Good day awesome Hiver friends! Today I want to take you back to our quick visit to South of Cebu, Philippines particularly in the town of Borbon. From the failed appointment at the town hall, we visited an unfinished private resort that is adjacent to a public beach where fishermen also anchor their fishing boats.
From the elevated part, we went down to the public beach area. There were no fishermen that time as it was about noon. My partner said fishermen would set out to sea in the afternoon. Some of the dogs were still relaxing under the shade when we went down. I guess this where they already live. Perhaps they get food from the fishermen too.
This is how our traditional fishing boats look like. To keep the balance on water, bamboo rafts on each side are used. Some can get much bigger than this so more people can be accommodated. Far right, that is the unfinished private resort where we climbed up.
A wooden row or paddle is used for moving and for controlling the boat. For bigger ones, they are already powered by boat engine, so they move much faster.
To our surprise, some goats were left here to graze; perhaps owned by a fisherman. I tried calling it but wasn’t amused by my calling. The grass looks more appetizing than our presence.
The goats seem to have a truce at this point; the dogs were just nonchalant. In a bigger picture, both the goats and dogs enjoy thriving by the sea with calm sea breeze and grass for food. I was thinking perhaps they find the sea and living here therapeutic too.
I was attracted to the different boats anchored at this area. They looked colorful and reminds me of my father. When we were young living in the countryside, our father also had a small boat that he would also use to catch fish. Oh those nostalgic memories!
On the left with the orange boat, circular white objects can also be seen. These are used to keep the fishing nets afloat and served as marker so they would know where the nets are left in the sea; also somewhat like a buoy or fishing net floater made from styrofoam or plastic.
I wanted to stay longer but it was really time to go because sometimes the weather can get unpredictable, and it might suddenly rain. At this point, the doggos also followed us up to the entrance part. We played with them a little bit and said our goodbyes. I had some feelings of already missing them at that moment.
Few kilometers from the coast, we stopped by at the house of my partner’s sister. We wanted to take some miracle fruit or calabash fruit to the city. This is expensive and difficult to find in the city. Thankfully, my partner’s sister has two miracle fruit trees.
We also asked for the young leaves of soursop tree from their neighbor. My partner boils the leaves and we drink the tea in the morning. This was already a good chance for us while we were in this town.
I also admired how resourceful the people are. Along the way, we saw several vendors selling homemade traditional vinegar made by fermenting pure coconut water. I love this kind of vinegar because I don’t get that acidic feeling if I dip my food in it.
We continued our ride, and we saw a mini cab transporting coconuts. If sold by the sidewalk vendor, the price of this is less than 1 USD and you already can drink fresh coconut water.
We rode along and saw another cab with mangoes. A kilo of this is about 1.73USD containing 3-4 pieces of mango.
Along the way, a local store selling bananas can also be seen. I like how the bananas are hung neatly. A kilo of bananas is about 1.50USD.
We arrived in the city safe and sound. Tired but still happy that we got a chance to go to the coast, and bring home some miracle fruit and soursop leaves.
Thank you so much awesome community 
Note: Photo collage edited through Canva