Kulimlim sa Pola

It has been more than I year when I went to Pola, Oriental Mindoro for an outreach project courtesy of Alay Buhay Community Development Foundation and Atrades, Inc.  It was a gloomy and rainy afternoon when we arrived in Pola and went straight ahead to another barangay, whose name, I already forgot.

We had to cross the mouth of the estuary which is around 6-8 feet deep, and in a very small boat good only for 2 persons.  We were 4 including the boatman.  It was not an exaggeration when the boatman advised us not to make any extra move for the water was barely 2 inches away from the rim.  This was a grueling experience for me because I was still nurturing a fear of sailing after a boat accident in Tuburan near Pagadian City in 2005 (which I, literally, never told my mother about), and in 2007, when I sailed from Corcuera Island to Banton Island in Romblon amidst a stormy weather and 2-3 meter waves.

Save for the calm sea, the receding tide, and our just-in-time arrival at the take-off point, which was just right after a strong rain.  Thank, God, we were able to cross the river in just a little more than 5 minutes.

There was nothing spectacular seascape that day due to a gloomy weather, but just the same, a photographer will always be a photographer.  After the drizzle, the water has receded and there were already some gleaners on the beach, a cloudy and gray sky, a few boats, but these, I thought, will do. Gloomy weather will be great for monochrome.

This was shot in color but converted to black and white.