coves are rockies, others have boulders, and most are stones like the above. 

very clear waters on calm days

 These waters provided local residents with food and some livelihood. During low tides on calm days, the water allows gleaming of shells and fishing. 

Colored rocks and stones are very obvious characteristics of these shores. It is apparent that parent materials are rich in minerals rich in iron or sulfur that gives the rusty, red, yellow, orange colors, depending on the concentration on the rocks. Other minerals are surely present on these rocks, however i don't know any research done yet on our areas. Samples of these rocks are shown below.

Bottom right corner of the above photo also shows a rock which depicts volcanic eruption in the past. Some natural stones were embedded in the molten lava and now eroded again by other natural conditions. A rock composed of other rocks is called composite rock (LOL).

boulders from the red rockwall

The above spot is called Pulang Bato (local term) in Malimatoc I, Mabini, Batangas or Red Rocks from the color of the rock wall above it. Just 30ft below this spot is the home of the endangered and rare golden scorpion fish (Rhinopias frondosa). Many scuba divers visiting Anilao, at the west side of the peninsula, come to this spot for the elusive golden scorpion fish, which is known to be nesting there. Red Rocks is also considered nudibranchs hotspot. For a more thorough discussion and photos of scorpionfish and nudibranchs in this area please visit the post by Jayvee Hernandez. 

 The mineral deposits in the rocks also make the waters of the same color, especially after a heavy rain. It might look muddy, but it actually is imparted by the dissolved minerals and elements in the water. Batangas International Port is at the other side of the bay at the horizon.

Sometimes, big waves also visit this shore, but i haven't done any photo shoot yet during typhoons. Mild waves like the above are typical during regular days.

Colored stones very visible in the above photo

  

  

An Early Morning Walk

When I visit the province and our old home where my old mother, sister and her kids are, it usually is only for the weekend. I will be arriving on a Saturday and leave in the afternoon of Sunday. That means i have the option to watch sunrise from an area about 400 meters uphill from the house. It also gave me a chance for a cardiovascular breathing. The Christmas holidays gave me a few days to take advantage of that, and also roam around for whatever things that might take my fancy.

So i woke up early that morning, braving the cold. Cold here means about 19-20C, which only happens this time of the year courtesy of spillover winds from Mongolia and Siberia. And to savor that cold means you have to be out early, a few hours later the temperature soars up again. Everybody in the house and the neighborhood, except for some dogs and chickens, is still in bed.

I will be repeating here that our area faces the east to the bay, with other islands in the horizon. At our back are hills, which took out our privilege to watch nice sunsets. In case we want to watch them we have to walk for about 2 hrs to the peak and watch the sun set in the western islands.

My room view

View from my chosen area in the hill

View from my chosen area in the hill

I love the dew on the cobwebs in the grassy meadow. These grasses are also grazed by cattle tethered in the area.

If you look closer the orange spider is still asleep on its web

These grasses are at the flowering stage this time of the year.

I love also the patterns created by the color of grasses and weeds in the area. Tall coconut trees are at the background.