“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” – anonymous
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| a view of Hagnaya from the boat |
It was just a silent wish not so long ago, until last week, April 13,2019 when I finally dare to pack my bag headed to the bus terminal at 5 in the morning. Technically, this ain’t a new thing for me, almost every other weekend I would travel south to either for a quick breathe of fresh air, to unwind or take a peek at my little farm back home. The only different is that I’d be crossing seas all by myself, the first time ever in my whole existence. Isn’t that a sound adventure right there？
I did not do any research before I set my mind
to go solo except for the travel time which I googled a day before. I just
relied on my memory from 2 decades ago when our family went for a summer
vacation. In my memory , we rode a bus and headed to a certain Pier in Bogo where motor bancas docked, travel for some time ,
then were at the destination. I did not consider the length of time that has
passed since then, plus the developments of course.#assuming
At 5:30 am the bus to Pulambato finally departed, almost four hours later I arrived at the bus stop heading to Pulambato pier. Few minutes later on a habal-habal I was finally at the pier and confirmed that there’s only one boat that sails at 12 mn, I was way too early for the next trip but being on a three days off , that is a waste of time。
Nevertheless,
missing the 6am boat somehow turned into a blessing in disguise. I called my
uncle whom I just knew over the phone this past two years. He fetched me at Polambato pier and that is how I made a side trip to Medellin, which was definitely
not a waste of time. I get to know my uncle in real life and meet some of our
relatives there as well. More than that, I was able to learn a new skill too. I
spent the day with the little community at my uncle’s candy shop and helped in packing.
As early as 4:30
the next morning , we hopped unto my uncle’s motorbike and headed to Hagnaya
Wharf. About an hour or so on the road we’re finally at the pier, got my ticket
and bade goodbye to Tito Beling. I had my smile from ear to ear as soon as I
set foot on the boat. Excitement ruled over me, I had my assigned bed at the boat
but chose to go to the deck (not sure
though , if it is the correct term) and feed my eyes with the picturesque sceneries
as the boat sailed to Cawayan, Masbate.
Six hours later at
Cawayan port, I had my aunt, cousin and my grandfather waiting for me. We did
not exactly knew each other, I was only 10 when my family visited
them, but as I made my way through the crowd, I recognized them right away. My
aunt Maricel looks almost exactly like Mama, while Lolo Digo looks like my Tito
Beling. A few chitchat and beso-beso and hugs we set off to my aunt’s place in Guiom
where I had feast of fresh seafood every meal!
Things I learn on the trip:
- Bring a book when you travel
- It's okay to travel alone, in reality you will not be alone at all, you get to meet new friends
Now that I have done it, I wanted to do some hardcore solo traveling in the future #bucketlist
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| freshly caught straight to the table |
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| the best part of my trip - getting to know the other side of my roots |
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| my sunset view at my Aunt's home |
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