The Old Boat and the Sea in Batangas, Philippines

4:30:00 PM Pinoy Boy Journals 10 Comments



ALL-TIME FAVORITE POST FROM 2011 RE-BLOGGED:
One day while i was exploring the beautiful coast of Batangas, i saw this wooden boat parked and abandoned in the middle of nowhere. I got intrigued and asked the local people who the owner was and why was it there, left out in the open. I sat for a bit and my mind started to wander. I admire it's stunning beauty. The luster of the wooden boat is quite impressive. It made an impression in me that this is unlike any other boat i've ever seen. It seemed to swiftly glide in the ocean effortlessly for a time. And I am pretty sure any fisherman would wish to have one and cruise Verde Island in this ride. But the construction of the boat was beginning deteriorate. The wooden planks that support it was slowly falling off one by one. It seemed that it has lived its glory for years. It's about time it faces its ending.  I never knew i would day dream about it. I wished i didn't.



I love the ocean. I love to swim and snorkel. My second home is always the beach. In Batangas, apart from the many fish in the sea like parrotfish, groupers, batfish, trumpetfish, cornetfish, moray eels, anthras and pufferfish, blacktip reef sharks, blue sea stars, sea cucumbers, barrel sponges and anemones with clownfish, there's always a Starfish that seemed photogenic in every angle. I saw so many a few meters away from the shore, and i took many photos of them. Some are color blue, while others are black. This kind in particular is the cutest of them all. As i begin to get a closer look at this specie, i wonder if it'll survive.

"The underwater reefs in the Verde Island passage are called home to nearly 60% of the worlds known shore fish. This is how American Biologists Kent Carpenter and Victor Springer of the World Conservation Union describes the Verde Island Passage in their recent study. Carpenter also said that the passage is the marine counterpart of the Amazon River Basin, making this dive site dubbed as “CENTER” of the center of the most diverse marine ecosystem in the world." Sourced from here.


A few more meters from the shore, the truth is set out for everyone to see. I got worried, disheartened and i felt so helpless. I regret what has happened to the beautiful sea of this province. The god of the underworld is crying. Help! The water is polluted, and while before living organisms breathe, now life is slowly becoming a shadow of the past. What have we  done?

Garbage cans, plastic wrappers, boxes and cigarette butts are just some of the many pollutants in the sea. The coast of Calatagan has become one big dump of trash, and i am weeping with everyone as i recall this sad truth. If the government and the people will not work hand in hand to clean up the acts, the fate of this province's coast will turn out to be a sad ending. I saw tourists throwing their rubbish everywhere, same goes with the locals. Why is everyone throwing their garbage everywhere?

We take our seas for granted. 
We think the urgency to keep the waters clean is not a priority. 
We speak but don't act.


"The seemingly insignificant trash we throw into seas and rivers — ranging from cigarette butts and plastic shopping bags to canisters and bottles made of plastic, glass and tin — have accumulated over the decades to choke the world’s waterways and coastlines. This inundation of garbage is spurred by human hubris and a stupid, shortsighted and sorely inaccurate misinterpretation of the adage that humankind has dominion over the earth and all of man’s fellow creatures.

This accumulation of debris threatens many of the world’s varied marine ecosystems to the point that coastal economies, wildlife and human health suffer from the pollution. Indeed, this miasma of bottles, bags and tin cans puts livelihoods and lives themselves at risk. When these ecosystems are tainted, marine life like edible shellfish and food fish also grow scarce, events that destroy the livelihoods of fisher folk and decrease the stock of fish and crustaceans for communities that depend on the seas and rivers for their food. " Sourced from www.dateline.ph.


I look back at the wooden boat once again and closed my eyes.I hope to God, there's still time. God give us more time!

10 Comments:

Awww... boo to litter under the sea! Wawa naman underworld :(

@Gay i know! I'm dissapointed but the same time realistic about it. The people here aren't informed what recycling and water pollution is all about. The government must do something. I've read about how tourism could help people throw less garbage on the water and instead take care of it for tourists sake.

Cedric said...

I always feel a little disappointed when I see trash along coastlines. Especially when I start to think that we have all the 'save the environment' thing figured out, particularly the trash problem.

I think a letter should be submitted to local tourism or mayor's office to wake them up... One write-up about it is good attention and one step to awareness but authorities to enforce the clean-up will create greater effects.

@Cedric one point i want to mention is the lack of trash bins. i mean, if there are trashcans in key areas, why would one still throw their garbage anywhere. Sometimes, i have to go out of the way just to throw one candy wrapper. Right?

@Ian through research i found out a program was initiated by the government wherein locals can recycle garbage and sell them. This would help them make profit. That was 2009, i don't know what happened after that year.

I admire your concern about certain issues our country is facing today and how you try to incorporate it in your travel blog.Keep it up Jerik, we need more people like you :)

@lakwatsera de primera Thank you so much Claire, i've been reading your stories too and i can't help but smile how you've always managed to inspire people to travel. That alone is rewarding! I love my country so much, and in my simple ways i hope to make my country proud.
Hope to meet up with you one day and share our adventures! Have a pleasant day, Claire!

Unknown said...

Greetings! May I recommend adding Taal, Batangas Heritage Town to your 2013 adventures! It is a cornerstone of Filipino history & identity and is the Balisong & Barong Tagalog Capital of the Philippines! Check out: taal.ph

@Unknown I'll take note of that! Go Batangas! Cheers!