grays, browns, blues. o, white caps! and roses?

Such were the colors of the sea, sand and sky yesterday at Cangmating, Sibulan. Gloomy shades of grays, brown and blues. But our mood was far from glum, as we had a great time at the beach, even if it showered every now and then. The water wasn't cold even if the sun was hidden behind clouds. The temperature was just perfect for our wave-jumping-frolic. The sea was far from calm, white caps were all around, and wave after wave would crash to the shore. We would jump as each big wave came and be lifted up with it, or we would ride the breaking wave and let it propel us to the sandy shore.

looking northward

looking east, the island of Cebu is visible on the left upper corner

lifebuoy ala Baywatch

We weren't afraid to play with the big waves because Ma'am Elsie, our ever prepared OR head nurse, provided us with these buoys, just like the ones the Baywatch lifeguards use. Although at the beginning of our foray in that roiling sea I got a scare because after riding several waves suddenly my feet couldn't touch the sand and no amount of paddling and kicking would bring me to the direction that I wanted to go, which was nearer to our group while the current was rapidly bringing me elsewhere. I called out "Kuha-a ko! Kuha-a ko!" and I waved to Ma'am Ordna and she just waved back like she thought I was just saying hi to her. I cried to Amy, "Tinuod, kuha-a ko!" and soon Nimrod, who practically grew up in the sea being a Siquijor native, was running down the beach to "rescue" me.

Then suddenly, to my utter relief, my feet touched bottom with my head still above water and I waved to Nimrod that I was ok already. Whew. After that, I was more careful about where I was in relation to the shore and the bottom and the next one and half hours of jumping-the-waves was such fun. We only stopped because, guess what, it was time to eat again.

Our picnic spread: KINILAW NA TANGIGUE, lechon de leche, dinuguan, HUMBA, chicken halang-halang, sinugbang isda and baboy, siomai, chicharon, boiled cassava with ginamos, spaghetti. (Those in caps are the ones I ate a lot of). For dessert we had leche flan, buko salad, mango cake, and fresh fruits. For drinks, I saw lots of wine bottles in the cooler, together with the soda. I only tried the one that was like a spirited strawberry milkshake. Tequila Rose.