Birthdays. More fun and fearless in Sibuyan

Using my birthday (Dec. 27) as the hook, I was able to cajole my family to come to this island I had fallen in love with for three days. It was a major operation because, as of yet, the island has no operating airstrip. The game plan was to take the plane to Caticlan (all 26 of us!) and then go by the Sarimanok yacht to the island. My mother was in town so I was very much looking forward to our time together.

What happened is the weather did not cooperate. On Dec. 26, it was windy to the point that the yacht could not make it to Sibuyan. So two helicopters had to ferry us back and forth from Caticlan to Sibuyan. It was an expensive enterprise. We all finally made it to the island by noon. After lunch, the itinerary was to launch the zipline in Cantingas — the country’s cleanest inland body of water. The zipline goes two ways, which, according to the mayor, is the first in the world to be like this. It was a treat to go on the zipline and soar over a raging river.

But what was a real treat was jumping off a really high diving board! It was great to be with my brother Ernie, who is a total athlete. I wasn’t so sure about jumping off the board with the river raging below, because of the rains. But I thought: If Ernie does it, then I will follow. Without a second thought, he jumped. Then his 10-year-old son, Blade (who, like his father, does not have fear in his vocabulary) jumped. I decided to follow. The current was strong, but the river did not sweep me away. I carefully maneuvered back to the banks. Then Ting, my brother-in-law, took the leap; then my nieces. But my sister Berta was the funniest. She took a really long time because looking down the drop is scary. Ernie told her, “Just say ‘I am brave,’” and she would reply, “I am kind and I am good.” It was so funny! Finally I went beside her and said, “Let’s jump together.” What got her going was this: “Just think you have to conquer your fears.” It was on that challenge that we took the leap together. The water was freezing, but it woke me up and gave me a big kick, wiping out all the lethargy.

The birthday celebrant and author Gina Lopez

The next day was my birthday. I was woken up at 5 a.m. to a serenade. I heard voices singing “Oh, those brown eyes…” and something or other,” but in the dark I couldn’t find the light switch. The singing was incessant so I thought I must go down at least and thank them. I saw a group of villagers with an accordion, with the mayor and his wife! This was definitely a first for me. They sat me down, sang a few more songs, said a prayer, and I gave a donation to their church. The mayor said they were rehearsing at 4 a.m.!

That morning we went to town and played a basketball game: Lopez against Rios. My two sons love basketball and are quite good. My 5’8” niece Alisa who is a graduating senior in Portland also joined. My brother-in-law Ting, who, during his high school days was in the Ateneo Basketball team, also joined. Gabby’s two kids and the security details joined in to make the Lopez team. On the Rios team were the three sons of Mayor Rios. When my team saw them they immediately murmured, “Oh, dear, they are really tall and husky!” They had two other players who were equally big and I also thought, “Oh, dear...”

I had brought my microphone that I use in the estero and I gave “play-by-play” of the game. I had so much fun doing this. Ernie commented this was the first time he had seen a person with limited knowledge of basketball annotating. I would just cheer when baskets were sunk, and make sounds when it went the other way — to the laughter of everyone. Clearly, I was a very biased annotator.

The author’s mother, Conchita Taylor, and brothers Ernie and Gabby Lopez, with Karen

“We won! We actually won!” I kept shouting to the Rios kids. “Are you sure you tried your best?” Ting told me they didn’t guard us well — especially with Alisa and Andres (Gabby’s 10-year-old). But, hey, we played a good game. The kids sank quite a few shots. Gabby’s security detail and mine were on the team, and they are quite adept — so who knows, maybe we deserved the win. Whatever, it was a lot of fun!

In the afternoon we went to Dagubdob Falls. I love these falls! It is four layers of waterfalls and you can jump off the rocks into each of them. Unfortunately it was raining. Darn! The event was really special because when we arrived at the visitor’s center, the door opened and I was greeted with a song. They had streamers greeting me a “happy birthday.” There was even a picture of me in a heart. My goodness…

We bought all the T shirts in the center, just to help out the community. Unfortunately my family didn’t get a good feel of the place because of the rain. But the next day more than made up for it.

In the evening, the governor came, and the people sang and danced. I was even given a crown of flowers. I have never had a birthday like this. So much love! I was beginning to feel squeamish about being in the spotlight all the time. They even had three cakes.

The singing! Oh, how Filipinos can sing — and really well! Even the Mayor sang exceptionally well. He danced with his wife Ruby who is a total sweetheart.

Gabby on the zipline: Notice the river below!

It was a godsend that the next day the weather was really good. My family agreed to go to Dagubdub Falls again. This time they really enjoyed it. The weather was superb. We walked along the newly-made forest trails with Mayor Rios explaining the biodiversity along the way. Dan Intong, my tourism officer for the area, did a superb job with the islanders in making the forest trails. Nature is “rough,” so for people to enjoy it, minimal invasive infrastructure has to be created so that people can step among the rocks, go through the bushes, etc., without disturbing nature. It’s still far from over but the developments showed the dream for the future coming true.

Because the sea was much calmer the yacht was finally able to make it to the island. So the group went out diving with the governor’s daughter Trina taking care of us. Governor Firmalo sponsored our dive. I look forward to working together with the governor since he has taken a very firm stand against mining in Romblon. I can’t work with anyone unless there is a firm commitment to keep and nurture the beauty that abounds. Romblon consists of 20 islands and is located at the heart of the country. From the chopper I saw islands with white sand beaches, quite near Boracay. Since Boracay is so overcrowded, the possibilities of Romblon are exciting.

In the evening the Mayor showed us a tree that had hundreds of birds that nest in it.

Ernie takes a plunge at Dagubdob

Summer is probably a better time to go to Sibuyan since the weather is unpredictable. The lingering impression is one of warm hospitality embracing us all. A week in Manila and Gabby is already ordering the bagoong and red rice from Sibuyan that Mayor Dindo of San Fernando grows. From San Fernando we headed to Magdiwang where the prime mover was Dr. Tansiongco. I truly feel that keeping the beauty that God has given us is the way to go for the Philippines. I am hoping to finish the airstrip by the first quarter of this year. Reggie Yuson of Space Specific is doing an accounting of the flora and fauna in San Fernando to make sure whatever we do there is a reverence for nature. Filipinos in the US contributed towards rehabilitating the airstrip. When that’s done I would like to invite all of you to experience what the Philippines is all about.

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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.

Conchita and Dick Taylor with Rodney Galicha on a forest trail