Brgy. Lawigan, Mati City
© Jojie Alcantara

(...an excerpt from my published article, Secrets of Lawigan)

In my birthplace of Mati, Davao Oriental, lies Lawigan, a hidden coastal community dotted by rugged rock formations, mangroves and white sands interspersed with coconut trees and patches of civilization with huts built on shorelines. The road to Lawigan is quite narrow and perched on a precipice, before going down at sea level again.

It was a very lovely day where I couldn’t get enough of its seascape glory. I took photos of its extended sandbar which you can walk for yards out into sea.

While the coast was calm and clear, farther ahead where mangroves are growing, the sea changes into a fury of white waves bashing into protective reef fringes, where the gulf meets the raging Pacific sea. Here, fishing boats ply the outer area where waters are deep and aquatic life is in abundance.

I asked a fisherman to throw his net into the sea, with me bobbing in the waters and capturing the moment, even when the sun was beating down on me. Kids kept me company as they happily jumped from the boat.

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