In Retrospect

Hi Everyone,

I hoped everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebration. As for me, we had a wonderfully disastrous Christmas. As depicted in the picture above, we are just happy to be alive.

I was supposed send this blog installment two weeks ago, but on the day that I was to post it, we were hit by a super typhoon Odette that wrecked our entire house, village, and in fact the entire island of Cebu. We were without electricity, water, and of course no wifi signal at all.

Many roofs were blown away, business establishments were destroyed and some literally washed out to sea! Worse still, a number of people died, fish seem scared, the coral reefs were 95% decimated and the turtles have gone.

After 11 days we temporarily relocated to the adjacent island of Negros Oriental to get reconnected and let everyone know we are still alive, safe and sound. The details, I’m saving for my next blog post.
What follows is the original and and long overdue blog post written before the typhoon. In retrospect it seems so mundane.
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As the year ends, I feel like I should be looking forward creating a New Year’s resolution with all my best intentions, but mapping out my future dreams and schemes is tough. I can’t help looking back first to reflect on what’s happened in the last couple of years.
I shudder to think.
What has happened in these last 2 years? Will it ever be over? Has it really been 2 years already?
There was such a confluence of chaotic events! No one suspected that the world would come to a screeching halt! Those who choose to imagine some grand conspiracy fail to appreciate the sheer randomness of these events! It’s been so surreal, like some dystopian movie, but it did happen and it’s our current reality.
Anywhere you go that people have their own personal struggles, but I can only share with you what’s happened to me and the community I live in. So many things occurred in such rapid succession: families and loved ones separated, many relationships crumbled, some people got depressed and suicidal, there were many in my inner circle who caught Covid-19 and recovered, but others who caught it and died.
If you survived the last few years relatively intact, then you’ve overcome a lot, right? What does not kill us, mutates and tries again as another variant?
Prior to Covid-19 in the beach community in the Southern Cebu where I live in Moalboal, our expat community had been attracting tourists from all over the globe for years.

Its one of the best dive spots in the world! It’s a treasure trove of coral reefs and rich marine life; and it’s often mentioned in international dive magazines.

Juvenile Whale Sharks who had previously lingered an hour and a half away in a town called Oslob have been attracted to Moalboal. Possibly because there are schools of sardines, some right outside our back door! Perviously the Whale Sharks where methodically fed to keep them as a tourist attraction disrupting their seasonal migration to the south. Since the pandemic stalled tourism, the locals there could no longer afford to feed the Whale Sharks.

Since then, the huge Whale Sharks have wandered west, and we see them occasionally now. Whale Sharks love to feast on the Sardines so their stop-overs in Moalboal have been a treat for them as well!

Even during the high tourism phase, we regularly saw green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles with their Zen-like expressions feeding on the sea grass and among the coral in the waters right off our back porch. They’d always seemed nonplused pausing only briefly from their activities even when surrounded by tourists.

I’ve been told that many of these turtles were bred locally, marked, and set free where they nibble on the grass or reefs. whatever the case, I often find myself thinking we’re the luckiest people on earth to get to live so close to them.
Pescadore island is about a mile offshore from us, and it’s surrounded by coral. It’s attracts divers and snorkelers alike from all over Philippines and abroad. Even if you don’t go deep, you can snorkel just a meter below and see the colorful marine wildlife. For me it’s like swimming in a huge aquarium. We have 7100 islands here in the Philippines, but Pescadore Island stands out as a lush dive spots.

Another tourist destination hit by the fading international tourism was Kawasan Falls. It’s only thirty minutes away from us in the township of Badian. It’s such a natural place where you can see several waterfalls, trek about canyoneering, or swim in the clear icy waters. When it becomes very hot and humid, there is nothing more refreshing than getting under the powerful waterfalls or floating around in the cool waters on a bamboo raft.
Tourism has closed Kawasan Falls entirely during the pandemic. As you might imagine the closure of tourism has seriously dented the community economically. We used to love walking through the path towards the falls, watching the locals pounding out their laundry on the rocks along the river, or buying treats from pop-up vendors, it’s been one of my favorites. I love drinking the ice cold Buko (coconuts) and eating roasted corn. Very simple and simply wonderful.

Here in Moalboal, we have an awesome beach community, and there are restaurants and pubs lined up one after another. There are many expats here mixing with locals making it a fascinating microcosm of the world. It is no wonder that tourists from all over the world to flock here.

I constantly hear my friends and family say, “Good for you, you live right next to the ocean!” Of course they’re right! It’s been a great place to be stuck during lockdowns and curfews, even when swimming in the ocean or drinking was strictly forbidden. There is much to be grateful for: the people are not as densely populated as the big city of Cebu and at least we can see the ocean and breathe in the sea breeze daily.

Prior to the pandemic, there were crowds and the foot traffic endlessly streaming past our gate. The locals constantly hustled their businesses whether it be an island-hopping tour, fresh fish, fruits, massage, or simple souvenirs. So, it’s been very stressful for the community since the pandemic struck; suddenly the world just seemed to stop, and all the hustle and bustle were put on paused.

Yearly there were people who came here to live half of the year in Moalboal and then they’d return to live half of the year in their home countries. They’d work and saving money for half of the year, then they’d come here and spend their money here. Some would supplement their savings, working as dive instructors, itinerant yoga teachers or doing underwater photography. Whatever skill they could bring to the table they did. There are many who worked online as internet influencers, travel writers, bloggers and remote English teachers who would work by night and play by day. Many would still prefer to be here during the pandemic instead of their home countries, but they just can’t enter the Philippines anymore… at least until further notice! So sadly, families and relationships suffered. I have not seen my daughter, Tifani in 4 years. Her planned trip to visit was postponed indefinitely. She is currently living in Munich, Germany.

Many resorts and restaurants shut down permanently. They simply could not survive economically or continue maintaining a staff when there’s no businesses. Resort owners have been forced to live off their savings or simply go back to their countries and work a day job, to sustain their businesses remotely sending money from abroad.

Though most were able to make it home once Covid struck, there were some who’ve been stuck here during the pandemic and unable to return home. Some gratefully so.

And for those surviving businesses left behind, most resort owners reduce their staff’s hours and some staff were forced to collect DOLE (unemployment wages), if employers provided for them with insurance. One of our dear friend Kalle, owner of Cebu Seaview Diver Resort, has consistently raised funds from abroad to help out those unable to work in the dive resorts. He’s distributed donations from abroad monthly rationing rice and canned goods to the staff and their families of those unable to working in the dive shops.

Another expat, Lauriane, a good friend of ours focused her energy on rescuing stray dogs and built a shelter for them. There’re tons of stray dogs in Moalboal and the near by villages which are hazardous for the motorists as they freely roam in the middle of the streets. Puppies are sometimes dumped everywhere. She was able to financially rally the community, especially the expats, to help out and contribute. And people did, if not with monetary donations, then with their time and skills building the shelter. Others helped by donating dog food and time assisting in the monthly spay and neuter clinic. They did this entirely for FREE to reduce the wandering stray dogs in the streets of Moalboal and reduce the vehicular accidents caused by them.

Many locals here have gotten very creative with their businesses and culinary skills. Posting goods and services, as well as anything they can cook and bake for minimal costs and often no delivery fees. So you can find dive masters become cooks, chefs as they whipped up sumptuous meals, reasonably price which include food delivery. So in our little community, we still have many German, Italian, Chinese, and Korean expats and so their authentic delicacies have remained available. You name it, its here!

Some locals have returned to planting for their own subsistence and they’ve built a relationship with the community selling online their surplus. consequently, because life has slowed down, we’ve gotten to know the community better. Before things were so fast paced and busy for many to even say ‘hello’. Now, we’ve really had the opportunity to get to know one another and make time to talk with people we’d previously only known by their faces.

At one point, I was really afraid of anarchy, when the income stopped. I was afraid that people would start breaking in homes and stealing just to survive. Thankfully, that didn’t happen! Instead, people just started pulling together and to care for one another. People started talking to each other sharing opportunities, and of course grousing about stuff and laughing with one another. People seem to me to be more caring these days. I heard someone saying the other day, “well at least we got our health, that’s the most important thing in the world. For what use is all the money if we are sick, right?” I suspect that that is case everywhere you go these days; it restores my faith in human nature.

One of the most beautiful thing is that the ocean seems to be cleaner these days, marine life seems richer. We’ve had dolphins doing their acrobatics just off the coast and even a Blue Whale was sighted visiting, that’s something that’s not been seen for many years.

So the pandemic has had its upside. The world is taking a much-needed breather; its seems to be telling everyone, ‘Take a minute and slow down. Smell the roses.’

Sure, some people zealously believe and will try and convince you that vaccination is the Mark of a Beast and Covid; a vast conspiracy to control people since ancient times. We took a taxi one day and before we knew it, the taxi driver was quoting bible verses laying out his justification for not getting vaccinated. As for me and my husband, we opted to risk it and get the Mark of the Beast booster shot!
All kidding aside, local government here continue to wrangle over masking or going unmasked, mandating vaccinations or not, or whether to open businesses or wait a bit longer. To that point, our governor, was criticized for not believe in masking. Rumors circulated that she’d become especially sensitive about the criticism that she’d really refused masking because she was worried it might mess up her recent botox injections. She was so concerned about it that she assigned her team with the task of scouring FB for critical comments about her governance and she called out those offenders publicly shaming then on a live FB events.

“No selfies or posting on FB, okay?” The local warned.
Some locals should have taken that more seriously, because they were caught drinking and partying during the liquor ban after incriminating themselves with photos of their parties and get togethers during lock down that they posted on social media. They were detained.

One of the highlights of our otherwise dormant town was when a beauty queen and her boyfriend from Spain got arrested for violating the lockdown.

As the conspiracy theories float around the internet about whether to jab or not to jab, there have been some subtle changes which seem a positive sign of life, despite the coming of a new ‘Omicron’ variant. ‘To jab or not to jab?’
So be safe everyone, make sure you take precautions when traveling, and if you’re refusing to get a vaccination or wear masks, please consider doing it anyway for the elderly and medically compromised people in your family or that you might meet in your easy-to-day who may not have the same resistance to illness that you do. Science works, but its not magic; it requires common sense!

I guess I can’t look forward before I look backwards. Wishing you all a great fantastic new year!

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