(A novel. Not really!)
Eons after, at last, I got the chance to finish this and finally post it here. Actually, i started writing this right after i arrived here from my Iloilo vacation but hectic schedules delayed the posting. Don't blame me. Blame it to the clock, it ticks too quick or to the earth, it spins too fast. :P
October 12, 2005 (Wednesday) I went home to my beloved hometown in Iloilo. Ah… home sweet home… (Hihihi. hapit na motuig diay)
I left Cebu at 6p.m. (with my doting boyfriend accompanying me to the pier) and arrived at the port of Iloilo at 9:15 a.m. the next day (Oct.13, Thursday). It was just like sleeping in different place and waking up the next day in another place.
In the ship, I managed to get enough relaxation by reading the every page of The Freeman I brought and the book, which my good buddies Liv and Jasmin insisted I bring to entertain myself. It’s entitled “Knocked Down by my Nunga-Nungas.” I read it in between my naps. It was satirical but I was not quite amused (honestly).
There had been a lot of changes, especially in the traffic routes in Iloilo since I last went home in January. I nearly got lost (i.e, where to ride because the public transport terminals where transferred). The first place I went to—Jollibee. I ordered some food and off I go. Home at last.
The first thing I did at home (my Mom’s ancestral house, actually) was clean my room and place all my things in their places. After lunch, off I go again to my parent’s house—my real home. It is 30-minute walk away. Actually, I could ride a “habal-habal” or motorcycle for hire and arrive there in 10 minutes but I preferred to walk. We crossed a river and ascended and descended at least two hills. It was a pleasant and relaxing exercise.
Upon arrival at our home, I was greeted by bunch of dogs. And I was shocked! A big golden retriever suddenly appeared in front of me. He was barking (friendly bark) but at the same time wagging its tail at me (he may have recognized me). It’s Pinggoy! He was still a very small puppy the last time I went home in January. When I called his name, he approached me and licked my arms. Three other little dogs greeted me—it’s Potot (literally it’s short) and it’s two cute puppies. (I’ll write about them on my next blog).
Pinggoy looks like this. He loves to bite sticks and play with them. Very playful canine. Cute... (but this dog does not describe my pet coz she is toying with a ball and not with a stick. hehehe)
And the first thing that came into my mind was? Food! A satiating meal—a plate of rice, a bowl of fresh veggies and a piece of fried dried fish. All home-cooked. Delicioso! I don’t know why even how simple the food is, if it’s home-cooked, for me it’s the best food on earth. Yum!
It seemed all my lost energy is back. I have a different kind of verve when I’m at home. Indeed, there’s no place like home. Really.
For two days, I stayed at home without doing anything. Just simple household chores. And of course, feeding and playing with the dogs and cats. Yeah, right! I have a cat named Meo.
my cat Meo (named after my high school crush Romeo) looks like this. he has orange fur and big YellOW EYES. He is very sweet and loves to be scratched in the stomach. He sleeps in my bed
Saturday, October 15. My mother’s birthday! I promised her I’ll cook her spaghetti and buko/macapuno salad. I went to Iloilo City to buy ingredients and also to fetch my boyfriend, whom I did not really expect to come. I was actually pissed off by his presence. Anyway, that’s no longer part of this story.
I know I made my Nanay happy. But I’m not sure if she was also amused by the presence of my beloved boyfriend, whom I had word war with because we could not agree on how the spaghetti should be cooked. Ugh!
And for the first time, my parents allowed a boyfriend of their daughter to sleep in the house. ( I also let my former boyfriend sleep in my mom’s house, the ancestral house, once I was in college and that created a lot of trouble).
Sunday, October 16. The usual peaceful abode of the Berondos turned into what seemed a market after my nephews, niece (I only got one niece) and cousins made an unprecedented “attack.” An hour after, the fridge is almost empty—the salad, spaghetti, sandwiches, etc. are nowhere. The kids are nowhere too. I just saw them later in the middle of the ricefields, searching for spiders which they will just play with. And my boyfriend is with them too (mura pod og bata nga walay buot). And you know what’s the most amusing thing is? Our golden dog Pinggoy is also with them, tailing with the kids wherever they go.
My boyfriend could not believe when I told him, the big golden dog who is now very friendly to him is the same “kagiron” and aloof dog he saw about 10 months ago (It was the second time my boyfriend went to our house. The first time, he got a cold shoulder from my family. This time, I can’t tell yet.hehehe). I myself could not also believe at first that Pinggoy has grown up to be like what he is now.
(You wanna know how my beloved boyfriend looks like? Find out in my next post. Hehehehe :P )
We were supposed to go to the poblacion that afternoon (to spend the night at my mom’s ancestral house so we could still go to Vanessa’s house and prepare for our early trip the next day) but the rain suddenly poured. We have no choice but to stay on and spend another night in our house in the farm. Oh boy, it’s freezing cold at night. I slept in my parents’ room while my boyfriend is in my sister’s room (my sister is out, she was evicted. Hehehehe).
Monday, October 17. Okay, it’s time to end the vacation and go back to Cebu because I might receive no salary on payday for being AWOL. I only filed a vacation leave for three days and I am supposed to report to work today (If we arrive before noontime in Cebu).
Due to time and money constraints, we decided to take a land trip back to Cebu—which means, we have to go to Bacolod City (which has just celebrated the Masscara Festival) through a fast craft and then take a bus to San Carlos City, which is more than four hours away .
We reached the Muelle Loney port in Iloilo City past 8 a.m. (this after we dropped by a pasalubong center to buy pasalubong for the hoi polloi in TF) Had we arrived earlier, we could have boarded the 8 a.m. fast craft to Bacolod City. But we’re late so we have to wait for the 9:45 trip. It was almost 11 a.m. when we reached Bacolod City port, and then took a jeep to the V-hire terminal. Yup, we decided to take a V-hire because it would take a short cut going to San Carlos City, where we will take a barge for Toledo City in Cebu. Little did we know it would make our trip longer, but more exciting, than we imagined.
As we all know, V-hires do not leave the terminals without all its seats taken, if you know what I mean. So we left the terminal past noontime. And we have not taken our lunch yet. But we eat non-stop. What’s the pasalubong for, aside from being a pasalubong, anyway?
Few kilometers from Bacolod City, we were in the middle of the sugar cane plantations. Slowly, I begin to notice we were ascending mountains that are getting higher and steeper. “Are we in Baguio yet?” I thought. The long and winding road, and the blue sky that is almost within my reach made me remember of the “Summer Capital of the Philippines.”
The next thing I knew we were already in the top of the tallest mountain in Don Salvador Benedicto and Mt. Kanlaon is just a stone-throw away. It seemed I was on the top of the world, where everything around me is within my reach. I can see the whole Negros island and the waters that surround it.
Then suddenly I felt like the world stopped revolving (Hehehe. Drama epek!). Actually, our vehicle’s engine died. It gave up after just more than an hour due to overheat. It’s expected. Ascending mountains for more than an hour isn’t a joke. The vehicle and even the driver has really to be tough.
While the driver and the rest of the guys (I mean male passengers) search for remedy to the problem, we went off the van to unwind and look at the world around us. I can’t stop myself from being amazed! The pine trees, cozy weather, chilly zypher—they are all feast for the eyes and soothing balm to the soul. I was imagining i was in Baguio (I've been to Baguio only once in my life and looking forward to go back there again). Whew!
Scenery like these flashes in my mind while writing this. Cool!
After almost an hour of feasting my eyes on the fascinating world that surrounds me, I went back to the van and relaxed. I was feeling quite dizzy and hungry so I munched on some more egg crackers.
Along the way, we passed by more breath-taking views. At one moment, I saw range of small hills. Am I seeing chocolate hills of Bohol? But unlike Bohol’s famous hills, which I guess has more than a hundred, this place has around 20 hills.
This picture best describes it (I think so)
Along the way, while (this time descending mountains on a rough road) nearing our destination, I saw more scenic spots, which made me remember of the famous Banaue Rice terraces. SOme are golden (because the rice are ready for harvest) while others are green. I have never been to Banaue but I think the next pictures best describes it.
Yep, I saw few rice terraces and terrains. They are cool. And green. How refreshing!
Despite all the hitches (the aberration and everything), I somehow enjoyed the trip. I was able to discover a wonderful place. I need not go to Banaue to see the green rice terraces, to Baguio to see the pine trees, experience the zigzag highway and relish the cool and crisp weather of the Summer Capital of the Philippines, nor to Bohol to be able to personally see the chocolate hills. It’s all in Don Salvador Benedicto. It is Banaue, Baguio and Bohol rolled into one! Fascinating!
By the way, I saw dolphins. Of course, real dolphins. We were aboard the barge bound for Cebu. We were, I guess, in Tanon Strait, between Cebu and Negros Island. They are jumping out in the water!
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