SHELL-SEARCHING. More Fun in Loon, Bohol

“Oh no. It’s low tide.” That is the first thing that came to my mind when Uncle Fred and I have arrived at his relatives’ house here in Loon, Bohol. Uncle Fred too, was a little frustrated about what we saw—the beach was dry and the usual shoreline was now more than a hundred meters away from us.

Originally, the reason why we went here was to do some island hopping. We are about to borrow his relatives’ boat so we could visit this nearby island that Uncle Fred was bragging about. But since the tide is low, I guess we could not run any boat at all on this wide, rough and dry, sandy shore.

Now I could see how Uncle tried to make some twist on this unexpected situation. Well, both of us actually are undecided now. Should we stay or maybe wait ‘til the tide is up again (which is crazy) or we’ll just enjoy this sunset view and go home after an hour?

When uncle saw these kids heading to the beach that looked like on its pre-tsunami stage, he thought something quickly that might also catch my interest.

“Do you want to go with them to pick up some shells?”, he asked.

I paused for a minute to think—What about picking up seashells?

This idea intrigued me so I quickly answered him in a cheerful, certain voice.

“Sure, Uncle! I want to try that too.” Deep inside a little puzzled, I don’t really know what we are exactly going to do there.

Will go shell-picking with the kids

I also met Kuya Julius (Uncle Fred’s nephew). He also tagged along with me to assist and of course, do some sort of a little bit of tour guiding as we navigate the dry shore. Along with the kids, I was so excited on what we might see there. He explained to me that every time the tide is low, people in the barrio usually gather at the shore to pick-up some seashells.

There are quite a few reasons why they pick-up seashell—they gather these for food, sell them in the market, or maybe for any personal reason.

Though Uncle Freddie and I failed to create an epic adventure of island hopping today, I guess this experience was amazing. Though I don’t have any experience of shell-picking before, this activity has given me a chance to see more creatures that I have not seen yet in my entire life!

Sea Urchin

Honestly, we were not serious about this activity; we just want to enjoy the moment together as we explore the ocean bed. For me, it was like scuba diving without literally going down the depth of the sea. Here, I have learned not just the basics of biology but more about the appreciation of God’s wonderful creations.

We stayed here for an hour. I enjoyed this activity with Kuya Julius and the kids, of course. Though the unpredicted low tide was frustrating, I think I must be more thankful for having this to happen.