Basilan escape

No, I did not escape from captors. I escaped from the city noise and hied off to this beautiful island just a few minutes from Zamboanga City. When we hear Basilan, one word comes to mind – fear. And I don’t blame you. Many people have the notion that this lesser-known province is not a place to visit. But having met the mayor of Isabela City, interestingly not part of BARMM, but geographically part of Basilan, my initial fear turned to excitement. Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin and her 40-plus barangays are at work to make this city a popular tourist destination.

First, there are several ways to get to this beautiful island province. You can fly to Zamboanga City and take a fast craft (45 minutes travel time) or a ferry ( approx. two hours). You land at the port of Isabela, one of the 10 busiest ports in the country. There are tricycles to get to your hotel or place of stay. Once in the city, there are places to visit: the Basilan capitol, the Sta. Isabel Cathedral and the boardwalk.

But what I like best about the city is the wet market. Here you will see the bounty of the seas and the mangroves. A family can live on minimum wage (a little over P300) because one tray of fish is just P100, and there are vegetables and other ingredients which are affordable, so cheap compared to Manila prices. No wonder a family of five can live comfortably with so much less.

Another interesting observation is that the wet market operates without weighing scales. Every vendor just has an idea of value – a mound of small fish, a mound of clams, a mound of crabs. In local parlance, it is called “tumpok” or an idea of volume with value. This much costs that much. No scales, no weights, just an agreement between buyer and seller about value.

This is an old concept until city folks started to follow standards for weight and volume – and that was the start of modernization of market places. It does not mean you get the real value in markets today because scales need to be calibrated every so often due to doubts of manipulation. But in this market, trust rules. I trust that my tumpok is worth the value I am asking for. Enough said.

Next stop could be a famous peanut store – where they sell peanut butter, roasted peanuts and adobo peanuts. It has no signboard, no name. It just goes by reference of locals to “enterco” or “interco.” They do not advertise but they go through huge barrels of roasted peanuts and hundreds of bottles of peanut butter a day. It is a local secret but you can stop and buy, if you are lucky to come early. They sell out even before 5 p.m.

You can also ask the Department of Tourism (DOT) or tour guides to take you to the floating restaurants of Marang Marang, a boat ride away. You may come for  breakfast like we did or stay until lunch. But pre-booking is needed as they do get fully-booked. These two (for now, but more to come later) floating bamboo restaurants offer local rice cakes and brewed coffee for breakfast. At lunch they can offer local clams called imbao, shrimps and squid they fish from the mangroves and seaweed, of course. While relaxing you can take a Crystal Kayak ride and paddle your way around the mangrove forest.

The enterprise is run by Marang Marang women’s association, a group of 90 households whose women cook, weave and sew while the men catch the clams and seafood for the lunches. Truly a sustainable enterprise as even the children and fathers are involved in the business, while protecting the mangroves from degradation. They fish from different areas so as to allow Nature to reproduce and regenerate food sources.

We suggested to the president, Myrah Abbas, to form a Slow Food Community for the preservation of the culture and gastronomy of Marang Marang. They may just join Slow Fish, a thematic group of the international Slow Food movement.

After breakfast you can drive over to Pahali beach in Malamawi. If I blindfolded you and removed your blindfold as we reached the shore you may think you are in Amanpulo or Palawan. The sand is white, the waters are clear and clean. There is a port where one may dock a boat if you come by watercraft. We took a boat ride to a station where a van drove us to the private beach resort. You can order lunch or even stay overnight.

At sunset, you can drive again from the city to a hilltop restaurant called Sabores café to have chicken inasal or freshly-caught squid and other seafood. The coffee is good, and the food is all fresh, including a bulalo soup and a selection of desserts.

The city is continuing to develop destinations within an hour’s drive or even less, like the Cabon Bata falls which we chanced upon as we drove from Menzi to Lumbang (coffee farm areas). The road network is good and the ride is easy. Kudos to Department of Tourism for developing these places tourists can visit.

My experience was an escape from the usual tourist haunts elsewhere in the country. Basilan is rich in seafood, coffee, mangroves and a lot of untouched, unadulterated scenery. You learn how people live on houses in the water, how people live with trust in the market and how the locals love their leaders, too. A group of children who frequent the market actually refer to the mayor as “Dada,” her nickname. If that’s not familiarity, I don’t know what is. Mayor Dada apparently makes them carry her purchases when she goes to market. They are friends. And they always look forward to her visit.

Thirty-six hours of Basilan is a good start. While we were there, media companies who also had heard of the improvement in tourist facilities were there to take videos and help promote Basilan, or at least Isabela city, as a new tourist and food destination. Plan your escape now.