The beach is my zen

Botona Beach, Dahican © Jojie Alcantara

“Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.” ~ Alan Alda, American Actor

Here’s an afternoon lull in Botona Beach, Dahican of Mati, Davao Oriental. This was where I was born. No, not on the shore, but in the only hospital years ago that doesn’t exist now. Once a sleepy little town which I would have wanted to keep secret for selfish reasons, Mati is now deluged with tourists and visitors during summer because everyone now knows about it’s stunning beach front and long white sand strips.

As you can see by the series of posts on my blog, I love the beaches. And I make sure when am in some coastal town, I capture their shoreline. So rest assured you will be seeing a lot of seascapes from me. While photography is my therapy, the beach is my zen.

Next week, I will be having my travel photography workshop on this shore, with my participants torn between listening to my lecture and running down the waves, with or without cameras in hand.  To introduce my students to a world I have grown up in and was blessed with, what could be more “zenner” than that.