When there’s no electricity, there’s not much you can do. Although there’s a cellphone and 3G internet signal, I was saving my Galaxy S2′s precious battery power for emergency purposes and the fact that it’s half empty and it’s only 3pm.
The tide has risen to approximately 4 feet and the winds got stronger. With almost no place to shoot at, I went down the stairs to a concrete platform no bigger than a dining table. Unsatisfied, I took the risk of jumping at the sandbar once again and took some shots.
After few hours, the sun bid goodbye…
6:00 pm – It didn’t take long before I found myself in the middle of total darkness. Sound of strong winds and waves became music to my ear. At that point… I was thinking, what the hell am I doing here?
7:00 pm – I grilled the marinated Liempo that I brought and enjoyed what seem to be my last supper.
8:00 pm – Staring at the dark, counting the stars and lights from the fishermen’s boat from afar became my ultimate past time. From time to time, I was checking my phone for tsunami and earthquake alerts. Not a good idea if you are in the middle of the sea I realized. Coz alone in thought, I’d rather be surprised by a big wave than being paranoid whenever I hear waves crashing at the bottom of hut.
9:00 pm – For some reason, I felt so sleepy. It’s weird for a nocturnal person like me.
9:30 pm – Sleepyheaded I was, I hit the bed. But in reality, I want to sleep to be unaware of what’s going on around me. Fear sets in. The tide keeps on rising, the wind blows harder each time.
12:00 am – I awakened due to the slamming sound of the stair. The waves was pushing it upwards and slam it down to the concrete platform that creates annoying sound. When I checked on it, terrified I was because the waves reached half the stairway (approximately 6 feet). It almost reached my hut’s floor.
1:00 am – I can no longer bear the fear that I was experiencing. And just like the man on one of the blogs that I’ve read, God, please let it be daylight soon I whisper. Happy thoughts should be in my head. I thought of pokwang, Mahal’s “S” video and her face, some Japanese pranks, Canon vs Nikon became human but Canon wins at the end, whatever my imagination leads me through the night.
3:00 am – The winds calmed down and I saw the tide gone low. My heart pounded with delight. I’m safe I said to myself. With no hot water for an early morning coffee, I grabbed a bottle of coke…
5:30 am – I prepared my tripod and camera for a sunrise shot. This was exactly the reason why I risked my life in spending the night in the middle of nowhere. A shot that I’ve never seen before will make everything a lot sweeter.
If you chose not to spend the night, the best time to visit Manjuyod/Bais sandbar is early morning. The earliest possible you could. Coz at 7-8 am, water begins to set in.
With the experience I had, it made me realize that one should experience blacks to appreciate more the whites. If we only look for beauty, there will come a time that we can’t appreciate it anymore coz we know it’s always given.
And as the story goes, few more minutes.. I bid goodbye to sandbar.
Travel time from Manjuyod Wharf to Sandbar and vice versa is approximately 15 minutes.
Comments