Prologue:
How many stopovers did you make in your life? How many times have you experienced traveling alone? After all, life is journey of an individual. He may meet different kinds of people, different kinds of places and different kinds of experience. One thing important is that, in every trip we make, we will learn lessons from it. In this trip of mine, I don’t know what to learn. May be you know and you can see lessons from it. If you do, please tell me. Good luck to you…
How many stopovers did you make in your life? How many times have you experienced traveling alone? After all, life is journey of an individual. He may meet different kinds of people, different kinds of places and different kinds of experience. One thing important is that, in every trip we make, we will learn lessons from it. In this trip of mine, I don’t know what to learn. May be you know and you can see lessons from it. If you do, please tell me. Good luck to you…
It was Sunday, high noon of December 28, 2008 when I found myself in the front line of a bus going to Caticlan. Ah, Caticlan – the gateway to one of the World’s greatest wonders, the favorite summer or holiday getaway – the Boracay Island. Yes, it was my first to Boracay. Though it was not my first to go there but it was my first to be there alone. I have had few trips around the country already, but this one’s unique - I’ll be with myself. I am going there for the bountiful reasons: to escape from the real world, to getaway from the life’s pressures, to protect myself from holiday storm of “inaanaks”(god children), to make vacation for myself, to hand – in the student’s requirements for their OJT, to visit them in one way or another. In other words, I wanted to make another experience.
It was exactly 12:45 when the engine of the bus started to inch its way to our destination. And “Rush Hour”, the movie starred by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker started to roll over the television set above the driver’s seat. I didn’t mind watching the movie though. I wanted to concentrate on my sight seeing outside the bus. I felt like a foreign tourist again; just like my other trips. I passed familiar places and sights – the highway, the traffic, the jeepneys on flock, the busy people passing to and fro. But what catches my attention at that very moment was a container truck van of flammable gas with a misspelled line: “How’s my driving? Cal LTFRB Tel. 01234567”. I tried to take the picture of it but I didn’t catch it the way I want it to be.
I had passed two towns from Iloilo City already when Mr. Slumber visited me. So, I didn’t take any chance to escape rather I took a nap. I was awakened after 45 minutes by the voice of man saying, “Oh, Passi City, Passi City da?”(oh, Passi City, Passi City, who are to drop here?). I opened my eyes and looked around. Aside from the noise of the many mouths, I was also disturbed by the roller coaster ride of the highway to Passi City. I could feel the many humps and bumps due to rough road and the many crisscross alleys of the road due to the current renovation. Nevertheless, we reached Passi City Terminal. Some people dropped themselves for whatever reason. I also did. Mr. Weewee invited me to the toilet. I wanted to pour out some of my poisonous internal body extracts. But before I could enter the toilet premise, a young lad approached me for some donations. At least five pesos! He was explaining what the donation is for, but it did not reach my attention. The urge is my priority at that time.
After five years inside the toilet of Passi City Terminal, I got back to the bus. Not too long, the bus started to move again. I could see many different faces when I got back. But I could see some familiar faces too. I looked around for the nth times and I saw many funny actions. As funny as Jackie Chan’s movie rolling still at the television set. I saw a man at forties sleeping. And while asleep some droplets of liquid run over his lip. I just couldn’t take the photo of him for I might get a law suit. I saw another guy watching the movie with an open mouth while laughing out loud in every funny stint. The child on my side likes to eat everything he can. Until he had eaten all the edible things his mother bought. I could see his eyes directly looking at my food; he might be planning to take mine. As a good Samaritan of this country, I kept my food on my bag. I have to reserve it for myself.
After a couple of minutes my butt started to feel numbed. I had to move myself side by side. I started to feel hungry too. And I can feel another roller coaster ride again. I looked outside and I saw a signage. We were at the border of Iloilo and Capiz Province. It was a long roller coaster ride. I saw children holding cans of coins for making themselves traffic personnel in an unfinished highway construction. I can see a very rural place. A place where people are defined with poverty. But somehow we reached another place for stopover. It was a town of Capiz which I couldn’t remember the name. And the same scenario happened. Some people dropped themselves off. Some got to take in the bus. I made another liquid deposit at the toilet along with the five peso coin for the lad on guard. I bought some food to eat and drinks, too for the driver said we still have a long day trip. It was only mid-afternoon.
After sometime we started to move again. The numbness on my butt started to rose up to my back and moves down to my thighs too. The mother and the child on my side were replaced by a man on the late thirties. He was making chat with the man on the other side of the isle. I knew we passed by several towns of Capiz. In couple of minutes we reached the Capiz-Aklan border. The highway is no longer on rough. It was a smooth ride already until we reached Kalibo. There at the terminal, I made another liquid deposit and pay five peso again. I bought some food to eat and some drinks too. When I got back to the bus, the driver said it will be a long trip for us. From Kalibo to Caticlan, no stopover should be made. It will be almost two hour ride. (And so be it!)
The bus started to move on fast pace. I have had some companions all the way from Iloilo. I thought they will be with me to Boracay too. I couldn’t remember every place we passed by. I was tired for the trip at that time but I kept my eyes open. By and by, we reached the mountainous area of Aklan. I was thinking of the Baguio City tour we had in 2001. There was a zigzag road and the best experience is that looking at the right side, there’s the cliff and looking the left side, there’s the hill. Then in another sec the scene changed. The wonderful scenery is the wonderful experience. When the mountainous part was over the beautiful sea sightings welcomed us. But it’s not Caticlan yet. We had to travel for almost 45 minutes yet. My Gal Bladder is threatening to explode. It was going to be six in the evening and the wind blew colder as the night falls in the sky. That collaborated to intensify the explosion from my within.
We reached almost six thirty five in the evening at the Caticlan Port. I bought a ticket of a ferry going to Boracay. The lady on the ticket both told me to go faster for the ferry was supposed to go at six thirty. So, I did what she said. Unluckily, I had to drop by the toilet to release the call of nature. After a while, I made myself comfortable in the line of people boarding. When my turn came, the man accepting the tickets called my attention that my ticket is for the ferry. The people in line were boarding the motorized banca. Shocked that I was, I ran out of the line and lead myself to the ferry docking area. But I was late enough. The ferry had gone out of my sight. And it was the last trip for ferry boats. Good thing, the guard and the man in the scene helped me refund my ticket and bought another for the motorized banca.
In twenty minutes, I reached the world’s famous Boracay Island.
