SEAFREAKS CHRONICLES by Arnaldo Mirasol

  (Photo courtesy of Kristian Schmidt) Essay 9. CRAB MENTALITY By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol In November 2012, Shawn Heinrichs, Kristian Schmidt, Richard Branson, and models Hannah Fraser and Roberta Mancino went to Oslob, Cebu to shoot these series of pictures that combine fashion and marine wildlife photography. This project was supported by Wildaid, an NGO focused on reducing demand for endangered species.  Shawn Heinrichs is an Emmy award winning cinematographer, photographer, and marine conservationist. An independent filmmaker, he is the founder of Blue Sphere Media. Kristian Schmidt, on the other hand, is known for his expertise in creative fashion photography. Heinrichs came up with this idea of doing a fashion shoot underwater when he learned of the nascent whale shark tourism activity in Oslob. Recognizing that people only protect what they cared about, Heinrichs hope that by bringing this activity to global attention more tourists will be induced to come over and spend...

(Photo courtesy of Sergei Tokmakov)  Essay 8. To Feed or Not to Feed By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol The visit by some Miss Universe contestants in Oslob, Cebu, and Miss Philippines-Universe Maxine Medina's swim with the whale sharks sparked what some saw as outrage. That's because a male netizen posted this plea on facebook : "Miss Universe, please don't be a bitch to the environment."  Whoever wrote that remark should be ashamed of himself. He betrayed by saying it his latent sexist and misogynist mindset because of his use of the word "bitch".  The visit brings to the fore once again the question of whether to condemn or condone the feeding of whale sharks. Feeding is always a benevolent act if the one giving food doesn't intend to slaughter later on the animal being fed. I wrote that line in an earlier blog (titled "Yes to Whale Shark Feeding") to defend the fishermen of Oslob who feed the whale sharks that frequent their area. I decried in ...

Essay 7. YES TO WHALE SHARK FEEDING By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol Men have been feeding animals for centuries. Cattle, pigs, goats, chickens, fishes, and now, even crocodiles and ostriches, are fattened for slaughter. I don't condemn that practice, at this point, because I still eat meat. But many animal welfare advocates and vegetarians do condemn it. They see it as cruelty to animals.  Animals in circuses, zoos, and oceanariums are also fed. Animal welfare advocates also condemn it---not the feeding---but the confinement for life in cramped cages, pens, and glass tanks of these animals. To them, that is also cruelty to animals. I agree. As a boy, I remember being fascinated by the animals I saw at the zoo and yet at the same time felt sorry for them. I knew even then that the zoos are actually prisons where the animals will spend the rest of their sad lives. A clear memory of those days at the zoo was the pathetic sight of a small bear pacing endlessly from one end of his cramped ca...

Essay 6. STORM AND STRESS AT ISLA BALAKI By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol The exuberance of the young amazes me. Despite the lightning that stitched the night sky during the thunderstorm, they still found reasons to whoop up and do a joyful rain dance, while we four oldies (me, Jun Diaz, Bert Falsis, and Isko dela Cruz) just huddled under our so-called tent brooding.  The day started pleasantly enough. Although the sun shone hotly, the camping site we chose under a talisay tree was well-shaded and cool. A few hours after lunch the kids went snorkeling. We followed them an hour after. But near dusk, I had a foreboding of the rough time ahead of us when I saw above a gigantic mass of black rain clouds that seemed about to envelop us. And sure enough, when darkness fell, the rains fell too, punctuated now and then by thunder and lightning. This got me worried especially when the two girls with us started to complain of the cold.  Now, I have always been aware of how dangerous hypotherm...

  Essay 5. SANTUARIO DE TAKLOBO By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol Boston Gallery's Andy Estella must have read the essay I wrote about my group's sea outing to Capones Island. I have expressed there my extreme enthusiasm for the sea around the island and the marine creatures inhabiting it. Sensing our passion for snorkeling, Andy did us a favor and mentioned to me a superior snorkeling site in Masinloc Bay, Zambales. Andy said that the place is rich not only in corals and reef fishes, but also in giant clams, or taklobo---it being a giant clam sanctuary. When I relayed this information to my compadre and former UE Fine Arts classmate, Bert Falsis, he immediately scheduled a trip to Masinloc. It was May 2010. Bert took only three with him, since it was just a reconnaissance trip: his son John, John's former classmate, and myself.  The boats that took passengers to and from San Salvador Island, which the locals called Pulo, are moored at the dock just beside the market. Bert rented ...

Essay 4. TO THE SEA, OF COURSE By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol We won't forget the summer of 2010. By we,  I mean us, close friends and compadres, who were classmates at the University of the East School of Music and Fine Arts in the 1980s. It was on February of that year that we again saw Pareng Arnel Dolatre who left for the US quietly nineteen years before. The whole time he was there, we never got word from him on how he was doing. It was only around 2008 that we learned that he is already a nurse in New York. That was the year I learned how to use the computer and created my Facebook account. When I discovered his email address, I excitedly sent him a message. He responded. After exchanging a flurry of emails, Pareng Arnel finally made up his mind to come home and meet us once more. Pareng Arnel loves snorkeling. We all do. He was my snorkeling buddy when we went to Mompong and Maniwaya Islands in Marinduque in the summer of 1991, during their Holy Week break from animation work, a...

  Essay 3. CEBU CITY AT NIGHT, MANILA AT SUNRISE By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol My failure to take pictures of the city myself when our ship approached the Port of Cebu around 10 pm of March 22 was very disappointing. My cellphone needed to be recharged by then, but all the charging stations on the ship were full with passengers charging theirs.  There are several photos of Cebu City on the internet, both during daytime and at night. Although they are perfect in every way, still, the awesomeness of the sight of the Cebu City coastline at night as seen by my eyes  wasn't quite captured. Missing in those night time photos are the hills of the city aglow with the lights from the numerous towers and condominium buildings that dot those hills.  I, a native Manileño, was amazed. I never knew that Cebu City is now that modern and prosperous. It is Manila, Makati, and Baguio all rolled into one. But more amazed, I'm sure was my cycling buddy, Isko Dela Cruz, a 'genuine batang Ha...

  Essay 2. FIRST  SCUBA DIVE By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol My first and only scuba dive was at Anilao. I thank my UST High School classmate Vince Tabirara for making that possible. Vince invited me to join him for what he called a neophyte diving expedition at Anilao. With us were Norman Legaspi and Dr. Froilan Ocampo, who are both certified scuba divers. That was way back in February 17, 2011, right after our high school batch's reunion at Indang, Cavite. I accepted his invitation with alacrity not only because I'm a certified sea freak, but also because he further sweetened his invitation with an '"all expenses paid" offer. An impecunious artist like me would be a fool to turn down an invitation like that. Vince chose me to be his dive buddy because he knew that I'm an avid snorkeler, and he implied that he needed my supposed confidence in deep waters to prop up his own confidence and courage. But he was wrong there. I was not that fearless. He was quite taken ...

Essay 1. THE FAMILY THAT SWIMS TOGETHER By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol I am a Tondo Boy through and through. It is my father, Edmundo, who is a full-blooded Cebuano. My mother Regina, who grew up in La Loma, is Tagalog. During the mid 1960s, when my father was just into a few years of working overseas as a seaman, he suggested to my mother that we relocate to Oslob, Cebu. My mother apparently vetoed the idea; and we siblings went along with her, not only because we were only minors then, but also because we already led a comfortable life in Tondo. I was only a year old when my parents took me and my older sister to Oslob for a visit. It was only in 1981, when I was already 24, that I returned there. What I saw impressed me for I have always loved the sea. There is no sea near Metro Manila that would equal the pristine quality of the sea of Oslob  Beginning 1987, I and my wife Carina, and our two kids, Bahgee and Kai, went to Oslob whenever my father was home from his trips abroad and b...