Hello, dear Hive friends. How are you on this beautiful day?
It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon when my hubby and I decided to go to the heart of the town to buy something to cook for dinner. (was actually craving for fish or seashells soup for dinner).
With our house located in the upland area, we can usually buy fish and other seafood sold by peddlers at a higher price. But since it's already afternoon, fish vendors seldom pass by during these hours but usually do so in the morning.
So the hubby suggested we go to the lowland by the shore so maybe we could have some fresh catch from some local fishermen at a much cheaper cost. Or in case, we could drop by the wet market situated in the center of the town about 10 minutes from home by motorbike.
The Ka Irig Shore
So with our very clingy little daughter, off we went to this part of the shore where most locals even those from other villages come to catch fish or look for seashells or "manginhas" in local dialect when the sea is at low tide. The place known as Ka Irig located at Tapul, Tabogon, Cebu.
There must be some magic in the place that many fishermen would really go home happy with enough catch for the family after coming here!
As we arrived, the vast stretch of the fine sandy seabed was exposed to the sun which meant it was low tide.
Visible along the road were motorbikes and a 4-wheeled vehicle parked which meant there must be some locals who tried their luck looking for seashells and or swaki or sea urchins in the area in hopes to have something for food on their table or if good luck would be on their side, they might be able to have some more to sell and make money.
The Mangroves
Hoping to find some locals who might be selling sikad or seashells collected, we walked down to the side of the shore towards the mangrove trees.
There are a number of mangroves along this area and I have concluded that this must be the 'magic' I was talking about earlier. The reason why a lot of local fishermen prefer to cast their nets in this place - the mangrove trees that provide shelter and protection to hundreds of fish species. No wonder this can be called a place of abundance!
The Fishing Boats
Lying by the coast were a few fishing boats waiting for their owners to catch some fish.
The presence of these boats always adds beauty to the shore and makes this area alive!
Finding Gems from the Sea
Walking further, we met some locals coming from the vast sea at low tide carrying a basin of their catch for the day.
Coming closer to them, the hubby asked if they sell their catch but they refused and said it's enough for their consumption.
My attention was caught by this boy happily bringing a net bag of large seashells or sikad ready to go home. Oh, how I love this sikad soup but unfortunately, this boy didn't intend to sell these to us!
He wanted to bring this home for his own family. They should have a festive dinner later of his diligent effort to find this sea gems himself. Amazing boy!
Having decided to leave for home earlier, they must have waited for the low tide living near the shore and were the first ones to get the best catch.
The advantage of living near the sea- no money to buy something to eat? Not a problem! The sea wilfully answers your needs!
Looking towards the farther end where the silent waves kissed the shore, many other locals were also on their best efforts to find gems from the sea in order to solve their dinner.
Thinking we might not be able to achieve our purpose of coming here, we just enjoyed the sight and our walk on the fine sandy seabed soaking our feet in the little pools of seawater we passed by!
The Realization
My husband and my little girl take a quick pose enjoying their walk at this magical part of the shore.
This ordinary day turned out to be a beautiful realization that nature can be very caring and thoughtful to humans providing what they need for free. They just have to work for it and do their best efforts to take care of it as it will take much care for them in return!
In the end, we were able to enjoy this delicious stewed fish for dinner having bought a kilo of fish from a popular fish vendor in town selling by the side of the road outside the wet market.
And this is all for today's walk dear Hivers. Thank you for reaching this far reading this article! See you again in my next one. Until then....