There is so much about the Philippines that is bursting to come out as I type. Every time I start writing, I am bombarded with the richness of these verdant lands. The swirls of the oceans, the staggering rock formations and mountains teeming with almost rampant greens, course through me as part of this luxuriant nirvana that I’ve found myself in.
Everything is so alive here. It becomes apparent from the moment of waking, beginning with a raucous chorus of cockerels at dawn, to a steady rhythm section brought in by the insects, to syrupy sweet melodies of tropical birdsong, to an array of indistinguishable sounds that I’ve never heard before - and this all happens before 7am. Yet I awake so fresh and fully charged something I’ve been trying to achieve my entire life in England and not yet figured out!
My days have been full of playing with an array of different coloured starfish, alligator lizards (big chunky lizards the size of baby alligators with snake tongues?!) crabs in abundance - red ones, baby blue ones, purple and black ones - striking lime coloured grasshoppers, water snakes, a baby monkey (watching her learn and absorb the world was literally joyous) and swimming alongside a turtle! I wasn’t even snorkelling or looking for it, it just popped up for a breath of air alongside me.
And that was all above sea level.
Inside these magical oceans, I saw a literal treasure trove of the most magnificent corals and psychedelic looking fish that trumped even my technicolour imagination; I felt like I was in a real life rendition of the little mermaid. Shimmering rainbow fish, electric blue shimmer fish, a whole army of those silver ones that move as though they have one mind, clown fish (nemo!!) yellowpurpleblue ones, blazing orange ones - all of them so vivid as though they had just been painted with fresh acrylics. And the ocean itself so exuberant in shades of emerald, turquoise & aquamarine I could feel my eyes drinking in a visual feast.
Staying outside for 3 weeks my biorhythm has naturally adapted to that of the sun. Rising and setting together. I’ve now also seen my first proper moon rise. I genuinely almost fell out of my hammock when I realised that the massive, flame coloured disc that looked like a night sun, rising out of the sea, was the MOON?! I sat open mouthed watching it rise all the way into the sky to resemble what I am more familiar with; that pearly bright orb up high. The locals smiled fondly at my childlike awe. I explained to them in England there is usually some sort of building in the way so that we mostly see the moon once it has risen, missing the spectacular rise itself! I made sure I caught this show daily after that.
Showering outside, sleeping without walls, having the ocean breeze cocooning me into a sweet slumber every night, makes every day feel like a solar powered supercharge. Towels not required because minutes after leaving the ocean, the sun has absorbed every drop. Stars so low in the sky they appear to dip into the ocean horizon. Drives through the mountains, getting from place to place with only sublime scenery, lush virgin forests beckoning to us waving fruitful branches, ripe with life.
With every intake of breath I feel so rich here. I’ve never quite understood the monetary definition of richness; when we are born free, how can we measure wealth in pesos and pounds? And I am reminded when I look into the smiling eyes of every single person that inhabits these magical islands, that they too are full of this same richness. Their eyes reflect the untamed beauty of their surroundings. Their skins soak up every vitamin ray from their ever giving sun. Their hyper-fertile land bears fruit saturated with earthly goodness. And all of this beams out of their faces with the sunniest smiles I have ever been graced with.
They know this is what it really is, to live, on earth.
