Laguna Bay, August 2008







I had always been fascinated by the Laguna Bay. On a clear day if I am lucky enough to get a window seat on a flight home, I would always look out for the bay. That way, I know that it won't be long now before the plane touches down the airport. The bay is a huge place bounding the provinces of Laguna, Metro Manila and Rizal (what little is left of it). Often I would wonder if there are regular ferry boats that would ply people from various points but then as the plane flies lower, then the outlines of the fish ponds that dot the whole bay becomes clearer. Back in the early '80's, I bought a house in San Pedro Laguna. Everyday, on a bus ride to Ayala, I would get a glimpse of the bay as the bus makes its way towards the superhighway. On clear days, the sky would be blue and you can see the expanse of the bay. Very much like the view I would see on the plane on its descent when I started living in Thailand. After all these years I never found the time to get up close to the bay.

Last August, I finally found the time to figure out how to go there. Going to the town plaza of San Pedro, I asked one of the trycycle drivers to take me to the bay. There was an initial misunderstanding because at first she thought that I was asking to be taken to the water district ( which apparenly meant the office where you pay for your water bills). Then she took us to a place where you can see the bay. There are no clear access to the bay itself. You have to pass through a warren of a place. I then realize that relatively speaking, my house is in the newer part of San Pedro and this crowded place must be the old town of San Pedro judging from the very old houses that sit side by side to each other and how narrow the streets are. The lanes going towards the bay are even narrower that the only way to get there is on foot or using a tricycle. As we get closer to the bay, on sees several sari sari stores which is the social center of each of the community. Most other countries have their 7-11's where you do your business, pay your bill and then get out. No social interaction whatsoever happens.

Sari Sari stores are different in a way because in most cases this is where you get the latest town news courtesy of the neigborhood chismosos and chismosas. Our neighbor in Makati had a sari sari store when I was a little kid and all I can remember are the noise that the drunk teens would make once they already had too much to drink. Which made me wonder all the time because most of this guys were good friends when they are not drunk. As a kid, I often thought to myself that perhaps that was what going to university does to people for all of these teenagers were going to the university at that time. Much much later on, I went to university and went through the rites of growing up but thankfully did not go through the experience of drinking at the sari sari store and make a spectacle of myself in the process. I never had the opportunity to traumatize the young kids in the neigborhood where we lived because by then, we kept to ourselves. We were by then far away from our childhood friends. Most of the friends I made by then are school friends. But then I digress...

On the way to the Bay, there were indeed some men, perhaps fishermen who are resting and drinking a bottle of ginebra with their friends on that afternoon. Or perhaps they were just some of the menfolks that just happen to have a lot of free time and the best way to do this was to have a drink of ginebra in the afternoon. By the time we got to the bay, there was not enough light anymore so I just made an arrangement to go back the next day to look for a banquero that would take me around the bay. The trycycle driver told me that perhaps we should meet early the following morning when it will be much easier for us to find a banquero to take me to the bay.