I can no longer count the number of times that I have been traveling Mindanao. From summer visits in my father’s hometown in Tangub, Misamis… Read More »Unexpected discoveries while traveling Mindanao
The baby olive ridley turtle was heading its way to the beach, walking on the black sand, making fin marks behind its back as we… Read More »Swim for life in Maitum’s pawikan sanctuary
A great adventure but I was careless and foolish and had my right foot pierced by a stick. But it made the trip all the more memorable.
Maitum is not only anthropomorphic burial jars, bangsi, pawikans and rubber plantations. At its hinterlands remain one of Mindanao’s remaining stand of virgin forests that is in danger of falling under man’s greed. We embarked on an adventure to visit a poorly known and yet unnamed waterfall. This is a series.
The baby turtles were just at the holding pen, about three inches long, 15-20 individuals. Some were sleeping with their front flappers conveniently resting atop the carapace while some biting on a blanched but definitely dead fish floating on the surface.
From a distance, the river looks calm except for a few patches of white, water foam as it hits submerged rocks and boulders. A closer look, however, reveals a fast flowing river, even turbulent at some parts and ripe for a wild and wet adventure that is water tubing in Maitum’s Pangi River system.
Our Southeast Asian neighbors have nothing of this type of archaeological find. We should be extremely proud as Filipinos in discovering the amazing anthropomorphic potteries, which could suggest the backbone of our own culture.