Strength and support are the hallmarks of mangrove symbolism. The same goes with our bond, during a storm—we gather ourselves together and find strength from our roots. Hello, Hivers! This is @nashhhh, back again with another memory to haul.
Last school year, as a graduating student from junior high school, it was compulsory for us to attend the mangrove planting in order to move up to a higher level. We were assigned to plant mangroves on the farm of our school. Since the lot in there was massive they could use another batch of trees or mangroves to be exact.
As a student who lives a 30-minute ride away from our school, I had to wake up early since we were expected to arrive at the farm at 5:00 in the morning for the low tide, and also to avoid the extreme direct heat from the sun. When the clock struck at 4:00 am, I was already awake and had taken the coldest shower I'd ever had. I even had to skip breakfast so I could finish and head to the school’s farm early.
When I reached the farm, my classmates were already there. We waited for everyone to arrive so we could check the attendance. Then, we readied ourselves and got the two seedlings for each person. After that, we headed for the coast to start planting.
It is a good thing that we planted the mangroves early in the morning. The scorching heat wasn’t damaging at all. Aside from that, the sun’s heat paired with the breeze of air was therapeutic to our body and mind.
We planted our seedlings in the free area. The sands were rocky and our bolo was limited so it took us almost an hour to finish. We had to borrow from each other so we could dig our holes and put the seedlings there.
We had to take pictures for documentary purposes after we finished planting. Then we cleaned ourselves and looked for a place to eat breakfast. We decided to go to a fast food chain, and there we had our meals and coffee.
We had to stop at our school after eating since we had to get the requirements needed for enrollment and transferring to school in the next school year. We took a rest in the canteen since we were weary from walking (we had to walk from the farm to the fast food chain and then to our school campus).
After lounging in the canteen, we decided that we should head home since we didn’t have anything to do anymore. But one of our friends pulled out an idea that we should accompany her to their house. And as a person who craves good travel and adventure with the people I’m comfortable with, I agreed with them immediately.
Later on, after many stops—we arrived at our destination. It took us about 30 minutes to get there. The parents of our friend heartily welcomed us in their abode. They were very welcoming and kindhearted. They cooked for our lunch there— which was, pancit canton, 'adobong pusit', fried fish, and of course rice.
Satisfied with the delish lunch we had, we relaxed by the hammock and even took a nap. The place was just so relaxing since it was surrounded by trees and ocean breeze.
Since my friend’s house was near the port in their place, her parents told us that we should visit there. That port was closed and strictly no trespassing, but they had access to the place so we were free to go.
When we entered the gate, I was amazed by the place. The place was more like a pantaland (but the one where there are only limited people), it was just awe-mazingly peaceful. The port was a massive place (they have a landing site for helicopters) so we had to use two motorcycles and one bicycle as our transport.
When we spotted a free space with trees beside it, we parked our transport there and promenaded our way everywhere. Our friend toured us inside the place from here to there.
We strolled to the port side since we wanted to enjoy the sea. The water was tempting but we did not have any spare clothes, so we just submerged our feet and all. The weather was so hot so we did not stay long under the sun. We stayed by the coconut trees just near the sea. There, we sat and felt the sea breeze hug us with warmth.
We collected these shells and arranged them into a heart. Time really goes fast when you're enjoying, because when we checked our time it was already nearing 5:00 in the afternoon. We headed back to the house of our friend and bid goodbye and thank you to her parents.
This day was exhausting, but would definitely go again if given a chance to do this adventure of a lifetime.