Beggars of the Sea

I’ve been meaning to post these photos for quite awhile now. I felt like I didn’t have the words to go with the photos just yet, so I deferred it for a while. But it had only been now that I was able to muster the words to truly express how I felt about the experience I’ve had with the Badjaos in Cagayan de Oro. I’d really want to share this to everyone, so let me take you back to when I first stepped foot on Cagayan de Oro.

On a tuesday morning, aboard the Cebu Ferries Ship, Tina and I witnessed a heart-wrenching sight. Amidst the towering ships parked along the port of Cagayan de Oro, are the Badjaos on their outriggers patiently rowing back and forth at the side of our ship begging for money or for anything you could give them. At first, it was just a lonesome outrigger with three adult men and two younger men on it. It seemed to me that they were just fishermen who happened to be fishing near the ship. But a few moments after, a flock of them appeared to our sight. There were no fishnets or whatsoever to indicate that they were fishermen. It was then that I realised that they were not fishermen but beggars. It was deafening to hear them beg. I couldn’t understand what they were saying as all I could hear were the mumbling and the crying of the mothers and the babies. It was heartbreaking to have heard the loud cries of the young kids and even babies that laid almost naked on the outrigger with the sun’s glare on their fragile bodies, while their mother or father dove into the ocean each time a coin was thrown at them. The expressions on the other children’s faces were blank, as they don’t seem to fathom what was happening around them. The 'crowd’s favourite' was the father who had his baby cling tightly on his neck while he dove into the sea. I felt scared for the baby as he could easily loose his grip on his father’s neck while underwater. I was saddened to see other passengers of the ship treat them like they were in some freak show. The passengers purposely had thrown coins aimlessly so the Badjaos have to jump out from their outriggers and dive into the ocean. They laughed and applauded each time the Badjaos get to catch the coins. I gave out a big sigh each time I heard the cheers of the passengers. I hoped that they would realise how dangerous it could be especially for the children. It was inappropriate, I felt. It was not even a laughing matter. It was totally degrading. It was like being in a zoo, people throwing food at animals.











Up to this day, I can’t believe what I have witnessed. I realised what extreme poverty can do to people in order to survive. These people chose to risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones for a few coins. I could not bear to just stand there and do nothing. So while on the way out of the ship, I grabbed my bag full of snacks and threw it directly in one of the outriggers. It’s the least thing that I could do at the very moment.

I don’t even know if these images I took can encompass what I have witnessed that day, but think of it as merely representations of what was there that had affected me deeply.

The CDO white water rafting adventure!

The sputnik adventure would not be complete if we didn't do anything extreme. So when we got to Cagayan de oro or CDO, it was a must to try the famous white water rafting along the cdo river. On a very early saturday morning, Tina and I prepared ourselves to an extereme adventure that both of us haven't tried yet. We met up with the other adventure seekers in front of Mcdonalds along divisoria, signed the waiver which seemed so scary it's as if we agreed to let ourselves get killed and finally headed to the cdo river. The trip to the cdo river only took twenty to thirty minutes.



When we got to the river, I had a glance of the first rapid we have to go through and all I felt were pure excitement. We wore our safety gears and grabbed our paddles as if we're about to go to war. After all the instructions that were given to us, we hopped on our boat and started to paddle towards the first rapid. Adrenalin rush started to kick in as soon as we reached the first rapid. "Foward!" the team captain shouted and we paddled as hard as we could. The rapid was really strong. It felt like the boat was going to flip over. But our team were coordinated enough that we didn't flip over, not even once. We had to pass through fourteen rapids, five of which were wild some were chicken feed. haha! We also got the chance to dive into the river. It was so much fun as I've never tried swimming in the river.








I was really glad I got to experience this extereme ride as it was something I'd never forget. It made me proud that I was able to go through without thinking of backing out. Next time I visit cdo, I'd be more than willing to try the advanced level where rapids would be wilder. To our next extereme adventure, Cheers!


Til Then

The Lost Sputnik

Braving the Rapids

I almost didn’t go. After almost three weeks of non-stop traveling, my energy level was fast approaching the warning point. I really didn’t think I could still handle an extreme adventure. Especially one I had to sign a waiver for.

But there was very little to do in Cagayan de Oro—well at least nothing much that excited me as a traveler. So if I didn’t take the bait of experiencing their most popular tourist attraction, I wouldn’t have anything else to write about the place.

We had to wake up early to meet up with the other white-water rafting tourists near McDonald’s in Divisoria. By this time, Ron knew well enough that I have such a dour mood in the morning—especially when I didn’t get enough sleep, and my energy seems to be in an all-time low—so he didn’t even bother talking to me or arguing with me when I made it very clear that I needed to take my breakfast and couldn’t care less if all the other tourists were already waiting.

I didn’t even try to feign enthusiasm for this new adventure, and sincerely, I was scared about how dangerous it could get. But thankfully, my mood started lightening up in the jeepney going to the mouth of the Cagayan River. The landscape along the way was really awesome. We also stopped by a tourist post to wait for the others and were invited to try out the canopy walk and the zip—a 20 minute adventure inside a rainforest. But I headed towards the souvenir stands instead. I got two trinkets for my friends and was good to go.

The river where we shall be braving the rapids clearly marks the boundary between Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon—the first one’s the left bank and the other’s the right. This was again emphasized to us when we were given precautionary measures just in case we fall off the raft. When the guide says swim to Cagayan, we should know that we should be waddling towards our left.



Because Ron sat in front, I had no choice at first but to sit beside him. But after almost falling during our battle with the first rapid, there was no other choice but to trade places with a braver soul. Fun starts picking up by this time, and sometimes our guide (who seems to be channeling Brownman Revival’s lead with his heairstyle and sunglasses) would make us stand as we approach a rapid just to heighten the excitement.



During breaks from the rapids, our guides would also allow us to take a dip in the river. I don’t really like swimming in deep water, but I had a life jacket on and the water’s really tempting, so I jumped out of the raft with the others. Ron had to make sure though that I always stay close to the raft, and would call my name everytime he fails to see where I was. Dad!



After several rapids, I knew I would have regretted it if I hadn’t joined Ron for this adventure. It was, to quote a dear friend, “heaps” of fun. And it was quite cheap too, especially with the crab and shrimp feast that greeted us after the ride. By this time, my only dilemma was how to go about my next ride: I knew I had to take my husband here, but this means going through the beginner’s stage again, which is not very tempting since I know I’m definitely ready and raring for a bigger challenge. Bring on the rapids!



(T)he Other Sputnik