Drinking water that "burns"

While most towns and places take pride on native delicacies and dishes, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo has a drink that can actually do more than quench one's thirst.

It doesn't stop flowing even during summer, it is colored like tea and it "burns".

But before you take out your white hankies and start waving it; or line up, bathe or take a sip in the hopes of curing physical pains, it's not actually that "miraculous" in that sense.

Known as "poso", this has been the drinking water of most Sta. Barbaranhons since time immemorial. There are around five poso "water stations" around the poblacion and the most popular and the biggest is known as Sulbod just behind the Sta. Barbara public market.

Others are found along Montinola Street, near the elementary school, one known as "Licup" (bearing the name of the family where it is found) and (an already defunct one) near the municipal hall. There are also poso wells in baranggays as far/near as Guno among others.

A few days ago, I got a sample of this poso water that came all the way from Brgy. Guno and it's hue alone is most interesting. With just one look and it can be mistaken as (iced) tea or even whisky but one sip of this odorless liquid despite it's hue, one can sense how smooth it is as it effortlessly slides down the throat.

Soft and smooth is typical description of the poso water when asked. Compared with distilled or even mineral water, one can actually taste/feel how soft it is that is likened to silk.

It may have a somewhat minute aftertaste, after all it comes from a natural source deep underground, much deeper they say than most water tables.

So today I set out to one of the posohans in our and naturally I had my sights at Sulbod. Arriving there, there were lots of townsfolks doing their chores so I decided it was off limits for me then. Good thing I follow my instincts and just a minutes I found myself in one posohan just a few steps away from the town market.

There I met Manong Norlito, a father of three, busy washing and filling some "galunan" and earns extra by delivering poso water to various households through his pedicab.

Most households still prefer drinking poso and requests pedicab drivers like Manong Norlito to have them delivered at the doorstep. The poso water itself is free for all as one finds a queue of plastic containers lining up to have their fill. I found out that one big plastic container only gets around PhP10 for people like Manong Norlito who washes, fills and delivers them.

As the queue got longer, more "water boys" lined up and one of them shared what I was waiting for - how it burns. He just got his lighter out and placed it near the mouth of the tube and instantly it caught fire.

An amazing sight to see indeed to see water actually "burning". But of course, it's the gases that catch fire and burn. Like geysers, it takes a while for the gases to build up and after a few minutes, say around five, this water burning "miracle" can again be witnessed.

Just click the embedded video below

Instinctively, I checked out the back of the wall where the tube protrudes and found just a cemented block where a pump might have be installed but as gravity or anti gravity works, there is no need for pumps as the water flows freely up and out of the tube.

It takes a while for me to get use to the fact that there's now open/close contraption for the posohan. It could even be more dangerous if it will have since it might cause gases to build up and could blow up. And that wouldn't be much of a miracle then ...

Those interested to witness and even taste Sta. Barbara's famed poso water can visit this particular poso station near the Sta. Barbara Public Market. Just take any Sta. Barbara jeepneys from Iloilo City and request to be dropped near the market. Just ask around for the poso and you'll be pointed to this one. The nearest one from "here" is at the back of the market known as "Sulbod".

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