The Taloctoc Experience

I call Taloctoc a paradise because nature abounds and it had provided solace and comfort when I was a child. 

I will never forget the following:

·        The 'dawang' (Chico river) where I and my playmates swam, dived in, almost got killed in. I will always remember its shimmering, crystal clear waters during summer where we caught fish using our bare hands. Its raging, murky water during the rainy season that had drowned a number of people - almost, including me.

 

Image credit: Nats Dalanao

·        The Chico river’s bank where we had picked juicy guavas to fill our stomachs with; Its clean, white sand, where we sunbathed and frolicked; its shiny smooth stones where we slept after stuffing ourselves with all the guavas and wild strawberries that we were able to consume.

·        The majestic mountains we had climbed every time we went back to high school. I remember looking down from the mountain top and imagining I was in heaven viewing earth; smelling the fresh scent of  dew drops on the verdant grass, and watching the clouds drifting by, just  inches from my fingers.

·        The green rice fields I had toiled in when I was not in school; 

     the nifty air coming from new-mown hay; 

     the fresh veggies we had cooked that had been freshly plucked from the vegetable garden. It had provided scrumptious viands for our hungry stomach after our arduous work in the fields.

·         The oil lamp flickering on our wooden table, or bonfires, casting shadows, as we narrated ghost stories that made every one scared but laughing.

·         The big bonfires in the elementary school plaza where festivities were held with taddoks and gangsas.

·        The kaingin season, when every day was hard work. I was usually tasked to fetch water with a bamboo pole from the foot of the mountain to the top, and waking up in the wee hours of dawn to pick freshly grown mushrooms from tree stumps.

Every morning was fresh and invigorating. 

Did I really do all of these things? 

I did, and I’m happy I was able to experience them because they have given me the chance to appreciate nature now that I live in a metropolitan area. 

Thank God, I’m an i-Kalinga!