You're all awesome for joining me every step of my journey revisiting the untouched beauty of the farthest province in the south, Tawi-Tawi. It has been literally a rollercoaster ride for Day 1 alone. So far, we've covered three amazing islands, namely: Panampangan Island, Simunul Island, and Sangay Siapo. Revisiting these islands brought me back to the same moment I was in Tawi-tawi, recklessly trusting whoever I encountered in my solo backpacking journey.
Today, I want to slow things down a bit. I ended my first day in Tawi-tawi feeling more than blessed and joyful about the places I've explored, and the little things I learned about my country and its culture. You see when you live in an archipelago with islands spread all over various bodies of water, travel leaves you speechless of how different a lot of things are such as language and traditions but how the same is in its core, the hospitality, the happy and positive perspective in life remains blossoming wherever I go.
I arrived at Ate Sheila's homestay, washed up, ate dinner with everyone else, and had a relaxation time. Since it was already a weekday, most of the tourists who mostly came in groups, left the same day I arrived; therefore their house was uncrowded. Ate Sheila assigned me to a room facing the sea. There was no AC since it's a budget accommodation. Since I got the entire hut to myself, I moved the sleeping mat/foam to the open/common area facing the sea and decided I'd sleep there. I thought it would be amazing to sleep under the dark skies with stars glimmering from afar and wake up with the sun striking my face waking me up like my mother's subtle yet monstrous call in the morning. It was my first time experiencing a 7 PM that looks like 5 PM in Cebu and the rest of the places I visited in the Philippines. This could be attributed to the fact that Tawi-Tawi is on the far left portion of the Philippines. Darkness comes really late in this part of the Philippines.
There I just rested, watching the sea slowly retract its steps back to where it belongs, and listening to the night's howling sounds from all kinds of insects, birds, and who knows, even beasts? At least, I'm still alive. I am glad I remember that very moment even now because I really need to be reminded that life can be peaceful when we choose which battles are worth fighting.