When we were kids, my parents would usually bundle all five of us off to our grandparents' place in both Ozamis (maternal) and Oroquieta City (paternal) - and I always look forward to those summer vacations since it meant going to the beach everyday or playing in my lolo's big house, or eating all these fruits which were readily available since lolo had so many fruit trees in his garden. We also got to play with our cousins who were based there and were almost about our age too.
The picture above shows the breakwater which protected the shore of Oroquieta. We always walked there everyday and I would always be amazed by the sheer strength of the waves that would hit it.
I love the daily swimming at the beach. I learned to float and swim because of it. We used banana trunks to help us improve our kicks and stay afloat! My auntie Myrna would bring along bananas as food and I remember eating it with ginamos (galunggong) and it was very tasty! In those days, swimming in the beach was free! No entrance fees or cottage fees. All you needed was to bring your towel and you were set! Those were such simple days.
On days when the tide was low, we would go out to the sea and search for marine life which was pretty interesting. Tuyom (sea urchins) and starfishes were ordinary fare, plus all those barnacles clinging to the wooden posts of the pier. It was really educational on one end, and pretty exciting, since we lived in the mountains and seeing all these fascinating creatures come to life and not only in books was a bonus.
I remember going there when I was Grade 3 and every year henceforth till I was in first year high school. It stopped after that since my maternal grandparents went to the US as citizens, while both my paternal grandparents died within 6 years of each other. However, they left me with such beautiful memories of my childhood summers, something Vic and I want Laura and Dylan to have when they are also growing up.
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