In 1989 I lived in Olongapo City and I made twice a year trips to the Bicol Region to visit my Filipino friends and to visit Boylan in particular. Every trip would include a visit to San Binon hot springs in Irosin, Sorsogon. We had spent the night at the hot springs and Boylan took us to Puting Sapa (white springs) barrio in Juban town the next day. The purpose of our trip was to get some exercise and to visit the tenant farmers at Boylan's reforestation project site. The tenant farmers were primarily involved in forest reclamation. They would take cogun grasslands and slowly convert these lands into productive forest land again.
We alighted from our jeep at the base of the barrio early in the morning and started the four hour trek to the project site and the home of Tony, one of the tenant farmers. One the way, we stopped at the Barrio Captain's house for a customary visit and information session. The signs of Christmas' arrival were everywhere, small wooden wreathes with cotton and Christmas songs on the AM radios gave the trip a magical feeling. There were only three of us hiking up the mountain that particular day, Lena (my wife), Boylan and myself. After a spot of rum with the Barrio Captain, we bid our farewells and prepared for the four hour hike. We made a stop at the barrio Sari-Sari store to bring some food and gifts for Tony and his children. We did not want to burden them with having to feed us lunch, so we bought some pancit, sardines and chocolate biscuits for Tony's children.
The hike was strenuous and invigorating. As we headed up to the 4000 ft. level, we encountered a wide variety of wildlife and tropical forest ecosystems. At one point, we were able to see the smoldering cone of the Bulusan Volcano in the distance. This volcano is highly active and the source of the "hot springs" we had stayed at the previous evening. About a quarter of a mile from Tony's house, we saw project land that had been converted. The difference between project land and non-project land was amazing! The project land was tiered, cleaned, planted with Epil-Epil trees, black pepper and pineapples. The non-project land was tall cogun grass, blowing in the mountain wind, with no chance for crops to be grown there, unless it also became project land too!
We arrived at Tony's house just in time for lunch. Tony lived in a typical mountain Bahay Kubo. The house was made of wood, bamboo, a dirt floor and a hard clay jug for gathering drinking water from the nearby spring. There was no electrically at this remote mountain site. We enjoyed a nice lunch and chat with Tony and his wife. We were also very excited to give his daughter our gift of chocolate cookies. Here eyes lit up and a wide grin came across her face when I handed her the cookies. We spent about an hour and a half enjoying the simple remote mountain scenery and the company of Tony and his family. Prior to leaving, I was playing with Rowena who was Tony's five year old daughter. She was a very happy little girl and I asked her why she was so happy? She told me in her local dialect, "Christmas was coming and she couldn't wait, because her dad was going to give her some biscuits for Christmas". I smiled and thought how wonderful her life was and how this was a great day.
Shortly afterwards we bid our farewells to the family and headed out for our hike back down the mountain. On the way down, we stopped again at the view point where we could see the volcano and I shared with Lena and Boylan what Rowena had shared with me. It came to all three of us that our lives were very different than these simple mountain people. One thought really stuck in my head, that thought was, "I wonder what Christmas means to others"?
Thanks Boylan for that great memory and that great day!