A town and city in me

There has been a long gap between my last blog in August 9, 2011 and today, when I felt an impluse to write about living a dual life, about having two universes to traverse and make life complete. For me, it is having the town and city at the same time. I wish to elaborate on this because this is not a new phenomenon for me. I just realised that since I was young, I was living in two universes, commuting whenever life demanded a change of tempo, climate, belongingness and home.

As a child, I grew up in a small town at the foot of Mayon Volcano. It is a picturesque small town where everyone knew everyone, or where half the population was related by blood in the Filipino's expanded family system. I loved the small town and what it gave us in terms of childhood experience - the games we creatively made because technology was still underdeveloped, the town events that were mostly church-related but for which we looked forward to because it was the thing to be a part of. Most of all, the town fiestas which depending upon one's state of economy were huge feasts or simple ones but still awaited with much excitement, especially the town's formal dance at the plaza where the local society's who's who delightfully patronized in their latest fashionable gowns. As children, we watched outside the fence and felt awed at being part of the social landscape.

That was the town part. Then came the city part that arrived with the need for higher education in universities mostly in Manila. Even then, Manila was already a big metropolis with so much attraction, bright lights, department stores, huge parks that contrasted with the simplicity and smallness of a town. The city meant challenge in school, and later in one's chosen career. When I worked as a journalist for a foreign news magazine, I suddenly found myself submerged in my work. The challenges were so great especially at the time when the country's political situation was not at all friendly to the media.

I had my getaway from all the stress and madness of journalism. I disappeared into the smallness of my hometown and into the loving care of my mother. My children were all small and living partly with my mother during the martial law days. So much was my need for a small town not just to recover lost energies but to seek protection from the relentless harassments of both the military and the dictatorial leadership. I coped with the city's challenges by returning again and again to the simplicity of a small town. It had grown some poisonous snakes during the military's dominance in the countryside but still, the feeling of safety was always there.

Why am I rationalising between a divided life just because I find myself in the same situation today? I want to say that living in two spaces has always been in us. I didn't realise it right away. I thought it was because winter in Western Europe has become harder. This is not really the main reason. Living in a sophisticated city like Stockholm has many demands so much so that time is never enough to complete a day's lifetime. I can appreciate the Swedes love for duality in their lifestyle - of being in the city as well as in the country on weekends. Life goes a full circle. It is having both the simplicity and calm of a town and the challenges of greater living in the city.

In a small island town like Sta. Maria in Sal, life is so much simpler and uncompromising. A mini carnival is already a big event because everyone becomes a part of it. Things that one needs for daily living are not always available but it is the little discoveries that colour a day, like the joy of finding fresh ingredients for cooking, the bountiful food from the sea, the friendliness of the local population.

If I could not live in a town and city and appreciate all there is to being part of both spaces, then I am totally missing the essence of a complete life, of enjoying the variations in environments and of sharing friendships and affection with those around me. It is not wrong to admit that even while I glide in the marble floors of grand places in the city, I can also wade in the mud of a town or village.#

From Ystad, Skåne to Bornholm, Denmark

The Swedish summer is blessed with many beautiful things in nature that defies words to describe what the eyes can behold everywhere - from neatly landscaped gardens and parks everywhere, to friendly green forests with their treasures of berries and wild mushrooms, to the Swedish archipelago - big and small, near and far - to hundreds of blossoms on the wayside- wild and nurtured, in an array of colours and forms. It is a word-defying experience to be so close to so much beauty.

The trip to Ystad

We ( G. and I ) left by car for Ystad last July 19th, intending to spend some free days in the summerhouse in Bjäresjö - 10 minutes from Ystad. The trip - which included a 30-minute coffee stopover- took 6 hours and 30 minutes. The summerhouse is empty during most parts of the year, hence the grasses all-around were waist-high.

Some tiles on the roof had fallen due to a storm sometime ago and the water meter was out of order because it had frozen during winter. At the basement where this is located, the rats and frogs have also found their winter refuge. After a day of intensive work, life assumed some degree of normality. But Skåne where there are more sunny days than other parts of Sweden, the rain came everyday as though heaven has been crying over abandonement of the place.

This was no way to spend a short holiday. So we contacted our Danish pal in Cape Verde Claus Mogensen and took in his long-standing invitation to visit Bornholm and his 150-year old windmill. There is a daily ferry from Ystad to Bornholm - a Catamaran capable of carrying some 120 passengers. It takes one hour and a half to negotiate the distance. Bornholm -true to everything the brochures and travellers say, is a beautiful island, a summerplace for many Danes and Swedes as well as other Europeans who have discovered the quality of life the island offers its visitors.

Claus had rented a small car that took us around the island. He has even arranged for us to meet his relatives living in Bornholm and farming herbs and vegetables for domestic consumption. The windmill - shown in the picture above is magnificent, truly a landmark that Denmark should help preserve through some form of maintenance subsidy. It would function well as a cafe with books and souvenirs to sell to visitors. But sadly, that is not the case. Do we want to buy a piece of the mill, asked Claus. A very tempting proposition indeed but since we are in the process of simplifying our lifestyle, owning a windmill is not going to be simple.

The one-day tour of Bornholm was a memorable experience. The weather cooperated and gave us enough sun to brighten even our moods. The Bornholm food specialities consist mainly of smoked fish - salmon, herrings, mackerel and eel. The ingredients used vary from herbs to different onions, to the secret of smoking fish used by the restaurants, to the cooks who make each dish and their presentation. Most of all, the food tastes better in the company one has. Afterall, the sum of it all requires that each part of the composition harmonises with one another and that is to say - the people in the company, the food on the table, the drinks that fuel the joyous laughter and all the beauty one can absorb just by looking outside and beyond.

This is just one summer tale among many others. Next will be the trip to Finhamn, located in the middle part of Stockholm's beautiful archipelago.#

Roses have thorns

June must be Cupid's favorite month where falling in love and getting married are the most important celebrations. Falling in love and staying in love is life's most ambitious challenge. But falling in love is not the end in itself as we all know. Like roses, it has thorns that can cause deep cuts when handled wrongly.

What has impelled me to dwell on the subject of love? It is Jonathan Franzen's essay "Liking is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts". On first impression I thought that he was admonishing the revolutionary triumph of technology over one's requirement for joy and satisfaction in life, especially a life that is settled enough and therefore needs no further adventures in actual human interactions.

It is true that the latest technological gadgets have made life extremely confortable for users who can communicate with friends in different parts of the globe within seconds. One finds it easier to tell millions of Facebook users the most intimate things in one's life without fear of arguments. Indeed, even when friends go out together to enjoy moments of real human interaction in the name of friendship, there is always the danger lurking in one's handbag or pocket that an IPod or Htc is buzzing for attention. There is no moment of complete solitude even if one so desires that is not broken by the urgency of an IPod or Htc.

Is it truly a no choice situation between life with love but without the jealous technology that never sleeps, that is always there at one's service and forever attentive to one's wishes, a life of comfort with a servant doing one's bid without complaints as opposed to being in love with a person, interacting with that person and going through the process of living endangered at times by bickering, anger and disappointment. How many times can we fall in love, get hurt, curse love, and then love again? And how many small trivial things in a day can fire up and conflagrate into a forest fire? So we retreat and find peace and solace in the company of a laptap.

When we are at pain, we curse everything in the universe except ourselves for our inability to handle the thorns of the beautiful roses. Love like roses needs watering - all that TLC or tender loving care in so many hundred little things we do everyday. Do we give each other comforting words at the end of a difficult work day, hug each other and laugh over a glass of wine while watching some silly relationship reality show. When routines of loving are sometimes forgotten , is the heart forgiving enough to listen to reason? Or do we sulk and prolong the agony of silence.

Living and loving have many traps and we are often sidetracked. It happens sometimes that love is sacrificed for something more exciting and alluring. It is when love itself is exchanged with another love that could be another person, object or adventure. Then comes pain and disappointment and often the promise never to respond to Cupid's beguiling call again. Better be alone with all the sexy technology gadgets that don't cheat on you.

As Franzen admonished in his essay, stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop despairing over the environmental destruction of the planet. Go out and get a life, find love in a person or another living creature. Chances are you could get hurt, but hell you are having a real life. You've outwitted the thorns of the roses and can now enjoy beauty unencumbered by indifference and apathy.#

Summing up half-a year's life

Someone has written beautifully how life should be counted in terms of moments that take one's breath away, so here's how I count those moments of breathtaking wonders that left me lost in two worlds of changing scenes and landscapes. We left Stockholm with the last wild mushrooms picked and the rest covered by autumn leaves.

For three weeks, from October 26th, we lived in a boat in Las Palmas marina. We had dinner cooked in the boat, drinks in the cockpit with new-found friends, ambulance sirens singing all day long, and restful loving nights.

On Nov. 12th, we left the tranquility of a safe harbour for the most daring sailing adventure we embarked - crossing the north Atlantic from Las Palmas to Cape Verde. Y/S Sheilah was prepared for this big trip with more than sufficient food and drinks - all shopped in Lidl. We left Las Palmas with all the daring our spirits could muster for what was going to be an unforgetable experience of a lifetime. The sailing took nine days and six hours. It was a life and death situation as huge swells threatened to swallow us.

We came to Sta. Maria in Sal Island and begun our new life as islanders. We learned to live by the Cape Verdean's life motto: "No stress!" It means many things - both good and bad. We had a wonderful Christmas celebration with Cholo, Felicity, Steven and later with new friends in swinging CaboBar.

We embraced the lifestyle that the island offered to all - a 24-hour of sunshine and turquoise blue ocean within seconds of walking, and the perpetual lapping sound of the waves lashing at the near white sandy beach. We found interesting works to do, projects to tie-up two different worlds. We looked at inter-island shipping and West Africa cargo services; at owning a bar and restaurant, a travel agency that will concentrate on organised health and medical tourism between Cape Verde and the Nordic countries. With the troubles in the Middle East, many Nordic tourists found way to Cape Verde. We have a local business registered in Cape Verde.

We made a trip to some islands and marvelled at the beauty of nature as well as the sprawling resort hotels just waiting to embrace lovingly the battered souls from lives of hurried living. The best moments we continue to enjoy are the sundown drinks in our balcony, looking at the sun as it slides slowly to the other half of the world, the infinite ocean in its solft blue grey colours and the dots of small fishing boats anchored in Sta. Maria pier.

Our island life has been made richer by new friends we found and whose company we shared in great joy and laughters - over uncredible foods and ceaseless flow of spirited bubbles. We met and have been entertained in the private homes of Cape Verdeans proud of their food culture, their love for music and a life unhindered by demands for economic development. Even progress has to wait for its time when the people are ready to embrace change.

Now and then the drummer boys turn up in the beach for a few hours of drumming and we put on Cesaria Evora's evocative music. "What are we toasting today?" we ask each other. " Why, to life of course... and these moments of bliss and love and all the little challenges that keep the mind alive." (Picture taken at the CaboBar in Dec. 2010, just before the arrival of 2011)

An African Dilemma

Africa is a continent to experience and understand. It has the potentials and resources for growth and development, as well a heritage of many cultures that had enriched its own. Many went through struggles for national independence against foreign colonisers, and today pride themselves in their achievement of freedom and democracy.

But why are most African countries perpetually dependent upon foreign aid? Bilateral and multilateral assistances, not to forget private philantrophies have prioritised African countries's agenda to eradicate not poverty but diseases like HIV and malaria. How far have all these helps gone to make life better for the average African?

The last four months of living in Cape Verde has been an experience unlike the five years I spent earlier in Mozambique. The difference is that, I interacted much more with the locals - rather than confine myself to a particular community that had little to do with the local population. Sta. Maria is a small town that serves as the capital of Sal island. It has a population of about 20,000, of which the majority live in Espargo, the commercial capital. It is therefore extremely easy to get to know everyone - the restaurant and bar owners and their clientele, the inhabitants of the pier who live by the fishes they catch and sell, the fruit and vegetable sellers and, the businessmen and entrepreneurs looking for investors and property buyers.

Cape Verde offers many business opportunities to foreigners, especially in tourism and property development. According to sources, around 1.8 billion Euro has been approved in 2007 for the develoment of tourism infrastructure - such as resort hotels, condominiums and villas. The crises of 2008 put a temporary stop to all these developments but it has picked up again recently. There are many business possibilities for any creative investor - big and small. For instance, there is a marina and golf project that is waiting for foreign investment. There are first class resort hotels awaiting tourists, more restaurants to make competition in this branch more enjoyable.

Inter-island shipping and port facilities are acutely in need of capital infusion especially from the private sector. Goods take time to move from island to island and from Cape Verde to neighbouring West African countries. However, starting a shipping business is not as easy and it goes the same with starting a local company. To start a business requires a 25% Cape Verdean partnership. To bring in a cargo ship from another country means paying an import fee of around 30% of the value of the ship. These are not the major hurdles to make.

The worst problem has been in communication. It is not easy to get a connection with the CV Telecom - not even with all the business reasons one argues in order to get a telephone/IT line. It is waiting time of 50 days, if not more. Then it is the matter of getting a residence visa which in most cases, is no big deal if one is already a property owner with a registered local business. The Cape Verdean police in Espargo - which deals with visas interpret the visa rules and regulations as it wishes. It seems normal for anyone sitting in some government entity to interpret the law according to one's own sense of humour.

The most problematic aspect of doing business in this area is the lack of communication - people who are supposed to call, or communicate with you simply ignores the phone and email systems, so that doing business is wasting time in perpetual waiting. They say " No stress" but there is nothing more stressing than waiting for the other party to communicate in order to continue the process of doing a business. No matter how acute the shipping and port improvement is, the people responsible for expediting this development don't seem to be in a hurry.

For anyone who wants to give something back to Cape Verde - for the days of sun and "strees free" living, doing business that assures employment and progress is not a very self-satisfying engagement. #

The Power of Nature Unleashed

It was not too long ago when the world woke up to see mammoth waves pouring out of the sea and taking everything in its path -the tsunami that hit hardest Thailand. The sea had unleashed all the power kept in its bosom -or was it anger nourished through years of mindless neglect. Before then, we knew little of tsunami and its indescribable force of destruction.

The catastrophe has left vivid images of tragedy - the loss of human lives, of whole families vanishing in the torrent of waves as it swallowed everything along its path. The tsunami in Thailand and neighboring countries affected more than a few countries. Many Europeans vacationing in Thailand lost familymembers. The grief and mourning over this tragedy transcended national borders.
This time, it is the Japanese people mourning over the loss of many lives that up to now cannot be ascertained in number. Once again, it is the image of incredible force as the sea spilled out its content towards the land with such might and force that nothing could stand in its way, not ships, trains, huge buildings and infrastructure. Everything in its way have suddenly become small and irrelevant.

In the last few years, we have witnessed dramatic, albeit drastic changes in climate. We have seen how Europe - especially the northern part have suffered extreme cold winters, and in the south where winters are milder, the snow has become a regular visitor. Yet in other parts of the globe such as Africa it has been drought and rainless months. The climate variations are extreme and there is no telling how much climactic changes we will be witnessing.

Not too long ago in Coppenhagen, the problem of reduction of carbon dioxide emission was on the agenda and leaders of the world's most powerful nations should have marshalled an agreement to solve this urgent problem. But as expected, it was a choice between reduced economic development vs. reduced carbon dioxide emission. In the light of many countries still smarting from the impact of the 2008 financial crises, many sacrificed the environment for economic progress.
Hard choices to make but the planet Earth has reached its point of exhaustion, its capacity to hold things in balance is becoming harder each day. We are simply powerless to prevent more tsunamis from coming. #

Cape Verde food delights

The best thing about living in a new country is the attraction over local food culture -the special cuisine that has been handed down from generations of happy native food lovers, from grandmothers to mothers to daughters. Food, like music lies in the heart of every local culture.

The Cape Verdean food culture consists mainly of fish and seafoods which are in abundance. One only has to go to the local pier and choose from the daily catch what to buy and bring back to one's kitchen. But there are days when the catch is meager and that is when the Sahara wind is strong.

Aside from fish and seafoods, the traditional Cape Verdean food consists of beans- different kinds of beans and corn- boiled until tender, sauteed in onions and mixed with different kinds of meats such as chicken, pork and beef. This is the catchupa rica. Without meat, it is catchupa pobre which is eaten as breakfast with eggs and sausage, or eggs and bacon. There is also stewed beef with potatoes, carrots and other available vegetables.

Most restaurants' dish of the day is grilled fish that is served with rice, pomme frittes and salad. However, the more expensive seafoods consist of shrimps, octopus, squids and lobster. I have not seen any fresh catches of the latter delicacies but they are available in restaurants and the prices vary in every place.

I buy my fresh tuna, grupper and mackerels in the pier from my favourite fisherwomen where I get preferential price - meaning the price used for locals as against tourists. Lately, we have grown fond of grilled squids and octopus. Long time ago, the sight of an octopus made me squirm. But no longer. They are delicious in any dish - grilled, stewed and fried or breaded. When we were in San Antao Island - a truly beautiful resort hotel, we were amazed at the cook's culinary ability with local dishes. His stewed octopus was wonderful and I tried to copy it with coriander when we got back home.

The tuna catches are immediately delivered to restaurants. Unless it is marinatred well in herbs, it does not have enough taste. Usually it is grilled or fried. In my kitchen I tried to cook it with curry and coconut milk and on another occasion with tomato marinade. I tried to make kinilaw - the Filipino raw fish in ginger, vinegar, chili, salt and pepper plus other secret ingredients, but it lacked something I could not define. Then I tried the Swedish style of marinade called gravad which is common with salmon. We had Swedish friends coming who brought fresh dill. The results was quite good along with homemade sauce of honey, mustard and oil.

Since coming to Sta. Maria, I've searched the Chinese shops for local ingredients for Asian cooking but they are not available. I did find fresh coriander but no noodles, soja, fish sauce, sesame oil and Thai sweet sour chili. And no spring roll wrappers! Lucky enough, we have a Danish friend who brought some of these ingredients so that I was able to cook some Asian dishes for dinner. Think how serious I have been to start an Asian restaurant. But it should not be a problem to import.

I can only say that food trips are the most interesting adventures one can have anywhere and the more exotic the places are, the more exciting the local food culture is. For the food lovers, learning and improving on new cuisine is always great fun.#