They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I guess a photo not taken is a chunk of story left out, maybe even an entire story never told.

I’m taking a lot of pictures lately, maybe because I started my own Project 365, and I just realized that there were a lot of things, people and moments that I should’ve preserved in a photo. This is why I’m starting this blog series called I Wish I Took A Photo. I’m going to fill in the missing pieces of the story told by a series of photographs I’ve taken. I’m going to start with my recently concluded beach trip with some UPLB MASS brothers and sisters in Tingloy, Batangas (or as I like to call it, Tingloy Awesome Escapade). I left my camera’s battery at home so I was forced to document the 3-day trip with my camera phone. I’m not used to using my phone as a camera. Hence, fewer photos. I’m a dumbass.

I took a photo of the front of the boat on our way to Tingloy from the port of Mabini.

I wish I took a photo of my open fly. The sea breeze felt great down there. I wish I took a photo of our faces while the locals were telling their wacky stories about island life and deadly boat collisions. I wish I took a photo of my sleeping friends. I envied them because I only had 2 hours of sleep. I wish I took a photo of the boat captain’s face every time he yelled at me because I was blocking his view. He was like “I can’t see, boy!” and I was like “Whatever.”

I took a photo of the beach from my tent while we were all settling in.

I wish I took a photo of the cave where we were supposed to set up camp. A group of people were already there when we arrived and they had a motorcycle, and that blew our minds. I wish I took a photo of Sheena’s family’s adobo. It was awesome. I wish I took a photo of my tent’s broken zipper. It took me several minutes to force it open. Sure, a few minutes isn’t really a big deal, but I was under the sun and it was almost noon. It was frickin’ hot.

I took a photo of the spot on the beach were we had lunch away from Sheena’s family. We’re shy people.

I wish I took a photo of the pissed off people who had to go into the water to go on their way because we were blocking this narrow path. I wish I took a photo of the spot on the beach where I sat alone for several minutes because the view was awesome. That’s where my sunburn was born.

I took a photo of Oboy’s cooking thingamajig.

I wish I took a photo of Chino’s bald spot on his right leg. He lost a patch of hair courtesy of the fireball from this baby when they tried to turn it on. I felt the heat on my legs and I was about 2 feet away. Chino was right next to it. Good times. I wish I took a photo of my giant lighter that got broken during the whole ordeal. R.I.P. giant lighter.

I took a photo of Brandon pretending that he’s a cliffhanger.

I wish I took a photo of his first attempt. A huge chunk of rock broke off and almost crushed him. Fun!

I took a photo of the locals having some cockfighting fun on our second day. We were already at Sheena’s godfather’s resort.

I wish I took a photo of the cocks going for the killing blow. I wish I took a photo of the crowd cheering every time a cock died. I wish I took a photo of dead cocks being hauled off to be butchered and cooked. I wish I took a photo of our faces as we watched all of this. And every time someone said “cock”.

I took a photo of my friends as were hiking to the snorkeling spot.

I wish I took a photo of all the huge rocks we had to maneuver around before reaching the spot. Hot damn, that’s a lot of rocks. I wish I took a photo of my poor leather sandals. I always forget to buy rubber sandals before going on beach trips. It was very uncomfortable and I felt like it was going to give with every step I took.

I took a photo of the snorkeling spot.

I wish I took a photo of my friends’ legs. Some of them got bruised and bloodied by the corals and the rocks. I wish I took a photo of the little fuckers who kept stinging a bunch of us. We didn’t really see what they were, but we’re pretty sure THEY’RE ALL GOING TO SEA CREATURE HELL. It’s the second year in a row I got stung by some stupid underwater dickhead. I panicked for a while because last year, I had to walk around on a limp for several days because my left foot was swollen. I’m glad the sting wore off in less than an hour this time.

I took a photo of the inside of the boat on our way back to the port of Mabini on our third and last day.

I wish I took a photo of the pod of dolphins that swam past our boat. It was glorious. Only three of us saw them because the rest of us were still drunk with no sleep. I would’ve been one of them but I had to sleep early because I was driving. Yay responsible me!  I wish I took a photo of Cip giving us the highlight of the entire trip. I’m not telling you what happened because I want to protect his dignity. I’m just going to tell you that it was the cherry on top of an awesome beach trip sundae.

I left out a lot of memorable moments like a game of Tug of War between two drunk groups, a few of us getting sort of pissed because we temporarily lost our tents, a game of Drunk Pinoy Henyo, an afternoon chilling with halo-halo, a nice dinner by bonfire and an EPIC Tugs Tugs Tugs party by the beach. I guess I’ll fill in those story holes some other time.