If I would be asked which place is my most favorite in this very small town, I would not hesitate to say THIS.
This place had been my secret rendezvous whenever I feel stressed out or worn out from work and people. Ever since I discovered this place, I couldn't help but tell my very few close friends how beautiful this place is.
This had become my "Collect and Reflect" Spot. Whenever I spend my lone time here while watching how peaceful the surface of the sea is, how vibrant the skies are and how picturesque the view of the mountains across, I always want to collect the beautiful memories that happened in my life and reflect from the mistakes in the past or the bad decisions I made and somehow, without any sense of a scientific explanation, and with a power that must have come from nowhere, I feel relieved.
And no matter how much I go back to this place again and again, the level of amazement I get will always be the same just as the first time I saw it.
This weekend, one of my first closest friend here in Santander decided we should go swimming for it has been a while since the last time we went out to the beach together. I only waited for her to ask me if we could go out together whenever she is free since she needed to take care of her husband and do chores at home which made our bonding only limited to eating lunch together at school. Unlike before in which we became a "ride or die" for each other.
Literally "a ride" for we used to like discovering strange places together with our motorbikes "and die" (not literally though) for we became indescribable risk takers and we didn't care how slippery or muddy or bumpy or steep the roads we have to cross as long as we enjoy riding our motorbikes.
But, something happened which changed everything including our bond and travel plans together. And that made me discover things and travel alone to places. However, that doesn't change a thing about our friendship. She was still like my elder non-biological sister in this place full of strangers.
No matter the circumstances, she still makes ways for us to be together at least for a few times and even for hours and I will always cherish that about her.
Anyway, this weekend, I wanted to bring her to one of my favorite places in Santander and just as I knew her, she too fell in love with the place even after only seeing it for the first time.
Who would not learn to love the place? I thought.
The crystal clear water, the perfectly shaped pebbles and rocks that were masterfully sculpted and tested by time, the olden trees that no one knows when it ever grew that gave shade to the place, and the splendid view of the mountains of Negros Oriental like they are some kind of an oil painting painted by the finest hands of a reknowned painter in the whole wide world -- PLUS, you need not to spend anything to delight yourself in the place but your TIME.
This secluded beach is located in Talisay, Santander, Cebu and only very few people knew about this the first time I saw it. It was full of wild trees around and it was just so peaceful, the sight of it was still vivid in my memory.
And when I said you need not to spend anything to delight yourself in this place but your TIME, I meant it because you don't need to spend a penny to go here. You just need to be patient enough to walk for roughly five minutes from the highway down a steep road to indulge yourself in this wonderful view.
As we (my friend and I) spent our Sunday on this beach, we just had a little catch up with each other's lives, ate our lunch which we bought from town, discovered random rock formations and we swam together and enjoyed ourselves as we watch the corals and fishes down the water.
We also had a deep conversation about things and the happenings in our world, few updates about our families, the joy of travelling alone and with each other and a lot more random stuff we talked about as we enjoyed dipping ourselves into the water and having some sneak peek of the underwater from time to time.
This is just how simple we spent our time together. We had chicken and rice for lunch but the time we had was the most precious.
This place may had become my secret rendezvous whenever I want to be alone but I am glad that this time, I spent it with someone who was courageous enough to have a piece of my secluded life and who was not afraid to dig deep into the depths of my soul and for that, I will forever be grateful.