Three Provinces in One Week
When you believe that you can get something, when you believe that things will go your way, it miraculously does.
The last two weeks have been a joy to me. So many things have happened though I was just too busy to blog about them.
I got really depressed when I found out that I would start work on March 17. I met Augy on the 14th so we could renew our NBI clearance. I dropped by my former office to inquire about my certificate of employment and backpay before proceeding to Glorietta to wait for him. It took us less than seven minutes to have the clearance processed after which we went to North Park to have lunch. I was down in the dumps. I looked like I was going to a funeral. Augy was trying to cheer me up but I ended up teary-eyed. He asked me to call the HR personnel and request if I could postpone my training so I could go to the province. Thankfully, Mina told me that she will talk to the manager and contact me at 7:00. I was jittery since my family was ready to leave the next day. Augy also called his former teammate who is now a Senior Training Officer there to ask if he could help me. He promised to talk to the manager regarding my problem.
At past 7:00, Mina called me with the good news that my training has been postponed and she would just contact me for the next schedule. I smiled from ear to ear and I hugged Augy real tight. I couldn't believe that God has answered my prayer. It was the most beautiful thing that has happened to me this month and it wouldn't have been possible if not for the people who have gone out of their way to help me and of course, God who has never failed to answer my prayers, may they be simple or plain absurd. What is absurd or impossible to him right? Nothing. He listens and He answers every prayer at the right time.
I hurried home, looked through my cabinet and closet for the clothes I would bring to the province, took a big bag from my parents' room and stuffed my things inside. I was ready to go. The next day, the only thing I needed to do was prepare the beauty products and toiletries I would bring to my trip since we would leave for the Port of Batangas late at night. I woke up really early and I wasn't able to even take a nap because of the sheer excitement. I felt like jumping up and down with pure joy.
Day 1: Tiring Road Trip
I spent the whole day lounging on the sofa, eating and texting friends. I was really excited about going to Antique after ten years. The best thing is going with my whole family. Gem was in school for his last exam and orientation for his summer duties in the ER. My parents and lola were busy packing and buying food that we will eat for our road trip.
When evening came, I took a bath and checked my stuff before watching television. Erwin cooked adobo and spaghetti for our trip. The kitchen was full of used utensils and dirty plates. Ching, the mother of our farm's caretaker arrived to stay in our house with Erwin while we were away. My dad took our bags and stuffed them into the trunk. We brought so many things that we had to load some of them inside the car with us. The packs of underpads for my lolo were placed in the backseat window where they wouldn't make sitting uncomfortable. Before 10:00, we left the house and stopped by the vulcanizing shop outside the village to have the wheels checked. When we got to Silang, I texted Gladz to inform her that I was going to the province. She invited me to hang out in Tagaytay if I wouldn't make it with my family. I missed my best friend and the many times I spent in Amadeo and Tagaytay though I was happy to go on the trip. We turned the aircon on and drove on to Lemery, Batangas. When we got there, we found dogs prowling outside the houses by the road. One large dog, ran barking beside our car. It even managed to cross the street in front of us and bark alongside our car. Even if we were inside the car, I got scared. I was only able to relax when it grew tired of chasing after the car.
We arrived in the Port of Batangas before 12:00 am. My dad asked the guard if there was a roro available to take us to Calapan. The guard said there was still space in the roro leaving at 12:00 for our car. My dad asked us to get out of the car while he maneuvered it onboard the roro. My brothers, lola and I looked for seats on the top floor. My mom told us to stay in the airconditioned room. More people came in as we settled on our seats. My dad, mom and Kit slept while Gem and I bought food from the canteen. They only sold noodles, bread, chips, C2 and softdrinks. I ate noodles to ease the hunger pangs before I get a decent meal.
We arrived in Calapan after about two hours. Gem and I took pictures when we got off the roro before boarding the car. I greeted him a happy birthday. Imagine celebrating your birthday on the road. I fell asleep and woke up after experiencing a few bumps. The roads in Mindoro are horrible. You can’t imagine that the vice-president of this country came from that province with the numerous potholes and rough roads we had to endure to get to our farm in Gloria. My aunt was calling me but I didn't hear my phone ringing until after a few minutes. I took my phone from inside my bag and saw a call from a private number. That normally means that somebody was calling from overseas. After a few minutes, my mom's phone rang. My aunt called her. We told her where we were. I found out we were in Socorro. It was drizzling and the car had to inch slowly because of the holes we had to avoid. My aunt who had her duty in UST also texted to ask for our location before we got to the farm.
We left our car by the side of the road and walked through wild grass and coconut trees to get to a bridge leading to the farm. I wanted to carry a piglet but it was dirty and I didn’t want to soil my clothes. We ate our spaghetti, rice and adobo there before leaving for the Port of Roxas. We got there at 9:00 am. My parents and Kit went out of the car to ask for the next roro leaving for Caticlan, Aklan. Gem followed them and returned telling me to get out of the car, lug some of our stuff because we will be leaving the port at 7:00 pm. I went out of the car in protest. I was thinking that it was a joke. My mom told me that a roro cancelled a trip and we could only get into the 7:00 pm trip. We stayed in the second floor canteen where we took naps, ate our meals, took pictures and watched the Pacquiao-Marquez match.
hanging out at the canteen
At last, they're here!
By 5:00 pm, we saw three ships arriving. One of them was the one leaving at 7:00 pm. Vehicles were waiting in line for hours. Our car was by the end of the line. My parents prepared our tickets and stood outside the car. Vendors were hawking garlic and balot at the passengers who were waiting to board the ships. We watched as buses came out of one of the ferries. Ceres, Dimple Star and Gasat liners drove off with their passengers who were bound for Cubao and Pasay. A Dimple Star bus was waiting to board the ship with us. I was excited because the passengers were also going to Antique. It took us until 8:30 to leave and because of that my dad was able to befriend several people. A man who was driving in a CRV alone to Negros and a couple who was going on vacation to the same province.
My brothers and I were able to snag a comfortable space in the airconditioned lounge. Kit settled with his pillow in a corner by the window while my dad slept on a couch opposite him. Gem and I stayed in the balcony for a few minutes just staring at the stars in the sky and the waves roaring below us. We could only see water all around us and the Port of Roxas from a distance. Gem, my lola and mom slept while I sat up beside Kit waiting for my turn to charge my phone. When I felt really sleepy, I leaned on Kit and just closed my eyes. I woke up an hour before getting to Caticlan. I went to the balcony where my dad was chatting with a guy who was on his way to Boracay with family and friends. After a few minutes, we saw an island with so many bright lights. Just the sight of a strip with lights on it and we knew that it was Boracay.
Day 2: I'm Home!
After going to the washroom, preparing our stuff and saying goodbye to the couple who were going to Negros, we boarded our car and drove out of the port. The gas station outside was closed. My dad told us that we had enough fuel to get us to Antique. We drove off into the darkness. The drive was slow because our trunk was stuffed with so many things. We saw some vehicles from the roro pass us by in a hurry to get to their own destinations. We were delayed for so many hours. If the roro didn't cancel the 10:00 am departure the day before, we would have been in Valderrama, Antique by 7:00 pm. We arrived in Caticlan at past 2:00 am. I fell asleep between my lola and Gem with my heavy bag on my lap. I woke up occasionally to my parents' voices wondering where we could find an open gas station.
The next time I opened my eyes, we were in a town. I found out from my parents that we were in Culasi, Antique. My dad stopped by an open carinderia where he saw a man selling coffee, Milo and milk. He decided to drink a cup of coffee while I went to the toilet to pee. We spent a few minutes there chatting with the man. The streets were empty except for a bus and a van parked on opposite ends of the main street. After asking about a gas station, we drove off. We passed by gas stations which were closed. We saw a woman waiting for a bus by the side of the road. My mom asked about an open gas station again and she pointed out one that would be open for 24 hours. Thankfully, we found it before running out of gas. After an hour of driving, we stopped by the side of the road because my mom and lola wanted to pee. Using a patadyong, they managed to do it in the dark. I was laughing because when my lola was peeing, a bus drove by quickly. I was the last to pee on the grass before continuing on our journey.
The roads going to Valderrama are better than the ones in Mindoro. Way better. I can't help but be proud of my small town's progress. We saw a part of the road that was being constructed. We were in Ilaures by then just outside of our town. My mom asked two guys on a motorcycle for instructions. Due to a misunderstanding, we passed by a makeshift bridge leading to the river. It's a large river with some parts dry and some parts with water. My dad got upset because he wanted to take another path which looked like the right one leading to town. We had to go back to get to that road. It was the right one after all. We couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of jumping into the river.
By daylight, we saw a sign saying 'Welcome to Valderrama, Antique'. I was feeling excited at seeing familiar sights. My mom pointed out her high school, St. Luke's Academy to my brothers. We stopped when my mom saw some relatives walking by the side of the road. At past 6:00 am, we turned into our street and saw my grandmothers walking out of the gate. Some relatives came out of their houses to greet us. My lola went inside the house to greet my lolo who suffered from a stroke last month. We ended up crying. My lolo cried when he heard our voices. I sat beside him and said, 'Lolo, si Pempem 'to'.
We spent the morning seeing relatives and catching up with each other. I ate breakfast and took a bath. Can you imagine that I endured a day in Mindoro and Aklan without a cold bath? My brothers and I went to one of the bedrooms in the second floor where we placed our stuff. After eating breakfast and taking baths, my parents and Lolo Domingo took my sick lolo to San Jose for his checkup. Kit went with them because he wanted to see our cousin, Kuya Warren. Gem and I spent our time sleeping and texting.
At 1:00 pm, my parents, grandfathers and Kit arrived from San Jose. It was raining and they couldn't carry my lolo out of the car. You see, he can't talk and he can't move half of his body. I was shocked when I saw him because he looked so helpless. He lost a lot of weight. When the rain stopped, they carried him into the house where he was fed oatmeal and given his medicine.
Kit told me that Kuya Warren already left for Manila. He was set to leave for Italy to board his ship. Too bad.
I'm home!
We spent the rest of the day sharing stories, seeing some more relatives and resting. I never felt so happy. I couldn't believe that I was in our house in Antique. I miss Augy and my friends but it was nice being away from the noise and pollution in Manila. I didn't even miss Friendster or my favorite tv shows. I was home after all.
