Reconnecting Roots: A Heartwarming Journey with Long Lost Family in Bantayan Island

My father has long been a resident of Santa Fe. He was originally from Ilo-ilo but due to his line of work, he got to hop from one place to another. My father was a seafarer. My parents met each other on a ship where my mother was a passenger and my dad was working there. Long story short its been more than two decades and they had us. My father had lost contact with his family for forty years mainly since phones weren't a thing in the past and letters and addresses aren't permanent. They drifted apart. The brothers of my father lived separate lives from each other. They each are very unique, they differ in professions and locations. I once taught that my dad didn't have a family. When at family gatherings on my mothers side, my dad would join happily. I never did understand before why my father drank soo much. But I guess life can mess people up soo much.

---

---

My new found uncles namely Tito Jun (wearing brown sunglasses) and Tito Jesse wearing eye glasses. Lived in Negros and Thailand respectively. Thankfully Tito Jesse had business to attend to in the Philippines so he was able to come and they together with my dad set up a date where they would meet once again. It was the 28th of November. My father picked up my uncles from the Bantayan Port. They embraced each other and shared stories of their lives,their children and what they've done. My father took my uncles to sight see the island he has called his home. And made a plan to make Tito Jun's children meet us.

---

The lady in white is my cousin Marida she is 27 years of age, the one in green is my cousin Ella she is 25, and lastly the one in gingham stripes is my cousin Michelle. Ate Marida works in Thailand and came home for the holidays. They are much older than me and my sister Donna but we all got along well. At first it was awkward but we got to familiarize ourselves with each other. My family decided to take my cousins on a tour around our island the next day.

---

A way for us to reconnect with our long lost family was made through a series of adventures and fun times we created. We first took our cousins to Bantayan Island Nature Park. There was a pool, a beach nearby and an underground cave pool that was the highlight of the place. The pool at the nature park was split into 2 there was a side reserved only for kids which was only 3 feet deep, and one for adults which was 6 feet deep. Since I was a bit short, I preferred to wade in the kiddie pool. Ironic since i'm an island girly. We spent hours there just swapping stories about our lives and sharing our interests. I got to know my cousins personally and it was soo much fun when they decided to try the slide. There was also a beach nearby but we just decided to take pictures cause the tides weren't clear and the waves were a little rough. The scenic view made up for it. It was a beautiful place to relax in with benches to place a picnic basket in and tall trees to shield from the sun. The whole place was a literal park, it was filled with nature and the fresh air was a nice change of pace from the city air. They also had a fish spa. Tilapia fishes would nibble away at callouses on our feet. It took a bit of time for us to get used to since it was ticklish the way they nibbled at us. And lastly the underwater cave. The cave was called Santo Niño Cave since there was a shrine of Senior Santo Niño inside. The cave was huge and almost no light from the outside could enter. There was a large lamp inside that was bright enough to light up the place so we could see inside. The rock formations were soo cool and the way it was all shaped was natural. The water was still and cool and refreshing to the body. The water depth was almost 5 ft but there was a dingy nearby so no one would drown. After that we took time off and decided to head home since it was getting dark. And the next day would also be filled with adventure.

---

---

The next day we toured our cousins to one of our island's most famous Omagieca Mangrove Park, it's a long stretch of piled up bamboo pathways. The pathway consists of twists and turns around tall and submerged mangroves. There are also fishes and crabs below that are visible in the water. The breeze around the mangrove park is also refreshing and cool so despite it being a sunny day, it was not hot at all.

---

We had a lot of fun catching up with each other and sharing stories while we walked along the bamboo pathways. We took a lot of pictures but I still believe that we made new connections with our long lost relatives that day.

---

The two day exploration with our cousins ended soo fast. I sometimes wished they stayed a while longer but they can't since they do have jobs in their hometowns. The two day adventure we had with them culminated with my mothers 50th birthday and I will continue that story on another blog soon. A lot of things have happened in the past of our little family. I think this reunion meant a lot for my father. Since it had been years since he last saw his family back home in Ilo-ilo. It was a first for me and my sisters also. Seeing a glimpse of people that has a blood connection to us and seeing what they are like is an amazing experience and one that I will definitely treasure forever.