Typhoon Reming

DARAGA, Albay--Groups of children would flank visitors and trail after cars as they enter the Cagsawa Ruins Park, located near the foot of the Mayon Volcano here.

As the passengers alight from their vehicles, the children would present postcard-perfect photographs of Mayon and launch into a ready sales pitch: "Sir, Ma'm, pictures po, souvenir n'yo."

But the vendors--some of them as young as 10 years old--have also taken to peddling something more valuable than photos: guided informational tours around the ruins.

Stephanie Espinas, 15, is one of the children who offers her services as an informal tourist guide.

She walks alongside visitors and starts her spiel with the Mayon Volcano eruption in 1814.

In one breath, she relates how volcanic rocks and lava buried the former church of Cagsawa in Barangay Busay, killing the thousands who sought refuge within it.

Only the church belfry and to its east, some parts of the convent, remained above the rubble.

Stephanie confidently delves into details: like how the mango tree and grotto at the far end of the park mark the spot of the old altar, where among the convent ruins church founder Fray Franscisco Blanco's room used to be, and how the church bell was thrown off the Busay bridge to prevent people from fighting over the rumored gold in it.

Her sentences are peppered with "po," "Ma'am" and "Sir" and are punctuated with curt gestures toward the ruins, the volcano, the park grounds and the plastic-wrapped photos in her hand.

Just like a professional, she makes well-timed stops, mindful of the main tourist habit: "You might like to take pictures at the convent area," she suggests politely in Tagalog.

Village enterprise
Residents of Busay maximize their location, selling souvenir items and indigenous products in stalls outside and within park premises.

The spirit of enterprise has trickled down to the younger folk.

More than 50 informal tourist guides and photograph vendors, aged 10 to 25, roam the park during weekends. All of them are from Busay.

However, Stephanie clarified that the children only work at the park during their days off from school, since the older vendors and tour guides scold them when they cut classes.

Stephanie started working of her own will after Supertyphoon "Reming" struck in 2006 and brought renewed attention to her village and the Cagsawa Ruins.

She admits that she frequents the park because she gets bored during weekends and she wants to do something productive with her time.

"Sometimes my mother doesn't even approve of what I do, because she's afraid I might get sick. I have to plead with her to let me come here," Stephanie says.

"But the work isn't that hard. It's just like strolling around the park and telling stories," she says.

Stephanie and the other children learned the trade from older vendors and tourist guides in the area.

"We learn from the older guides. When they tour guests, we follow them, listen to their spiels and memorize them," she says.

Julie Mandane, 25, the oldest of the tourist guides, has worked at the park since he was nine.

He, in turn, learned the data from the history guidebooks from the Department of Tourism office here.

"We conduct our own research. We visit DoT to obtain information and ask for brochures from hotels, because they come from the tourism office, anyway," he says in Filipino.

Stephanie says she also listens to stories passed on by elder Busay villagers, and incorporates it in her tours.

A day's work
She earns a minimum of P100 per day from selling pictures and acting as a guide. Each photo sells for P25 or P100 for a set of four. But the fee for guide services depends completely on the customer.

"We don't ask for payment for tours. The customer decides how much they will pay us. Sometimes, I just make money from tips," Stephanie says.

"And sometimes, customers buy photos from all of us. Ayun lang naman, eh, kung may topak 'yung bisita (That's if the visitors are a little crazy)," she jokes.

She admits that most visitors consider them a bother and shoo them away.

Stephanie heads to the park as early as 6:30 a.m., and stays on until 6 p.m.

Peak days, Stephanie says, are during weekends, while peak months are during holidays like summer and Christmas.

During these periods, she describes the park as full of people--composed of tourists, vendors and tour guides alike.

Still fully sustained by her mother who works as a handicraft weaver, Stephanie says she is free to spend her earnings for personal needs, like materials for school projects.

"Sometimes I use my earnings to help my mother out. But she always insists on paying me back," says an exasperated Stephanie.

Informed storytellers
A firm grasp of information is needed to succeed as a tour guide, Mandane says.

Stephanie began amassing knowledge by memorizing the informational signs attached to the ruins.

Her curiousity prodded her to learn more, and until now, even she admits she has much to learn about the ruins--especially as new developments take place.

In the light of the ravages done by Supertyphoon "Reming" to Bicol, most of the tour guides have first-hand experiences on a new chapter in the history of Busay and Cagsawa.

Busay was buried under a barrage of volcanic debris coming from the slopes of the volcano, triggered by "Reming."

Mandane, for one, lost his mother and a sibling to the mudflow.

Stephanie describes the disaster as a repetition of the 1814 tragedy, minus the eruption.

"Cagsawa Park itself was only flooded. But outside, at the Busay village proper, the floodwaters reached more than 20 feet. There was also around 10 feet of sand and rocks," she says.

She motions to newly installed crosses near the park grotto, stating that they were put up as a memorial to those who died in villages nearby.

Competition
Touring may be, quite literally, a walk in the park, but to make a successful living out of it, the vendors and guides have to be able to deal with the competition.

"There are times when we compete at having the lowest-priced pictures, until they cost next to nothing," Stephanie says.

"Quarrels are also unavoidable. Sometimes you work hard touring the guests and making sales talk, but when they're ready to buy pictures, some other kids will weasel in," she says.

Initiative, courtesy and people skills are also needed to stay above the competition.

"We're the ones who approach the guests. You need to make the first move before someone beats you to it," she says.

She makes sure to maintain a courteous demeanor, starting off with a "good morning" or a "good afternoon" when speaking to guests.

"I'm naturally talkative, that's why I always get scolded by teachers at school," she jokes.

Plans
For the coming Holy Week and summer vacation, the vendors have been preparing by asking photographers to develop more pictures for consignment.

Photographers get a commission from every sold picture.

Mandane has started to take his own pictures, selling them to visitors and consigning them to other vendors.

Although unlicensed, Mandane also now acts as a tourist guide in different spots in the Bicol region.

This sounds like a dream job for Stephanie, who, due to stern warnings from her mother, can only stay at the Cagsawa Ruins Park.

"While I'm studying, I plan to continue working here. But once I graduate, I want to find a more stable job. When I grow up, I want to be a professional tourist guide, but not here. I want to be the kind who travels to other countries," she shares.

Tourists stream in and out of the park, not really understanding what they see. Most of them leave with nothing but pretty photographs to remember it by.

But given the chance, one may find that the visit can be made more enriching by the stories of villagers whose lives are intertwined with the continuing history surrounding the ruins.