swake, tuyom, and kun-kun (written in Cebuano).
The sea urchin I will feature in this blog is a kun-kun, as seen in the lead image, which is not often consumed by people because they prefer the first two kinds, which taste better than kun-kun. We were searching for sea urchins and crabs during the low tide yesterday, Sunday, in the nearest coast, where these urchins just popped out from seaweeds with their contrasting colors. But what shocked me was that aside from sea urchins, I also saw sinkholes in the sea that lurk under the water when the tide comes high. It was reported that sinkholes were appearing on the coast of northern Cebu after the earthquake, and this one was the nearest I had seen.
We appeared on the coast at 6 in the morning yesterday to search for some sea urchins and crabs for breakfast. It has been quite a long time, I think 6 months, since we last ate swake or kun-kun in the coast with leftover rice to complement the meal. I don't know how to explain this feeling of eating this kind of food on the sand with good daylight for those who have not tried eating kun-kun. But I say this one is the best and most natural meal I have encountered in my life. More natural than vegetables. Just searching for a creature in the weeds and you break it open and your breakfast is resolved.
But before I even searched with my mother for sea urchins, this sinkhole appeared in front of me, which shocked me a bit because why did I put myself near it? I felt like a good stubborn man. I then knew that it was a sinkhole when some local folks passed by us and said the sand that surrounds it is soft and we might get stuck. So I took multiple steps back like I reverted from a mission because it was a sinkhole. A sinkhole from an earthquake.
But had steps forward to take a closer photo for a while. I don't know how that brown soil with rocks got there and surrounded the sinkhole. I assume only two things: the local authorities put that themselves or the earthquake dug that beneath and caused it to appear around. But I am no expert to tell, so what's your opinion about this? And actually, when I edited the photos, that was the only time I had a good sight of the sinkhole because if you watch it personally, you cannot see how deep or what is under the water. It was just merely a hole with black water and a scary depth.
We moved on because we might get caught by the tide if we started late. I took my first search in the nearest group of weeds, carefully looking into the greens, and trying to think that I have to impress my mother that I got plenty. That was the mission but she did not know that. She knows how bad I am at searching for seafoods.
And whilst searching, I kept thinking of that sinkhole again when I saw another strange thing in the water. I am very familiar with this coast because we often go here, not until the quake occurred. Never in my life did I see this thing I can't name, so I assumed the earthquake did a lot of movement that strange things are now present in the water.
A Tuyom kind of sea urchin. But they are still babies.
One thing I like about the sea and the coast is how they make two different perspectives in a single day. Here is what I mean. When I look from the shore to the sea, the view is blue, majestic, and cloudy in grey. It looks exactly how the sea should be. It is bright, calm, and the water feels safe as usual. Sometimes the water gets still at low tide, but when it goes up high, the water becomes waves. By the way, that was my mom in the photo, very meticulous of what is under the water. She knows what moves and how to catch it. She is one with the water.
And the other perspective is this. When I see the shore from the sea, the world is totally different. The sun faces me but there is a beautiful dullness that surrounds the whole ambiance. There is little to no blue and more timeless colors appear under the clouds that are grey and hollow. Maybe because the weather in the south or behind me was approaching rain and the north was brighter than ever. What a paradise to see the differences of life, isn't it?
I found a starfish first before anything else. I took it out from the water for seconds and returned it again because nature is not a souvenir.
Then a miracle happened. After a long blurry search in the not-so-clear water, I found a sea urchin or kun-kun. Although this was not the kind my mother likes to eat, the idea that I found one is amazing. She must be so proud of me, which she already was ever since I was born.
Look at those perfect little green spines that wrap its shell. The spines were still moving when I got it but over time they died in my hands. The spines are used by urchins for defense and movement. This creature is so perfect to my eyes and my taste buds. Who would think this little circle thing in my hands has plenty of gonads inside that are creamy and salty for our breakfast? I gave it to my mother and she accepted it.
My mother kept searching in the blue water. She had plenty of sea urchins and crabs from it, and we left the water when the tide got higher. And walking back to the shore, I realized how mornings like these are becoming rare—those quiet hours when the world feels half-awake and the sea shares a part of itself with you. Maybe that is why I treasure these moments with my mother so much. The sea shifts, the land moves, even sinkholes appear, but mornings like this stay in the memory as if they were untouched by time and made for me.
