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One could not truly see the beauty of nature when he doesn’t have at least an idea of what he’s seeing.
I mean, for one to truly appreciate a picturesque occurrence, he must know the history or at least a good backgrounder of the place.
Such is the case when the WOWBatangas team went to Taal Volcano Crater. We knew what we had to bring alright, and we were with the local tourism officers so we had no problem in going there, we were guided, as a matter of fact.
But what we lacked is a good backgrounder of the place. We, or at least me, didn’t know what to expect.
Good thing though is that I had James beside me (no homo intended). James is a hinete. A hinete comes as a bonus when you avail of a horse ride to Taal Volcano Crater.
James, as I have found out, is an 18 year old local of Talisay, Batangas.
And being a Batangueno myself, lessened the stranger between us.
James speaks differently though. I mean, he speaks Batangueno, hardcore. And with almost half of his life
spent on the volcano island, he served as my tour guide as well.
If I were to describe James in one word, “Madaldal” would be it.
Madaldal in a good sense, that is.
Our more than fun conversation include (and i quote James):
“Simple lang ang buhay dito, mag- alaga ka lang ng hayop e buhay ka na”
“Bawal dito magtayo ng malalaking building, nagagalit ang bulkan”
“Ayaw ko munang magasawa, mahirap ang buhay. Kayo ser?”
“Yan (while pointing at some herbs) ang mga kinakain ng kabayo”
“pnagpapawisan din po ang mga kabayo”
“Legal ho dito ang sabong ng kabayo”
“Yan ho maganda (while pointing at a panoramic view)”
“Are hong si Dyesebel ang pinakamabilis na kabayo”
“Mahigit apat na daan ho kaming mga kabayo dito. Este hinete pala”
“Malakas po dito ang byahe lalo na kapag bakasyon”
“Ser hindi ako yan” (while pointing at his twin)
And you could just imagine how my trip was filled with giggles and interesting topics.
Strange thing about this guy is that he would not put himself to the limelight. His madaldal trait would lean more on the beauty and the simplicity of the place that he is living in rather than his personal take on things.
I mean, he should be a role model of sorts to us, Batanguenos.
James is a proud Taliseno indeed. And we, too, must be proud of what God has given to us.
Thanks to James, his wit and his know hows, our trip, or at least mine, is completed.
