I think it would be safe to assume that Jolo in the province of Sulu isn’t one of the places one would include in a tour of the Philippine Islands. Distance aside, there’s that little gang of thugs called the Abu Sayyaf playing hide and seek with government forces up in the mountains. The perils keep this little known corner of the country, isolated, misunderstood and certainly mysterious for most Filipinos.
But these factors are precisely why I get sent to this province time and time again. My job as a journalist requires it. The dangers on the island of Jolo, or in any point in the 18 island municipalities, are real. There’s no glossing over the fact that terrorists, both foreign and domestic ply the little known coastlines and countless islands.
Yet beyond the obvious threats lie a land with so much promise and beauty. No I don’t say that in the way tourism officials trumpet vacation spots to foreign investors. The beauty of Jolo lies in its untamed nature and isolation, virtues that would have been lost long ago to the merchants of commercialism and greed had the natives given up the fight against their perceived oppressors.
In the lull between encounters, journalists sometimes make the journey to a Philippine Marine battalion camp called Buhanginan in Patikul, some 15 kilometers outside Jolo, the Provincial Capital. Unfortunately, this area along the southern coast of Jolo Island is also the favorite beachhead of the ASG coming from Basilan or mainland Mindanao. But what the heck,
all the places here are dangerous in the first place so it doesn’t really matter. Besides, knowing an entire marine battalion is just a stone throw’s away make swimming here a more relaxing experience. Having built by soldiers primarily from Manila, the camp’s guest huts are named after the major five star hotels in the Metro Manila. A bit of sarcasm, helplessness and definitely longing helped shape the character of the camp throughout the long years of fighting and the steady stream of soldiers who completed their tour of duties in the strife-torn island.
I bought a three pronged spearhead from the market in Jolo that I fashioned into a harpoon of sorts. After an hour in the sun and surf, I managed to bring back two small fish I had speared. It was a good thing the
battalion Commander had his cook whip up lunch for us otherwise, we would have had to make do with the midgets I caught.
Around three in the afternoon, we had to head back to Jolo. A quick stop at the market gave us enough time to gather the unbelievably cheap spread of fresh seafood. For five hundred pesos, we bought a 3 kilo triggerfish called pugot, two huge squid, a kilo of crablike creatures called curacha and a basin-full of clams called imbao. The guys wanted to try sea turtle eggs and even though eating these things are banned....well we bought one apiece just to see how they taste.
We headed back to our hotel for dinner and started roasting the fish just outside our hotel rooms. The clams I grilled and topped off with butter, onions and fried garlic. The curachas were deep fried and the squid roasted over coals.
The meat of the pugot is akin to tanigue or mackerel although a bit on the bland side. It really tastes best grilled and the tough skin and scales blackened to thoroughly cook the meat inside. One fish can feed around 6 people. The curachas as the pictures show, are red even before you cook them. They exude a nice, sea-like odor when fresh which turn intoxicatingly rich and pungent once cooked. There’s not much meat in the little varmints but they are LOADED with crab fat. The big carapace is full of the orangey, cholesterol laced, heart-attack material crab fat that is sooo tasty. The turtle eggs were delicious t not really extraordinary. It doesn't make sense to dig out these eggs and endanger the sea turtle population. Chicken eggs taste better. The strange thing about the turtle eggs were that no matter how long you cook them they never seem to firm up so that you end up half slurping, half chewing the yolk and white.
Thinking back I still feel dizzy after dispatching two curachas at one sitting. More on Jolo the next time around. I think ‘ll sit down for a while…
But these factors are precisely why I get sent to this province time and time again. My job as a journalist requires it. The dangers on the island of Jolo, or in any point in the 18 island municipalities, are real. There’s no glossing over the fact that terrorists, both foreign and domestic ply the little known coastlines and countless islands.
Yet beyond the obvious threats lie a land with so much promise and beauty. No I don’t say that in the way tourism officials trumpet vacation spots to foreign investors. The beauty of Jolo lies in its untamed nature and isolation, virtues that would have been lost long ago to the merchants of commercialism and greed had the natives given up the fight against their perceived oppressors.
In the lull between encounters, journalists sometimes make the journey to a Philippine Marine battalion camp called Buhanginan in Patikul, some 15 kilometers outside Jolo, the Provincial Capital. Unfortunately, this area along the southern coast of Jolo Island is also the favorite beachhead of the ASG coming from Basilan or mainland Mindanao. But what the heck,
all the places here are dangerous in the first place so it doesn’t really matter. Besides, knowing an entire marine battalion is just a stone throw’s away make swimming here a more relaxing experience. Having built by soldiers primarily from Manila, the camp’s guest huts are named after the major five star hotels in the Metro Manila. A bit of sarcasm, helplessness and definitely longing helped shape the character of the camp throughout the long years of fighting and the steady stream of soldiers who completed their tour of duties in the strife-torn island.I bought a three pronged spearhead from the market in Jolo that I fashioned into a harpoon of sorts. After an hour in the sun and surf, I managed to bring back two small fish I had speared. It was a good thing the
battalion Commander had his cook whip up lunch for us otherwise, we would have had to make do with the midgets I caught.Around three in the afternoon, we had to head back to Jolo. A quick stop at the market gave us enough time to gather the unbelievably cheap spread of fresh seafood. For five hundred pesos, we bought a 3 kilo triggerfish called pugot, two huge squid, a kilo of crablike creatures called curacha and a basin-full of clams called imbao. The guys wanted to try sea turtle eggs and even though eating these things are banned....well we bought one apiece just to see how they taste.
We headed back to our hotel for dinner and started roasting the fish just outside our hotel rooms. The clams I grilled and topped off with butter, onions and fried garlic. The curachas were deep fried and the squid roasted over coals.
The meat of the pugot is akin to tanigue or mackerel although a bit on the bland side. It really tastes best grilled and the tough skin and scales blackened to thoroughly cook the meat inside. One fish can feed around 6 people. The curachas as the pictures show, are red even before you cook them. They exude a nice, sea-like odor when fresh which turn intoxicatingly rich and pungent once cooked. There’s not much meat in the little varmints but they are LOADED with crab fat. The big carapace is full of the orangey, cholesterol laced, heart-attack material crab fat that is sooo tasty. The turtle eggs were delicious t not really extraordinary. It doesn't make sense to dig out these eggs and endanger the sea turtle population. Chicken eggs taste better. The strange thing about the turtle eggs were that no matter how long you cook them they never seem to firm up so that you end up half slurping, half chewing the yolk and white.
Thinking back I still feel dizzy after dispatching two curachas at one sitting. More on Jolo the next time around. I think ‘ll sit down for a while…
