move a little west and north on the map and you will see our relation to Vietnam and Taiwan). Our island- name is Panay, just above and right of center. Sulu Sea is notable for being very calm, nearly always; This is apparently because it is surrounded by land masses which shield it from the action of the larger seas beyond its basin. Well, that's enough of "Sulu" for a while.
Salt relates to "Sulu" because of course it is a saltwater ocean. Salt also happens to be a "cottage industry" here, as several families nearby create evaporation systems each year to take salt from the seawater. In our household, we cook almost entirely with pure, natural sea-salt which is produced within easy walking distance of us. I have not interviewed any of the salt makers, but over a period of time I made photos of their process which generally show how it's done.
Making salt requires a lot of concentration. A large area of
beach is cleared of rocks to a depth of several inches - in this
case the space appears to be about 30- x 30- feet. Considering
the rocky nature of our beach, this is a lot of hard work. Sand
is gathered from the tide-zone of the beach, which is mostly
swept clear of rocks by the ocean's action. This sand is carried
up to the site 50 or 60 feet away, and carefully sifted through
hardware-screening so that is is uniformly smooth and fine,
then spread out over the area.
For a period of several days sea water is carried up to the site
and distributed over the sand from a "sprinkler jug." The water
evaporates in the heat from the sun, and more water is added
until several cycles of sprinkling and evaporation have been
completed. (The jug was apparently one of the containers which
have vinegar,soy sauce, and such liquids, which are measured
into smaller portions and re-vended. These re-used jugs are
everywhere, here; we have cut them in half and added re-bar
"handles" to make cement buckets out of them. See August,
2013 "A bunch of Stuff" via the archive navigation at right.)
The top layer of sand will have accumulated salt as the water
evaporated. This layer of sand is collected and carried to
a large basket (4- feet?), which has been elevated on a
bamboo platform a couple feet above the ground. Salty
sand is deposited in the basket, and water is poured through
it for several cycles. This water is carefully collected in a
plastic bucket as it drains through the sand and the basket
material. The resulting water probably has several
times more concentration of salt than plain seawater.
created by lining the nearby ground with plastic sheeting. As
it evaporates, it leaves behind it a residue of pure salt crystals,
which above may be seen gathered in the corner of the pan,
to later be collected and packaged. Bernadette recently
bought 5 "gantas" (scoops) of salt, and was given one extra.
This figures to about 17 quarts volume, and the price was
about $3.50 USD, which is the "low end" of a day-wage here.
Sulu Sea provides a constant backdrop for our activity here, as we are seldom more than 100 yards away from it; Our house is just about that distance from the water; it is less than a 2- minute walk. The main highway here follows the coastline, so on our travels we pass for many km. along shoreline vistas which remind me a lot of Pacific Coast Highway in California, except that the sea here is usually much more "pacific" than the Pacific Ocean. The wave-activity is often only 4- to 8- inches in height, and it is not uncommon for the water to lap up to the shoreline without actually "breaking" into a curl.
This is the view looking southwest from the beach, if you walk
from our house to the end of a path which passes between
the mostly-bamboo houses on the west side of the National
Highway. Our neighborhood ("barangay") of Malabor has
about a mile of ocean frontage; the shape of the shore is
a gentle curve, with the hills in-between Malabor and the next
municipality to the south, which is Barbaza. I walk along
this stretch of beach nearly every day. (I invent nicknames
and other devices to help me remember names; "Barbaza" reminds
me of "Barbasol" shave-cream - - so I remember - - -)
and other devices to help me remember names; "Barbaza" reminds
me of "Barbasol" shave-cream - - so I remember - - -)
Sometimes I have company while I'm walking; this time, I think
Bernadette is who took the photo. It shows the almost pond-
like calmness of the ocean. I often stop and pick up rocks that
have different colors, or patterns which are interesting. The
beach at a glance looks mostly gray, but it surprises me how
much variety of colors seem to catch my eye when walking.
Contrasting the usual appearance of Sulu, this photo is from
a period of heavy storms last October. The wave appears to be
about 5 or 6 feet tall. Oddly, there never seem to be any long-
travelling breakers here - the ocean may be quite rolling and rough-
looking, but the curls don't form until about 20 yards from shore.
This is about as rough as I ever see it, and it happens pretty rarely.
Sometimes when I walk, there seems to be nobody out on the
beach - but it's a pretty unusual day when I see no sign of activity.
This sand sculpture seemed pretty recently abandoned one late
afternoon; often there are a large number of all ages of people,
socializing and tending to various tasks.
Lots of the fishing boats now have lights extending over the
sides to attract fish during darkness. These are all 12-volt
florescent lamps, readily available here. The lights are powered
by heavy- duty vehicle batteries, and there is a small industry of
providing battery charging service to the fishermen. Nearly every
day in late afternoon there will be a number of people out installing
batteries, tinkering with boat motors, mending nets and doing other
chores associated with fishing. Some boats go out at dusk,and
some wait until after midnight; if there is a successful night, early
morning will come with people vending fish in the neighborhoods,
loudly shouting their wares as they pass by.
Any time there is a surplus of fish, people will be spreading it
on mats, tarps and roofing-tin, to dry in the sun. Almost any
sunny day will be long and hot enough to thoroughly dry a batch
of fish; early in the year, the entire beach would seem to be
covered with fish drying - - a necessary provision for other times
of the year, when harvest is 2 or 3 months away and the fishing
is poor. The dried fish are suspended in sacks from rafters
inside houses, where cats and other creatures can't reach.
Walking 300 or 400 yards south along the ocean shore, I
encounter the mouth of the Sabai river; it is rainy season,
known because this exit into the ocean is a "dry wash" for
about 8 months of the year. With the sea on my right, the
National Highway is about 40 or 50 yards to my left, around
the river's left curve from the person walking. This "S" bend
of the Sabay's mouth is very distinct on the GoogleEarth
satellite photo's of this area; in fact it served as a landmark
for me when I was poking around trying to see if our house-
roof is visible. The Sabay and other features of the area stand
out quite well if you use the link below, and do a little
"panning and zooming."
When a fishing boat comes in, almost everybody nearby grabs
hold and helps to skid it ashore, over the hump of the tide-line.
Seems like this afternoon is one of several when the day-
fishing has been good; so lots of people are gathered waiting
for boats to come in so they can help drag them ashore and
sort out the catch.
I never know what I might see when walking on the beach; the
cow and calf being walked along the shoreline was an eye-
opener, but logically explained; a good swim and soak in
salty ocean water persuades all the undesirable insects
to leave mama- and- calf alone.
I see lots of sunsets in my late-afternoon walks, and every
single one is different from the others. If you're ever in our
area, be sure to drop by and I'll show you the latest sunset.
Bernadette is who took the photo. It shows the almost pond-
like calmness of the ocean. I often stop and pick up rocks that
have different colors, or patterns which are interesting. The
beach at a glance looks mostly gray, but it surprises me how
much variety of colors seem to catch my eye when walking.
a period of heavy storms last October. The wave appears to be
about 5 or 6 feet tall. Oddly, there never seem to be any long-
travelling breakers here - the ocean may be quite rolling and rough-
looking, but the curls don't form until about 20 yards from shore.
This is about as rough as I ever see it, and it happens pretty rarely.
beach - but it's a pretty unusual day when I see no sign of activity.
This sand sculpture seemed pretty recently abandoned one late
afternoon; often there are a large number of all ages of people,
socializing and tending to various tasks.
sides to attract fish during darkness. These are all 12-volt
florescent lamps, readily available here. The lights are powered
by heavy- duty vehicle batteries, and there is a small industry of
providing battery charging service to the fishermen. Nearly every
day in late afternoon there will be a number of people out installing
batteries, tinkering with boat motors, mending nets and doing other
chores associated with fishing. Some boats go out at dusk,and
some wait until after midnight; if there is a successful night, early
morning will come with people vending fish in the neighborhoods,
loudly shouting their wares as they pass by.
Any time there is a surplus of fish, people will be spreading it
on mats, tarps and roofing-tin, to dry in the sun. Almost any
sunny day will be long and hot enough to thoroughly dry a batch
of fish; early in the year, the entire beach would seem to be
covered with fish drying - - a necessary provision for other times
of the year, when harvest is 2 or 3 months away and the fishing
is poor. The dried fish are suspended in sacks from rafters
inside houses, where cats and other creatures can't reach.
encounter the mouth of the Sabai river; it is rainy season,
known because this exit into the ocean is a "dry wash" for
about 8 months of the year. With the sea on my right, the
National Highway is about 40 or 50 yards to my left, around
the river's left curve from the person walking. This "S" bend
of the Sabay's mouth is very distinct on the GoogleEarth
satellite photo's of this area; in fact it served as a landmark
for me when I was poking around trying to see if our house-
roof is visible. The Sabay and other features of the area stand
out quite well if you use the link below, and do a little
"panning and zooming."
You can see our house, from there! Here is a link to the Google Maps satellite photo of our area. ( Malabor neighborhood ) Until recently, the file photo was before the "older" house on our lot was built; the current photo shows our older house- roof, but not the current one-year-old house; also lacks three other houses on the street which are more recent than 3 years. In the photo, note the Elementary school, a large narrow building upper-right. The "V" sidewalk in front of the school points out its gate and onto our street. The third roof along the street ("above" the street in the photo) is our place. The opposite side of the street in this photo has only one house; now, it is completely filled in. Panning south a little distance from the elementary school brings you to the next large building plainly visible, the rice cooperative's warehouse, which is on the edge of the Sabay river. Slightly west of that is the "S" curved channel where the river enters the ocean.
Meter people enjoy kicking around in the fresh water where
the Sabai enters the sea. (Meter people? yeah, I call them
that because they're about one-meter tall. Smaller ones are
half-meter people.)
hold and helps to skid it ashore, over the hump of the tide-line.
fishing has been good; so lots of people are gathered waiting
for boats to come in so they can help drag them ashore and
sort out the catch.
cow and calf being walked along the shoreline was an eye-
opener, but logically explained; a good swim and soak in
salty ocean water persuades all the undesirable insects
to leave mama- and- calf alone.
I see lots of sunsets in my late-afternoon walks, and every
single one is different from the others. If you're ever in our
area, be sure to drop by and I'll show you the latest sunset.
Meanwhile we hope you are enjoying your part of the world as much as we enjoy ours. We seem to stay covered-up with things to do here, and we have hardly begun to try to do the "homestead" style gardening and other food producing which we hope eventually to accomplish. (We would like to "feed ourselves" as much as possible, with fresh and home-produced foods, to eventually include home-made breads, cheeses, meat products, and of course all the usual "garden" vegetables and products. This will be quite a while happening, as the learning curve for this place seems pretty steep.)
For now, we'll get this issue "salted away. . ."
Have a blessed day!
Tim and Bernadette Larson, Philippines
