The sea was very close to where I grew up in Cebu. So close was the pier to our house I could hear
the deep and lonely blast of a ship’s horn late at night as it got ready to
leave port. If I imagined hard enough, I
could hear the ship’s porter’s warning call, “pwera besita, pwera besita”.
With such close proximity, it was only natural for my
parents to bring us to the popular public black sand beaches of Talisay (famous
for pinasugbo- bananas dipped in dark and thick sugar glaze) or brown sand
beaches of Liloan (famous for whirlpools and rosquillos- a round, scalloped
edge sweet biscuit) in the summer.

In the 1970s, when barges made it possible to cross over, the white sand beaches of Mactan Island became our favorite summer playground.
In the 1970s, when barges made it possible to cross over, the white sand beaches of Mactan Island became our favorite summer playground.