My Early Morning Walk

Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:56pm

I went for a long walk today. Started out at 5:30 A.M. and arrived back home after an hour. Had I been some place else like Manila, I would not have bothered, but just a few more weeks from now and I am back to my busy life in the city. My hometown is in Bohol and every time I am here, I always feel like a first-timer. My family lives in Dauis, a town next to Bohol’s capital city, Tagbilaran. Dauis is where people grow vegetables in their backyard, where cows graze on grass and where you could buy fresh fish straight from fishermen’s boats.

I walked with someone and I had brought my MP4 with me, because they say, “good music sets the mood for exercise.” But the silence of the fields and different animals making sound amused me, I simply listened, walked, and jogged. There was smell of soil that had been wet with rain and goat manure. I don’t know why but I took pleasure smelling it. We passed by the sight of townspeople doing their daily routines: some, with baskets full of fish on a motorcycle, possibly on their way to the market to sell them; many were on their way to church to catch the earliest mass, while some just sat on bamboo benches, puffing cigarettes.

We passed by rice fields that look like they get just enough heat and rain during this time. If the rest of the Philippines is in intense drought, not so much in my hometown. Thank God, it rains here from time to time.

We passed by a bridge over the sea and decided to stop by the river bank. It was low-tide, the trees that surrounded the sea made it look like a swamp. Having done some stretching while watching fish swim by, we decided to go home.

On the way, a man on motorcycle selling 'pandesal' asked if we wanted to buy some. Imagining its smell and taste with hot coffee, we told the man to ride alongside us till we arrive home to get some money. We had to jog faster so we could catch up with him. It was a good thing, some people on the road wanted to buy from him too.

Upon arriving, I did some cool-down exercise. I rested for awhile, listened to songs and cherished the smell of fresh air and the sight of chickens everywhere. I read my Bible and sat still for awhile. Then I had breakfast of pandesal, butter and coffee. I looked at the clock; it is only 7 A.M. and my day had just begun.