. . . since I can understand Tagalog, which is Filipino and more like Spanish or Portugese than the ching-chong of Chinese or Japanese, and they would explain to me what they would do, and it was just too simple, monofilament line, which was wrapped around a ring, like the rim of a wheelbarrow wheel or a little bigger as they would use two hands on the inside of the rim with which to "reel" in the line, but they would find rocks that had a "waist" or an hourglass-like figure with which to just spin or knot the line to, then just a big hook and a whole squid or cuttlefish. They'd just let the whole thing down, do a little jig and wait. To them, weights cost money, swivels cost money, everything costs money and as they have been using and doing the same thing for years and years and generation after generation, they don't see the need for anything else, they lose their tackle and it is not a big loss, what did they lose a rock a hook and some line?
I would go into fishing tackle stores and all they would have is line and nets and hooks, that was it, you either netted fish or used a handline. I so wish I took pics of these guys but at the time I didn't want them to feel uncomfortable with me doing that, but to be able to see their terminal tackle would have been invaluable right about now.
Here is a pic of my Mom, me, and my Mom's two maids/sisters who she pays $40 a month each for them to cook, clean, do laundry and grocery shop for her, they come from the sticks but they are nice girls who to them, the 2000 pesos they get a month is a very good wage for just having a high school diploma.
They are holding Pacific Bonito as opposed to our Atlantic Bonito and to me they looked exactly alike, I have not a clue what kind of fish I was holding, it was like one of those Ceolacanth things that are like millions of years old.
That red/orange colored bottle on the left was the guys water bottle, I think it used to be an old cooking oil bottle that he now used for water, can you imagine?, this was the only heavy-duty bottle that had a good seal and that could withstand a ride in his boat, would any of us even think for a second to use an old cooking oil bottle for water?, probably not because there are so many other better plastic bottles like Gatorade or Cranberry or juice bottles that are heavy duty, but over there, the packaging is crap, just about everything is made so cheaply that one does not believe it until one sees it.
This next photo is my favorite picture of all the pictures I took of the country. It is the two girls/sisters parents home. They lived on a remote farm for which there were no people around for miles. No running water nor plumbing, no electricity, no nothing. Their house was totally made out of what was in the jungle/forest whiich was all bamboo and rataan and was just this kitchen and the bedroom and this was for like 6 people since they were the two oldest sisters out of 6, so a younger sister and 3 younger brothers lived there along with their mother and father. When I walked in I was mildly shocked to see the oven/stove set up. It was nothing more than a table/stand /shelf/tray made out of bamboo, and on top they put sand, then some rocks to put the pots and pans on top of and just shoved sticks/wood to heat and cook the food, that was the stove/oven!
On the left, where the youngest brother is sitting fixing himself a sandwich, you would think that there is a sink there, but no luck, it is just a work area, no running water except for the river which was out back, down a 50 foot cliff. They had candles as it was dark out, and they were surrounded by rice terraces, not steep terraces, but terraces nonetheless, it was getting dark when we got here so I got no pics, but there were chickens all around and goats and all manner of vegetables in various states of bloom. Talk about the simple life, I'm not sure there is anywhere in America where there is no electricity, maybe the Amish in Penn. someplace, but there is civilization nearby, it amazed me, that in 2006, people still live this way. Of course, the two girls sent their parents money to help everyone out and I left their mom 500 pesos/like $10USD because when we got there her mom had made us all sorts of sweet-rice desserts of which the country is known for and is how she earns a living, by making sweets and walking for miles to the market to sell them, no bike, no beast of burden, no taking a ride in a jeepney or a pedicab or tricycle, Old-School truely.
One last thing I thought hilarious about the country, besides just about everything, is the rules of the road, particularly, where you can ride in the back of pickup trucks, which we know is illegal, at least in Massachusetts, but this goes on on a daily basis.
Here we were, just going down the road at around anywhere from 30-60mph and you see this jeepney with guys on the back and just sitting on the roof doing 50mph like it was nothing, there are no rules as to how many people can be in a car, truck, or scooter/motorcycle, or where you can be on it, if you want to ride on the roof, it is all you, if you want to ride in the back of a flatbed dump truck, feel free, it is so cool in this regard. We followed these guys for miles before some got out, this scene goes on all over the country, my favorite was seeing guys with an infant on the gas tank of their motorcycle/sidecar contraption, then another toddler and child then the mother then a pre-teen on the back, like 5-6 people on a 150cc 4-stroke motorcycle, it was common, not a helmet in site and flip flops on everyone, and here we are with mandatory helmet laws.
So for all who liked the stories, thanks, I had the time of my life over there, and I have tons more pictures and stories that I like to share, but I really do type this stuff for my neice and nephew who are 4 and 6 respectfully because I know kids love to read this kind of stuff. I don't want to post more because it becomes non-fishing related from here on out but any questions/comments are welcome. Enjoy!
Hybrid Mode
