Back to Nature
Almost 4 months on lockdown, and I haven’t gone anywhere “far” except the supermarket, which is technically just 10 minutes away. I saw to it that I stay at home because, just like everyone else, I’m scared of contacting the virus or being a carrier of the virus. I didn’t feel that bored because I have a work from home job even before the lockdown, so it’s just a normal day during weekdays with less weekend trips to the mall or out of town rides. What I missed the most about going out is the provincial rides. I missed the feel of the fresh air on my face as we pass through tree-laden towns. I missed the smell of the leaves or the sweet cooked “kakanin” that makes you follow the scent. I missed nature in its un-urbanized form.
I agreed to travel from Bulacan to Pasay in the hopes of visiting the house we bought in Laguna. Riding in my Niño’s cousin’s car, we decided to go to Tagaytay after to check out a piece of land they’re planning to buy. Little did I know that they were also planning on pushing through with their camping plans. I wasn’t prepared, but what’s life without a little adventure, right?
The camping site is 20 minutes away from Calamba-Tagaytay road. To get there, we rode in an L-300 modified with spiked wheels to survive the rough road. When we got there, I immediately asked what the plastic-covered plant is and why it is planted that way.
Apparently, it is eggplant (Solanum melongena, to put my Biology course to use). It is covered in plastic mulch, so any grass species won’t invade the eggplant and kill it. The plastic mulch also generates moisture, which means that the plants won’t need to be watered often. In the picture, you will also see banana stem skin, as it is used to cover the plant when it’s too sunny, so the young sprout won’t get dried up.
THIS IS BRAND NEW INFORMATION!
In this piece of land, they’re also growing tomatoes, corn, and guyabano. When we asked when the owner set the entire eggplant plantation up, he said he did it during the lockdown. There I was, finishing an entire season of King: The Eternal Monarch and rewatching the entire season of Friends for the nth time (because I can), and he finished planting all of these in a few months. I feel kind of bad for not making use of my time more wisely. Anyway, soon, he’ll be able to sell them, and pay off the land.
After breathing in and out the fresh air, admiring the calming view, and interviewing the land owner, we proceeded to setting up our tents. We had to do it quickly as it rained just when we decided to set it up, pressuring us to get it done right away.
Then, we set up the grill for dinner. Since we weren’t able to buy barbecue sticks, Niño cousin found a bamboo shoot and sliced it for use in cooking the liempo by the fire. We were hoping to eat, boodle style, with our food laid down on banana leaves, but there were a lot of insects who wished to share the meal with us, so we had to transfer over to a less grassy location for dinner.
We settled in right after cleaning up. The night was cool, so sleep came right away. However, rain came by around 10 PM and lasted for almost the entire night. Since we only used a borrowed beach tent, it didn’t do so well against the strong winds and rain. We had to crouch inside the tent just to avoid the dampen portions of the tent. Luckily, we were too tired to care.
We woke up the next morning at the sound of the birds humming. It was a great feeling, and we felt energized right away. After a cup of coffee and a slice of bread, we roamed around the farm to check out our friend’s guyabano tree plantation. We got to speak with a local and talked about the farm life after the recent Taal Volcano eruption and while in the COVID-19 lockdown. They said that they survived the ash-fall just fine, although a lot of their crops didn’t. They left their carabaos but would go back daily to feed them with banana leaves. The carabaos, luckily, are strong-willed. This 15-year old cow is still strong and healthy and even gave birth to a calf at her age. It’s just strong jaws, capable of uprooting plants: the way it pulled Makahiya stems off the soil so easily is just awesome. Carabaos are also said to be capable of running at 30 km per hour (or more, depending on age). They can carry heavy weights and are tamed and obedient if trained well.
After resting a bit, we all agreed to visit the brook where they’re getting their drinking water from. The land owner’s daughter was kind enough to help us get there, and she said that it’s a easy path. They say never trust local’s judgment of easy, and we should have not. Little did we know that we’re to cross a slippery, ant-infested path.
Since the location is not well developed, the path to the brook wasn’t easy. We had to walk barefoot and choose between slipping or getting bitten by ants. Getting bitten isn’t as dangerous as slipping, so we endured the bites and went as fast as we can until it’s safe to stop and check our feet for bite marks and crawling ants. After 20 minutes of struggle, we got to the brook.
The cold water was super refreshing. The canopy of trees made us feel calmer and well-rested. I would take this over a day at the mall anytime. We felt like kids again as we splashed each other with water, stacked the rocks one over another, and talked about the pre-covid19 times, which felt like a long time ago.
After a while, we checked our clocks and realized that it’s only 8 AM. Time does run slow in the province. We headed back to our camp site, this time a bit faster as well know the path a little better. After a few hours of coffee and chitchat (still observing social distancing), we packed up and prepared to go back. Along the way, we found some familiar indoor plants that are sold for hundreds, if not thousands of pesos online — only to find out that, here, you can get them for free.
After a nice native tinola meal at Tatay Greg’s hilltop tambayan, we headed back to Manila. As always, my mind is a little calmer and body is well-rested despite the surprise climb. I know that I’ll be locked up again for God knows how long, but this experience will keep me inspired for the next few weeks, knowing that despite all the ugly that has happened in the world, there’s still beauty hidden in nature, if we look well enough.
