IT IS one of life’s ironies to put you through hellish purification rites, then to reward you with something to sing and dance about, and, within 48 hours at that.
You discover the stark contrast between Compostela Valley, which is waking up to the possibilities of community tourism, and Davao Oriental, which has long been ready for low-impact, environmentally conscious tourism.
When you think of the latter province while stewing in Manila, the sea breeze is softly kissing your age-worn cheeks again. So soft you chase after several other memories of gladness:
Slipper-shod feet sinking in the sand by Eva Botana’s beach resort in Dahican as your shaded eyes squint at the bluest blue skies meeting the vast horizon;
Sightings from afar of dugongs at play while fisher folk, Christians and Muslims alike, gather in a community hall to decide how best they can protect these creatures from their fishing nets and how to source other forms of livelihood for their families;
Meeting Peter Plaza, only a year and a half old, already surfing the waves, able to stand on a skim or a surf board, a model for surfer wear and with a promising future in a sport where Filipinos have a fighting chance to excel;
Witnessing for yourself how on the boardwalk of Mati there is no plastic floating on the nearby bay the color of turquoise despite settlers living on lean-tos on stilts;
Tasting durian again and sit under an evening sky;
And, before departing, being thrilled to find you still have a romantic bone left in your sagging body when your colleagues in media, two bachelors, announce their intention to return to the province within the year.
Their determined purpose: to propose, on bended knees, to their respective sweethearts. The governor, Cora Nunez Malanyaon, and her tourism consultant, Cynthia Rodriguez, join in the planning and agree, yes, it must happen on a night by the beach, on a pier or by a light tower on a full-moon night!
That is Davao Oriental’s enchantment, the true meaning behind its expression of balik balik baya ha! Come back!