It may not be a gift in a box, but it was by far the best gift ever.
My parents know very well how much I and my twin sister Jillian love to travel and how much we hate parties, and so they decided we go out of town instead as a celebration for our 18th birthday. Along with our good and long-time friend Brine, we all went to Lian, Batangas last APril 15-16.
We first stopped at Tagaytay to have lunch. We ate at an open eatery overlooking the Taal Volcano and tried their famous bulalo and special dilis. By noon we arrived at Lian and we kids immediately popped our shoes off, dashed to the beach, enjoyed the warm sand while Jill looked out for small crabs, built (miniature) sand castles and admired the big ocean waves.
The day was long and truly peaceful that made me feel alive in a new and different way. The clear blue ocean untouched by human civilization, the strong, cool wind and the sand that slowly turned cold and comforting to the feet all made me shed all the stress and boredom of the city away. It was fun enough that we--Jill, Brine and I spent the rest of the day talking and chatting about a wide range of topics--from Brine's fun moments back at UP Los Baños, movies, current issues, strategies in the Games of the General to constellations.
We also went boating that afternoon and I was amazed at the strong ocean waves that seemed to be Poseidon breathing heavily. We explored the ocean more the next day at around 6am when the ocean was calmer. We were able to go as far as the next island with pure white sand along the shores, to a mountainous rock with a unique carving where the waters were shallow enough for us to catch a good glimpse of the coral reefs below. It was a breath-taking sight and a truly life-changing experience as we spotted small colorful fishes and small and big corals with different shapes. We also saw small flying fishes along the way. The kuya who toured us said it was a good thing that no one dares to destroy the corals and sell it because it is prohibited in the place. He also mentioned that pawikans lurk near the shores every December.
Witnessing the beautiful coral reefs and how they are preserved in Lian made me reflect about the national condition of these Philippine gems as of today. May we all help in any way possible to preserve our coral reefs, not only for the sake of its cultural and environmental importance, but also for a number of factors they are intricately and critically webbed into.
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