"I clambered over mounds and mounds
Of polystyrene foam
And fell into a swimming pool
Filled with fairy snow
And watched the world turn day-glo
you know you know
The world turned day-glo you know"
— The World Turned Day-glo by X-Ray Spex
Super Moon Rising Over Apo Reef
The Supermoon Phenomenon
Last Saturday, a natural astronomical phenomenon called the "Supermoon" unfolded, affording us a rare sight of the moon appearing significantly larger and brighter than it usually does on ordinary nights. The so-called "Supermoon" event happens when a full moon coincides precisely with the time when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit (perigee). While there are generally about four to six supermoons each year, last Saturday’s event was considered an "extreme supermoon," a rarity that has only occurred around 10 times since 1950.
A Moonlit Night at Apo Reef
Saturday evening, while we were lounging comfortably at our isolated campsite on Apo Reef—located off the remote coast of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro—the bright full moon provided us with natural, brilliant lighting that closely resembled a massive street lamp overhead. It was a truly marvelous sight, with the full moon shining brightly over our camp and casting a long, shimmering silver reflection against the vast, dark sea right in front of us.
The Eerie Beauty of a Setting Moon
In a few short moments, I saw the world turn day-glo. Like a moribund zombie slowly awakening from a deep slumber in the early hours of the following morning, I watched the moon just as it was about to set. It was the exact opposite of a sunrise—less blinding than the sun, but arguably even more dramatic in its quiet apparition than ordinary sunsets.
Slowly, it sank deeper and deeper against the distant horizon of the sea, while the eerie, quiet tides provided a decomposing, natural soundtrack. The extreme gravitational pull of it—which had many people needlessly worried in light of the recent devastating tsunami in Japan—was entirely non-existent here. If anything, the only pull it successfully managed was on my own consciousness. It strongly reaffirmed my belief that the world is such a special place, filled with a vast series of perfect "coincidences" that allow life to prosper and such phenomenal astronomical events to occur and amaze us to no end.
Till the next Supermoon arrives. Until then, I'll gladly live the life of a bloke flowing naturally against the wave—riding a crest over the horizon into the great unknown and embracing all new things as if they were whispers from a long-lost concubine.
Planning your own expedition to Occidental Mindoro's marine gem? Check out our complete Apo Reef Travel Guides & Series:
