Banisil

These shells are called 'banisil', commonly known as su-su. When I was a kid, my father made many explanations to make this sound delectable. He called it sup-sup (sucking sound), because you suck the meat out of the shell. I was never fooled. Best cooked with gata (coconut milk). Although I'll probably never know for sure.

Sea cucumber

These are sea cucumbers, the rubbery gelatinous meat you sometimes find in your chopseuy or mixed vegetables. The squirming worm-like sea creatures that are suspiciously called cucumbers.

Sea shells? Snails?

We eat them here.

Tabako

In markets here, you will see old women selling 'tostos', dried tobacco leaves that they roll with paper or dried banana leaves or just with the tabacco leaves. Beats filter..

Gathering dinner

At a sandbar in the middle of the sea.. I saw these two kids gathering sea urchins and shells and sea cucumbers and snakes for their family dinner. I ate some raw sea urchin too.. it's supposed to be a delicacy. But can't say I liked it... It took too much effort to open and pick at the 'meat' that was too miniscule. Ok, it tasted a bit like sea. And if you're wondering why the sandbar had seaweeds.. that's because the tide was coming back in.

Blog Action Day tomorrow!

This is a view from the area of the sea which is still part of the marine and mangrove sanctuary. Going to the pier, you will see these shacks on stilts, which is a squatter problem for the LGU. Hm.. the view is the problem, not the poverty.

Tomorrow is Blog Action Day, topic is Poverty. You can still participate. All you have to do is register at Blog Action Day, and dedicate your blog's post topic tomorrow to Poverty, which is the theme this year.

To know more about Blog Action Day, click this icon:

Theme Day: Line

This month's theme is lines. Hm.. couldn't think of lines except this bamboo walk built over the top of the mangroves (like walking on top of and among trees). This is a mangrove and marine sanctuary in Palompon (1 1/2 hr from Tacloban), and because you cannot walk on land because there is none (it's just mangrove and the sea below), they built this bamboo bridge for the tourists to walk on. And where does this bridge lead?



Nowhere really. It just goes around the whole 10 hectare mangrove sanctuary. Here's a view from the lighthouse.

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