The Happy Children of Caluya
At the end of a days walking around the island of Caluya I sat on a wall by the beach to watch the sunset. The heat from the afternoon sun was cooling and the children were coming out to play.
Caluya Heart Hopping
They are lucky to have a whole white sand beach as their playground. One by one they noticed me sitting there, a stranger in their playground.
Caluya Children on beach
They carried on playing but kept a watchful eye on me, smiling when they caught my gaze. More children joined in their games. They were doing what children do best……. laughing, running around and having lots of fun. I began to relax watching the sun get lower in the sky until it touched the water on the horizon and sank into the sea leaving a blood red sky behind.
Caluya Sunset and Beach Children
Then one brave boy asked me “What is your name” and i answered. There followed more questions and the others became interested in our conversation and they came over to listen and join in too. They taught me some simple words in Tagalog which i wrote down in my notebook and they practiced their English.
Caluya Drawing in Sand
Caluya Children Playing on beach
When it was time for me to walk back to my lodging house they asked if they could accompany me along the way. Of course i agreed and one by one they dropped off at their homes as we passed.
Caluya Mask
My second night there i walked down to the same spot to watch the sunset. They were already there, playing their games….. a kind of circular hopscotch, flying the kite, and some other games. I only saw one child playing with a “Made in China” plastic toy. They just use their imaginations for playing and use whatever local materials are available to make their own toys like coconut shells, sticks, sand, anchor rope for boats………… whatever they find on the beach.
Caluya Sand drawing
But best of all, I loved how they all took care of each other. If a little one started to cry or fell down, the nearest would help and pick him up. They really played as one unit, all interacting, having fun, and enjoying the cool evening air.
Caluya Circular Hopscotch
Watching children play freely like this just makes you wonder why we all have to grow up and become more serious about life. After my two evenings spent watching the Caluyan sunset with these children laughing and playing around me, my troubled mind had certainly found a temporary cure and was in a more positive mood.
Caluya Beach Hopscotch
Caluya Group Photo
Let the Children Play
And to finish, heres one of my favourite songs by Santana….. Let the Children Play
Please Note – All blog post photos on Silverbackbacker.com are of a lower quality to enable faster loading and save you data. If you would like to buy or license higher quality copies of any of the photographs you can email us at silverbackpackertravels@gmail.com
All photographs and content on this website remain the property of Silverbackpacker.com. Images may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent.
Print purchases entitle the purchaser to the ownership of the image but not to the copyrights of the image which still remain with Silverbackpacker.com even after purchase.
Follow Silverbackpacker for more of his Travels
Facebook @silverbackpacker | Instagram @silverbackpacker
Twitter @silverbackpaker | Pinterest @silverbackpaker
Audere Est Facere – Silverbackpacker.com – To Dare is To Do
Affiliate Disclaimer: Links on this website may be affiliate links that could result in us receiving compensation when you purchase a product or service from that link. You do not pay any extra fees for these items. This helps us to keep this website going. Thank you for your support.
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | All Rights Reserved
Joyful read 🙂 thanks for sharing