Why I Love Isabela

Isabela

My brother left Manila. He is sick of it. So he packed his things and drove more than 400 kilometers to Isabela province.
I felt sorry for him. I can’t imagine him leaving a big city for a unknown place like Isabela. So I bid him farewell and wish him luck in his endeavors. That was last year.

Today, I’ve been hearing a lot of stories of my brother’s visitors who went and spend time with him in Isabela.
According to all of them the place is the “Last Frontier”!
They said that the place is overlooked as a tourist destination.

They were amazed with all the things that surrounds it.
From the Sierra Madre Mountains, Southeast Asia’s biggest dam (Magat Dam), the Santa Victoria Caves, the Pinzal & Dibulo Falls, the Ilagan Sanctuary, the islands of coastal Isabela, the old churches, and the plethora of stars in the night in Palanan.

Isabela is blessed with Forestland and Fisheries. It has a fertile ground on the Pacific Coast. Plus there are about 450 hectares of freshwater fish cages at the Magat Dam Reservoir.

And you will never run out of food since Isabela is the top corn producer in the country. The province is the second highest rice-growing in the Philippines.
Agriculture is the biggest industry in Isabela.

Upon hearing what I’ve heard, I began to reflect and think that I might be living in the wrong place. Although Metro Manila is still the country’s center for commerce, education and entertainment. It has slowly deteriorated for the past decades.
The population density (13 million) has caused major problems like the traffic, flood, air and noise pollution, and lot of stress to the people living in it.

Look what it did to Manila Bay and Pasig River. Would you dare swim in it?
The city is so condensed and chaotic that the urban dwellers leave the city for a vacation whenever they have the chance.

It all boils down to people and the effect of overpopulation.
Take a good look at Baguio. It used to be a cold place with a lot of pine trees that receives of lot of tourist every month. Now, it’s full of houses. It’s more houses now than pine trees.
Trash and lack of water is also a concern in the country’s Summer capital.

How about Boracay? Once considered one of the best beach in the world. Now the island is threatened for a closure from the government. It’s really sick!

If you’re thinking about living…. I mean “Real Living”. My suggestion is to live in a place that is not overcrowded. There are lots of places to go in the Philippines but we only have a few years to live.
Why not spend the rest of our precious lives to a place that we could say that could make us really happy. Why go for a vacation when you can go for a “Staycation”!
Go ask yourself, what is my purpose of living? Am I happy on the place that I am living in currently?

My Mom used to say that Ramiro, my brother who moved to Isabela, is probably the most intelligent person in the family.
I am now starting to believe that my mother’s statement is true.

Written on March 2, 2018