Stuck On Sand

On the way to the famous Pagudpud white beach from Laoag Ilocos Norte, you will pass by the windmills of Bangui. Seen from the road, you can take any of the two entrances to get to the windmills. The 15 windmills were constructed by the Dutch engineers for the people of Ilocos Norte. The electricity converted from wind power had contributed very much in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere caused by the use of fossil fuel.

Our trip to the windmills was very memorable. I was driving a starex van which I bravely and ignorantly drove through the sand by the shore. I was misled by some tire tracks that I saw in front of me. I thought that if other cars had made it, why not our van. I came to know later that the cars were equipped with a 4-wheel drive. After watching and taking pictures of the windmills, we went back to our car to proceed to Pagudpud. But when I started the car, we were not can not gain an inch. We found out that our rear tires had been stuck in the sand. No amount of gassing up could move us out of the deep-sand. In fact, the more I tried to get out of it, the more we sank deeper. We were fortunate to have a native of Bangui extend his help to us. He gathered some woods to be put under the tires for better traction and brought some sand tools to dig and push aside the sand under the tires. After maybe an hour of clearing the sand and jacking up the car, we were able to get the car out. All of these happened under the intense heat of the summer sun! Even before we had an experience of the beach, we were already tanned!

I was very thankful to the man who helped us. Without him, it would have taken us longer and harder. In appreciation of his kindness, I gave him some money which made his eyes glow. I think, the money was more than what he expected. Maybe, it was many times more than a days wage. Maybe he was touched by the gesture. As for me, I was glad to have been assisted at the same time made a man happy. If he was a lot happier, that was good enough for me.