San Salvador Island, Zambales
February 4 to 6, 2006. Had a free plane ticket I had to use, so I decided to hook up with my college thesis partner from bulacan, john-b, and rica, my college dormmate from surigao, both of whom i hadn't seen in years, for a weekend trip to zambales.
it had been six years since i'd been back to my old thesis site and its moonsets over the south china sea. incidentally, just two weeks before, a Greenpeace volunteer was beaten up by the guards when he tried to enter the coal-fired power plant that we did our thesis on.
it was good to go there, to remember. the three of us talked about what we've gone through since graduation, how far (or not far) we've come. and zambales is really an amazing place, with so many parts of it still undiscovered. and how the children have grown! and how things have changed. some things have stayed the same though--the island still doesn't have electricity and running water.
arrived in manila 10pm, took the midnight bus at caloocan, and arrived in masinloc at dawn. bought supplies at the market when it was light, as usual, then headed for the island. with only rica and me there on the second day, we had to cook with firewood under a dying gas lamp (as in a bottle with a cloth wick), exercise our muscles with a rusty water pump, and even use oil from our sardines, because we'd forgotten to buy some to cook with. but any food is always good, especially when you're hungry and the wind is chilly (even at noon!).
NOTE: these are the shots from my manual SLR, the last few shots with my digital cam (including the sunset from the plane, becuase didn't have time to change my film as the sun set =P). shots taken with john-b's 6MP semi-prof casio digicam, maybe later (at least from this you already get the idea what the place is like).
oh i love this photo jeneen.
ReplyDeletethanks, jesus =) i like it a lot, too. i think it conveys best how great the sea is, or the earth, compared to us, infinitesimal beings. and you really feel that when you're on SSI.
ReplyDeleteGanoon din feeling sa Grand Canyon. Parang mga langam lang tayo. Nature is powerful, it's an illusion we think we're bigger than it =)
ReplyDeleteCool shot. Interesting subject. Excellent focus and de-focus. Good angle.
ReplyDeleteWow!!!! Very powerful. Malapit lang din ito sa mga bote, ano? :)
ReplyDeletehey! ni niwang lagi ka? you look like a starlet from the golden age of philippine cinema :) (ala himala, insiang, manila sa kuko... and everything else in between)
ReplyDeletehaha. thanks, kahlil. actually, i was feeling fat that time. must be the angle. or the sun's golden light ;-) (and unbelievably, haven't watched any of those classic films :-/ )
ReplyDeleteright you are =) thanks!
ReplyDeletesalam
ReplyDeleteactually, if i should notice something it, it should be that sultry jeneen in the headshot! very disarmingly sensual. Hahahahaaa!
ReplyDeletei agree, i agree! very pretty pic! picturi sad ko ug in-ana beh! :)
ReplyDelete"with only rica and me there on the second day, we had to cook with firewood under a dying gas lamp (as in a bottle with a cloth wick), exercise our muscles with a rusty water pump, and even use oil from our sardines, because we'd forgotten to buy some to cook with. but any food is always good, especially when you're hungry and the wind is chilly (even at noon!)." -- i like the way you narrated this experience. your beautiful photos affirm the rich colors that your life have captured and have become!
ReplyDeletegives me the idea actually of going back to our thesis site back in Davao, or here in Manila as there are 3 (out of 4) thesis mates who are now based here in Manila.
ayuayo Jeen
umm about the headshot...thanks, but didn't want to give that impression (besides, the pic is so small, how can you see anything "disarmingly sensual" or "sultry" there??). cats are safer, i suppose =P
ReplyDelete