Matabungkay beach

Last hurray for summer '06

It was mine and my family's last ditch to catch the rays of summer . Weather was 33 degrees, sun was its scorching hot during midday. And my nephews and a niece did have so much fun playing with the water, catching the waves and never came out of the sea until they felt hungry or when we were about to leave, which was when the sun was setting. And that means it was past five in the afternoon.
Now as my skin could not take the sun these days, i had to stay inside the hut. Even Carl, my 20 month old nephew looked so dark after only a few hours under the sun.

Hay summer, we cannot let you go without going to the beach, taking a dip even if it is too hot especially somewhere nearest to the city but still clean waters.

Matabungkay is a famous beach resort , about 2 and a half hour drive from Manila. It is located in the little town of Lian in Batangas province. It is a favorite summer hideaway for various reasons. One, it is not that far, so families can easily go there on weekends or when the summer heat of Manila becomes unbearable.

Second, it has nipa huts (balsa in local parlance), made from bamboo which can be towed as far away as you want. In it, you can bring all your food, your stuff. You can even grill there while you’re floating in the middle of the sea. Of course, as we had lots of kids in our entourage, we could only allow our floating bamboo hut near the shore.

I am not sure though how environmentally friendly it is to have more than a hundred floating huts near the shore. Maybe that is why my nephews could only spot tiny fishes, which refused to be captured. Hurray for these creatures of the sea.

I had fun taking shots of my favorite nephews and other people and stuff I was able to find while people and sea watching. It is during these times that I wish you are here Goofy. Not that you would have enjoyed it as I know you do not swim and you are more a mountain person than a beach bum like me.

And now I realized that beaches in the Philippines are indeed unique for it is only here that you have blasting music being played along the shore. The music ranges from songs of the 60s to the hits of today, so you either get to sing along to your favorite tune or can entice your nephew to dance with the music.

Beaches and the sea always make me feel relaxed, recharged and not a care in the world.

Well, until I realized that even going to the bathroom to take a pee or shower, one needs to pay.

But only here can you buy an ice cream on the sea. Yes, Goofy, the ice cream goes around the beach selling using a floater (tires actually).

And as we were about to leave, three kids proved me wrong as they showed me that you can catch even the tiny fishes, with only a rudimentary tool. And I could hardly contain the lump in my throat when they told that they would be eating them for dinner. Not after being game for picture taking with me. Really difficult for a development worker and an environmentalist like me to listen to this story! But what could I have done otherwise?

I visited Matabungkay Beach in Lian, Batangas with my family last 10 May 2006.