«» Travel Notes 008: Shiela’s Homestay
From a missing watch to stranded backpackers and a thriving business
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Mid-last year, I promised myself to find at least one source of goodness a day. I want to share what I found in Tawi-Tawi, a province with a notorious reputation for criminal activity and terrorism.
It’s late afternoon of our second day in Tawi-Tawi, and we’re in the common area of our homestay after a full day of island hopping.
Shiela, our host, walks in to serve us merienda as Uncle Allen asks the group if we’ve seen his watch. He showed us a picture he had taken of his room before we left for island hopping, and in it, we see his black-strapped watch on the bedside table.
Eyebrows scrunch as we look at the picture. No. We look at each other. No. We pull out our phones and scroll through pictures from the day, hoping to help Uncle Allen recall if he wore his watch this morning. No. Uncle Allen’s wrists were empty the whole day. Besides, if he had it on his wrists should have a watch-shaped tan line from hours under the sun. We check our bags. We check our rooms. We check the CR. No.
It’s okay. Uncle Allen exclaims. It’s my fault; it’s okay.
We don’t say a word. We keep searching.
After dinner, Shiela finds me. She’s distressed. She tells me she feels responsible for something like this happening under her roof. She’s not only recruited everyone in her household to find the watch but also questioned each one to see if they had anything to do with the mysterious loss. She tells us her relatives are fighting and pointing fingers at each other already because (she admits) theft has happened in the past. She tells me they won’t stop until they find it, even if we’ve already left.
I believe her.
To help ease her mind, I opt to change the topic. I asked her how she started her homestay.
With a lowered gaze and defeated posture still, Shiela tells me she never planned to start this homestay. The story began in 2011 with two backpackers stranded in Tawi-Tawi because their flight got canceled. At the time, Shiela’s husband, who we refer to as Sir Garces, was the airport’s Chief of Security, and we’re told he offered these stranded backpackers a place to stay while waiting for their rescheduled flight. The backpackers fell in love with the Garces' cliff-side bamboo shack and its rich coral reef (not to mention Shiela’s wonderful homecooked meals). Sheila shares the backpackers were so happy after their stay that they encouraged the couple to develop the area to host more people.
It wasn’t until 2014 that the Garces built a second shack, but word spread, and Shiela took the lead. In the first year, they had one tourist group a month. Now, nine years later, Shiela shares that she hosts at least one group weekly, and everyone comes by word of mouth.
When Shiela finished telling her story, I knew I had found goodness beyond any other. Sir Garces started the act by offering to host two stranded backpackers. In return, the backpackers encouraged the Garces to start this homestay, which maintains the spirit of that original act. Just imagine how many lives the Garces have touched because of that one small act of kindness (five more if you include us).
A few minutes later, a little girl and boy walked in. Shiela bent down, they had a whispered exchange, and she bade us good night. On her way out, she promised again she’d do everything to find the watch.
As if on cue, Uncle Allen’s watch turned up the next morning. Someone found it in an overlooked crevice of the comfort room. How it got lost and got there is a debate, but I’m sure goodness was behind its return.
Until next week,
Atom
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