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Beach Life in Carigara

Submitted by on August 26, 2013 – 3:06 pm
Coral Growing on Rock

And so begins another rainy day in Carigara. I haven’t been outside yet, but the skies are nearly black with clouds and there are likely some serious rainstorms in store for the day. I don’t really mind. I’ve started to find my bearings in Carigara and I’ve located some good places to eat. I have a bunch of books to read in the house and on my Kindle. Another day hanging out here would be no hardship.

I seem to have won one of my battles. I mentioned that a mosquito bite on my elbow was infected. On impulse, I soaked a piece of tissue paper with methyl alcohol – the fuel that I cook with – and applied it to the bite. It stung quite badly, which made me think that it was having some kind of effect. I applied it several times during the day and this morning, the infection has receded a great deal. There is still a large and painful lump, but it has stopped oozing pus and the infected area has stopped growing. I think it is going to heal. It could be that it was going to heal on its own anyway, but I like to think that the alcohol sterilized it and helped fight off the infection.

The ants still rule the room, but they are not a real problem. They are just a nuisance. I put my garbage outside my room each day for the “boys” to pick up, and that helps limit the ant invasions. I constantly find them crawling over my body and tickling me, but I just brush them off and go on my way. The geckos are still refusing to help with the ants, but they generally stick to their corners and crevices and don’t bother me aside from the occasional “boo!” moment.

Outside my room, I still have the dogs to keep me company. Both are friendly, but only one is brave enough to approach me for some petting and scratching. I have to move slowly and carefully and be very gentle. Otherwise I get a snarl and a snap of the jaws to warn me off. I’ve seen how the local boys treat them – constant barrages of rocks and sticks – so I don’t begrudge the dogs their wariness.

The large bird continues to pop up here and there, clicking its large and rather frightening beak at me in the hopes of getting a fish. If I see it regularly today, I will break out my camera and try to get a portrait of it. Adding to the bird life is the usual collection of fighting cocks. There are about twenty of them here. Completing the menagerie is a set of about ten cats that hang out near the kitchen. They all look similar so I imagine they are a family – mom and dad and a group of grown-up kittens.

Yesterday, Sunday, was another busy day at the beach resort despite the stormy weather. The largest group – perhaps fifty people – arrived in the bed of a gravel truck. The manager/caretaker told me that they were from a small barangay quite far away. They set themselves up underneath one of the larger structures on the beach and had a day-long barbecue and picnic complete with loud music. There were an astonishing number of young children with them and they hit the beach like an invading army. I did not have many encounters with them for the simple reason that the weather was so much worse and it wasn’t possible to hang out on the beach and read. I had to retreat to shelter.

When I first got to the beach, the tide was out, and I was able to make my way past the end of the beach and along the shore into the edges of a mangrove. Small groups of children followed me there and set up a chorus of “Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme money. Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme money.” While there, I noticed that the water was coming back in fast. The entire area was quite shallow, and the returning tide covered ground very quickly. I had to return promptly or be cut off.

I was concerned that since it was Sunday, everything in Carigara would be closed. But I needn’t have worried. A surprising number of businesses were open and I found a relatively pleasant place to have lunch. If I stay in Carigara today, I imagine I will eat there again. I passed some time cycling around the backstreets of Carigara and out onto the long dock. It’s a pleasant place when there is little traffic.

Beyond that, it was a quiet day. The book I’d chosen was a horse-racing thriller by Dick Francis. I’ve actually read a number of books by him over the years. I just happen to find them sitting on shelves wherever I go. They’re not books that I’d ever buy, but they offer a pleasant pastime for passing a day. Interesting to think that a man could make a very good living writing thrillers all based in horse racing. I believe he’s written over 40 books and they were all successful.

8:00 a.m.

The skies seemed to be clearing and I went out to check the weather. I ran into the manager/caretaker and we chatted for a while. I asked him about the running of the resort and he said that he had six “boys” doing the regular work of cleaning and maintenance. They all lived on the resort and got their meals here as well. Their salary varied with their duties, ranging from a high of 5,000 pesos per month down to a low of 2,000 pesos per month. Most earned 4,000, which is slightly less than $100. I’m surprised, actually, that their salaries are that high. I don’t see how this resort can bring in enough money to support them all. The owner/caretaker told me that the owner (his sister) does not expect any kind of a profit from the place. She simply expects it to pay its own way and cover its maintenance and taxes and permits through its income. In this way, the property doesn’t cost her anything and she can use the house as her vacation spot.

With the weather clearing a bit, I grabbed my camera and walked along the beach. A few jellyfish had been caught by the retreating tide and were lying on the sand. I took some pictures of them as well as of various shells and patterns in the sand and that sort of thing. Thirty or forty people from the nearby houses were out in the shallow water digging for clams. The dogs kept me company as I roamed around. I approached one man who was digging in the sand to see what he was doing. He showed me all the clams in his plastic bag. But then something about me spooked him and he quickly walked away, crossed a river, and started digging there. When I had moved away, he came back across the river and returned to his old spot.

 

 

Encounters on the Beach in Carigara
Plans to Go to Biliran

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