I Believe In Magic

I’ve been to Puerto Galera three or four times before we went there last week. I blame the Galera sun-sand-and-sea for the hyperactivity of my melanocytes... And for the joy of my summer.

My last visit to the beautiful shore didn’t disappoint me, and even warranted a new experience—parasailing.

It’s basically what the name says. The riders (two at a time) are strapped to a parachute. The parachute is, in turn, attached to a high-speed boat by a cable at least 300 feet long. When the guides say “go,” the boat speeds up, and the ‘parasailers’ are whipped into the air, feet dangling over the sparkling sea.

I’m used to heights. I lost whatever fear of heights I had quite a long time ago, thanks in part to that giant trampoline they have in the Play Underground section of Rockwell in Makati City. When they told me that we were going parasailing, I was more than happy to ride.

So, there we were (my cousin and I) strapped to harnesses and 300 feet above everybody else.

Nothing beats that feeling. That feeling that, even for just a few moments, you can fly. That you are one with the creatures of flight. That soaring, wonderful feeling, as if you’ve left all your worries on the ground. And the view up there was the most incredible I’ve ever seen... the sea in pristine clarity, tossing and turning below, reflecting the feather-like clouds on that beautiful day, the mountains and rock formations that never seemed so alive as in that instance, and a bonus—the most amazing sunset I’ve ever witnessed. It was a different feeling, that sunset. For a few infinitesimal moments, I felt like I was truly a part of a world I know so little about... I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the Lord who made it all... I felt, as the sun dutifully receded from view into the unfathomable sea, that there is purpose in this life. In those few moments, my head was clearer than it has ever been. In those few moments, I believed in magic. Not the magic of spells, of cauldrons and things, but the magic of nature.

Maybe sometimes that’s all it takes. One little trip to the skies. One little trip to teach you what beauty there is in the world.